# Time to switch gears, work up a dog load...



## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Have all my deer tags filled so I"m going to sdwitch gears and work up an 85 grain Baalistic Tip load for my 257 Weatherby. Last year out of pure convenience I killed them with the 110 grain Accubond deer load I had worked up.

The 85 BT from the Roy should be a superb wind bucking, coyote flattening bullet...


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

why not just shoot them with the load you already have worked up? Pelts aren't worth anything right? The 110's might surprise you and work great. 
I stopped using my 22-250 years ago and switched to the 308. It does a better job at dispatching and it doesn't do much as much damage as the 22-250. And I can't count on my bullet at extended range. I'd say just stick with the 110's.

xdeano


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

not sure but i would bet the bt's are a whole lot cheaper then the a-b's :huh:


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

yeah I understand that. But he's been saying that furs aren't worth much. Honestly how many is he going to go through in a season? How many would he go through to work up a load? Most guys won't go through 100 rounds in a season. So why not stick with what you have and at least give them a try.

Just my suggestion.

xdeano


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

xdeano said:


> So why not stick with what you have and at least give them a try.


Well what would be the fun in that?


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

:lol: true.

xdeano


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

bearhunter said:


> not sure but i would bet the bt's are a whole lot cheaper then the a-b's :huh:


Exactly. I can advise a 110 grain Accubond at 3400FPS kills them very nicely, though...

Working up new loads is always fun. Heck X, I go through 100 rounds just getting a new load tweaked for the rifle...

Then there's the 223, the 250, the 243, 270, the 308, the 7MM. So many rifles, so few days off to kill dogs... :beer:


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

ND,

That's exactly what I meant, you'll spend over 100 rounds tweaking the load but after doing all that, you'll have to buy another box, and only shoot maybe 30 rounds for the season. Not to mention the time it takes to do test loads. The time you could be spending on stand.

I guess I get a round that shoots, then learn the round and the gun that is shooting it and stick with it instead of having to learn all the ballistics of several different sticks. One round one gun no confusion. keep it simple.

If it works why fix it. 

xdeano


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

xdeano said:


> ND,
> 
> One round one gun no confusion. keep it simple.
> 
> ...


im not quite like that, one gun, three rounds, three chokes, deer, ****, coyotes, pheasants, dove, squirrel, rabbit, all with the same gun :sniper:


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

I own a safe full of rifles, use them all, and work up loads for them, because I can...


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Have fun.You'll be moving near 4,000 fps with an 87 gr.(their factory Spire point is about 3825).With an 80?Well,you'll be moving lets leave it at that.
NOT fur friendly.I've shot a few with mine and even with factory 115s-not friendly.
For me the 'friendly' factor matters little except when its not 'friendly' to me.SHARP recoil,not just recoil,is the reason i don't use mine for coyotes.
I have it in a Blaser and its extremely accurate in every bullet I've shot.High BCs as well.Good hunting.


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

pelt damage is going to be severe; but if that is of no concern, you will have a very potent setup. back when i was college, i wanted a 257 wby varmint gun very badly. 4000 fps. on a 75 grain bullet had me infatuated. after wrecking pelts with most bullets i tried in a .243 i grew weary of stitching hides and gave up on the idea. of course, now i kinda enjoy spending time on pelts. i often shoot 95 gr berger vld's at about 3500 fps from a long barreled .243 ackley. i worry about the mess later. when the wind blows or i know the dogs are going to be educated ones in an area, it's my go to gun. used it in last weekend's competition. as hard as the wind was blowing, it saved our butts. i also use my .17's. point is, shoot whatever gun you feel like on that given day. i usually carry 2 in my truck and let the weather decide.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

I could care less about pelt damage, I just want as many of the damn fawn killing, poultry nabbing things dead as I can kill...

Duck, the 257 Roy is fast, but from my shooting & loading it, I seriously doubt pushing an 87 grainer at 4K FPS is within the realm. I see no need to torch the barrel like that, even if it could do it...

Didn't take anywhere near 100 rounds to work the load up, although I suppose I could fiddle with OAL even more than I did to eak out the last modicum of accuracy. The load I developed printed 3 shots in .467" at 100 yards in a 10MPH quarter value wind, and sub 1/2 MOA in a breeze is plenty good enough for me...

For anyone interested, it's Norma brass, CCI 250 primer, 68.0 H4831SC,
and the 85 grain BT, for an extremely accurate & consistent 3330FPS. OAL is 3.258", slightly longer than the industry standard of 3.250".

The key to optimum accuracy with any Weatherby rifle in a Wby Mag chambering is OAL. They purposely have long throats so the bullet has to make a fair jump before it hits the lands, this helps the Wby Mags achieve the velocity they are known for. The throats are so long it's not generally possible to make the OAL long enough to have the bullet just touch the lands, as the cartridge then is too long to fit in the magazine!

So being, the object is to find the optimum length while still fitting the mag. The factory standard for the 257 Roy is 3.250 which is much shorter than the mag.

The longest I was able to fit in the mag was 3.270", and it chambered & cycled just fine. However, after fiddling a bit I settled on 3.258". BTW, I'm don't know if this length is safe or would even fit/cycle in the magazine of any other rifle chambered for 257 Wby Mag but a Weatherby.

Essentially, this load duplicates the 25-06 (a caliber I would own if it was available LH in anything but a Ruger M77). Not only is it extremely accurate, it also retains velocity and bucks the wind better than anything else I've shot at coyotes this side of the 270 with 140 grain BT's or the 7MM Magnum with 160 grain Accubonds.

Sighted in +2" at 100 put it on at 250, -3" at 300, and -8" at 350. Blowing up fist sized rocks and dirt clods out to 350 yards was a piece of cake, just required a bit of hold off into the wind.

I guarantee before Spring rolls around, a good handful of coyotes will be sorry that I'll be carrying the 257 Roy in my truck...


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

NDT,
Sounds good.4K is possible-or close to it,but accuracy is unknown by me personally.Will ask my friend.Realistic factory is 3800+.Few end up reloading Weatherbys beyond factory speeds but some do.
I load for as much speed as accuracy allows and never worry about barrel life.Barrel life is a non-issue on a coyote gun IMO.No one shoots enough doing that to matter.
Yesterday while deer hunting I shot a yote with factory 115 BTs.As stated,not fur friendly.
Good hunting!


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

My friend just referred me to this.Might be of interest or help to you.

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition ... ndex3.html

Good hunting.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

duckp said:


> NDT,
> Sounds good.4K is possible-or close to it,but accuracy is unknown by me personally.Will ask my friend.Realistic factory is 3800+.Few end up reloading Weatherbys beyond factory speeds but some do.
> I load for as much speed as accuracy allows and never worry about barrel life.Barrel life is a non-issue on a coyote gun IMO.No one shoots enough doing that to matter.
> Yesterday while deer hunting I shot a yote with factory 115 BTs.As stated,not fur friendly.
> Good hunting!


Yep, I too believe 3800 might be achievable. Now that 75 grain V-Max might be able to tickle 4K. Wonder about stabalizing that pill at that speed?

Good job on waxing that dog with the 115 BT. The more dead, the better.

I just finished de-scenting & putting on my scent lok camo, one more cup and I'm headed out to try some calling south of my farmstead. The 257 Roy gets the start today... :beer:


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