Caliber Decision

[Vince]

Given my fondness for the .257 sized projectile, and that I have a little tax money to spend, should it be a .257 Weatherby Magnum, a 25-06 of some sort, or something else altogether?
I have a .338 Win Mag, soon a 30-06 out of layaway, and need a third rifle for a 3 gun battery. I don't hunt varmints much and only take them as targets of opportunity. I like the 25-06 a bunch and already set up for it. I was all set for a 25-06 but sort of rethinking that. I'm starting to think a 270 WSM might be a good third choice.
What say you all?
Some factors to consider:
I reload, favor semi long range shooting, and demand sub moa from any rifle I have and expect that out of the box. I also favor CRF and Mauser style 3 position safties but willing to consider something else at this point. Heck, I'll even consider a Savage if it shoots but leaning towards Tikka for the synthetic stock over the wood Sako.
Heck I should just go pick up that Model 58 my friend is willing to sell me. That's my Holy Grail handgun and after almost 40 years I found one in good condition and it's been blooded by a dear friend. If the gun hadn't been blooded I would never have met my friend years later as he'd be pushing up daisies.

Vince

 

[Guy Miner]

I think that really depends on what you want the new rifle to do, that isn't already covered by your existing .30-06 & .338 rifles...

 

[RiverRider]

Do you mean a S&W 58? You sure don't see many of those, and the .41 is a great cartridge. It sounds like there's quite a story behind that, and maybe you've related that in these forms somewhere but I have missed it.

I don't think there's a wrong answer for your rifle caliber choice. You obviously favor .25-06 and I can understand that. I understand second guessing one's self too.

 

[DrMike]

A fast 25 can be very satisfying; either of those you name would fit the bill. I probably lean toward the 25-06 out of personal bias; but there are no flies on the 257 Weatherby.

 

[SJB358]

I really liked shooting my little brothers 257 Weatherby. It was alot of fun and very accurate with very little load work. Light on recoil and high on performance.

Not a darn thing wrong with the 25-06 either. My wife has a nice one and it also does really well. Can't lose out with any of them. Also a big fan of the 270WSM and I haven't heard or seen many that weren't very accurate.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I'll go a bit differently.

I used to own a 25-06, now own two 257s, so I have experience with those.

If I were you and wanted to go smaller and shoot flatter, I'd look at a 243 or a 260 Rem. Both are available with aerodynamic (high BC) 6mm or 6.5mm bullets, something the 25 caliber lacks, and are excellent rounds. In addition, they take less powder, and if you reload you can use Lapua brass which will last a looooong time. Either caliber can be used for deer sized game and smaller as well as targets and varmints.

Both the 25 and 270 calibers suffer a bit from lack of aerodynamic bullets. The 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm and 338 seem to have garnered all of the attention for those. So, if I were looking at keeping it at 3 calibers I'd probably choose one of the smaller two since you own a 30 caliber and 338 caliber already.

 

[Vince]

I guess what I'm looking for is flatter shooting and longer range.
I seem to be steering myself towards the 257 Weatherby. I don't do much varmint hunting and usually just take them when they present themselves. My focus is on things I can eat and I have no desire to eat a song dog.

RiverRider, yes I mean a S&W Model 58.
I plan to use that as my back-up handgun when in bear country. I like fixed sights on revolvers for defensive use and in bear country it would only be used up close and personal as a last resort.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Oh what is one to do? :grin:

Vince

 

[wayno945]

This is what I use for a backup Vince. Love that 41 mag :mrgreen:

I guess what I'm looking for is flatter shooting and longer range.
I seem to be steering myself towards the 257 Weatherby. I don't do much varmint hunting and usually just take them when they present themselves. My focus is on things I can eat and I have no desire to eat a song dog.

RiverRider, yes I mean a S&W Model 58.
I plan to use that as my back-up handgun when in bear country. I like fixed sights on revolvers for defensive use and in bear country it would only be used up close and personal as a last resort.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Oh what is one to do? :grin:

Vince

 

[wayno945]

Oopss... picture is larger than life lol.

 

[DrMike]

And here I thought you wanted to make an emphatic statement! :grin:

 

[Songdog]

'Flatter' and 'Longer Range' don't really mean the same thing they used to. I love the .25-06.... always have . But, I'll never run another .25 anything. You want .257 Roy performance.... you can get it with the .264 Winny, with cheaper brass and an infinitely greater propensity for LR work given the cornucopia of excellent 6.5 bullets.

100s at warp speed... .264 does it better than .257.

140 grain .600+ BC pills at 3100+... not even a chance with the Roy.

Wherever there's a .25.... there's a better 6.5... that's just how it is man.

 

[Africa Huntress]

Given my fondness for the .257 sized projectile, and that I have a little tax money to spend, should it be a .257 Weatherby Magnum, a 25-06 of some sort, or something else altogether?
I have a .338 Win Mag, soon a 30-06 out of layaway, and need a third rifle for a 3 gun battery. I don't hunt varmints much and only take them as targets of opportunity. I like the 25-06 a bunch and already set up for it. I was all set for a 25-06 but sort of rethinking that. I'm starting to think a 270 WSM might be a good third choice.
What say you all?
Some factors to consider:
I reload, favor semi long range shooting, and demand sub moa from any rifle I have and expect that out of the box. I also favor CRF and Mauser style 3 position safties but willing to consider something else at this point. Heck, I'll even consider a Savage if it shoots but leaning towards Tikka for the synthetic stock over the wood Sako.
Heck I should just go pick up that Model 58 my friend is willing to sell me. That's my Holy Grail handgun and after almost 40 years I found one in good condition and it's been blooded by a dear friend. If the gun hadn't been blooded I would never have met my friend years later as he'd be pushing up daisies.

Vince

I have not yet found a reason to buy any modern day calibers, but my husband has. He does have a 257 Weatherby and it has served him very well. To the extent that at this time all his 25-06 rifles are now in the hands of our daughters. He got a lot of use from the 25-06, but found the 257 was just a little more of a good thing. He has several Weatherbys but it seems that nine times out of ten the 257 and 340 are the ones that head to the field with him.

Of course he also did a lot of rodeo riding when he was young, so having fallen on his head so many times might explain some of this

 

[JD338]

The 257 Wby should take care of the quarter bore itch. You can also use 7mm Rem Mag brass to keep cost down.

JD338

 

[Vince]

Given my fondness for the .257 sized projectile, and that I have a little tax money to spend, should it be a .257 Weatherby Magnum, a 25-06 of some sort, or something else altogether?
I have a .338 Win Mag, soon a 30-06 out of layaway, and need a third rifle for a 3 gun battery. I don't hunt varmints much and only take them as targets of opportunity. I like the 25-06 a bunch and already set up for it. I was all set for a 25-06 but sort of rethinking that. I'm starting to think a 270 WSM might be a good third choice.
What say you all?
Some factors to consider:
I reload, favor semi long range shooting, and demand sub moa from any rifle I have and expect that out of the box. I also favor CRF and Mauser style 3 position safties but willing to consider something else at this point. Heck, I'll even consider a Savage if it shoots but leaning towards Tikka for the synthetic stock over the wood Sako.
Heck I should just go pick up that Model 58 my friend is willing to sell me. That's my Holy Grail handgun and after almost 40 years I found one in good condition and it's been blooded by a dear friend. If the gun hadn't been blooded I would never have met my friend years later as he'd be pushing up daisies.

Vince

I have not yet found a reason to buy any modern day calibers, but my husband has. He does have a 257 Weatherby and it has served him very well. To the extent that at this time all his 25-06 rifles are now in the hands of our daughters. He got a lot of use from the 25-06, but found the 257 was just a little more of a good thing. He has several Weatherbys but it seems that nine times out of ten the 257 and 340 are the ones that head to the field with him.

Of course he also did a lot of rodeo riding when he was young, so having fallen on his head so many times might explain some of this

Yes, having been a Bovine Exercise Specialist in my younger days accounts for a lot. :grin:

 

[DrMike]

Hey, bulls need some vigorous exercise. Ride 'em, cowboy.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I have owned several of the quarter bore rifles myself. I guess that the one I keep coming back to is the .257 Roberts. Additionally, I have never been able to tangibly put my finger on any marked differences with shooting deer at least, as to there being any discernible knock down factor between the .257 Roberts and the .25-06?

 

[sask boy]

Unfortunately, I have had a tendency to land on my head quite a bit when I was young 8).
My wife told me, coming from German decent and falling on my head it just knocked off some of the corners of a square head :shock: .
It is like me with my 270win, I know that there are lots of calibres out there that make the 270 look pretty ordinary but I just can't part with them :mrgreen:!!

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Oldtrader3]

Dan, I am 1/4 German and the .270 Win lights my fire too. Maybe it is the square head factor?

 

[Vince]

Looking at something I hadn't even considered before based on the words of Ron Spomer. Got my local shop ordering me a Savage Long Range Hunter with a left hand action in 6.5 x 284 Norma.

What Songdog said got me to looking around even more.

 

[sask boy]

Vince a 6.5X284 is one sweet calibre :wink:. That was a very close second to my 280AI.

Blessings,
Dan