New Barrel for Weatherby 257 Magnum

[Ackman]

Don’t over think it. Get a contour that closely matches the original or a little heavier. 10” twist @ 26” long.
Pick any of the brands mentioned, they are all quality barrels.

Yes. People tend to over think this stuff. My 257Wby has a long, 12" twist barrel and no freebore, shoots 100's very fast. A friend was shooting his with the same chamber, either 10 or 12 twist and 100's @ well over 3800......deer would drop without taking even a step.

 

[Romulus]

Glad you have considered the faster twist 257 WBY.

The 1:8" twist will more than double your supersonic range, perhaps more importantly nearly double your Kinetic Energy at medium to longer range compared to conventional legacy type 257 bullets, and without a doubt will increase your hit % significantly in high winds or at longer ranges.

If you only shoot 100-200 yards then all the 131 Blackjack ACE and a 1:8" twist could do for you would be like keeping a ferrari in the garage. It's a 257 WBY afterall, might as well get it out on the highway and put the hammer down.

I have not tested very light bullets in a 1:8" 257 WBY yet, but some of the moderate bullets will not have a problem at all.

I just got back from Nightfore ELR Steel Challenge with 191 competitors posting scores of 236 competitors signed up. We shot from 700-2000+ yards in 18-40+ MPH winds in a 300 degree pan of direction.

With a 257 WBY shooting our 131 ACEs at 3405 fps, I took 16th of those 191 competitors who finished the match - And I rarely have the time to shoot. This is the only match I shoot every year as it is the perfect opportunity to showcase what properly designed 257 can do.

I'd recommend getting a 1:8" twist and trying these 131's and also the heavier bullets from Nosler and Berger. In the least you have two options you know 100% will perform - the Barnes and Hammer bullets.

If you run the #'s on a 257 WBY + 131 ACE almost nothing can keep up with it to 1760 yards and if it does it likely has 4-10x more recoil.

 

[RossL]

Love this cartridge! Four friends and I have the 257 weatherby. We chose a custom reamer with a 1 1/2 degree throat angle which works well with the 115 Berger VLD. Freebore with bullet seated so it fits and feeds from a long action is approx. .100". Two of us made a few 3 groove SS lilja 1 in 10 twist barrels and when we had such good results the others did the same. I am sure that other land configurations would work too.

We are primarily using RL-25 and getting 3650 or so with 28" barrels. To date we have killed 27 coues wt, 6 elk, 4 mule deer and 2 antelope. The bullet usually exits and may kills are instant death with animal dropping to the shot. It is my favorite rifle for those coues. Quite a few shots have been between 500 and 600 yds.

One tip: don't mess around with too many bullet/powder combinations as barrel life is approximately 1000 very accurate rounds.

 

[Tommie]

To the OP-
Do you actually plan on using bullets heavier than 120 grains?

 

[RickKr]

I do not plan on using bullets heavier than 120 grains. Maybe not even that heavy. I have on order a Bartlein 1-10 twist, Bull Sporter #4, 26" finish barrel. Order was placed in mid-Aug, so I have four or so months wait.

 

[std7mag]

I've not heard how these 131gr Blackjack bullets do for hunting.

And lets face it, the Weatherby cartridges are much more hunting oriented. Not something i'd want to do an F Class match with!

Standard 1:10 twist does just fine with the 115gr Bergers. And an excellent performer for hunting if put in the ribs.

 

[Gary in MD]

I do not plan on using bullets heavier than 120 grains. Maybe not even that heavy. I have on order a Bartlein 1-10 twist, Bull Sporter #4, 26" finish barrel. Order was placed in mid-Aug, so I have four or so months wait.

I say you made the right call. The 120 grain Nosler partitions or the 100 grain Barnes TTSX will kill any deer or elk on the mountain!
The 257 Wby shot fast and flat before fast and flat was cool. Deer usually just drop at the shot and it will decorate the landscape with any large varmints that you shoot.
Get yourself some Reloader 22 or IMR 7828.
Gary

 

[daniel brothers]

RossL's post sure does make me want one of those Super Shooters... I'm a INCH from pulling that trigger. Hmmmm....... is it possible to get a Woody for a caliber???

 

[AckleymanII]

A friend killed six trophy bull elk on guided hunts with his Weatherby Mark V with the Weatherby 117g Ammo, at 3300 fps.

I have had several factory 257 Weatherby's, and I shot the 100g bullets on deer, Hornady flat base, Nosler ballistic tip, and Partition, all worked very well, and shots were not close. Then I went with a zero freebore reamer and another reamer with .030 freebore on a couple of barrels, no down side...none with the exception of no factory ammo could be used. Velocity jumped to 3850 with the 100's and 3600 with the 115's, I stuck with the 100's...never had a deer take a step...never.

My thinking was that if I wanted to go to a high bc bullet, then my 280 AI or 7 Mag with the 175-180g was the way to go...that is just me.

Most could never believe how fast and how effective the 257 Weatherby is in killing deer.

 

[Larry W]

1/4 bore low BC bullets are well compensated for with the high velocity of the 257 Bee

 

[300 win mag]

as romulus stated,,blackjacks and hammers and bergers all shoot well in mine.1/8 twist and 3 contour benchmark.all have shot 1/4 moa at 100.1/2 moa at 200.i let barrel cool 5 minutes between shots in 50 degree weather.10 minutes if 60 or over.this is one of my hunting rifles.

 

[Beruisis]

I have a 12 twist on my Kleinguenther so I'm limited to 100 gr or less bullets. I reload but for my rifle, nothing beats the weatherby factory ammo 100 gr Barnes TTSX. One shot kills on everything thus far.
If it isn't broke....

 

[AckleymanII]

1-9T with Shortish freebore, 115g Berger vld hunting do not suck at 3600, I promise. My reamer has .030 freebore with a 1.5* Leade angle. 100g TTSX at 3850, 26" barrel.

 

[ckrifles]

Do not go with anything less than an 8 -twist barrel. If you do you will regret it later. Bullet makers will be offering more bullets that will require an 8- twist or tighter.

 

[moorepower]

Do not go with anything less than an 8 -twist barrel. If you do you will regret it later. Bullet makers will be offering more bullets that will require an 8- twist or tighter.

He ordered a 10 twist and stated he would not use over 120 grain bullets.

 

[davidjoe]

1/4 bore low BC bullets are well compensated for with the high velocity of the 257 Bee

Yeah. I have the M-V .257. I myself would have closely simulated what it came with, if I was set on the .257. If the old barrel is shot out there is likely a good component supply for the .257 coming with it. I’d ask of the smith that the old barrel not be mangled on removal to be kept for posterity.

I think the general idea with the wide array of these proprietary Weatherby magnum cartridges was to have a caliber/cartridge choice perfectly suited for a particular hunting experience, with the typical MV owner having several rifles.

The handling and recoil characteristics of the .257 with high velocity and light bullets made it known to be RW’s “favorite” cartridge. My reservation with altering the twist and upping the BC and bullet weight is that it loses some of its original character, moving in the direction of one hunting rifle for all game.