257 Weatherby Mag to small for Bear

[MountainWalk]

adequate for elk , little light for bear?.. if a black bear is a f-150 4x4, than a big bull elk is like a wells fargo armored truck.   elk are way tougher, with bigger stronger bones. elk are more tenacious to life than most anything on this continent.  i just believe that elk are too valuable to chance anything that would hinder the action of the harvest. you wouldnt use a tack hammer to frame a house. you could do it, but its not as good.
 i know elk can be killed with other things and ive killed elk with my 30-06 with 165fs's, but i noticed that with the 338 vs 30-06, all things being =(good placement, rresonable range),
that the 338 resulted in more one shot kills,,bulls and a cow traveling shorter distances from where shot.. like jack atcheson jr says  the 338   it just numbs them.

[257 Wby Mag]

While alot of elk have been killed with a 22 magnum, does it make it a elk caliber? Methinks not. The elk I've killed and seen killed with a 243 were taken under "optimum" conditions, if there is a such thing? Do you need a 338 to kill elk? Don't recall that quote, but I were a SERIOUS elk or bear hunter, which I am niether, I would pack a 340 Weatherby, stoked with 225 Noslers or Hornady's. That is my opinion, can you kill elk and bear with a 257? Hell yes, Roy Weatherby killed the big 5 with a 257, does that make it a safari gun? I think most PH's would laugh you outta camp if a guy showed up with a 257 to persue the "Big 5".  So yes, bear hunter, a 257 Roy will kill anything that walks, is the perfect elk and bear caliber? No, I THINK a 338 or 340 is much better suited to these critters.Once again, in my opinion...

[tlbradford]

adequate for elk , little light for bear?.. if a black bear is a f-150 4x4, than a big bull elk is like a wells fargo armored truck.   elk are way tougher, with bigger stronger bones. elk are more tenacious to life than most anything on this continent.

The fur and fat on a bear will have more effect on your bullet, then the hair and fat on an elk.  I never recommend shooting through a massive bone like the shoulder.  Even a large bullet can deflect drastically.  We are talking about a fast and light projectile in this scenario.  The fur and fat on a bear will slow down the penetration of this bullet, more so than it would through the hair and skin of an elk.