Since the original post I found the rifle likes 110 accubonds best moving right at 3425 FPS. Since that time this rifle has been used to kill six elk bulls and cows. Between the 6 the total distance those elk have traveled after being hit is 1.5 steps total. I will add sometimes in griz country I feel under gunned but I think the 257 Weatherby is a great elk cartridge.
257 Weatherby on Elk
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I would and have used 257 Weatherby on elk. I shot a cow at 260 yards a few years ago with mine shooting 115 HVLD Berger bullets. I took 2 shots not realizing the first shot was a clean double lung shot. She went down within about 40 yards.
I wouldn't hesitate to take this rifle on a cow or bull hunt. I would just be very selective about shots and placement of shots.
I wouldn't hesitate to take this rifle on a cow or bull hunt. I would just be very selective about shots and placement of shots.
Calvin45
Well-Known Member
When you consider how many elk have been killed with .243s and .30-30s and arrows there's no question the .257 can very humanely do the job BUT I'd say you need to be more particular about waiting for that perfect broadside double lung shot and pass up on others.
Many guides and outfitters list the 270 win as their recommended minimum for elk. The .257 doesn't use as heavy bullets but if you're using a tough projectile it is energetically on par with the .270 win.
Many guides and outfitters list the 270 win as their recommended minimum for elk. The .257 doesn't use as heavy bullets but if you're using a tough projectile it is energetically on par with the .270 win.
Bullet placement always gets talked about, but bullet construction is just as important. A 257 Bee with Barnes or Nosler Partition will kill every bit as good as the traditional Elk rounds and it will penetrate shoulders, bone and the like just fine. This idea that smaller diameter bullets with lower SDs can't penetrate is a bunch of internet repeats of stuff that sounds right but isn't even close to being true in real life. I have never recovered a Barnes bullet from moose, elk or bear no matter where I hit them or how much bone they went through. I have seen two recovered Barnes bullets shot by guys I know but considering how many total animals we have taken that isn't very many recovered bullets, maybe makes 1/2 of one percent.
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Aoudad shooter1975
Well-Known Member
I love my 257 weatherby...that being said if I drew a coveted elk tag--it would not be in my pack. I have taken a lot of game--mostly axis, whitetail, Aoudad, hogs, probably the biggest a oryx...now while it tipped over everything like lighting I have been using berger 115 VLD hunters--and the bullet is not the most confidence inspiring on penetration. Most of the time I'm carrying my 257 is in places I live or very familiar with--I pick and choose my shots...I had a fleeting thought of carrying it to Mongolia but decided against it...and took a 7mm...same as Kergz I'm taking a 7mm SAUM...more bullet weight wins every time for me...
With the new blackjack bullet got me thinking about a good 1-7 twist barrel...but it shoots so good now....maybe in another 500-600 rounds...by that time I might or might not have that itch
With the new blackjack bullet got me thinking about a good 1-7 twist barrel...but it shoots so good now....maybe in another 500-600 rounds...by that time I might or might not have that itch
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Don A Parsons
Well-Known Member
One of our shooters up here in the North shoots everything with a 257,,, his walls of glory for all of the North American game and a few from Africa,,, he borrowed a 416 Rigby for the extra large critters over there...
A good quality bullet and stead shot will get it done,,, fun cartridge to use fore sure...
A good quality bullet and stead shot will get it done,,, fun cartridge to use fore sure...
PBR driver
Well-Known Member
If you read hunting and shooting magazines and the authors recommendations for Elk then you will be looking for magnum caliber of some type.
The truth be known if you have a Whitetail rifle you shoot well then bring it.
The key to putting Elk on the ground is Shot Placement and bullet performance.
A lot of Elk are missed or worse yet wounded and lost because the guy behind the counter tells you this big super stomp whacked magnum is just the right tool for elk.
Yes Elk are tough but think about a few things here, back after 1895 the year the .30-30 came out it shot a 160gr. bullet at a blistering 1900 fps, Guy's would kill Elk, Shoot Griz Bears with it cause no gun writer was saying it is to small.
Where I live in Wyoming during the Depression most could not afford a rifle so there was a community rifle, this rifle was a .25-35 WCF, it was used to kill everything from Pronghorn to Moose. Today people are using may be a .243 or .30-30, both kill Elk and Moose with a well placed shot and a good bullet I do not hear of any lost game using these two rifles, Shot Placment is KING!
So do not be afraid of bringing your whitetail rifle to kill an Elk.
If you do then you may very well be able to shoot it well, and that is 85% of the battle.
The truth be known if you have a Whitetail rifle you shoot well then bring it.
The key to putting Elk on the ground is Shot Placement and bullet performance.
A lot of Elk are missed or worse yet wounded and lost because the guy behind the counter tells you this big super stomp whacked magnum is just the right tool for elk.
Yes Elk are tough but think about a few things here, back after 1895 the year the .30-30 came out it shot a 160gr. bullet at a blistering 1900 fps, Guy's would kill Elk, Shoot Griz Bears with it cause no gun writer was saying it is to small.
Where I live in Wyoming during the Depression most could not afford a rifle so there was a community rifle, this rifle was a .25-35 WCF, it was used to kill everything from Pronghorn to Moose. Today people are using may be a .243 or .30-30, both kill Elk and Moose with a well placed shot and a good bullet I do not hear of any lost game using these two rifles, Shot Placment is KING!
So do not be afraid of bringing your whitetail rifle to kill an Elk.
If you do then you may very well be able to shoot it well, and that is 85% of the battle.
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My hunting buddy and I both put down cow elk last year at about 180yrds with the lowly old 6.5x55 
shooting 135gr bullets. A few years before that as posted above it was 115gr bullets from a 257 weatherby. None of the 3 elk made it more than 40 yards after a clean lung hit.
Put a good bullet in the zone and it will kill.
shooting 135gr bullets. A few years before that as posted above it was 115gr bullets from a 257 weatherby. None of the 3 elk made it more than 40 yards after a clean lung hit. Put a good bullet in the zone and it will kill.
Oy if one can't get it done with a 257 Wby then needs to take up another form of recreation....
Tons upon tons of elk have been taken with a 270 via the 130 @ 3000 give or take. If there's any much diff between that and a 120 out of the Big 25@ 3200 give or take I'll be darned if I can see it.
Back when I used the Big 25 we had zero problem taking elk out via the 100 Horn SP at about 3500. One shot behind the front and down they went.
Course we've been known to do in more than a few with our 22/250 and Swifts.
Killing isn't rocket science, take out the lungs and they won't run. Pretty much like taking the battery out of a truck eh...
Tons upon tons of elk have been taken with a 270 via the 130 @ 3000 give or take. If there's any much diff between that and a 120 out of the Big 25@ 3200 give or take I'll be darned if I can see it.
Back when I used the Big 25 we had zero problem taking elk out via the 100 Horn SP at about 3500. One shot behind the front and down they went.
Course we've been known to do in more than a few with our 22/250 and Swifts.
Killing isn't rocket science, take out the lungs and they won't run. Pretty much like taking the battery out of a truck eh...
Get an elk worthy bullet for the 257 Bee speeds man.
adk hunter
Well-Known Member
No way for me but I think it has more to with the situation than if it will kill. Do you see 70 elk killed a year? Then you may have it in you to wait for the perfect shot. Have you been west three times and the forth (and maybe last) and you have a marginal shot with the .257 Weatherby...well I hope your answer is try again next year. I just can't risk that. Dad left me a wonderful #10 .257 roberts I would simply LOVE to take to the elk woods but I won't temp myself or his legacy with the scales tipped so far in the elk's favor. Now I might squeeze in a antelope, Hmmmm!
I would have no worries about taking any shot with my 257 WBY. It's fed a 110 accubond. You pull the trigger they don't go anywhere.
adk hunter
Well-Known Member
Well I love the yes vote from "MT257"!! Maybe there is hope for me yet someday...
I have shot a lot of elk and been there for many more. If u have a shot u shouldn't take with a 257 Bee and a partition or Barnes TTSX then there is not another rifle you should be taking that shot with. Bigger caliber does not offset. I shoot everything from a 22 hornet to a 460 Weathervy and I have no reservations at all about using the 257 on Elk.
