.257 weatherby

Stan_Warren

New member
My brother just bought a 257 weatherby mag. does any one have any pet loads for it. how is it for yotes crows and field mice. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif Thanks
 
Stan, try 71.5-73.0g of R#22, Fed 215, 100g bullet of your choice, this a generic load for the stock 257 Weatherby's.
Velocity should be in the 3650 range for a stock Weatherby.

I make 257 Weatherby brass out of 7 Mag brass, it's easy. Just lube the neck and shoulder (lightly or you will have dents), run the 7 Mag brass into a full length sizer of the 257 Weatherby, it perfectly forms the double radius shoulder. You do end up with about .050 shorter neck.

Winchester brass is MUCH tougher than either Rem or Fed and only use NEW brass if you try this because even once fired brass is work hardened.


Good luck!
 
A friend of mine has one, it actually was more accurate with IMR 4350. Thats a faster powder than most people prefer, but it worked well in that particular rifle.
 
Quote:
Stan, try 71.5-73.0g of R#22, Fed 215, 100g bullet of your choice, this a generic load for the stock 257 Weatherby's.
Velocity should be in the 3650 range for a stock Weatherby.

I make 257 Weatherby brass out of 7 Mag brass, it's easy. Just lube the neck and shoulder (lightly or you will have dents), run the 7 Mag brass into a full length sizer of the 257 Weatherby, it perfectly forms the double radius shoulder. You do end up with about .050 shorter neck.

Winchester brass is MUCH tougher than either Rem or Fed and only use NEW brass if you try this because even once fired brass is work hardened.


Good luck!



I also use Re22. Alliant shows 68gr being listed max for the 100gr bullets. Just thought I'd toss in that little piece of info for the unaware.

For mine:

Sierra GameKing 100gr
CCI250 primer
Re22 70.5 (unchronied but close to factory 3600)

Will shoot sub-minute easily.
 
Preferator, the load of 72.0g of R#22 is listed as the accruacy load and max in the Nosler manual. You really have to be your own ballistician and watch for pressure signs in your own rifle.

With .300 of freebore in a factory rifle, there is no telling what the actual max load really is.
 
I don't use mine as an everyday gun, so as far as barrel life goes, it will last me a lifetime of hunting Antelope and Deer. (I shoot mine about 6 times a year!)

I knew went I purchased the .257 Weatherby, it was known as a barrel burner but this isn't one of those guns a guy shoots hundreds of times a year.
 
Why concern your self with BBL? Burn it up and try a new brand.Life only happens once. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif
 
I tend to burn up enough barrels as it is. I really don't like cartridges when I only have a few hundred rounds left after barrel break-in and load development. I really like to shoot.
 
pcammo, I have 237 rounds through my custom that has zero freebore. The leade has grown .032 in the 237 rounds.

I bought a 257 German Weatherby from a guy in the late 80's. I was at the rifle range on a Sat, this guy was hammering the rounds down the 257 Weatherby like he was fending off a Bonzi charge.

I could see his frustration and finally asked him if I could be of any help. He infomed me that I could buy the rifle from him, that there was no way to get the rifle on paper. I asked him how much he wanted for it and he said $500 with all the ammo he had and empty brass.

I told him that he needed to keep the barrel cool and that if he cleaned the barrel and got all the copper out of the barrel that it would probably shoot at least 1 1/2 inches, which just made him mad. I asked him if he would take a check, he said YES!

I cleaned the barrel and loaded 72.3g of R#22 with it with a 100g Sierra and the gun shot three shots 1" at 100 yards, I bore sighted the rifle.

I tell this little story because many people that have bought these "hot rods" have no idea that they ought to keep the barrel cool as they shoot, and just like the idiot that I bought this gun from, they have no idea how to clean a rifle which gives the caliber a bad name.

I would expect from the throat wear that I have in my rifle that a person that exercises reasonable care as a hunter that checks his zero every year, that he should get 900-1200 rounds out of the barrel. The guy that does not know how to really clean his rifle would probably get 300-450 rounds out of his barrel. That fouling gets cooked in the barrel so hard that nothing can get it out.
 
Quote:
Preferator, the load of 72.0g of R#22 is listed as the accruacy load and max in the Nosler manual. You really have to be your own ballistician and watch for pressure signs in your own rifle.

With .300 of freebore in a factory rifle, there is no telling what the actual max load really is.


Yeah, you gotta love the general inconsistency of the data available.

My .257weatherby is a Vanguard Sporter so I watch things closely. I'll be picking up a chrony in the warm season so I can track the performance a bit closer.

Do you have a chrony check on your load?

I agree with your statement on the need to clean (and never shoot hot). My groups started opening up and being erratic like the guy at the range you spoke of. I took the rifle inside and began to clean it with a foaming bore cleaner. Probably took 8 applications to get the black tar out of it.

These .257's are like ferrari's.....they need a little more attention than your basic .270win or '06.
 
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ackleyman..that was a good post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gifi remember a time @ the range just before deer season i think it was late august early september of 2005..it was around 85-90 degree's..i was waiting my turn @ the bench..this fella was shooting a nice looking remmy..chambered in 7mm..mag..he probably shot twenty round's in twenty minute's..i also noticed what appeared to be a empty or maybe 1/2 empty box of factory sitting on the bench..anyway he was pretty huffy & seemed stessed..i saw zero cool down & zero cleaning..i've learned a lot the last few year's /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif & have realized i have a hell of a lot to learn /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gifi just remember the guy saying this rifle wont shoot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Ackleyman,

How many rounds can you shoot before you need to clean your .257 Wby? I'm trying to figure out how much mine will tolerate between cleanings right now. So far I've shot about 30. Do you clean it thoroughly and get every bit of copper out each time? Thanks.
 
It is really hard to give you an idea of how often you need to clean your gun because every barrel is different. My speed is way up on my loads/barrel/chamber at 3850 with the 100's, so I'm picking up a little more copper even though I am shooting an ultra smooth Pac Nor Super match 3 groove barrel.

I am looking for accuracy out of this rig where the bullets all touch or just about touch so I de-copper every 15 rounds.

I cool my fluted #7 barrel with rubbing 50/50 rubbing alcohol/water after shooting 3 shots farily quickly trying to get in 3 shots before the wind conditions change too much.

My cleaning technique:

*3 wet patches with Montana extreme
*Brush 15 strokes with a good bronze bristle brush saturated with Montana Extreme(throw brush away when it has 80 strokes on it)
*dry patch out
*brush with a plastic Montana Extreme brush loaded with Montana 50 BMG copper remover, let set 12 minutes and repeat till all copper is gone. The extremely Stiff Montana Extreme plastic brush is a huge aid in helping remove any copper fouling that is still in the barrel and one application of the 50 BMG is usually all that it takes.

When you are shooting 71+g of powder you need to be sure and get all the powder residue out and the combo of the two different brushes does a heck of a job in getting all the powder and copper fouling out with no fuss at all.

DocCoyote, if your gun is holding up well at 30 rounds, then I would not change your routine. Your gun will tell you how and when it is clean. I have seen some factory 257 Weatherby's that had a gold plated barrel after 20 rounds.

I used an Ohler 35P to check the velocity.
 
My .257Wby is on a Savage single shot 110 action. It has a shouldered 29" Hart barrel with Ackleyman's chamber and a huge brake. With 100gr bullets the best powder has been RL22....... 71.5gr=3982fps, 72.0=4010fps. The 72.0gr load is what I shoot and even during summer heat there are no overpressure signs. Nosler 100BT's shot ok but not great. Groups with two different 100gr boattail Sierras are 1/4" depending on what speed. Brass is PMC which is very strong, primer is Rem. 9-1/2. This gun is used for rockchucks and it works very well.

Bullets are lubed with Lee Lube. Copperfouling isn't really a problem. The gun will get shot maybe 30-40rds max on any one outing and it cleans up easily. I haven't checked throat wear but don't worry about it much. Barrels aren't sacred, they're to be used. Enjoy it and when it wears out, get another one.

That #1 rifle is heavy and unwieldy. I had a second one put together on another Savage 110 action and about a #4-1/2 contour barrel 26" long. It's much lighter and easier to handle and will be used as a truck gun.
 
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