hey guys. i was looking at some ballistics and was impressed by this caliber. i also like the look of weatherbys sporter. i understand this is made by howa. how hard is this gun on the barrel. i was also wondering if this gun kicks alot more than a standard 25-06. i didnt like the companies prices that make this brass cost (the only two i found were weatherby and norma). anywayz any opinions will be apreciated. o and by the way this would be a deer gun if i would happen to get it

The only thing you need to know about that round is that it is a BAD MOFO. As much as I like the prospects and feel of a .25WSSM and enjoyed a 25/06 Vanguard I had years ago, neither of them hold a candle too the cartridge that was Roy Weatherby's personal favorite.

A handloader can make one of these things SCREAM. You can also use brass from the .270 and 7mm Weatherby. You "could" make it from a 300/340 but that would be alot of work and a complete waste of time. It is based from a shortened and blown out .375 H&H Mag (like 99% of all magnums of the 20th century) and is perhaps one of the tops. You can load up a 117 Xbullet and kill ANYTHING that walks, but its like anything else, it all depends on where you put the bullet. And of course you have heard the old saw bout killin a elephant with a 22, its just not advisable.

Norma makes Weatherby's brass so they are the same. Federal, Remington and Hornady also load for the .270 and 7mm Wby so I know you can get some brass from those as well.

Whats NOT to like about a turbocharged vette?
RA

ps
Oh yeah recoil wise. I think alot of recoil is "percieved" from this round first because it is loud and secondly it "is a Weatherby". But even the lightest .257s I have shot werent anymore than say a 280 or similar cartridge. IMHO a 7mag or any 300 has considerable more recoil. Thats another beaut about this cartridge.

I used to own a .257wby and took deer,pronghorns,mountain goat and elk with it.A 100gr bullet can easily be pushed to 3500fps with good brass life.One thing I will caution you about is using 7mmwby brass to form 257wby brass.The necks will be thicker and can cause pressure problems as a result if you have a tight chamber.

If you reload from the manuauls there is only about 200 fps seperating the 257 Weatherby and the 25-06. You can push either well past the recommended levels. However. There are wiser thing to do with a guys time. For Varmit loads my Hornady Manual shows 3700 for the 25-06 and 3900 for the Weatherby. My Hodgdon manual shows them even closer. Either will push a 25 caliber bullet as fast as they will benifit from being pushed. I owned the Weatherby in 257 as well as the 25-06, 257 Roberts and 250 savage. I now just have the 250 Savage and 25-06. I don't feel that I lost any ground. They are all fine cartridges and one of my favorites. For me the 25 WSSM does not offer any advantage.

I owned a Weatherby Accumark chambered in 257-Weatherby mag for a few years. I bought the 257-Weatherby because I fell in love with the ballistics charts. I never could get the rifle to shoot sub 1" groups. My best accuracy was around 1.5-inches. I sold the rifle for a loss. I do not own a rifle that won't shoot sub 1" groups.

I fined the .257 weatherby in the accumark with no less than a 4.5 -14 power scope and using 100 barnes is medicain for all deer type criters.

Looking for accuracy try the 100 gr nosler ballistic tip with the slowest load posted in the nosler # 4 book and it will shoot in the same hole at 200 yards at around 3300 fps.

Good hunting

If you can do that consistantly you might want to enter some benchrest competitions.