257 WBY vs. 300 WBY

[ing]

Factory 100 grain Hornady Spire Points always made meat for me Jack.... Shot like a sumbitch too...

They shoot great out of my 25-06.  So do the 110 grain Nosler accubonds.

[ing]

I've got my sights set on an Accumark.  The only reason I'm going with a Weatherby is because when I held the Accumark it was a natural fit.  Real comfortable.  I know they chamber them in a bunch of other calibers, but I figured what the hell if I'm buying a Weatherby I may as well buy one that is chambered in a WBY cartridge.  Thanks for all of your input guys.  I'll probably end up with a 300.  Maybe I'll have them both some day...

[ing]

Now my next question... Those of you that shoot a 300WBY, are you using a muzzle brake?  I was thinking of getting one without.  Every gun I've shot with a brake makes my ears ring like hell.

[WDFW-SUX]

Get a factory gun with an accubreak pre installed. 

[alecvg]

Unless you're just enamored with owning a Weatherby, save your dough and by a 30-06. If you feel you gotta own a Weatherby then get the 300.  Kinda redundant to own two 25 cals. Honestly, if you're just hunting deer that 25-06 is gonna cover about 90% of all your deer hunting needs.      

Edited...
Didn't see your recoil posts.  For a small women or child you might want to consider a 243, 257 Roberts, 260, or 7mm-08.  Again, I'm not sure if you are just dead set on owning a Weatherby or not. 

I'd also suggest buy the Mark series gun.  The Vanguard is just a Howa rifle.  They're decent but not truly a Weatherby.

Adding to your for kids list...
.270 WIN, in my opinion, the best deer round... not much recoil, and drops the deer.  IMO

[whacker1]

ing - Vais Arms - muzzlebrakes are the only relatively quiet muzzlebrakes I have ever been around.  They vent much of the sound and gas down range, so it is quiet in comparison to some of the alternatives.  I shot my buddy's 300 RUM side by side with my .270 win and I think the .270 was louder than the .300 RUM with a VAIS break on it.

They can be found at www.muzzlebrakes.com

[buckhorn2]

I have a 257 accumark and a 300 accumark they both shoot really well and I don;t think the 300;s recoil would bother anyone who shoots very much. With the 257 you can shoot most things with the 300 you can shoot anything.

[Little Stu]

I bought a 257 WBY A COUPLE YEARS TO HAVE FOR DOGS AND WHAT NOT THINKING THAT IT WOULDNT BE ENOUGH FOR MULIES AT LONG RANGES, MAN WAS I WRONG. i HAVE SHOT A NICE BEAR WITH IT AT 250 YDS AND HE ONLY WENT 25 FT. AFTER THAT I DECIDED TO TAKE IT DEER HUNTING AND DROPPED A VERY NICE MULIE AT 550 PLUS. IT HAS HALF THE RECOIL OF MY 7MAG AND SHOOTING FACTORY LOADED 120 PARTITIONS IT DOES NOT DESTROY NEAR THE MEAT THAT THE 7MAG DOES. AS FAR AS THE 300 YOU COULDNT GIVE ME ONE, THEY KICK WAY TOO MUCH WITHOUT THE MUZZLE BREAK, WITH THE BRAKE IT BLOWS OUT YOUR EARDRUMS. And the ammo already costs too much for the 257 and the 300 is even more.  IMO
 

[ing]

ing - Vais Arms - muzzlebrakes are the only relatively quiet muzzlebrakes I have ever been around.  They vent much of the sound and gas down range, so it is quiet in comparison to some of the alternatives.  I shot my buddy's 300 RUM side by side with my .270 win and I think the .270 was louder than the .300 RUM with a VAIS break on it.

They can be found at www.muzzlebrakes.com

Thanks. I'll check it out.

[ing]

I have a 257 accumark and a 300 accumark they both shoot really well and I don;t think the 300;s recoil would bother anyone who shoots very much. With the 257 you can shoot most things with the 300 you can shoot anything.

Do you have muzzle brakes on them?

[Intruder]

Ahhhh... but there's one big difference... the ability to step up and shoot the heavies... that's where the efficency comes back. You can generate a great deal more downrange punch by shooting a much heavier and ballistically efficient projectile... that's where the "efficiency" comes in.

With the 300 RUM I can run 210 Bergers at 3150 using 93 grains of powder... at 500 yards that's 2800fpe... or about 30fpe/grain of powder.

With the .300 Winny you can run 210 Bergers at about 2800 using around 75 grains of powder... at 500 yards that's 2100fpe... or about 28fpe/grain.

Sooo... using 25% more powder I get 33% more downrange punch... that's actually MORE efficient.

The same can't be said for the .257 vs. the 25-06 (using your numbers from Nosler):

The option to step up in bullet weight beyond the capacity of the case... really isn't there like it is with the big .30s. 115-120s is about all you get.

Running the 100 NBT... the .257 beats the 25-06 by a measly 200fpe at 500 yards... and the does it for about 19fpe/grain... vs. the .25 at 21.5fpe/grain.

Soooo.... using 33% more powder you get only an 18% increase in punch downrange... that's LESS efficient.

I do agree that at some point it efficiency is moot... I love running the 55 grainers out of the 6mm at 4100... and it takes 55 grains of 414 to git-r-done... when powder charge is equal to bullet weight... THAT'S when inefficient gets FUN.

Dude.... you got it dialed in. 

[ing]

Ok guys, I ordered an Accumark chambered in 300wby without a muzzlebreak.  I  also got my hands on some brass and bullets so I will start reloading for it. Cant wait to shoot it.  I'm hopeing I get my hands on it in time to get it ready for hunting season.

[coachcw]

you might try a 180 grain bullet and hammer them . good choice with the 300.slow it down and keep in bullet in the beast you'll like the knock down. keep the 25 for dogs.. its like a big v8 you might not need it but the chicks dig it.coach.

[buckhorn2]

I shoot 180 grain accubounds by nosler and use H4831. We load ours with 79 grains that is 2 grains under maximum but will still shoot 3000 feet on the chrono without the recoil

[bearpaw]

I have been watching this post with interest as I also own both WBY calibers and love them both. There are the arguments that a 270 or 06 will do anything the magnums do, that is basically correct however there is less guesswork with the flatter shooting guns in quick hunting situations.

I have seen hundreds of elk shot with various calibers and many at very long ranges. The two longest shots were both made with 06's. If I remember correctly, one of them at 768 yards with 12-15 mph wind in Utah. Some people will argue that is too far to be shooting. Truth is that depends on who you are and what your skill level is. This guy had a well built 06 and his skill level made 768 a simpler shot than 300 yards is for most hunters. Admitedly, he missed the first shot, miscalculated the wind drift. Second shot he dropped the elk in it's tracks and called the POI neck shot before standing up after the shot. On the other hand I can remember plenty of times elk were missed at 200 yards multiple times by other hunters. So it just depends on who is behind the gun.

Back to the reason for my post....I have seen aboout 5 bear, numerous deer and antelope, and a couple elk killed quickly with the 257. However, I know from experience with other light calibers that the 257 is not ideal for the bigger game and does not compare to the 30's on the bigger critters, especially bear. While I have to admit it does an amazing job for it's caliber I also own the 30's for a reason.

I used to shoot 180's to 220's all the time in my 30's. But I have been working on swithing to Barnes Triple Shock 165's. I am told the Barnes bullets are not the most accurate, but I can say from personal experience that they do a great job on game from what I have seen shot so far. The Barnes 165 loses virtually no weight after impact and will weigh more than a more typical 180-220 after impact, thus explaining the deep penetration attained with the Barnes bullets.

So here's my current theory....refine a heavy load that shoots the Barnes 165 well. Due to the excellent performance of the 165, it will shoot very flatly out to 500-600 yards in the 30 magnums and penetrate as well as regular 180-220's, and it will do all this with noticably less recoil due to the lighter bullet weight. Some of the other premium bullet brands might also accomplish the same thing but I haven't seen performance on game of enough of the other premiium bullets to form an opinion on their actual killing effectiveness.

Since you have ordered a new 300 WBY I thought I would share this as it sounded like you had been a little concerned about recoil. Excellent rifle choice, you will love your WBY after you get to shooting it and you will be glad you did not get a muzzlebreak. The rfle design causes the WBY's to have less felt recoil than other rifle makes of the same caliber. To further sweeten the recoil, I strongly suggest you take your gun to a good gunsmith and have them put a limbsaver recoil pad on it. We do that with all our bigger guns now, it really tames them right down.

My hearing has been damaged over the years and hunters with muzzlebreaks are a primary reason, I can honestly say I have little use for them.

Has anyone used 150gr Barnes .30's or simular many big game animals???