reloadin joe

By Joe Evans

Well, well, well. It so seems I am fared with the task of choosing a weapon for a soon-to-be hunt for two medium-sized big-game animals. Most reasonably intelligent folks would choose a main rifle for both species and have a backup for a spare – just in case the main weapon breaks. Well, I’m not sure most people would put me in the reasonably intelligent bracket. Having said that, a great deal of thought did enter into making my decision. First, one species is about 50% larger and much more hairy than the other. Second, ammunition components are totally non-existent. The final selection boiled down to a 257 Weatherby as the primary and a 340 Weatherby as the backup and possible use on the larger animal. The 257 is a Weatherby Vanguard stainless synthetic with a 24 inch barrel. Topping it is a Nikon 4.5x14 scope. The rifle is also equipped with a Timney trigger and a Bell and Carlson fiberglass stock. The proven on game and range load for this rifle consists of a Weatherby case, 74 grains of RL25 powder, 100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet, lit by a Federal 215 GM Match primer. I would have liked to use a heavier bullet for the larger animal, but this was all I had. Chronographed velocity is right at 3560 fps. Outstanding whitetail load. Whilst working this load up I happened to pull a factory 100 grain load apart. Propelling the 100 grain Hornady bullet was what appeared to be 74 grains of RL25. Velocity was identical to my load and pressures seemed to be quite close. The group shot at the factory and accompanied the rifle was 3 shots in .75 inch with the 100 grain Hornady bullet in a factory load. I could not better these results with a number of loads with 87, 100, and 115 grain bullets. For a number of reasons which I will detail in another article the Butler Creek synthetic stock which this rifle originally sported had to go. The Bell and Carlson stock was a revelation! It is a drop-in style of stock and features a pressure point at the forend tip. Although free-floating barrels are the current rage, directions with the B&C stock state that the warranty will be void if this pressure point is removed. Okay, when all else fails – follow directions. I have had good luck with pressure point bedding in other rifles and there really is a lot of good about this style bedding, particularly with a super stiff stock like the B&C with a lot of imbedded metal stiffening it dramatically. After installing the B&C stock last summer I took the rifle to the range and after firing a few rounds to settle the stock in, I proceeded to get serious. Several 3 shot groups averaged right at .5 inch with the best group running .3. Last fall I harvested a nice, small buck whitetail with a single shot. Not the biggest deer I ever took but I am a meat eater – not a horn chewer. I am also not afflicted with the “mine is bigger than yours” syndrome that a lot of guys seem to be burdened with. Life is good! So now I took the rifle out a couple of weeks ago to check the zero.

Best I could do was .75 inch at 100 yards. Hmmm. i checked the two action screws and found the front one backed out about ½ turn. What happened? I removed the offending screw and found a small raised area at the bottom of the screw preventing proper tightening. A moment at the grinder fixed that. I don’t like loose action screws so I coated the threads of both action screws with a dab of automotive Indian Head Gasket Shellac and tightened both down to just below breaking point. Back to the range and fired three groups of .5 inch, .6 inch, and .4 inch. After this I fired one three shot group of a Weatherby factory load featuring a 100 grain Norma bullet at a rated 3400 fps. Through the scope the group looked huge! Fired another group with my handload and the group measured .55 inch. ‘Tis the factory load! I went down and measured the factory load group and found it only measured 1.25 inch. Not too bad and one only has to consider that not too many years ago 1.25 inches was a great group for a light, high intensity hunting rifle. That’s the 257, and now for the 340. This piece is factory equipped with a fluted, stainless 26 inch Krieger barrel. The factory stock is, I believe, a Bell and Carlson fiberglass job with aluminum stiffening block installed. No pressure points in this one. Trigger is an aftermarket Timney. Sighting system is a 3.5x15 Nightforce scope. Muzzle is vented with a Williams Guide muzzle brake. Various factory and hand loads from 200 to 250 grain weights have always ran in 3 shot clusters from .6 inch to .9 inch at 100 yards. Never below .5 inch and never over one inch. Current favored load consists of a Nosler 225 grain AccuBond bullet propelled by 88 grains RL22 in a Nosler Custom case and lit by a Federal 215 GM match primer. Velocity is 3024 fps. A little below max but it works. As a final zero check, I went out bear hunting yesterday and fired two shots prone with bipod at a 6 inch rock at 686 yards. Data called for a 12 MOA dialed into scope. Both bullets hit. Should be good to go! So there you have it. Either of these pieces will do the job as long as the shooter does his part. Weatherby rifles and cartridges have received considerable criticism over the years. Some of it is justified and some of it is due to ignorance or jealousy. One real puzzler is this – both the 257 and 340 shoot best with the bullets seated quite deeply. I am not the only one to report this as others have noticed this phenomenon with other Weatherbys. Weird by true. I feel the real key to success is to check and properly maintain your equipment. Practice, practice, and practice some more. If you follow these tips your success is virtually guaranteed whether you use a Weatherby or other equipment. At any rate, down the line I’ll cover both cartridges and rifles in greater depth as there is a lot more to say about them. I’m looking forward to my upcoming adventure and will let you know how it all turns out. So what animals am I hunting? I’ll let you know next issue. Right now, I gotta go do some dry firing with these cannons!