Weatherby vs. T/C vs. Browning?

[Tjurgensen]

I'm looking for a new coyote rifle. I'v decided on the caliber: a 25-06, but I cant decide on the rifle. I'll be shooting exclusively moon dogs anywhere from 15 - 400 yards. I'm looking at the T/C Venture synthetic w/blued barrel and reciever. I'v heard of problems with these like the hogue traction panels peeling off and the recent recall on them, but it's the cheapest of the three at $480. The next is a Weatherby Vangaurd S2 synthetic also blued it's listed at $550. The last rifle is a Browning X-Bolt Hunter blued. This one has a satin finished walnut stock and it's listed at $760. I have never owned any of these rifles and have no experience with them so any experience, suggestions, and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
~ TJ

 

[Dr. Vette]

I'm biased - I own a few Vanguards, and they all shoot very, very well. Every one of them, all the original "S1" version, shoots under an inch at 100 yards with factory ammo.

I see on Gunbroker that there are currently new S2 Vanguards in 25-06 for just a bit over $500. However, a previous Sub-MOA is at $400 (which is a steal since it has a better stock and used to be a $700 rifle), and a new Howa is $363.99 if you don't mind a 22 inch barrel. So, there are some bargains out there if you want to look for them.

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you can find a new left-over Browning A-Bolt II, or a Weatherby S2, then I'd go that route.

I have a Weatherby Mark V Accumark in .257 Wby Mag, and it's nice.

I also have a Browning A-Bolt II Comp Stalker in 7mm RM, and the BOSS system. It kicks like a .243 with the BOSS on it. Anyone could shoot it. I highly recommend those, but if you shoot it, be sure to use plugs or muffs. Muzzle brakes amplify the sound substantially.

I don't care for Thompson rifles, unless it is one of their single-shot rifles.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

My vote is for the S2. I got one in 223 earlier this year and it shoots very well. On a breezy day @ 212 it gave me less than 1/2" of vertical dispersion and about an 1" of horizontal.

They are setup to have a pressure point at the end of the forearm. I sanded mine off to free float the barrel. The 2 stage trigger is a little heavy at just under 3 lb but very crisp.

I got mine new at the local Sportsmans Warehouse for $460.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Like the others, I'd go with the Vanguard. I'm not sure just what the "S2" is, but know the standard model shoots very well.

Now your shooting coyotes after dark, and the ranges will decrease dramatically unless you shooting over snow on full moon nights. Then you might get 300 yards. I used to shoot a 6mm Remington in a couple rifles, and at night I rarely shoot more than 250 yards. Daytime shooting is a different ball game and the 25-06 will do well. You want a scope with a good light factor, and one you can see the cross hairs well in the low light. Something like a 6X-18X with a 50mm lens is about right. On the opposite side of this, I once shoot six or eight dogs over two nights at 350 yards using a very stiffly loaded .257 Roberts. There was about six inches of fresh snow on the ground with a full moon. The scope was a Leupold 2.5x-8x with the 36mm lens. The scope had a light factor of 4.5! Bullets were Nosler 100 grain BT's. @ 3,000fps. I think I missed two dogs over two days, but could see what and where I was shooting at very well. Not bad for twelve shots taking two deer and eight dogs.
gary

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you're wanting it for deer and coyotes, I'd get the Weatherby S2 chambered in the .257 Wby Mag. And shoot the 110gr NAB's or Berger 115 VLD's.

 

[Trickymissfit]

If you're wanting it for deer and coyotes, I'd get the Weatherby S2 chambered in the .257 Wby Mag. And shoot the 110gr NAB's or Berger 115 VLD's.

are you serious????? A .257mag won't kill a deer any deader than a .257 Roberts or even a 25-06 at a sane distance. A 25-06 or a .257AI are really better rounds. You dump 50% more powder to gain 100fps (3200fps verses 3300fps). Even a .257Ackley will hit the 3100fps mark with almost ten grains less powder than the 25-06! If it were me, I'd give the .250 Ackley a very serious look over. It'll push a 115 grain bullet to about 3000fps, and use less than half the powder that the .257mag uses. At 400 yards, no deer will ever know the difference.

But more importantly than the powder usage for what you get are things like barrel life, price per round, and case life, and the price of brass by itself. Then you look at the price of a set of dies themselves. Forster does catalog the .257AI as a standard die. The same can be said of the 25-06, and .257 Roberts. Plus you can shoot factory .257 Roberts rounds in the improved chamber.

gary

 

[Toptuna]

I own Remington's but borrowed a friends 300 weatherby mark 5 and man I fell in love with that gun.

 

[roninflag]

a vanguard s1 or 2 and even better a vanguard rc.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Borrowed a buddy's weatherby MOA rifle (?) the one with the weatherby gaurentee for a deer hunt. I fell in love with it. Felt good in the hands and was super accurate. I was making 250 yrd shots with ease sighting in before the hunt. I have used my cousins browning abolt with the boss in 30-06 and was not a fan. Not as accurate as the weatherby, a little more expensive, and not as good ergonomics. No hard numbers though used factory ammo in both, with no real testing. Just sight in and then hunting with both rifles. So take it for what its worth.

 

[MudRunner2005]

are you serious????? A .257mag won't kill a deer any deader than a .257 Roberts or even a 25-06 at a sane distance. A 25-06 or a .257AI are really better rounds. You dump 50% more powder to gain 100fps (3200fps verses 3300fps). Even a .257Ackley will hit the 3100fps mark with almost ten grains less powder than the 25-06! If it were me, I'd give the .250 Ackley a very serious look over. It'll push a 115 grain bullet to about 3000fps, and use less than half the powder that the .257mag uses. At 400 yards, no deer will ever know the difference.

But more importantly than the powder usage for what you get are things like barrel life, price per round, and case life, and the price of brass by itself. Then you look at the price of a set of dies themselves. Forster does catalog the .257AI as a standard die. The same can be said of the 25-06, and .257 Roberts. Plus you can shoot factory .257 Roberts rounds in the improved chamber.

gary

I never said it would kill anything faster than anything...Where is your excitedness and measuring contest coming from? Nobody yanked your chain and downed your suggestion.

Re-read my post...I simply stated which one I would pick. I never mentioned any other calibers.

I have a .25-06 AI project I'm working on at the moment, and have owned, and been killing deer with my .257 Wby since 2008. I've never had any issues.

And while dead is dead, yes the .25-06 AI and .257 Wby will kill the deer faster than the .257 Roberts....About 600 fps faster.

The .257 Wby only uses about 70gr of powder for my loads, and I'm hitting 3,400 fps with the 110 NAB's. Last time I checked the .25-06 uses 50-60gr of powder... The .257 Roberts might use 40-50gr of powder.

Nosler custom .257 Roberts ammo with a 110 NAB is 3,000 fps MV.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/19...on-257-roberts-p-110-grain-accubond-box-of-20

.257 Wby Mag factory loaded ammo with a 110 NAB is 3,460 fps....Almost 3,500 fps. And it can be loaded hotter when handloading.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/32...by-magnum-110-grain-nosler-accubond-box-of-20

We won't even get into the .25-06 A.I. simply because that will hurt your feelings (over 3,500 fps), so I'll just post some Doubletap .25-06 Rem ammo with the 110 NAB's, which is 3,250.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/32...n-110-grain-nosler-accubond-spitzer-box-of-20

After reading your entire post...What is your hang-up with hating the .257 Wby Mag? You seem to suggest every other 1/4-bore out there EXCEPT the .257 Wby Mag.

And for the record both Redding and RCBS keep .257 Wby Mag dies and .25-06 AI dies in their catalog.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Borrowed a buddy's weatherby MOA rifle (?) the one with the weatherby gaurentee for a deer hunt. I fell in love with it. Felt good in the hands and was super accurate. I was making 250 yrd shots with ease sighting in before the hunt. I have used my cousins browning abolt with the boss in 30-06 and was not a fan. Not as accurate as the weatherby, a little more expensive, and not as good ergonomics. No hard numbers though used factory ammo in both, with no real testing. Just sight in and then hunting with both rifles. So take it for what its worth.

back in the 1970's, all Vanguards came with that same guarantee, but they later opened it up. I have a 30-06 from that era (paid $242!!), and it easily will do that MOA spec, and have actually shot 3/4" groups at 200 yards with it. But for some odd reason doesn't shoot anything heavier than 165 grains worth a ****. Another crazy thing about it, is that it simply shoots factory Remington 150 grain Corelocks lights out!! It shoots them better than I've been able to hand load! When I ordered the rifle, I wanted dark walnut (they offered three colors), and my dealer actually picked it up at a warehouse in Ohio. Looked thru several rifles, and one just jumped out at him. Has four different colors in the wood, and starts with a dark reddish walnut and evolves into a blueish grey. Been threatening to have the heavy gloss finish stripped, and going back with an oiled finish for years.
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

I never said it would kill anything faster than anything...Where is your excitedness and measuring contest coming from? Nobody yanked your chain and downed your suggestion.

Re-read my post...I simply stated which one I would pick. I never mentioned any other calibers.

I have a .25-06 AI project I'm working on at the moment, and have owned, and been killing deer with my .257 Wby since 2008. I've never had any issues.

And while dead is dead, yes the .25-06 AI and .257 Wby will kill the deer faster than the .257 Roberts....About 600 fps faster.

The .257 Wby only uses about 70gr of powder for my loads, and I'm hitting 3,400 fps with the 110 NAB's. Last time I checked the .25-06 uses 50-60gr of powder... The .257 Roberts might use 40-50gr of powder.

Nosler custom .257 Roberts ammo with a 110 NAB is 3,000 fps MV.

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 257 Roberts +P 110 Grain AccuBond Box of 20

.257 Wby Mag factory loaded ammo with a 110 NAB is 3,460 fps....Almost 3,500 fps. And it can be loaded hotter when handloading.

Weatherby Ammo 257 Weatherby Mag 110 Grain Nosler AccuBond Box of 20

We won't even get into the .25-06 A.I. simply because that will hurt your feelings (over 3,500 fps), so I'll just post some Doubletap .25-06 Rem ammo with the 110 NAB's, which is 3,250.

Doubletap Ammo 25-06 Remington 110 Grain Nosler AccuBond Spitzer Box

After reading your entire post...What is your hang-up with hating the .257 Wby Mag? You seem to suggest every other 1/4-bore out there EXCEPT the .257 Wby Mag.

And for the record both Redding and RCBS keep .257 Wby Mag dies and .25-06 AI dies in their catalog.

I know they keep those dies in their catalog, but you also pay the premium price for them due to the low volume sold. I call a standard die out as something like a .308 or a 30-06.

The last time I chronographed a .257 Roberts using 117 grain bullets (Sierras) I got 2900 fps, but also did 100 grain Nosler BT's. The 117's came in at 2850 fps, and the Noslers came in at 3050fps. That bullet dropped two 300+lb deer in their tracks (well one took a step and a half). A .257AI will add another 200fps. A 250AI with 100 grain Noslers will do 3050 fps, and use even less powder than the .257 Roberts! Makes an excellent varmit rig (not for setting over a dog town although)

The .257mag is not exactly news to me. Been around several over the years, and of these only one guy kept his. The rest evolved into being safe queens. It's too big for serious varmint shooting, and barely there for big game. Roy designed it for sheep and goats at higher elevations, and there it is one of the best. Yet anything it will do, a good 6.5 will do better (mostly better bullets). Rather than do a 25-06, I'd do a 6.5-06. Just that much better.
gary

 

[MudRunner2005]

This is the exact die set I have for my .257 Wby...They're not too bad @ $55.00.

RCBS 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 257 Weatherby Mag

Now, granted, my .25-06 A.I. dies are NOT cheap...$145 for a set, which I think is retarded, but hey, you gotta pay to play, right?

RCBS 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 25-06 Remington Ackley Improved 40-Degree

I have had zero problems with whitetails out to 300+ yards (farthest shot available to me so far) when I had my .257 Wby with me. Never had one run more than 50 yards. It would also make a good LR coyote caliber.

I am building the .25-06 AI because I already have the Sendero SF .25-06 barrel, that's barely broke in. The 6.5 bullets are good. If I were to build a LA 6.5 it would definitely be a 6.5 Sherman.