.257 Weatherby Factory ammo - Any fans on here?

[WeatherbyUK]

Ok so it’s probably not gonna be a volume seller caliber for us, and we’re obviously going to focus on our mainstream caliber options, but how could we not import one of our best known calibers to the UK?!

Any .257 fans on here?

The .257 Wby will send a 100g bullet 3600fps and has been tested all over the world with fantastic results! It also ticks the box for anyone looking for a flat-shooting cartridge!



We already know from our back orders for ammo that .257 Wby is a firm favourite for a handful of U.K. stalkers, though we also know that it’s been a nightmare for them to get hold of a reliable source of ammo, and even brass isn’t that easy to come by!

We have unprimed brass in stock and will be landing several loaded ammo options for 257 Wby shortly, as well as 7mmPRC and several others.

www.weatherbyinc.co.uk

 

[scotch_egg]

It’s the 1 foot flame from the end of the barrel even in daylight that gets me…

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Head to Head: .25-06 Remington vs. .257 Weatherby Magnum

Between the .25-06 Remington and the .257 Weatherby Magnum, which offers the best performance for the hunter? Contributor Philip Massaro takes a closer look at what makes each cartridge tick.

www.americanhunter.org

 

[WeatherbyUK]

It’s the 1 foot flame from the end of the barrel even in daylight that gets me…

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Head to Head: .25-06 Remington vs. .257 Weatherby Magnum

Between the .25-06 Remington and the .257 Weatherby Magnum, which offers the best performance for the hunter? Contributor Philip Massaro takes a closer look at what makes each cartridge tick.

www.americanhunter.org

Just an Americanism from 2018 - moderators are now common enough in many parts of the USA - With a 22” barrel (recommended minimum to achieve potential) and a moderator there’s no more muzzle flash than any other comparable cartridge

 

[alberta boy]

The 257 WM is my favourite out of the Weatherby line up , followed closely by the 375 WM . The various Weatherby cartridges aren't seen too often around here , the 257 is the exception . It is a very popular cartridge for open country and sheep hunting . I've also found , after having a couple 257WMs , that they're not a picky round to reload and don't require a lot of effort to obtain good accuracy .

AB

 

[scotch_egg]

Just an Americanism from 2018 - moderators are now common enough in many parts of the USA - With a 22” barrel (recommended minimum to achieve potential) and a moderator there’s no more muzzle flash than any other comparable cartridge

A silencer might capture the flash but it won’t make the cartridge any more efficient. A 22” barrel is really too short for the volume of powder.

Any chance you can run your comparison to one of the more modern offerings like the 6.5 PRC with a factory ammunition?

 

[.25-06]

10 grains more powder for only couple of hundred fps more it's even less efficient than the .25 -06. But the bullet impacts would be wonderfully to watch.

 

[A Guy Out West]

I was in a sporting goods store today with my son and we were looking at the Weatherby ammo. $120 a box! Simply ridiculous. Unloaded brass is ridiculous as well, not just expensive, but ridiculously over priced. I’m amazed that the folks at Weatherby can’t figure out that if they made their loaded ammo and empty brass more reasonable, they would sell more rifles and ammo.

 

[WeatherbyUK]

A silencer might capture the flash but it won’t make the cartridge any more efficient. A 22” barrel is really too short for the volume of powder.

Any chance you can run your comparison to one of the more modern offerings like the 6.5 PRC with a factory ammunition?

Apologies if unclear, but we meant 22" as a minimum barrel length for powder burn efficiency - as it happens we make our 257's with a 26" barrel

Sure, we're pretty sure there are some articles we or others have done so we'll have a look and post them here. Thanks for your interest

 

[WeatherbyUK]

I was in a sporting goods store today with my son and we were looking at the Weatherby ammo. $120 a box! Simply ridiculous. Unloaded brass is ridiculous as well, not just expensive, but ridiculously over priced. I’m amazed that the folks at Weatherby can’t figure out that if they made their loaded ammo and empty brass more reasonable, they would sell more rifles and ammo.

Hi, thanks for your comments - please let us run through where this comes from:

Our ammo isn't made by machines, it's handloaded by our team in our Wyoming factory - so is genuinely custom ammo. If you've ever paid anyone to load ammo for you then you'll appreciated it never comes cheap, but we realise it's price prohibitive for a lot of shooters.

We then have to build in margin for our retailers, which is a catch-22 as we can't expect them to stock it unless there's margin in it, but also if it's too expensive it won't sell... so our expertly hand loaded ammunition is a labour of love for those that want and appreciate the product.

Several other manufacturers make both brass and ammunition for Weatherby Cartridges and they're more affordable than our hand-loaded options, and of very good quality.

 

[KimE]

Only the big game Weatherby ammo are hand loaded.

 

[WeatherbyUK]

Only the big game Weatherby ammo are hand loaded.

Hi KimE, we hand load all of the ammo - are you referring to the exact process perhaps? We're differentiating between fully automated ammo loading in a factory like CCI vs. our specialist team hand loading our ammo in our custom ammo room in Wyoming.

 

[kenbro]

I enjoyed my W.257M a few years ago.
It was an American made MkV and very well made it was. It was a thing of beauty.
I used it as a fox rifle and occasional range use then moved it on.
Not the easiest rifle to sell but I let lucky, a UK based American Airman was retiring and instead of going home he was emigrating to Australia.
He bought it to take with him.
I do remember buying a special die that would size the cases right up to the belt.
Ken.
Ps. Bought mine from Brock & Norris.
Quarter bores are nice but would benefit from better bullet choice.

 

[Muir]

Weatherby Ammo is between $90 and $110 US per box of 20 here. To spare myself (+/-) 4MOA at 500 yards it seems prohibitively expensive. JMHO, of course.
Built one decades back. It was an accurate rifle but handloads never reached the speeds of WBY ammo despite a 26" tube. I heard the customer had it rebarreled to 300 Win Mag the following year.~Muir

 

[WeatherbyUK]

Weatherby Ammo is between $90 and $110 US per box of 20 here. To spare myself (+/-) 4MOA at 500 yards it seems prohibitively expensive. JMHO, of course.
Built one decades back. It was an accurate rifle but handloads never reached the speeds of WBY ammo despite a 26" tube. I heard the customer had it rebarreled to 300 Win Mag the following year.~Muir

Thanks Muir. Re the 4MOA comment at 500yds, what caliber were you comparing it to?

 

[KimE]

The only 300wby ammo I can find here in Sweden are made by Norma ~110£/20 looks like Weatherby dont want to be a part of the market here.

 

[Muir]

Thanks Muir. Re the 4MOA comment at 500yds, what caliber were you comparing it to?

Your attached chart shows about 22" drop between the cartridges listed. I used that.~Muir

 

[75]

Any chance you can run your comparison to one of the more modern offerings like the 6.5 PRC with a factory ammunition?

First thing that popped up was Hornady 143gn ELD-X factory. Drop at 500yds is 36 inches, so pretty much exactly the same as the 100gn offering in the chart above.

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/6.5-prc-143-gr-eld-x-precision-hunter#!/

 

[scotch_egg]

First thing that popped up was Hornady 143gn ELD-X factory. Drop at 500yds is 36 inches, so pretty much exactly the same as the 100gn offering in the chart above.

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/6.5-prc-143-gr-eld-x-precision-hunter#!/

B.C is a wonderful thing

 

[Dave_45]

My pal let me fire two rounds through his , I’d have one in a heartbeat

 

[dunwater]

It’s an older chambering designed to solve a problem that no longer exists.
Most Weatherby cartridges are the same, designed 50 or more years ago at a time when accurate range measurements in the field were impossible, it was guess work, so Roy went for high velocities to reduce bullet drop over unknown distances.
We now have accurate range finder’s and we know what the trajectory is.
Add the high velocity with the associated hydrostatic shock and the likelihood of throwing the entire front half of the animal away, to a stalking culture that emphasises getting as close as possible and it’s just not a viable cartridge here.
Theres no role for it.
It’s also a barrel burner and I’d sooner carry a full set of golf clubs rather than a rifle with a 26” barrel plus moderator while stalking.
And all that for a cartridge thats hard to come by and has the square root of zero advantage over half a dozen other chamberings?
No thanks.