In praise of the 257 Weatherby Magnum

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High Plains

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Over the years some big bucks got away due to poor shooting by me with my 257 Wby. This year, in a snow storm, I left school and headed straight for where I thought the White tails would be. I was right. It took me about 15 minutes to sort them out, and virtually the whole time the does were jittery while the bucks simply continued to eat green wheat. Finally, I had a perfect broadside presentation in the scope and I knew the range.
I know there are a plethora of great rifle and even more fantastic cartridges. With basically no chance to get closer due to the lack of concealment and jittery does, time was running out as well as useable daylight due to the low clouds and falling snow. The 380 yard shot was not hard. The 100 grain Swift Scirocco plowed clear through the biggest bodied buck I’ve taken. My 86 year old mom braved the cold temps to help out with skinning the old buck that night.
Accuracy is paramount, this rifle has it, and while I know the 257 Wby won’t be in long range plinking competition, I also know it certainly has a well deserved place where a long shot is fairly common.
The old buck had seen better days. His back straps were massive. His jerky has been tasty so far.
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Putting the right bullet, in the right place, has been putting back straps in the pan for a long time. Congrats on making a 380 yard shot in a snow storm. I couldn’t do it. But I think the most impressive thing is your 86 (she’s really 86?) year old mother helping to skin it out.
 
Mom trotted down to where we were skinning the buck by the old barn. I was showing a young hunter how to skin and cut meat from the carcass. He was a big help and maybe has a decent idea or two on how to do the dirty work. I sent mom back into the farmhouse after a while because she was shivering. It was about 28 degrees or so and dropping. She came back in 10 minutes or so with hot tea for us. What a great move! She has helped with a lot of deer but never in that cold of times.
 
Milt1: Another buck was with the herd. Their heads were down so much it was hard to get a good view of their racks, plus the snow blowing in the bino lenses didn’t help. He was clearly the bigger beast. Over the summer I scouted the area well. I might have seen him. I’m no good at identifying a buck throughout the year. As for being old, the area seems to be a bit of a landing spot for old bucks. Two years ago I took an old cruiser there with a sagging belly, a wide rack and short tines. All these wide open spaces make a 257 Wby an easy choice.
 
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