257 weatherby or 300 win mag

[skings22]

I have two rifles one is a 257 weatherby that I Have taken 11 Antelope with and am very comfortable behind.
Shooting 115 berger vld . The other is a 300 win mag that I have only taken out once for a deer hunt and got my deer
with it. I am shooting 165 grain berger vld. I got drawn for Elk this year and Really considering using the 257 mag. I will
keep my shots to under 400. yards. What do you guys think? Scott

 

[Spoonman]

257 is a great cartridge and will kill it just fine. Good luck.

 

[skings22]

Thank you for the reply, I was thinking it should do the trick being 7mm mag case necked down to 25 cal.
Thanks, Scott

 

[Elkhntr08]

Roy Weatherby took a 257 to Africa and killed a rhino with it.
A 257 is my backup to a 300 weatherby.

 

[Crowmangler]

I've always been a fan of shooting what you're comfortable & confident with. Yes, the 257 will kill it but there's not gonna be a lot of room for error with a 115 gr bullet.
Elk are big & tough to kill & may still go a mile or more if you hit em in the boiler room. If it were me I would spend a little time & powder to get more comfortable with the 300. Look at the energy for each of those at 400 yards. I would imagine it would be 20% or so more for the 300.
You're probably gonna spend a lot more money & effort on this elk hunt than local whitetails so why not put that in your favor?
Just my 2 cents. Whichever you choose, good luck & have a great time!

 

[Fridaythe13th]

Which gun it lighter that the 1 I would take. Lol

 

[Gman12]

I would roll with the 257. I have one myself and it is a killing machine. As a bowhunter, I always LOL when I hear some people say you need the biggest gun available to kill elk. I have not killed nearly as many as most on here but I have killed four bulls with my bow and luckily I have made good shots each time. All four bulls have fallen in sight and the furthest one went 60 yards. Zip that 115 grain bullet through both lungs and he isn't going far. I guarantee it.

 

[Indian Summer]

I realize you’re in your comfort zone with the 257. Any reason you can’t get there with the 300? If if it were me I’d practice with that and take it. Elk aren’t antelope or deer.

 

[silasbowhunter]

Shoot your 257 barrel out then put a fast twist barrel and handload the 131gr bullets for it!


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[bluetick78]

A quick look at the ballistic charts shows a 300 win mag shooting a factory loaded 180 grain bullet with a BC of some where around .5 performing almost identical to a factory loaded 115 Accubond fired from a 257 weatherby at 400 yds. Except.....the 257 has a considerably flatter trajectory. Easier first shot hits with nearly identical terminal performance....I know I'd be packing the 257. Of course....my 2 favorite elk rifles don't break the 30 caliber mark (280 rem and 270 weatherby), so what the hell do I know about shooting elk.
Edit: the Win Mag will have better sectional density, which can lead to deeper wounding depending on the hit. And, if you like to dial scopes, you'll get to hear more clicks in preparation for your shot with the Win Mag.

 

[goathunter]

I've killed elk with the 25 caliber and 300 magnums. I think Crowmangler gives you excellent advice. I would try to get comfortable with the 300WM but why not shoot 180gr bullets. If you can't get comfortable, the 257 will work, but I'd be shooting 120 gr A Frames or Partitions.

 

[Indian Summer]

A quick look at the ballistic charts shows a 300 win mag shooting a factory loaded 180 grain bullet with a BC of some where around .5 performing almost identical to a factory loaded 115 Accubond fired from a 257 weatherby at 400 yds. Except.....the 257 has a considerably flatter trajectory. Easier first shot hits with nearly identical terminal performance....I know I'd be packing the 257. Of course....my 2 favorite elk rifles don't break the 30 caliber mark (280 rem and 270 weatherby), so what the hell do I know about shooting elk.
Edit: the Win Mag will have better sectional density, which can lead to deeper wounding depending on the hit. And, if you like to dial scopes, you'll get to hear more clicks in preparation for your shot with the Win Mag.

This cracks me up. A bigger heavier bullet performs the same. Welcome to the internet!

 

[skings22]

Thank you all for the info. I will be taking the 257
Weatherby mag. I also will bring the 300?win mag in case something happens. Scott

 

[ChrisAU]

A quick look at the ballistic charts shows a 300 win mag shooting a factory loaded 180 grain bullet with a BC of some where around .5 performing almost identical to a factory loaded 115 Accubond fired from a 257 weatherby at 400 yds. Except.....the 257 has a considerably flatter trajectory. Easier first shot hits with nearly identical terminal performance....I know I'd be packing the 257. Of course....my 2 favorite elk rifles don't break the 30 caliber mark (280 rem and 270 weatherby), so what the hell do I know about shooting elk.
Edit: the Win Mag will have better sectional density, which can lead to deeper wounding depending on the hit. And, if you like to dial scopes, you'll get to hear more clicks in preparation for your shot with the Win Mag.

If laser beams are all that matters guess I'll tote my 204 Ruger next time.

I'm not a 30 cal guy or even a magnum guy, but there is a bit of a discrepancy in the two scenarios you describe that you are leaving out.

 

[hobbes]

Online ballistic calculator using same weight bullets discussed above but in a Nosler.





I don't care which you shoot, but unless missed something, the 300 crushes the 257 on energy . There's less drop with the 257 and it's velocities are similar to the 300 comparing those two bullets, but the energy of the 180 gr out of the 300 is significantly more at 400 yards, 1354 vs 2027. I suppose the fact that the 300 crushes at both ends is the downside.

 

[Marble]

This will turn into a shit show.

Everyone who shoots something similar will recommend what they shoot as justification for their choice.

Match your bullet to your animal. There is a time and place for every caliber.

My recommendation is to shoot the bigger heavier bullet in 180 to 200 grain. Depending on your scope you may or may not have to dial until 500 yards. Which for elk is not difficult at all to accomplish. Having a shot at 400 is very common where I hunt. Other places not so much.

If I had the two rifles sitting next to each other and an elk walked out I would choose the bigger one.

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[mmac]

Couple thoughts from me....
Your not punching paper so BC and ballistics can't be used without including energy. I love the 25 cals, but they are not the same as a 300 win mag.
A VLD bullet is not the same as a partition or bonded bullet or even a solid. VLD going fast is prone to do a lot of things except penetrate deep, which you will need here.

I am sure it would work, but you can get a 223 to work too. I would rather see you find a load for the 300....

 

[ChrisAU]

To be clear, I'm in the camp of take what you are comfortable with that has reasonable power - and I believe the 257 Weatherby Mag could be that. But saying that it has the same terminal performance at 400 yards as a 300 Win Mag...big ooof. That's all.

 

[Laramie]

Elk are big & tough to kill & may still go a mile or more if you hit em in the boiler room.

Not sure what you consider the boiler room. An elk hit through both lungs will absolutely not travel anywhere near that distance. Even with a little .243, a shot through both lungs equals a dead elk inside of 100 yards.

 

[MJB]

Wow......some of you guys....

Worse case put two in him