Which would you choose for a deer rifle and why

7mm-08 or 257 Weatherby Magnum? Sold my 300 Weatherby and now I am trying to figure which way to go next.

Also which will be easier to find ammo for or have someone load a few boxes for me?

Almost on opposite ends of the spectrum but I think the 7-08 checks off your boxes. I absolutely love a 7-08.

708. My vote should not carry as much weight as many others. I’ve been a one gun man for 49 years and it’s not a 708.

Have owned both and still have the 7mm-08 if that answers between those 2.

A lot to me though in selecting a rifle is hunting location and shooting style. Hunting my place in Mississippi it is often the 357 Mag lever action or one of the 44 mags. If I were making a big trip out of state for elk then one of the magnums. For deer in more open country the 7-08, 6.5 Grendel or 6.5-284 which is setup for longer ranges than 300 yards if needed though it does well up close.

I have several choices but if I had to pick just one to use it would most likely be the 7mm-08.

I'm a 257wby guy first over everything in my safe.

I'm a 6.5 CM Over 7-08 because ammo OTC ammo consistency. But 7-08’s a great little cartridge

With that said I now run custom loads in both 6.5 and 257wby though

Since you specified deer rifle, I would go with the 7mm-08 of those two. It will do everything you need for deer and the ammo is much cheaper and easier to find.

I would probably own six 7mm-08s before I thought about a 257 Weatherby. Wait, I’ve owned 6 and still not thinking about a weatherby, I do have a Roberts if that counts for anything.

Weatherby = excellent mid size game hunting rifle that you generally can’t afford to shoot much otherwise. If you do, you get in the barrel buying business too. Nothing wrong with this but it is a hunting rifle only. In my opinion.

7-08 = performs well on the same game as the Weatherby. Can be shot for entertainment, ammo is available and affordable. You can reload either one but you can load this one way cheaper.

I can’t quote barrel life off the top of my head but I’m betting the 7-08 will last twice as long before it loses reasonable accuracy.

7mm-08 loaded with a 162/168 gr is good at everything you ask it to do.

Much less fuss than anything Weatherby.

Which one do you want? They'll both do the job...pick the one you like the best.

7mm-08

^he's right ya know...

I like flat shooters but I would really like to try the 7mm-08 and it seems most are in agreement on the use and availability of ammo. That being said I can't find 7mm-08 ammo but I can 257 Weatherby.

Ruger American 7mm-08 is $399 plus shipping.
Weatherby Vanguard 257 is $569 plus shipping.

I have a scope, rings and 20 MOA mount.

If anyone knows where there is 7mm-08 ammo available, let me know please thru PM.

Cabelas in Allen had 7mm-08 last week and academy in Plano off 75 did a couple weeks ago.

Thanks. Do you recall which ones they had?

I could go either way.

I have always wanted a 257 wby, just never got around to it. I would probably go for the 7mm08 as for hunting I typically lean to the heavier slower variety of loadings.

My 300 wby has always been a great shooter and no more or less fuss than any rifle I have ever loaded for.

I love the 257Wby, but I’d go 7-08.

I love the 7mm-08 , ammo is better and just overall a great caliber

picking between the two?

7MM-08

My wife shoots a Wby .257 for hunting and has killed Antelope to 500 yards with it and rang steel at 812 yards. We're .257 fans I've seen it all happen from the Spotting scope.

I'm trying to figure out why you sold your 300? As far as your question 257 all the way.

7mm-08. Less bloodshot meat. Use heavy bullets and eat up to the hole.

I love this statement!!!

Whichever one tickles your fancy. Rarely do I buy a caliber because it “makes sense”. Usually it’s because it’s what I want. I will buy a .257 WBY at some point, just because I like it.

I think they are equal and opposite. One shoots super flat, the other can hold it together better at longer range. For deer I don’t think it really matters, except 257 ammo is probably more expensive.

The 257 weatherby appeals to me.

I'm just not a huge fan of overbore. I'm not in to the whole speed kills philosophy. I'm sure is does but moderate size bullets at moderate speeds work really well on deer too with less powder, less recoil and less meat damage.

Between those two the 7-08. Had a .257 “Bee” Vanguard, loved 110 Accubonds and absolutely hammered several deer and an antelope with it but it had its downsides, loud, prefers a long barrel, and frankly expensive to feed (even when reloading). The 7-08 is one of my favorites, short action, can be used in a 22” barrel, not ammo “fussy” and as others have mentioned can be loaded from 120 to 175 grain bullets.

Then get the 7-08…it’s also cheaper and both of those are known to shoot. I like both those rounds…found some 25 cal 115 ballistic tips this evening and thought I probably need a quarter bore of some variety No, I did not buy them…I’ve got a 300wsm in the works.

Good luck!

I have both, have only hunted with the 7mm08 but will shoot something with the 257 this year. I like the weatherby for its history, nostalgic, speed, I think it’s an awesome round, I’m a huge fan of all the 25 caliber cartridges. However, for a no nonsense deer killer that does a great job, it’s hard to beat the 7mm-08.

I have one .257 wby and 3 7mm-08’s in my safe.

IMO the .257 is a specialty cartridge...I’m not gonna shoot whitetail with it sitting under a feeder at 100 yards. I bring it out when the deer are big and the shots can stretch out there. It’s just as much as the gun its chambered in as the cartridge. Killed a few mule deer, a few aoudad and a big bull elk with it.

We took the 7mm-08 to Africa and my wife killed Kudu, Zebra and Nyala and it performed perfectly.

IMO...for a “deer rifle” it’s gonna be hard to beat a handy 7mm-08. It’s simply one of the best rounds ever made.


You get a stable of guns then a .257 wby certainly has its place, but buying one as a general whitetail rig is like buying a corvette to go back and for to the grocery story

7mm-08 gets my vote!

Interesting discussion. It ties in with what I’ve been thinking about recently, but probably won’t do. That’s to find a Ruger 77 tang safety Ultralight, have it tuned/accurized, and rebarreled in 260 or 6.5 CM. My Dad had one in 270, and when he passed, I cleaned it all up, rescoped it, found the good load, and gave the gun and 100 rounds to my Dad’s favorite nephew. Sure was hard to part with it, but I know Dad would’ve wanted that young man to have it.

But….Now I don’t have it, and it was a marvelous shooter. Another But, is that I have enough rifles and don’t need another.

As for an alternate caliber, the 257 Roberts AI would be a good choice, being ballistically very close to the 260 and 6.5 CM.

I just always liked the Ruger Ultralight.

That's some sig-worthy stuff right there.

Dang it red, carefully what you say around some of these guys.

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Dead is dead. Drop right there means via the nervous system. Drop right there and leave imprint in the ground means… Hand of Zeus via 257wby. Don’t make God mad, God gave Zeus the 257wby because sometimes lighting bolts aren’t enough.


I’m just saying he is always listening and watching, plus Santa Claus uses it to smack wolves

I aint down for none of that! I stick to my

If you decide to go for the .257 wby get a 26” barrel.

Of those choices, I would go with a .270

You have troubles following directions, don't ya?

243 will kill any deer in Texas!!!!!

if i were you id just wait a week or two and buz will probably be selling one of the two

Thanks guys. Went with the 7mm-08. Ruger American on sale at Reed's for $380 total Shipped. Now I am on the ammo hunt. If anyone sees any anywhere close to Denton please let me know. 94o-399-9o35. Thanks again.

Now carry on. Red I am shocked! LOL

Bring the rifle to me, turn and walk away.

Good choice! Was the shipping free too?

I almost did.....lol

Yes. Well I guess it was. They have a fall sale going on. On the Website it was $399.99. He told me about the discount and said the total was $380 even.

I have 2 I would like to do that with. Can we get a 2fer? LOL

Yes, if I have them at the same time.

Well this thread sure got interesting. Who know



Congrats Bobcat on new rifle!

How long is the waiting list?

Just wrapped up the last rifle I've got, yesterday. So at the moment, I am caught up.

Yesterday was a GAP .300 Win Mag target rifle. 210 Berger VLDs. Ended up the load makes 2925 fps MV. My steel targets were hating me when I was getting DOPE on that load. Man that thing hits hard!

I'll need to wait until the new gun comes in. I'll get with ya.

is that considered a hot load?

My factory ammo gets about that velocity with 180 grain accubonds.

Not a hot load at all. There's no free bore in this barrel. My winning charge is 4 grains below published maximum. The brass was giving me an early pressure sign so I didn't push towards maximum. Probably 100% of the time my loads will be significantly faster than factory ammo. 180's are not something I load in .300 Win Mag hardly ever, but 3000+ is what I would expect to safely achieve.

Local Academy had 2 boxes of Hornady American Whitetail today for $29.99. Also picked up a case of Remington Heavy Dove load 20 gauge.

I have long wanted a 7/08 , but there has been a 270 in my life for 50 years.
MO

7-08

Is free bore a good thing or bad? Doesn’t Weatherby have what most consider to be a lot of free bore? Do some cartridges benefit from free bore? Just curious

It is good until it isn't.

0 free bore means you can situate the bullet in rifling (I don't do) even with rifling, or jump to rifling as much as you choose, .001", .002" and so on. And you're still fitting in the magazine. But you might have removed room in the brass for powder. Depending on cartridge and bullet length.

Having a chamber cut with a certain amount of free bore can allow someone to still get the bullet even, or very close to rifling, have more room for powder, and still fit in a magazine.

Factory rifles with a huge amount of free bore, often bullets are having to jump a large amount (+.100") before engaging rifling. You've got room in the brass for powder, but you are still bound by mag length. So you can load to mag length, and be jumping a great amount. Sometimes that's not a big deal, depending on what bullet you're using. Sometimes it is difficult to get the cartridge, powder, bullet combo to shoot to my liking with a great deal of free bore.

Too late.

Bullets mater more than headstamps.

Bullets matter more than headstamps.