257 Banshee; the perfect storm...

[ISS]

Back in 1993, I built my first real long range live varmint (Rockchucks here in SW Idaho) rifle.
Without a good rangefinder and scope, my shooting Rockchucks was hit or miss past 500 yards. Then all the bits and pieces came together.
1. Leica Geovid 10x42 rangefinder. +/- 18 inches ranging accuracy out past 1000 yards.
2. Premier Reticle boosted a 6-18X40 Leupold to 18-42X and added stadia lines. Also dots 3moa high, and 3,6,9,and 12 moa below the vertical crosshairs.
3. I found a 1 3/4" by 11 1/2 sleeve for a 700 LA, and a Lee Six Unlimited Stock. Fit a single shot adapter to it. A noted gunsmith, Steve Kostanich in Chehalis, WA converted my stock 700 trigger to replicate the 40X three-lever set up. Imagine a two-stage 1 3/8ths ounce crisp trigger. Every time.
4. Dan Lilja made me a 32" x 1/250" cylinder .257 barrel with a 1:10" twist.
5. George Vais had moved to Boise, and set up shop. He made me a very effective brake for it.
6. A police officer here's son was in the Army in Germany. He brought home a Weatherby in the 6,5x68mm Shuler cartridge. Think 300 WM size case, minus the belt.
7. I had conned Jerry Simison into making a set of dies for a .257 caliber BT VLD-style HP bullet weighing 110gr. Jef Fowler, in
Gastonia SC agreed to make the bullets.
8. In a shot at Dave Brennan, the esteemed Ultra-Irish Editor of Precision Shooting Magazine that I wrote for; I called it the .257
Banshee.

With a bit (okay, a L-O-T) of load tuning, I could get over 3600fps and sub-1/4moa groups, under an inch at 300. I shot paper out to a thousand yards over a week's time. Wrote my yardage/dot notes in a notepad, and went off to SW Idaho's mountains to hunt Rockchucks. I had a B&L 15-60X spotting scope to find Chucks waaaaaaaaaaaay down range. From there, I could range them accurately with the Geovids, and figure which dot, or between two center on my fat, furry, 6" wide and 18" tall targets and tickle that sweet Kostanich trigger. By end of season, I had made 17 first shot, hit and kill, past 1000 yards. My best, 1017 yards, in front of witnesses. I was in Heaven...

Then Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouettes came along, and hunting Africa. I lost my way...

It will be returning this Spring.

I have another Lilja .257" barrel ordered, this time in 1:8" twist, 3 groove, a new set of reamers, and a thousand of those gorgeous Sierra 131gr bullets are sitting on my kitchen table getting weighed to .1gr piles. I have enough brass to use all of them, not letting the barrel ever get hot. There is also a MARCH 8-80x56mm scope sitting here.
2025 is going to be a banner year.

ISS

 

[Richard Jones]

Good stuff, Mr. K, hope you keep us posted on developments.

 

[357Mag]

Back in 1993, I built my first real long range live varmint (Rockchucks here in SW Idaho) rifle.
Without a good rangefinder and scope, my shooting Rockchucks was hit or miss past 500 yards. Then all the bits and pieces came together.
1. Leica Geovid 10x42 rangefinder. +/- 18 inches ranging accuracy out past 1000 yards.
2. Premier Reticle boosted a 6-18X40 Leupold to 18-42X and added stadia lines. Also dots 3moa high, and 3,6,9,and 12 moa below the vertical crosshairs.
3. I found a 1 3/4" by 11 1/2 sleeve for a 700 LA, and a Lee Six Unlimited Stock. Fit a single shot adapter to it. A noted gunsmith, Steve Kostanich in Chehalis, WA converted my stock 700 trigger to replicate the 40X three-lever set up. Imagine a two-stage 1 3/8ths ounce crisp trigger. Every time.
4. Dan Lilja made me a 32" x 1/250" cylinder .257 barrel with a 1:10" twist.
5. George Vais had moved to Boise, and set up shop. He made me a very effective brake for it.
6. A police officer here's son was in the Army in Germany. He brought home a Weatherby in the 6,5x68mm Shuler cartridge. Think 300 WM size case, minus the belt.
7. I had conned Jerry Simison into making a set of dies for a .257 caliber BT VLD-style HP bullet weighing 110gr. Jef Fowler, in
Gastonia SC agreed to make the bullets.
8. In a shot at Dave Brennan, the esteemed Ultra-Irish Editor of Precision Shooting Magazine that I wrote for; I called it the .257
Banshee.

With a bit (okay, a L-O-T) of load tuning, I could get over 3600fps and sub-1/4moa groups, under an inch at 300. I shot paper out to a thousand yards over a week's time. Wrote my yardage/dot notes in a notepad, and went off to SW Idaho's mountains to hunt Rockchucks. I had a B&L 15-60X spotting scope to find Chucks waaaaaaaaaaaay down range. From there, I could range them accurately with the Geovids, and figure which dot, or between two center on my fat, furry, 6" wide and 18" tall targets and tickle that sweet Kostanich trigger. By end of season, I had made 17 first shot, hit and kill, past 1000 yards. My best, 1017 yards, in front of witnesses. I was in Heaven...

Then Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouettes came along, and hunting Africa. I lost my way...

It will be returning this Spring.

I have another Lilja .257" barrel ordered, this time in 1:8" twist, 3 groove, a new set of reamers, and a thousand of those gorgeous Sierra 131gr bullets are sitting on my kitchen table getting weighed to .1gr piles. I have enough brass to use all of them, not letting the barrel ever get hot. There is also a MARCH 8-80x56mm scope sitting here.
2025 is going to be a banner year.

ISS

ISS -

Howdy !

All components chosen for your .25 cal varmint rifle and its's configuration we're very well thought out, as was the chambering. Is that action sleeve a Davidson ?

For decades, I shot a M-700 trigger converted to 2oz by Ken Burns, and supplied to me by Fred Sinclair. The groundhogs didn't know it was a 2oz....but I did !

I shot a Lee Six " Hunter Bench " stock on my wildcat-chambered varmint/target rifle for some years; and really liked it

Optical boosters have worked well ( for me ), and mine are a 2X on a classic T-36; and 2.5X on a T-36XR.

That high-end March scope can give you a built-in spotting scope capability, which should come in handy. I have as considering $$$ one fo my use, but went w/ the " boosted " XR when funds did not allow the March.

Your energy delivery system just makes so much sense !

Hey...how ' bout some pics ?!


With regards,
357Mag

 

[Kiwishooter]

I remember reading about the .257 Banshee in Precision Shooting magazine many years ago, this post makes me want to dig out the old copies of PS and refresh my memory.
I think it could reach over 4000fps with 85gr bullets, how was the barrel life?
It was also mentioned in The Accurate Varmint Rifle by Boyd Mace

 

[17VLD]

I too enjoyed reading your tales of a wonderful rifle and cartridge and all it's features back in PS.
It seems to me you were ahead of the curve back then and have come full circle to a wonderful spot once again.
Perhaps unbeknownst to you many 'chucks in the Colorado highlands expired due to your writings, busting varmints at long distance with a 25 caliber rifle is in fact a very fulfilling past time.
Matt

 

[ISS]

As I said;
I have a Lilja barrel and a new set of JGS reamers ordered. Early March. By time it comes together, a few early Chucks will be prowling the rock piles in search of the ladies.

They say you "...can never go home again..." and for the most part you cannot. It reminds me of RVN. Spend a year there, and everybody at home has had a year on you. You do not (for the most part) feel much different. But a year is gone.

ISS

 

[Lovewildcatcartridges]

Mr. K,
I still have the Precision Shooting book with your article and remember the steak dinner you won. It was an inspiring article for a newbie, and got me hooked on long range shooting/hunting.
Thank you Sir.

 

[TGP]

I have a 257 Banshee that was chambered by Mr Vais, He also made the dies for me. Using Nosler's 100 grain Ballistic Tips, it's accounted for many a whitetail deer, some way out yonder. I use it little nowadays due to many using pistols to hunt with. The Banshee is a very impressive cartridge for sure!

 

[ISS]

Glad to be a positive influence. I hope to be shooting the new one in about ten weeks.

 

[wildcatter]

Best of luck,, reports will be watched for! They are all fun, especially when a long term plan comes together.

 

[ISS]

257 Banshee .20

 

[bobcat93]

I had a 25-06 shot it until it wouldnt hold a group and got rid of it. Man i love that rifle.it was so much fun.
My thinking at the time was ( the next .257 cal rifle i own has got to be a precision build) and it just hasnt happened, to many other irons in the fire at present. But boy do i miss a .25 cal
I keep looking at the 257 roberts, or maybe just a tight neck 25-06 for the purist in me
Honestly at my age i dont need anything but a 30-30 and a 22lr
i dont like to look in my safe and see a bunch of guns sitting around i dont shoot, ive become some what of a minimalist
Some where along the line i read a line in a book that completely changed my thinking, and life style.
It read ( contentment comes to the man, who wants what he already has.)
I found that profound. And that is the kind of person-man i want to be.
I know that has nothing to do with the topic but in away it does.
Ive been guilty of complete obsession at times when in search of that favorite cartridge. Its a never ending financial quest that will always lead us back to square one. And onto another new cartridge..
I think i like the idea of dedicating my time to one cartridge and master its flight patterns like a Samurai and stop jumping all over.
But that hasnt happened yet either hahaha
Good luck my friend let us know is this cartridge is the one .

 

[ISS]

Gentlemen,

my wife and I built a new house in the late 1990's. Somehow, the packing box with all of my notebooks got lost. Would any of you with the Precision Shooting Magazine issues please post the data here; or send me the loading data?

Thank all of you,

ISS

 

[WSnyder]

Would any of you with the Precision Shooting Magazine issues please post the data here; or send me the loading data?

Have you checked the digital archives yet?

Digital Precision Shooting Magazine

Maybe this has been posted before, here is a link to the digital archive of Precision Shooting Magazine. https://archive.org/details/@sturedman2021?&sort=titleSorter&page=2 If you have never read any of the issues, it goes back a whole bunch of years when some really talented folks figured out...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[ISS]

Yes, I have. The Banshee articles issues are not up yet.

It's getting a little crazy out there. Chinchaga Bullets are offering a .898 BC, 180gr 25 caliber bullet. Optimal twist is 7.73" twist, if I read their URL correctly. Soooo, my 1:8" twist might work...

ISS

 

[ISS]

The Nephew has come thru! The picture on the left is the original 1938-1939 design 6,5-68mm Shuler (creator). The right shows in order; my 257 Banshee (blown out and sharp 35-degree shoulder), the Shuler, and a 180gr 300 Win mag.

I would have gone with a 257-300WM design if not for the belt. Belts are for holding your pants up!

 

[kyotekiller25]

I remember reading about the 257 Banshee as a 12 year old kid, and dreaming of owning one someday. Still hasn't happened. Lately I've been thinking of a 28" 8 twist 25-300 Win Mag shooting 134g ELDMs...

 

[ISS]

kyotekiller25,

a good choice, but you still have the belt to contend with. Take 20 cases of the belted design, and measure from the base to front of the belt. Hmmmmmm... There's a good reason Redding (?) makes a set of graduated shell holders for minimizing that tolerance of perhaps .004".
I even considered buying one of those hobbyist lathes to turn the belts off. Too much work, when I found the 6,5x68 Shuler brass. IIRC, I got my Shuler brass from NECG in those days.

Good Luck,

ISS

 

[kyotekiller25]

Belts dont really bother me any. Never had any issues with them in my 30 years of hand loading anyway. I have a nice long range 7-300 Win Mag that shoots amazing with 180g ELDMs at 3100fps. 10 firings on the Nosler brass, and no split necks or loose pockets. FL Redding bushing sizer sized to bump the shoulder .002" and a .308" bushing for .003" neck tension.

 

[wildcatter]

I think their is a reason the new to us overbore cartridges are coming out without the belts is that there is an advantage dealing with real headspace off the shoulder. I to only use belts to hold my pants up, I also prefer smaller for that job, and try to not need it in overbore sizes,,,,