.257 Wby Bullet Question

So I just bought a .257 Wby, a caliber I wanted a long time ago but wouldn't buy until I reloaded. Now that I reload and have one, I'm starting to think about what kind of bullet I want to pick for this rifle. I've been very happy with 130 and 168 gr Barnes TSX in my .270 and .300WSM and am leaning towards a 100 gr TSX for this gun. I am also considering an 110 gr Accubond, 115 gr Partition, or even maybe 110 gr Hornady Interbond. This rifle would primarily be a Deer and smaller gun but I want the bullet I chose to be usable on Elk out to 300 yds or so if needed too. I don't have any worries about a 100 gr TSX on an Elk but don't have much experience with the other types of bullets on an animal that tough. Any thoughts and opinions will be greatly appreciated.

.257's BC isn't very good so I would use the heaviest you can get if you plan shoot past 300. Barnes is a good bullet for larger game, Swift Scriocco is a heavier Jacketed bullet than the accubond. The hornady GMX is a hard bullet also similar to the Barnes.

Yea I've thought of the gmx too.

Used the 80gr ttsx on deer over three hundred no issues, even used it on oryx.

In fact I've killed with 80gr Ttsx, 100gr tsx, 110 ab, 100gr spritzer, 100gr spire point and 115 vld. All animals where DRT.

On elk I'd use the 100gr tsx or 110 AB. Id use the 80gr Ttsx if that's all I had. 115vld is great but I'd only use it for broadside shots and stay away from the shoulder.

For deer and pigs I use 100 grain matchkings. Do not expect an exit of you try them. For elk I would use the 100 grain tsx or partitions. That's my plan anyways. Out to 300 yards, I wouldn't worry about BC.

Great bullet but you won't get it near as hot as the AB.

A couple of thoughts to consider. A Barnes bullet will copper foul BAD at the Wby speeds. In 5-15 rounds, accuracy will begin to fall off. Plus, the copper bullets do not have the hydrostatic shock of the lead bullets of equal weight and speed. I'm not a big fan of them, but they do have their place. The Swift Scirocco is a great bullet, but one of the most finicky to find a load for. It is an aggressive secant ogive (VLD) bullet, and likes to be seated close to or touching the lands. It offers a high BC for a hunting bullet. If you have a long magazine and can seat the bullet out far, it could work well. It's hard to beat your good bonded bullets, like the Accubond and Interbond. They are very good. The Partition is your tried and true A-frame bullet that will work well, just expensive to shoot.

I didn't realize the barnes would have so much copper fouling. that's something I'm still trying to understand. I shoot the barnes in both my .270 and 300wsm. When should I start to worry about the copper fouling? Do you have to use a good copper solvent to clear it and then refoul the barrel to get good accuracy? I've been very happy with the bullets in both those guns...

I did a custom load work up for a good customer in his 300 Wby shooting the 168 Tipped TSX at ~3250 fps. It was a brand new custom barrel we built. He did the barrel break in of about 30 rounds, then gave it to me for load work up. It shot great. It shot about 1/3 moa, maybe a little better. Once I loaded up a bunch of the ammo with the load that shot the best, we headed to the range. We cleaned it before we started. We confirmed zero at 200, and moved back to 3, 4, 5, and 600 yards, shooting groups and getting elevations at each distance. After about 10-15 rounds, we could barely hit a 2 moa size target. So we cleaned it. Groups would immediately tighten back up and be good for another 10-15 rounds. If you waited til 20 shots, you were all over the place. Each time we cleaned it, we were pulling out deep teal blue patches (copper fouling). This was the first time I had seen this, and I've seen it many more times since. If you push the Barnes TSX bullets faster than about 3K fps, they will copper foul up a barrel quickly. It is a noticeable amount of copper to cause accuracy issues.

Thanks for the info. What were you using to clean the barrel?

I use Butch's Bore Shine for all my needs. It's a good all around cleaner. We also used a copper specific cleaner once we figured out what was going on.

Ok that's why I was asking. I don't have any copper specific cleaner so it sounds like I need to get some. I've probably put a good 50-60 rds or more through my 300wsm and .270 while developing loads so I'm betting they both need a good cleaning before refouling them and taking them hunting.

It sounds like I might lean towards the 110 gr Accubonds as I've hardly heard anything bad about them. It just sucks that it seems they are hard to find!

I can guarantee you a 110 gr accubond will work well from the 257 Wby for elk out to 280 yards.

Nosler loads them in their custom line also. Best bet on any way ammo is order it on line

The 110gr Accubonds are awesome on game.

Thanks for the info everyone. If I can find some Accubonds, I think I'm gonna try loading them first and see how they do. I'm a little concerned about the copper fouling issue on the barnes so even though I love those bullets performance, I don't want to worry if it's too fouled and will affect my accuracy when I need it.

This is the only recovered 100gr. TSX I have ever had; 93% weight retention after killing 3 hogs standing shoulder to shoulder at 100ish yards.

Bullet hit first hog and mushroomed then exited and hit the second hog fully expanded and passed through on to the third hog and stopped just under the skin on the far side.

With the TSX you just have to aim for the middle of the shoulder to give the bullet enough resistance to fully expand; I have tried just about every bullet I can get my hands on with the .257wby and found the 100gr. TSX loaded with RE22 to be the best performer for me and my rifle with the Accubond being runner up.

X2 on what Chad said about the barrel and copper fouling - My loads were running 3550fps and the barrel would foul up pretty quick; I used Montana Extreme bore cleaner and it would remove it in short order.

That's incredible deewayne! How many shots do you get out of it before noticing a drop in accuracy due to fouling?

Not as extreme as what chad was saying but 25ish rounds and you could notice the groups opening up; which really isn't that bad considering the performance I was getting. The only deer I ever had run any distance was a BIG bodied buck that I shot at 200yds and he ran 50yds while spraying a blood trail like a fire hose.

As for the cleaning - I would just check my zero every time I went to the ranch and then go hunting; when deer season rolled around I clean the barrel out then shoot 2-3 rounds to confirm the zero and foul the bore a little and it was good to go for the rest of the season.

And when I say it would open up after 25ish rounds it would go from shooting clover leafs at 100yds to shooting 1.5"-2" so it was still completely huntable accuracy; but with less than 25rnds down the barrel it would shoot like this and hit like thors hammer.

That's some great information deewayne. I really appreciate it. What was your hand load info for that load?

I would have to look up the exact load but its something like....

100gr TSX
Weatherby brass neck sized- after initial full length sizing
Winchester Magnum rifle primer - When I first started loading weatherby some of the load data called for "Large rifle primer"...save the head ache and use Magnum.
Reloader #22 powder- 1/2grain under max.
OAL- I would have to look but I think that would depend on your rifle and how much free bore it has.

Thanks deewayne. I'm hoping I can find some RL 22 when I go to Lubbock tomorrow. I live in Clovis NM and there's hardly any powder here to be bought.

I have been shooting the Barnes TTSX 100 gr for about 4 years. From Montana to Texas. No problems on any animals. I just shot a 300 plus pound Aoudad last weekend with it. It only went about 30-40 yards with a behind the shoulder shot, and they are some of the toughest animals i've hunted.

Norma Brass
RE-22 72 grains
Factory COAL
Magnum Primer

I'm hunting barbary in Feb so I really appreciate this info. How has the copper fouling been? I've heard you have a small window of accuracy before the amount of fouling affects accuracy.

I shot a 25-06 for my first deer rifle, and used a 257 WBY for years after that. If you shot an accumark, I had terrible luck with 90 grain and under. My rifle really leveled out with a 115 grain Berger or 117 SGK pushed to 3150fps..I'd have to look back but I think I was using Reloader 25.

Ed