Barnes TTSX or Nosler Partition in 257 Wthby MAG ?

[folsoh]

I recently got a new rifle a range certified (the old MOA) Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 in 257 Weatherby Magnum. Actually my best friend and hunting buddy of 20 plus years and I bought one each with consecutive serial numbers. Kinda cool how that worked out its his pre retirement gift for when he retires this year.

So I reload and I cant decide if we should shoot the Barnes 100 grain TTSX bullet or the Nosler Partition in 100 or 115 grain bullets. In the Nosler I am edging towards the 115 grain due to its slightly high ballistic coefficient and they seem to slightly perform better on game reportedly due to the way partitions work when they strike game.

Any one use either? We both have several rifles in 30 cal but wanted something a little lighter in recoil as sadly we are getting older day by day lol. Plus we just wanted a new toy.

We mostly hunt whitetail deer and possibly some antelope is about all we get to hunt. I use a lot of Hornady and Seirra Bullets in most of my other rifles. I however read and talked with some folks who say they tried the ELD-x in 243 and now 257 with poor results meaning the animal was dead but their was no exit wounds and very little if any blood trials and the animals went way further than expected after the shot. SO I am looking for a good long range bullet that exits and the Nosler and Barnes bullets seem to be good from what I read.

My gun came from the factory being shot with weatherby ammo using the Barnes TTSX bullet in 80 grains. Its group was .67 sub MOA. I would like to shoot atleast a 100 grain of bullet even though some folks say with Barnes you can step down some in weight and get great results.

I will be using Hornady brass, Federal #215 GM primers and starting with H1000 to test them. Thanks for your time in reading this!!!!

 

[troy fairweather]

nosler 115

 

[jmr40]

Then copper bullets in 80ish gr weight will out penetrate the Noslers in any weight. The TTSX's work better the faster you shoot them and I'd think they would be a good match in a 257 mag. Cost is about the same. You really don't need the 100's in a copper bullet. Maybe for moose or big bear, not for deer.

The only negative is that copper needs about 2000 fps minimum impact to expand. That, along with the low BC's of the copper bullets mean they may not be as good at extended ranges as other bullets. But the Partition isn't a good long range bullet either. I'd find one of the online ballistics calculators and plug in some numbers and see what the speeds look like down range. I'm betting the 80 gr TTSX's are still above 2000 fps farther down range than most people shoot. The Partitions will still expand down to about 1800 fps so that, may offset the slower MV. Maybe not, I've never really looked much at the 257 like I have other cartridges.

If you want to really shoot farther a soft bullet that will still expand at slow impact speeds and still has a high BC is where you want to be. The Hornady ELD-X fits that criteria quite well. It doesn't exit because it isn't designed to. Hard bullets will exit, but don't do as much damage at slow impact speeds. Soft bullets like the ELD-X will still expand and do a lot of damage at slower speeds. But don't penetrate well. In other words they aren't the best choice for shooting elk in the butt and hoping it hits vitals. A hard bullet like the TTSX is more likely to do that, but is a poor choice at long range.

Either method will kill stuff. Just pick the one that is most likely to work where you hunt and don't ask either bullet to do something it wasn't designed to do.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I’ve never shot any of the monolithic bullets in my Vanguard so can’t comment.

I have shot a variety of bullets from 87-120gr.
87gr don’t do too well. I attribute this to the freebore throat. The shorter bullets have to make a long jump to the grooves.
Various 100gr have done well. Most accurate have been 100gr Nosler BT’s over H4350, H4831, and RL25. At the risk of being called a liar, but backed up by two different chronographs, I’ve seen 3,600+ with sub moa groups with RL25 and no effort bolt lift. Not bad for a 24”bbl.
However, I can’t recommend the BT’s for biggame. I lost a doe I shot at about 110yds with the 115gr BT. Bullet exploded on the shoulder not penetrating to the spine. Deer fell, but bounced up about 15secs later and ran off. Nearby brush had shreds of meat like jerky strips hanging. Curious, I Shot another deer about a week later with same bullets from a .257Roberts at similar range, though going over 400fps slower. Performed normally.

Bullets that have performed well have been the Hornady 100gr and 117gr Interloks, the 100 and 117, and 120gr Sierra’s, and 100 and 120gr Speer HorCors.
For dear and antelope, I’d look hard at the 110gr Nosler AccuBond or Swift 100gr A-frame. For caribou, elk, or moose, the 120gr Swift.
Reloader25 is superb. IMR7828 was touchy. Use Nosler or Alliant maximums. The Lyman data from #48 was way too much. I got pressure signs at their starting loads.
My go-to load is some Hornady 100gr fb-interlock blems over 80.0 of Wc-860 for 3,550fps. Gets near 1/2”- 3-Shot groups. #2 Is 76.0gr WC860 under a Speer 120gr BtSpt HotCore.Gets 3,300fps.
Use Federal 215primers. Norma/Weatherby brass.
Best factory load for aquiring brass is the Norma 100gr. Back when I was aquiring components, it was cheaper to by the Norma loaded/branded ammo than new-unprimed Weatherby brass. Now there’s other choices. Pass on Federal or Remington brass; has case capacities 2-5% less than the Norma/Weatherby cases. This is why Speer/Alliant data has significantly lower powder charge recommendations.

 

[JimKirk]

I am shooting the 80 grain TTSX in my .25/06 .. using RL 17 I can get near 3650 fps ....
That will calculate to a Point Blank Range(Vital Zone Radius of 3") of 340 yrs ... and still be doing 2547 fps ...

There is no reason the .257 WB will not surpass that by a good margin ...

 

[mshootnit]

I have shot some deer with my Vanguard 257 Weatherby. For some years I simply used the 100 gr. factory load, which I think is a Hornady bullet. At ranges of 275 yds it simply drops bucks with well placed shots. At close range however this bullet can blow up due to excessive speed. I have a lost deer and another strange occurence to attest to this. I decided to go to a 117-120 gr. I selected the 117 gr. Sierra Pro Hunter. I have shot two bucks with that bullet over a healthy dose of IMR 7828 ssc. These shots were at 250 yds and both one shot kills. One buck was a large mule deer and the other was a younger buck. One shot was a broad side heart lung shot, the other was a high shoulder quartering away (slightly) shot which dropped the big one immediately.
I am sorry I cannot provide more detail about the bullets you mention, though I know them both to have excellent reputations. And if forced, I would use the 115 Partition.
"However, I can’t recommend the BT’s for biggame. I lost a doe I shot at about 110yds with the 115gr BT. Bullet exploded on the shoulder not penetrating to the spine. Deer fell, but bounced up about 15secs later and ran off. Nearby brush had shreds of meat like jerky strips hanging."
I had this exact same experience but IIRC it was the 100gr. SP. bullet at about 80 yd.
I also shot a buck once where I believe a fragment of the 100 gr. traversed the neck, and exited the nose breaking some bone in the process. Taxidermist brought it to my attention. You don't shoot the 257 Weatherby, you unleash it.

 

[Casefull]

For close shots the copper bullet will be better at not fragging from the high-speed impact.

 

[horsey300]

80 gr barnes, or a Sierra pro hunter, or an accubond will do what you're looking for. Heavier than 80 will be wasted, and honestly you'll need the speed, as was mentioned above for monometals. Besides Weatherby already showed you the 80 great can shoot outta that rifle, you just have to find the right powder (I'm a big h1000 fan too).

 

[JimKirk]

Barnes data for the .257 WB & 80 grain TTSX ... Show that there are several powders that will push the 80 grain over 3800 fps ....

I have been able to get over 3700 fps with my .25/06 .... I was not able to find suitable accuracy there ...yet ....

I can tell you what a 110 grain TTSX at over 3800 fps out of a 300 WSM does to a deer .... Damage!