wildcat 257

nitis

Handloader
Dec 20, 2008
658
0
Ok been thinking about the custom 257 again lately and came up with this and I am sure someone has the answer

257/7mm remington mag shouldnt this be similar in performance to a 257 weatherby? I still dont know if it is justifiable enought to not just get a 2506

throw me some opinions.
 
I am not a balistic Guru but...if you arent gonna out do a 257 Wby maybe you should neck down a 270 WSM. Its out there already, known as the "pronghorn" I think. All the big .25's a are seiously "overbore". Im not even sure exactly what that means but its hard on barrels, from what Ive heard. On the other hand the 250-3000 Ackley improved is thought to be perfect for the .25 cal. It is a very efficient cartrige. CL
 
The answer to your question is yes. The 25-7mm and the 257 Roy should be identical in performance.
 
A 25-7mm RM is basically the same thing as the 257 wby. You would see no gains anywhere that I know of.

I would think the 257 WSM or pronghorn or whatever anybody wants to call it would be a good start for a custom build for one wanting awesome performance from the .257 bore. Winchester shoulda did that in the first place instead of there shittty 25 wssm. I would have been first on the list if it was the 25 WSM.

THe 25 WSM will give 257 WBY performance. You just have no belt, and a shorter/fatter case, and a shorter action. I would bet you would need the 26" bbl to compare it with the WBY, but you would have something different.

What about a 257 STW or 25-300 Win Mag?? Those 2 would definately be fun to play with and both would easily outrun the WSM or WBY.

IMHO, for hunting out to 600 yards, the standard 25-06 is all one really needs. The WBY and WSM and all the other "faster" cartridges will get there faster, but that dont mean the animals going to be any deader.
 
I was thinking 257-7mm would be more cost effective to shoot than the wby since I could just neck down 7mag brass I know custom build who cares about cost but that was my line of thinking. How much gain would I see with a 25/300winmag? I assumed that the 7mag and 300 win were fairly close.

Again this is all alot of hypathetical thinking

I like the stw and even pondered having it built on a over length barrel so if I did shoot it out I cut re cut and chamber for a 2nd life. Plus I kinda told myself if I ever did an stw it would probably be a 6.5

And then really what more than the 25.06 does one need especially seeing the velocities some get with retumbo

I would be perfectly happy with a 25.06 AI if I could get brass and not need to spend the time fireforming.

Keep the ideas rolling
 
You could always go to the extreme, which I don't know if it's even possible, but how about a 25-7mmRUM. Talk about a barrel burner, but using really slow powders like Retumbo, US869, and even H50BMG I'll bet you could really zing a bullet down range at warp speeds.

Thought I'd throw this out there since we're being hypothetical about all of this.
 
On acouple other sites there is always the debate using the 7Mag case instead of the wby case. I said something about a 257Wby had build with a 1/9 twist barrel I'll give some other spec elimated the Wby freebore also case was headspaced on the shoulder instead of the belt barrel is 25" long.

I'm using 3gr under max load with 115gr bullet mid 3400fps and the same with 120gr bullet right now have 6 loads have only neck sized so figure may 12/15 firings per case. At 12 firing case has cost me 14 cents.

I wish I could tell you about build on the 7mag or WSM case I look at doing a 25-06AI.

When I look at the cost of new barrel-blueprint action-new stock-bedding-chambering the extra cost for the Wby cases is small to the total cost on building the rifle.
 
I really have not run into anything that I could not do with my 25-06 that spending all that money on a wild cat 25 would do better. The problem with these ultra velocity 25's is bullet selection is very narrow. Most cup and core type bullets are not made for that high velocity. My buddy has a 25 STW and the only bullets he can get to work well on deer size game is the Barns X. Get you a good custom barrel made up in a 25-06 and don't shoot it real hot and it will last you a loooooooog time. It will astound you by seeing 99% of the deer size game that you shoot with it will drop right in their tracks.
 
I love my .257 Ackley Improved. I have built it on a long action, so I could seat the 117-120 gr. bullets out where they belong. I am getting 25-06 ballistics out of that little case, with a lot less powder, :mrgreen: and it sure is fun. Best combo deer, antelope, coyote gun I have ever owned.
 
257 STW would give you high performance and odds are you would be the only one in your hunting camp shooting one.
257-7mm RUM would be a screamer, and a barrel burner.

JD338
 
The 257 STW is a barrel burner if you don't treat it nicely. It doesn't take much to erode the barrel if you shoot it hot and fail to keep it clean. I've worked up loads for several, and I have several friends that have them. Two were shot out after less than 1000 rounds because of failure to keep them clean and trying to push hot loads through them. Another has lasted for quite a reasonable length of time, but then the shooter takes care not to burn the barrel and he keeps it clean. The fast quarter bores need just a little attention.
 
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