257 Weatherby Magnum

[bb122]

The 257 Weatherby Magnum is a fast and hard hitting rifle. It's a great caliber for antelope and deer but would you use it for anything larger?

[James B]

Roy Weatherby himself claimed it to be his favorite Elk rifle. Also used it for many head of plains game. It certainly has the power if you can find bullets to stand up to it for thicker skinned game. I would quess with the X bullet in at least 120 grain, it should work for Elk. I would like to see a heavier bullet used for Elk though. Just my opinion as I know old Roy shot a lot of Elk with it.

[stubblejumper]

I killed my first elk with the 257wby using a 100gr partition.The bullet exited and the kill was quick but I prefer larger calibers for elk.

[Superpig]

I really do not see why it would not be a decent choice for elk. It has a flat trajectory high velocity and plenty of power. I make this argument because I have seen alot of elk hunters using 270 Win. with 130-150 grain partitions. A bullet that is designed to penetrate deeply and have high weight retention should make the 257 Weatherby a better choice than the 270 Winchester because of the higher velocity. The most important thing when using the caliber would be shot placement as it is with any caliber. I have seen gut shot whitetails go extremely long distances when disturbed. An elk is a much bigger creature. A bad shot with a 338 Mag. isn't as good as a well placed shot with a 270.

[Wolf killer]

A few years ago I owned a Weatherby Accumark chambered in 257-Weatherby mag. I never could get this rifle to shoot good consistant groups.[]
I used mine for Whitetails, Mule deer & Antelope. I sold the rifle after three years of hunting with it.
I loved the low recoil. The way it killed deer & antelope was devistating. I just did not like the groups I was shooting. I traded the 257-Wby for a Remington 7mm-08.
I myself would not use a 257-Weatherby as my primary elk rifle. I have a 300-win mag or 7mm-STW for that purpose. I would use it as a back-up rifle in a heart beat.

[James B]

This is just from an artical I read by Rick Jameson in Rifle Magazine. He says that he likes a minimum sectional density of 260 for elk. That is the max you can get from a 25 caliber whereas the 270, 7mm and 30 caliber and up have bullets in the 290-320 range. This would make them a bit more suitable for Elk size game. I have not shot an elk with any 25 caliber bullets but with some of the good bullets we have now, I think it would work. I have read this rule of thumb before and have always thought it made sense. Just my Opinion.

[bb122]

I tend to agree that you can kill an elk with a 257 Weatherby Mag but you are better off taking a larger caliber. I welcome everyone's feedback.

It's a great caliber though for antelope and deer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!