257 weatherby or 30-06

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You ask this question on a board full of .30-06 koolaid drinkers? :rolleyes;
It also shows though that anyone that will tell you a 257 roberts is within a 100 fps of a 2506 or the 2506 is within a 100 fps of a 257 either doesnt have a chrono or needs to look for a differnt powder.
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Have chrono and use the right powder.

.257 Roberts 117 grain Interlock, 3050 fps out of a 24" Remington 722 using H4831 compressed. 3150 for my preferred 100 grain Game King same powder. Ain't a dimes difference to ME since the gun has sentimental appeal. I won a BDL in .25-05, gun show door prize raffle, traded it same day for a .308 I'd been wanting since I already had a well developed and proven quarter bore.
 
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im going to trade rifles im getting a rem 700 cdl-sf I had a prior oneI live in NC mostly allI will ever do is shoot andmaybe a coyote.I doubt will ever get to hunt elk. Would you go 257 weatherby or 30-06
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Neither would be my first choice for your described use. The .257 Wby is a fine cartridge but it's expensive, hard to find, hard on barrels, and kicks quite a bit. That said, Weatherby's do have a certain... romantic appeal to some people so if you really want one it will work for you just fine. The .30-06 is the stereotypical "do-everything" cartridge but while its popular and not prohibitivly expensive its probably overkill for your intended uses. Again, if you want a .30-06 it will work for your intended used, its just not the optimal choice.

FWIW, I would recommend you look into the .223 for your use. Its relativly inexpensive, widely available, light recoiling, more than adequate for coyotes and target shooting out to several hundred yards. If you want something you can stretch to deer size game, you also might look at the .243 Win, .257 Roberts, .25-06 Rem or .260 Rem.

Also the 257 Weatherby is an odd old cartridge that never caught on.
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None of the Weatherby magnums are top sellers, but from what I've read the .257 is one of, if not the, most popular of the bunch.
 
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While laser flat trajectories intrigue me I thought about getting the 257 Wby long ago, but then the 270 WSM came along, even the Wby cannot compete with .497 BC bullets at 3500fps! The WSM does this while using nearly the same powder charge meaning it is also quite a bit less overbore then the 257 cal and will certainly have better barrel life. As an added bonus ammo/brass costs less, better selection of .277 cal bullets, and it works in a short action.
Bullets THAT fast tend to be explosive at real world ranges, so I leave my rail gun at home most of the time good ol 30-06, 308 or 6.5x55 works just fine even at their pokey 2800fps :)
 
While laser flat trajectories intrigue me I thought about getting the 257 Wby long ago, but then the 270 WSM came along, even the Wby cannot compete with .497 BC bullets at 3500fps!
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Apples and oranges. Try comparing the .270 WSM to the .270 WBY! ;-)
 
This started as a apples to oranges comparison. There is no right or wrong answer.
I don't understand what makes someone that recommends a .30-06 a kool-aid drinker.

p.s.

Here is my answer to those questions that come up on if you could only have one or two or three or four type questions:

1) .22 LR
2) .30-06
3) .223
4) 300 Win Mag
5) .243
 
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mdauben said:
Apples and oranges. Try comparing the .270 WSM to the .270 WBY! ;-)
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270 WSM is hot on the heels of the 270 Wby, not 80fps difference between the two if you handlaod :)
I just picked up 80 once fired brass at the range today for my WSM for $8, try that with the Wby :D
 
270 WSM is hot on the heels of the 270 Wby, not 80fps difference between the two if you handlaod
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So, you're saying that the .270WSM/.270WBY is a better match than the .270WSM/.257WBY in performance? ;)
 
If your handle is an indicator of what you already have (.308) than get the .257. Fun cartridge, don't have a ton of experience with it but have had one a few years.

With any good bullet any animal isn't going to care if it was shot with an '06, .257, .270, etc. And for the longer range stuff, with modern optics (turrets, reticles, etc.) it really doesn't matter either at any practical range if your cartridge of choice drops 15" or 20"


How many of us have extreme overlap or duplicates, I do... Heck I don't even hardly rifle hunt any longer and I've got duplicates and some triplicates of rifles. Maybe I want to grab an old stand by, maybe something heavy for a little more stability, maybe a featherweight.
 
mdauben said:
So, you're saying that the .270WSM/.270WBY is a better match than the .270WSM/.257WBY in performance? ;)
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I am saying you can get lagit top notch Weatherby performance in a much more common cartrage that burns less powder and is easier on barrels, oh and it is a short action too, not a bad little cartrage in my book, shame I don't need that kind of speed where I hunt now LOL
270 WSM is right at 30-06 level recoil, a healthy step down from the 7mm Rem mag but no sissy kicker either.
 
much more common cartrage
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A .270 WSM is a more common cartridge? Sure the heck isn't anywhere I've ever been. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've scene ammo for it on a dealers shelf.

Can't say I've seen a ton more .257 roy ammo, but it's a heck of a lot more common than any WSM cartridge with the exception of the 300 WSM.
 
Can't say I've seen a ton more .257 roy ammo, but it's a heck of a lot more common than any WSM cartridge with the exception of the 300 WSM.
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Odd, we have a lot more 270 WSM and 300 WSM than any of the Weatherby rounds around here. In fact at the local Bass Pro carries 270 WSM ammo made by Winchester, Federal and Remington. The only 257 Roy ammo they have is Weatherby brand, and it's pretty high. I think the 257 Weatherby and 270 WSM comparison is an appropriate one, they are both intended to by highly overbore, super fast sub-.30 cal (and even sub-7mm for that matter) magnum rounds. I was very interested in the 257 Roy at one point, and actually wound up going with the 270 WSM instead.

I liked my 270 WSM, but after taking stock of my realistic hunting needs and the fact that every deer I've shot has been at under 200 yds, I finally let my WSM go, and slid back to the trusty 30-06.
 
There is no such thing as "30-o6 Kool-Aid". There is only the span of years from 19o6 until 2012 where the cartridge has performed many tasks and filled many roles that the 257 WM has not. The 257 WM is a cartridge for magnum loonies, simple as that. Not that there is anything wrong with being a magnum loony.
 
cal74 said:
A .270 WSM is a more common cartridge? Sure the heck isn't anywhere I've ever been. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've scene ammo for it on a dealers shelf.

Can't say I've seen a ton more .257 roy ammo, but it's a heck of a lot more common than any WSM cartridge with the exception of the 300 WSM.
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Every gun store and outdoors store within 100 miles of here carries 270 WSM Basspro, Academy, Dick's.....all of them, heck even the little local buisneses carry it: Mobile Shooting center, Quint's, Goldmine...etc if you have not seen it I doubt you were looking very hard :)
 
I'm in Eastern, SD and get over into Minnesota a lot. I can't say I search the shelves in great detail but I usually try to take stock in what any given place may have.

Just don't see any of the WSM or WSSM's up here with any frequency, with the exception of the 300 WSM. Don't see tons of Weatherby's by any means, but usually there's a few. Probably venture to guess more 300 Weatherby ammo on the shelf than anything.

I could easily do all my hunting with either of my '06's, have done most of it in the last decade with a 7mm mag but in recent years I've grown quite fond of a light weight 7mm-08 and I've taken lots of deer, few antelope and a cow elk with it. Couldn't really ask for anything more, but I bought a .257 Weatherby for my Antelope getter a couple years ago. Haven't had a tag since than though :(

And for the rest of my hunting, at least for next year I'll be using a Kimber .280ai. It'd be to simple to just settle for one cartridge.
 
sirgilligan said:
I don't understand what makes someone that recommends a .30-06 a kool-aid drinker.
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FWIW, here's my take on that question. The fact is, the .30-06 is a great cartridge with a lot going for it. It's popular and easy to find, it's available in a wide range of loadings, it pretty versatile. If you really want one gun to do it all, it's hard to thing of anything better.

The problem, as I see it, is when people start to think *good* at everything means *best* at everything. If (like the OP) you are looking for a gun for a specific use, there are often better choices than the .30-06.

IMO the .30-06 is a great choice for black bear, mule deer and elk. For moose and brown bear I'd rather have something with a bit more power. For most white tail, antelope, and sheep something a bit lighter is optimum and for predators and varmints its over kill. Again, this does not mean the .30-06 will not take all those game animals. I think it's just not the optimal choice for each one.

As I read the OP he is looking for a coyote gun yet loads of people said to get a .30-06. Sure it will kill a coyote but really a .223, .243 or maybe one of the hot centerfire .22s would be a better choice.

YMMV of course. ;)
 
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My brother shot deer this year with a 30-06.
I shot deer this year in the same town with 257RAIR.

The deer are all just as dead.
Both will get the job done.
It as matter of personal preference.
I like the 257 better.
 
sirgilligan said:
My brother and me were just discussing these two cartridges/calibers. We both have .30-06 as our first choice. The 06 is so versatile. If you are only going to have one center fire rifle the 06 is a sound choice.

In my reloading books I look up the cartridges.

.257 has loads for 110 grain bullets from 2800 to 3300 fps, with bullets having a ballistic coefficient (BC) of .39

the .30-06 has loads for 110 grain bullets from 2900 to 3400 fps, with BC of .25 and .29

Since I have actually wrote the code for the ballistics calculator in Gun Log, let me illustrate the significance of the BC.

.257 Weather Mag
300 Yard Zero, MV 3000 fps
400 yards, -11.3 inches, Velocity 2091
500 yards, -30.5 inches, Velocity 1891

.30-06
300 Yard Zero, MV 3000 fps
400 yards, -14.9 inches, Velocity 1664
500 yards, -42.5 inches, Velocity 1411

Notice how the BC really effects the values the further the bullet travels.
Now, don't take it that the 06 at 500 yards is something under powered, it is just in this example that a 110 grain bullet in .308 caliber is not "shaped as good" as the .257.

The BC on the 120 grain .257 is the same as the 110 grain, so the values above wouldn't change, only the energy (which I didn't calculate).

Now take the .30-06 and let's pick a bullet that has a good BC. Hmm, the 150 grain A-MAX has a BC of .435. It doesn't show a load up to 3000 fps, but one for 2950.

Let's look at that:
300 Yard Zero, MV 2950 fps
400 yards, -11.1 inches, Velocity 2089
500 yards, -29.9 inches, Velocity 1953

Let's put those side by side:

Code: 
.257 Weather Mag                           .30-06
300 Yard Zero, MV 3000 fps             300 Yard Zero, MV 2950 fps
400 yards, -11.3 inches, V 2091       400 yards, -11.1 inches, V 2089
500 yards, -30.5 inches, V 1891       500 yards, -29.9 inches, V 1953

This shows that the lowly .30-06 is an amazing cartridge. It isn't the hollywood starlet of cartridges, it is the leading man. ;-)

I have a .30-06. I would like to have a .257 Weatherby Magnum just because it is what it is.
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Do you have any values for the newer 168gr TTSX or 180gr Accubonds?

I got the Accumark .257 wby, Accumark .30-378 wby and a weatherby in 30-06

If anyone dares to guess widly that the aught 6 keeps getting hunted with, then they'd be correct. More often than not, that the go to rifle, while the others stay behind.
 
Xenomorph said:
Do you have any values for the newer 168gr TTSX or 180gr Accubonds?

I got the Accumark .257 wby, Accumark .30-378 wby and a weatherby in 30-06

If anyone dares to guess widly that the aught 6 keeps getting hunted with, then they'd be correct. More often than not, that the go to rifle, while the others stay behind.
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I found this:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/files/2016/03/30-06SpringfieldV9ForWeb.pdf


Big Game
50.5 grains
2648 start vel
55.5 grains
2869 max vel

300 Yard Zero, 2869 MV, BC .442
400 yards -11.7" 2091 fps
500 yards -31.4" 1918 fps
600 yards -60.6" 1754 fps

Not too shabby.
 
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