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First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed

First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« on: January 11, 2019, 08:28:27 PM »
Hello!  I'm a new member thats been lurking for awhile and it led to my first weatherby purchase.  Initially, I intended on buying an UL 257 Mark V.  Well after a lot of research I decided before dumping 1600+ into a rifle, I would try out the vanguard, as they have great reviews.  I purchased a first lite from classic firearms shipped to my ffl for $$830.  Due to the holidays, it took a week to get to my ffl.  I was out of town working so it took an additional week to take possession of rifle.  I'm a lefty and surprisingly the stock was still comfortable, however, I'm still gonna sell it and replace with a simple hogue stock, so shoot me a pm if interested.  Needless to say, it was worth it.  I did the Weatherby barrel break in for the first ten rounds with the 100 grain normas.  I noticed it was grouping about 1.25 moa at 100 yrds.  being impatient, I continued to break in shooting 3 shoot groups with some nosler handloads I made. They were 115 nbt  loaded with 67,68,69, and 70 gr of rl25.  They all shot less than moa @ 100 yrds.  I had some ttsx 100 gr barnes loaded as well and that when things got interesting.  Every load with rl25 from 70, 71, 72, and 73 qll shot less than 3/4 moa.  The quality and build of this rifle was very impressive.  I have tikkas, custom 700s, well broke in m70's, and this rifle blows them out the water.  It's outfitted with a 4-12x redfield, one piece camo base I scored off ebay for $20, and the lightest sling I had in my rifle junk box.  Rifle feels and handles very light, but i haven't scaled it yet, which I will tomorrow when I get to ranch.  Glad i took the plunge!  Vanguard wilderness in 6.5-300 will be my next purchase to replace my x-bolt 26 nosler

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2019, 08:37:10 PM »
Congratulations on a great shooting rifle and caliber.100 grain Barnes and the .257 seem to be a great combination.
Roger
Faster horses,younger women,older whiskey,and more money.

eford

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Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2019, 08:52:17 PM »
It is an impressive rifle you have. The 100gn TSXs worked well in my 257 Roy too.
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Every man needs to know his limits.

danno50

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Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2019, 10:08:38 PM »
Welcome to the Nation! Congrats on your first great looking and great shooting Weatherby in 257. A 300 Wby and a 270 Wby are also absolute necessities. ;D
DosEquisShooter

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2019, 10:34:43 PM »
I learned a lot of info from you guys and I cant thank you enuff.  Ive been eyeballing the 270 and 300 roy, but i have a few 270 wsms and 300 rum that shoot lights out and very fast, so Im leaning toward the 6.5-300 for my next necessary purchase.  A .60 bc bullet at  a true 3300 fps will slam some game!  I have a 26 nosler that shoots 127 lrx around 3400 fps(.46 bc), and a 28 nos that spits 185 nosler cc a 3200,so i "need" to replace the 26 noz and continue on the weatherby train!  FWIW, when you run the numbers on a 100 gr ttsx barnes, .35 bc at 3600 fps, there 's not a lot of other rounds that can compete with it.  I'm a speed junky, and it took me a lot of research to discover the 257wm is the quintessential whitetail load.  It's a flat shooting round, and with the brake on my first lite, it made very little recoil.  I will be buying a second 257 very soon.....

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2019, 08:22:51 AM »
Beautiful rifle, congratulations. I agree with those that recommend the 300 or the 270 although I lean towards the 300 as your next rifle. I wasn't disappointed with my 6.5-300 but I did wonder why I bought it after a day at the range. Yes, the 6.5 will go 1000 yards and handle the wind better than the .257 with it's lighter bullets but the 300 will do it even better. If I had to do it again, I would skip the .257 and go with the 6.5 and a 300 but since you have the .257, my recommendation would be to skip the 6.5-300 and get a 300.
Mark V Deluxe .257,6.5-300,300
Mark V Tactical 338 Lapua, .308
Tikka T3x Light 22-250
Ber B-14 HMR 6.5 CM
Marlin 1895 SBL 45-70
Win 94 30-30
AR-15 Match 5.56
AR-15 Match Wylde .223
AR-10 Match .308
WASR-10/63 AK47 7.62x57
Russian SKS 7.62x57
Turkish Mauser 8mm
UZI Mini Pistol 9mm
Barrett M82A1 50BMG

257 Shooter

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Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2019, 09:56:34 AM »
Very nice. The First Lite is very tempting.

PARA45

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Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2019, 11:05:31 AM »
Very nice rifle!  Those Vanguard rifles are shooters, and 've never heard of one shooting less than 1 MOA at 100 yds.  Congrats & welcome to the Nation!
Senator John Kennedy  " If you support defunding the police, you've tested positive for stupid".

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2019, 10:19:25 PM »
That's one awesome rifle congrats! Vanguards are known for being shooters.

Also welcome to Weatherby Nation!

Rob41256

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Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2019, 06:56:18 AM »
Welcome to the wonderful and addicting world of Weatherby rifles!  Great first choice!  The 257 Bee is a very versatile cartridge and for a western hunter pretty much mice to moose, with the right bullet and appropriate range.  Add a 300 Wby Mag and you really have the stable to take any game in North America and a pretty good variety in other parts of the world.

Happy and good shooting!


Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2019, 02:51:59 PM »
Thanks for the warm welcomes and compliments!  I gotta chance to sneak off to the range for my lunch break today and shoot some 100 yard groups.  Before I get into that info, I wanted to provide some specs folks interested in the First Lite might be interested in.  First off, I removed the stock to see what their synthetics actually weigh, and it came in at 2lbs, 4.5oz, with the rifle coming in at 8 lbs, 8oz, sling included.  Not a featherweight, but the length makes it feel like one.  It packs very light.  I loaded up some 115 nbt's with 70,71,and 72 of RL25.  The first group of 70 grains was right at 1.5moa.  I shoot the 72gr, second, an it was impressive at .463".  I adjusted sights and shot the 71gr, which wasnt bad considering I pulled the third shot, which is the one slighty lower, but it still was a .783" group.  As good as the 115 shot, my final load I would like to use will be a barnes 100ttsx and the hot cor 100gr.  The speer bullets aren't new age sexy or cool, but damn they shoot.  As for the ttsx,  they shot 3/4" without even trying  Your guys weren't fibbing when you say weatherby's like speed.  These noslers, just like the barnes, got tighter with higher charges of powder.  I have an axis hunt on Sunday, but I wont be home before then and the only range longer than 100 yards is an hour away(outside Lackland in SA there's a good range with 300 yards.)  Im planning to get to range Friday or Saturday and get drops at 200 and 300 to get a ball bark velocity.  Just in case I set POI 1.75" high at 100yds so it should be in the kill zone out to 320ish.  I can't stress how impressed I am with weatherby rifles!  Looks like the Vanguard Wilderness in 6.5-300 will be my next purchase!

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2019, 02:59:19 PM »
I forgot to ask, is there a twelve step program, rifle rehab, or something of that nature for the Weatherby addiction?!?  I already know I'm getting a 6.5 next, but I think my son's need matching 240s, and maybe they will share with Dad???

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2019, 03:12:48 PM »
Yep there's a twelve step program for that, it's called buy twelve more rifles.   ;D
Nothing is better than a Weatherby, big bore magnum, or a Colt.

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #13 on: January 16, 2019, 03:25:02 PM »
Yep there's a twelve step program for that, it's called buy twelve more rifles.   ;D

LOLOLOLOLOL!  Its looking that way!

Re: First Weatherby, First Lite 257 mag, very impressed
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2019, 02:07:02 PM »
Sweet looking rifle. I ordered one in a 300 wby back in October and come January it still wasn't in,so i put the money on one they had in stock which was the wilderness,but i still want a first lite. Nice rifle