257 bullet opinion

[Tenntrapper]

I'm looking for first hand experience with 257 bullets. I've taken deer with the 117 round nose, and the 120 grand slam. I've been reading online about bullets in the 100g range. A lot of people swear by the 100s for Bob's thru the '06. Does anyone here have experience with both (or any other weight), that they are willing to share. About the longest I would be shooting is around 200 yrds.

I've got the following to work with..
100g Hornady interlock spire point
110g NAB
115g NBT
117g Hornady Round nose
120g Grand slam
120g Hornady spire h.p.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[41Magnum]

I've never worked with the 257 Roberts but if it were me I would stick with the 120 GS. I would also try the 115 Nosler Partition in the mix.
Just my .02

 

[Jcalder]

110 accubond for those that you've listed.

 

[Tenntrapper]

110 accubond for those that you've listed.

Split the difference??

 

[Jcalder]

Split the difference??

Sure, but it's possibly the best bullet you listed as well.

 

[Tenntrapper]

Sure, but it's possibly the best bullet you listed as well.

And the one I have the least of...lol

 

[Jcalder]

And the one I have the least of...lol

That's how it works lol.

 

[Deer Assassin]

110 accubond

 

[ADR]

Another vote for 110 gr accubond.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I used the 115 and 120 grain Nosler Partitions for all but one of my deer kills in the 25-06. I wanted a controlled expansion design in case I had an unexpected close up shot being that the 25-06 is a fairly high velocity round and bullets are light to begin with. I did use a 115 grain Ballistic Tip on one doe and the shot was about 50 yards - broadside behind the shoulder - instant drop with an exit. The Partitions gave several instant drops too with behind the shoulder hits. I think the tips blow up much like a varmint bullet to give shock but then the base always exited for me. Sort of a best of both worlds bullet.

When I got the 257 Weatherby the focus was on the flattest shooting load for real long range to take advantage of the larger case so I wanted a higher BC than Partitons offered. Of course the higher velocity meant that controlled expansion was even more important so I tried both the 100 grain Barnes TTSX and 120 grain Speer Grand Slam. Both loads shot .6 moa so I have never tried another bullet in the rifle in spite of having others on the loading bench for that purpose. I happened to have the TTSX with me when shooting the 1st deer with the 257W and it worked well so I just never hunted with the Speer anymore. I've killed a bunch of deer with the TTSX though and can say with confidence that it works very well. Have shot deer from about 35 yards out to 400 yards and it opens well and does good damage without excessively ruining meat. I can think of 5 deer shot at 300 yards and beyond so I now have good confidence that such a hard bullet will expand at least at the velocity I'm starting them at. 3,590 ft/sec at muzzle. Not sure how they would work with the 257 Roberts but I think if it were me, I'd go with the lighter TTSX in that cartridge. I think it's a 80 grain.

One particular deer demonstrated how well the TTSX could penetrate. It was a 1 1/2 year old buck at about 175 yards. He was quartering towards me and I shot just behind the shoulder with the offside hip in the bullets intended path. It penetrated the full body length and completely shattered the pelvis. The buck dropped like lighting had struck it and never even kicked.

 

[Tenntrapper]

Clarification..
I'm not shooting a Bob. I'm shooting/loading for a 25 wssm. I read one article, I think by Chuck Hawks, that said the round "really shined" with the heavier bullets, and a case full of slow powder. Generally speaking, the wssm is about 100 fps slower than the 25/06. My research started when I picked up the 100g Hornady interlocks. The bullet has been discontinued, and I was mostly looking for "why". Was it a performance issue? What I found was that a lot of 25/06 shooters loved the 100g bullets. I ask the question here to see if anyone had experience with the bullets listed..good or bad.

 

[Tenntrapper]

110 accubond

Why the accubond in this load? Almost everything I've seen you recommend has been loads using the NBT. Just curious if there was a reason in this case.

 

[WanderingNomad]

I have taken quite a few deer with the 257 Roberts using a 100gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I handload it with 46gr IMR4350 and it gives me shot touching groups at 100 yards and I've shot deer with it out to 300 yards with no issues.

 

[Deer Assassin]

i will try to keep it short
I have 206 rifle kills with various bullets' various calibers because i like to give real world facts

fact one any bullet put in the kill zone will kill some better than others but they all kill
99 percent of all bullet failure is the person shooting the gun and bad shot placement
either they dont want to admit it or dont realize it but they did not put it where it counts

i could go on with my failures as i have a few and they were my fault not the bullet

only nbt i really recommend is 95 in 243 and 120 284
120 nbt has a thicker jacket than other 7mm nbt killed at least 50-60 from speeds 2700-3600
note 3600 is pushing it

i hate 243 period (just a personal thing) i dont own one nor have i ever killed with one.
i know they kill fine
i have just loaded several rds for members and friends. one members daughter killed a cow buffalo with my load
I just know it works

i am not an expert by any means but 7mm projectiles i have most of my kills with and can certainly steer any one in the right directions there

but you asked 257
never killed with one personally love the 257 weatherby but hate lack of bullet options
but 110 accubond puts the bor....ing in 1/4 bore
it just kills

at 3500 fps in 257 roy it is a death ray i have loaded it up over retumbo and a member killed his biggest buck ever in tx @ 400 yds

at 25/06 speeds it will just kill consistently over and over and over boring but effective
aerodynamics of a BT but bonded for bone busting power

personally i would set it and forget it

second choice would be partition i believe it is 100 grains (not sure)

 

[mr.big]

a high shoulder shot with a 100 NBT at just over 3400 fps will put a deer down faster than anything I ever saw,,and if zeroed correctly ,if its inside 350 yards all you have to do is point and shoot