[257WM_CDL-SF]

My local sporting goods store,where I bought my rifle.onle has Weatherby 100 grain spire points or 110 grain accubonds.Which should I get to deer hunt with. My concern is meat damage

[627PCFan]

Accubonds.- slower FPS and prob wont open up too much in a deer.....or ditch the Weatherby

[kanook]

place your shot properly and you will get little meat damage. besides my dog get the damage meat. :D

[257WM_CDL-SF]

I aint ditching the Weatherby

[MJR007]

Put the deer down and there is much less wasted meat to you.

[Ol` Joe]

If you`re worried about meat and won`t give up the Weatherby, try retreating 200-250 paces when a deer shows himself and then take the shot.
Meat damage should then be in line with a 250 Savage with either bullet

[jpwilly]

I've gathered your using a Weatherby and can only assume you're shooting 257WM from your screen name. So if that is true than pass on both and get 120-grain Nosler Partitions at 3300fps these are much better and are going to damage less eating parts.

[Fumbler]

The Accubonds probably expand less than the spirepoints...but that's not saying much. If you have a 257 Weatherby then you're going to make a mess of a deer if you're not that far.

I agree with jpwilly. Get some Nosler Partitions if you can find them. Preferably in the heaviest weight loaded in factory ammo.

I also agree with the others. Only take a broadside shot and just accept the fact that you're going to liquify some meat.

[ForneyRider]

Neck or head shoot them.

Lots of complaints about Barnes TSX not expanding. If you can through a vital area with precision, then maybe a "hard" bullet will reduce damage. Hydrostatic shock and turbulence will still do damage.

A friend gut shot a doe with 7mm Mag, blew a gigantic hole in it and it ran off, and was pain to retrieve through the thick East Texas brush. He flinched and made a bad shot.

Several guys in my deer lease shoot with their one rifle, the 7mm Mag, and for the most part it isn't that bad. Yes, it will do more damage than a .223 or .22-250.

I like the Accubonds for their accuracy, but haven't used them on game.

[257WM_CDL-SF]

i'm thinking accubonds.As they dont have any partitions or Barnes either

[jpwilly]

i'm thinking accubonds.As they dont have any partitions or Barnes either

Surely you could order some online? Here's a link if you're courious http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?tabid=3&categoryid=7647&categorystring=653***690***

[Arkel23]

or ditch the Weatherby Why would anybody do such a thing? Go with the110 gr.

[257WM_CDL-SF]

thats the reason I got the 257 Weatherby was for it ballistics,I agree most shots will be around 200 yds.But I might get that once in a lifetime shotat a 14 pointer at say 450 yds
Where I hunt,I am overlooking 2 connected hayfields,The stands sits at the corner of a woods Shots could range from 25 yds to as far as one wants to shoot.Shucks I can see in the next county

[Art Eatman]

Proper shot placement with any bullet won't ruin eatin'-meat. The main thing is to use a bullet that will hold together enough for good penetration. The worst case is an angling shot where you have to get past ribs and paunch to get to the heart/lungs. That makes for messy field dressing, but, still, it doesn't hurt the eatin'-meat.

[Delmar]

+1 on Forneyrider. I make head or neck shots whenever I can....no ruined meat at all, and particularly with carefully placed head shots, Ive never had one run on me

[natman]

Out of the two loads listed I'd go with the Accubonds. Heavier bullet for a little less excess velocity and more importantly, it should hold together better.

I don't know the circumstances under which the Barnes bullets allegedly didn't expand, but I'll bet it wasn't when shot from a 257 Weatherby.

[kanook]

neck shots whenever I can....no ruined meat at allthats odd, all the deer that I have shot have neck meat. :confused:

[MCgunner]

The neck, like the shoulder, gets ground into chili meat or for sausage in my house. I don't care how I mess it up so long as I get the deer and those backstraps. :D

[classcpl]

I shoot a 270 WSM handloaded to 3500+ fps with the Barnes TSX 110 grain. Those ballistics should pretty well match your 257 Wby. Ive had shots ranging from 30 yds to 200+ yds. Shot placement is the key. Even with the TSX you will lose some meat if you put it through a shoulder at close range. Hold for a heart shot or high-lung shot instead. Expansion is not a problem. I would avoid most jacketed bullets if you are going to be taking close shots at the 3300+ velocity range.

In comparison, Ive also used the federal fusion 150 grain factory load and 130 grain hornady SST handloads inside of 60 yds. Both were shoulder shots and both caused incredible destruction when they hit heavy bone. I lost the entire shoulder area from the cookpot. Not good for a meat hunter like myself.

On a side note, I was actually able to get the 110 grain TSX load up to 3700 fps, but accuracy suffered and I figured enough is enough. I like to EAT my deer.

[classcpl]

Hmmm...upon reading my post it seems I didn't really answer the OP's question. Given choice between those two, I would go with the Accubond and stay off the shoulder.

[GooseGestapo]

.257wby;

We've discussed the .257wby before. I recommended the 100gr Spt for deer in another post.

I've used the Hornady 110gr Bonded, and can't recommend it for your application. It is a Hit-or-miss proposition with this bullet. Of the one's I got, they "blew up" at the range you're talking about... from a .257Roberts. But, that may be why MidwayUSA had them on clearance from a bulk purchase from Hornady.

If not using the 100gr Spt load, try the factory 117gr load with the Hornady Round Nose. Paper ballistics don't do it justice. Having used it on deer with the .257wby and .257Roberts, I can vouch for it not doing as much meat damage as the 100gr with a poorly placed shot.

I intentionally shot the deer where it would destroy less meat, through the chest. Avoid the shoulder, shoot behind the shoulder through the lungs and liver.

If you have a .257wby, you really, really nead to start reloading. For the cost of 3 boxes of ammo ($100), you can get a good basic loading set up, and with the cost of 2 more boxes of ammo, more than pay for the initial investment and have greater choices in ammo/bullet selection.

If looking to get LESS meat damage, I wouldn't use the Nosler Partitions. They expand very rapidly, AND penetrate, and in my experience do MORE meat damage than a similar controled expansion bullet such as the Interloks, or Corlokts. I lost over half of a whitetail doe I shot once with a 210gr Nosler Partition from my .338/06. Just 2,750fps with shot at 40yds, and the deer was a MESS. I hit it just behind the shoulder, took out most of the spine and a good part of the opposite hind quarter. Would have definitely put the "zonk" on an Elk or Moose 4-5 times bigger......

Actually, the Interlok 100gr you have access to will do very well on deer. That's one of the reasons it's still around and is the only load you can get.

It works...... Much better actually than it's companion in .243 as there's greater surface area inside the .257 bullet to hold the core in place. The only one I've recovered weighed 67.5gr and was a classic text book mushroom. Initial velocity was 3,500fps and shot was ~90yds. Took doe behind shoulder and busted ribs in, and out and was balled up under the hide. Deer ran ~75yds and dropped. Only complaint was the blood trail was a bit light as shot was just below spine and most of the blood remained in the deers chest cavity. The 117's have completely penetrated on similar shots.

[kmrcstintn]

110 gr accubonds

http://www.nosler.com/index.php?p=15&b=25cal&s=207

if your skill level allows, you have a clear shot, and the deer stays still long enough...take a head or mid-to-high neck shot