We all like to dream about hunting the biggest game North America offers, but the fact is, for every moose, elk, or grizzly taken each year, hundreds of game animals ranging in size from caribou on down to southern whitetails and pronghorn antelope are brought to bag. The same applies to other parts of the world as well. In Africa, the big stuff, such as Cape buffalo, lion, and elephant, gets all the publicity, but most hunters fire many more shots at plains antelope, such as impala, sable, kudu, and oryx.

The .257 Wby. ranks third in popularity of Wby. cartridges; .30-378 Wby. is No. 1, and .300 Wby. is No. 2.

The ideal rifle capable of handling all of this does not shoot a bullet bigger than your thumb, nor does it pound your shoulder to a pulp with each squeeze of the trigger. The ideal rifle is one that shoots flat, hits hard, generates a level of recoil easily tolerated by most hunters, and is inherently accurate. What I have described is a rifle in .257 Magnum, and this is why I consider it to be the most useful cartridge in the Weatherby stable.

Recoil, Trajectory & Energy
Let's closely examine each of the three important characteristics I just mentioned. Recoil of a rifle in .257 Weatherby Magnum is about the same as that of a rifle of the same weight in .270 Winchester. More specifically, when a 100-grain bullet exits the barrel of a nine-pound rifle in .257 Weatherby at 3500 fps, one's shoulder is caressed with 13.5 ft-lbs of recoil. When a 130-grain bullet exits the barrel of a nine-pound rifle in .270 Winchester at 3100 fps, 14 ft-lbs of recoil is generated. In other words, anyone who can handle the recoil of a rifle in .270 Winchester can also handle the recoil of a rifle in .257 Weatherby Magnum.

Then we have the matter of trajectory. Simply put, no big-game cartridge offered by the major manufacturers shoots flatter than the .257 Weatherby Magnum. When a 100-grain bullet exits the muzzle at 3500 fps and is zeroed three inches high at 100 yards, it is about four inches above point of aim at 200 yards, a couple of inches high at 300 yards, and only about six inches low at 400 yards.

There have been times in my life when the .257 Weatherby Magnum has shot so flat as to defy explanation. One of those times was on a recent hunt with Wyoming rancher Marty Tillard. Behind Tillard's ranch house is a nice benchrest and target butts out to 400 yards, and it was there that I checked the zero of my rifle before heading to the field. I was shooting a Weatherby Vanguard in .257 Magnum and Weatherby factory ammo loaded with the Nosler 115-grain Ballistic Tip.