And the winner is weatherby!

[D.Turvey Jr]

I will throw in my vote for the .300 Wby Mag. The calibers you listed are fine rounds but I would lean towards the .300 for heavier bullets, even for the lighter critters. The ability to shoot flat and buck the wind is high on my priority list and I think the faster heavier bullets will do that for you.

 

[xtreme]

Also mule deer, Antelope, elk, and small bear. IMO I refer to the 25-06. I shoot 7mm now but will go back to the 25-06.

 

[RUGER M77]

7mm rem mag you wont be disappointed

 

[buckbull]

Also mule deer, Antelope, elk, and small bear. IMO I refer to the 25-06. I shoot 7mm now but will go back to the 25-06.

I know a guy that uses the .25-06 for elk and has success. I personally prefer my .300wm for elk. Would have no worries shooting anything smaller than an elk with a .25-06.

 

[shootbrownelk]

You can always go all out and get the .30-378. Hunted with a guy that head shot an antelope at 300 yards. The carnage was something else.

I know a fella that had a Weatherby in .270 Winchester. He got his deer & antelope every year. He traded it off for yet another Weatherby (Vanguard?) I think, in .300Winchester magnum. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. It was a flinch (recoil) problem I told him after watching him target shoot. He didn't listen, traded that off on a ...Ready?.... .30/.338 Weatherby.
I ran into him several years later on an antelope hunt....he was packing yet another Weatherby Mk V....in 30/06!
Finally learned a real expensive lesson on being over-gunned...the new rifle also had a brake & a Limb-saver pad. Like Clint Eastwood said..."A man has to know his limitations".

 

[7stwluver]

I currently own two and have owned a few others. If you want one caliber to do about everything I'd lean 7 wby mag or 300 wby myself. Some would disagree but that's what route I'd go. You'll be happy whatever route you go with a mark v action. If you don't reload the 300 is available from hornady still expensive but cheaper than weatherby factory. I'm still actively looking for a German made .224 wby varmiter if I'm lucky I'll find one I like. Good luck on the new rifle.

 

[Elkoholic307]

The factory guns have lots of freebore.

I was very happy to see someone brought this up.

I'd avoid Weatherby. They're overrated and overpriced... and excessive freebore is a bigger problem than most may think.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I was very happy to see someone brought this up.

... and excessive freebore is a bigger problem than most may think.

My .300 is a custom commercial Mauser action and a new match Shilen SS barrel. I threw out all the reloading data and basically started from scratch on load development. My .257 is a Wby MkV and is total factory and again it was starting from scratch and harder than the .300 to get it to shoot. Finally got it done tho.

 

[THelms]

My .300 is a custom commercial Mauser action and a new match Shilen SS barrel. I threw out all the reloading data and basically started from scratch on load development. My .257 is a Wby MkV and is total factory and again it was starting from scratch and harder than the .300 to get it to shoot. Finally got it done tho.

Not throwing you under the bus CC and/or 307 but that is why Weatherby recommends shooting Weatherby ammo. A buddy and I tried reloading for both my 257 and my 338-378 and could never match factory ballistics or accuracy. However, he loads for his 300 Wby and it is great. The factory stuff is expensive but worth the cost in my mind. Both of my rifles are MK-V Accumarks and I've killed a crapload of game with both of them.

Getting back to question posed... I'd go with Dan on this one; the .300 WBY is very tough to beat and is a great "one gun" fix. If I only owned one rifle that would likely be it. But I've never subscribed to the "beware the man with one gun" crap. In my experience you show me a man that only owns one gun and I'll show you a man that doesn't care enough about guns to be proficient with it.

Soap box relinquished!

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Not throwing you under the bus CC and/or 307 but that is why Weatherby recommends shooting Weatherby ammo. A buddy and I tried reloading for both my 257 and my 338-378 and could never match factory ballistics or accuracy. However, he loads for his 300 Wby and it is great. The factory stuff is expensive but worth the cost in my mind. Both of my rifles are MK-V Accumarks and I've killed a crapload of game with both of them.

Getting back to question posed... I'd go with Dan on this one; the .300 WBY is very tough to beat and is a great "one gun" fix. If I only owned one rifle that would likely be it. But I've never subscribed to the "beware the man with one gun" crap. In my experience you show me a man that only owns one gun and I'll show you a man that doesn't care enough about guns to be proficient with it.

Soap box relinquished!

When I rebarreled the .300, my 'smith and I talked about the freebore on the factory rifles and decided to go with less than what Weatherby does on theirs. Once I got it dialed in, my loads are better than factory....and a whole lot cheaper. Same thing with the .257, I get as good or better performance than the factory stuff and again a lot less $$$!

 

[THelms]

I'm glad you have it figured out, we never could match velocities or accuracy but neither of us are that patient either. I don't mind the price of the ammo because I'm not burning through it in large quantities and a box or two lasts me a couple of years. In fact, I'm still working on the same box of .257 100 TSX's that I purchased three years ago. I've shot one three shot group every year to be sure its on and then killed six animals (deer and pronghorns). So, I'm down to five rounds left; I'll shoot three shots to make sure and then go kill my pronghorn. Probably ask for a box of ammo for Christmas this year. I leave my practice to my .308 Win, 22-250 Rem, 17HMR, and 270 Win.

 

[Elkoholic307]

Not throwing you under the bus CC and/or 307 but that is why Weatherby recommends shooting Weatherby ammo.

I've never bought factory ammo and never will. And I don't waste much time or money on hunting rifles that don't show any potential.

I paid a steep price for a 338-378 but couldn't get it under 3" @ 100. Didn't matter whether it was Barnes, Berger, Nosler or Sierra.

 

[packmule]

3" is pretty good compared to what my accumark shot with everything other than the Spire Point. I wasn't buying every single offering WBY had for it to see which would match their guarantee. I mostly use it for a truck gun bc I'm not real fond of that bullet at 3709fps.

 

[Elkoholic307]

I have a Savage that shoots 3" @ 600 and it was a thousand dollars less than the Accumark.

 

[Sawfish]

I never worry too much about published factory ballistics because they are all shot through long pressure barrels. No matter who is the manufacturer. I buy a box of the factory loads that I want to duplicate, and shoot them over the chronograph to check accuracy and velocity. I will also measure the CHE (case head expansion) for another point of comparison. After some testing, I was able to duplicate the velocities obtained with 154 and 175 gr. factory ammunition in the 7mm Weatherby with IMR-7828. I got close to the 180 gr. velocities in the .300 Wby. with that same powder, but did not go any further since I was shooting 200 Grand Slams in the .300. One thing that is overlooked in Weatherby rifles is the safety and trigger mechanism. The triggers are easy to adjust and compare to the better custom triggers. I took an unplanned header off of a mountain a few years back, and had my 7mm Weatherby loaded with the safety on, since I was tracking a wounded deer. The safety did exactly what it was designed to do, which is quite a bit better than some of Weatherby's larger competitor's models. Both me and the rifle recovered from that experience with no serious lasting effects. As a bonus, I can sense oncoming weather changes with my left wrist and knee, and I got a free ride in a Huey courtesy of a Navy Seals rescue team.

 

[THelms]

Killed a nice bull elk at 256 yards and a Pronghorn buck at 367 over the past couple of days with my Weatherby and Weatherby Factory Ammo... they did not complain, in fact, all they did was fold up like cheap suits, DRT! So much for Weatherby rifles being less than desirable, over-bored, expensive, status symbols. This is the same argument between guys that tie all their own flies and guys who buy flies... do what works for you but don't tell me I'm wrong for doing what works for me.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Yea Weatherby rifles are really nice and most are very accurate. Like some of the other guys said about the price of ammo, holy cow!
Bass pro has .270 wby and 300 wby listed for $62.99

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I havn't checked recently but I think I am loading for my .300Wby @ around .75 cents a round and slightly less for the 257. I havn't bought bullets for awhile, using Nosler Partition 180 gr that I bought for $25.00/100.

Another reason to reload beside making custom loads that shoot better than factory, a hell of a lot cheaper to roll your own.

 

[humbletaxi]

I can't even get over the cost of brass for weatherbys I like the .257wby in theory, and my dad loves his .270wby but I will never own one just due to the price of ammo and brass. Oh and for what it is worth, my dad reforms his brass for .270wby out of 7mm rem mag brass and has sub moa accuracy with hand loads so there is that...

 

[FORD#1]

Grizz, congratulations on your latest hunt. I did in fact purchase the Weatherby Mark V Range Certified 7mm mag. I almost went with the same setup as I KEEP IT COLD has, but chickened out at the last minute. My entire Western hunting experience went down the tubes this season as I have spent the last 5 weeks in Alaska. My son is in Montana with some local hunters at this time. I had a close FOMOCO co-worker pass away in Barrow, Alaska at the age of 55. Went to be with the family, loved the area so much, decided to stay for awhile. Ate whale skin for the first time. Before I left I purchased a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS in 7mm mag as a backup rifle. Sent the gun to Williams Gun Sight Corp in Flint, Mi for additional work. Had the barrel cryogenically treated to begin with. This gun shoots like the proverbial hammers of hell! It seems I have less time in retirement than while I was working. P.S...My nephew that I was grooming to take hunting, fell on hard times and is being lodged by the state. Im not giving up on him quite yet! FORD#1