March 2008 No. 236 $ Printed in USA $5.99 U.S./Canada

Transcription

1 March 2008 No. 236 $ Printed in USA $5.99 U.S./Canada

2 Sporting Firear earms Journal March-April 2008 Volume 40, Number 2 ISSN Issue No Twenty-Two Years and Counting Spotting Scope - Dave Scovill Put Your Head on My Shoulder Straight Talk - Ron Spomer ARs for Varmint Rifles Down Range - Mike Venturino Savage Classic Cartridges - John Haviland 18 Installing Sling Swivels Light Gunsmithing - Gil Sengel 24 Dual-Power Binoculars Optics - Ron Spomer Danuser Counter Coil Mostly Long Guns - Brian Pearce Rifle Rest Techniques See the Shot John Haviland.475 Turnbull Big Bore Buffalo Buster Dave Scovill 44 Anything But Bolts Leverguns, Pumps and Semiautos John Barsness Winchester s Last Three Leverguns The Last of the Breed Mike Venturino Nosler Model 48 Big John s Rifle Brian Pearce.257 Weatherby Vanguard Premium Package for North American Game Stan Trzoniec 80 Forget Foot-Pounds It s the Bullet... Clair Rees Page Page Background Photo: 2008 Ron Spomer 4 Rifle 236

3 On the cover... The Winchester Model 1886 takedown.475 Turnbull rifle features a 26-inch octagonal barrel and magazine, color case forend cap, receiver and lever, custom checkering and engraving, and extended lever loop. Cape Buffalo photo by Denver Bryan. Page 31 Page 64 Page Catalog Corner Special Advertising Section - Beeman Sportsman Series Dual-Caliber Air Rifle Product Tests - J.I. Galan A Team Effort Custom Corner - Stan Trzoniec What s New in the Marketplace Inside Product News - Clair Rees 06 Plastic Points Rifles & Woodsmoke - John Barsness Issue No. 236 March-April 2008 Sporting Firear earms Journal Publisher/President Don Polacek Associate Publisher Mark Harris Editor in Chief Dave Scovill Managing Editor Roberta Montgomery Art Director Gerald Hudson Production Director Becky Pinkley Contributing Editors Associate Editor Al Miller John Barsness Ron Spomer Brian Pearce Stan Trzoniec Clair Rees Mike Venturino Gil Sengel Ken Waters Advertising Stefanie Ramsey: stefanie@riflemag.com Tom Bowman: bowmant@mauryboyd.com Advertising Information: Circulation Circulation Manager Michele Elfenbein circ@riflemagazine.com Subscription Information: Page Background Photo: 2008 Ron Spomer Publisher of Rifle is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published loading data or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All authors are contracted under work for hire. Publisher retains all copyrights upon payment for all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts. Rifle (ISSN ) is published bimonthly by Polacek Publishing Corporation, dba Wolfe Publishing Company (Don Polacek, President), 2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona (Also publisher of Handloader magazine.) Telephone (928) Periodical Postage paid at Prescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Subscription prices: U.S. possessions single issue, $5.99; 6 issues, $19.97; 12 issues, $36. Foreign and Canada single issue, $5.99; 6 issues $26; 12 issues, $48. Please allow 8-10 weeks for first issue. Advertising rates furnished on request. All rights reserved. Change of address: Please give six weeks notice. Send both the old and new address, plus mailing label if possible, to Circulation Dept., Rifle Magazine, 2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rifle, 2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona Wolfe Publishing Company 2625 Stearman Rd. Suite A Prescott, AZ Tel: (928) Fax: (928) Polacek Publishing Corporation 6 Rifle 236

4 SPOTTING SCOPE Dave Scovill I was out in the yard awhile back, working on an antijavelina fence, to keep the pesky critters from tearing up the plants and Roberta s small garden. The fence is made of 8-foot split cedar rails. It s time consuming, but pretty much a no-brainer, once you dig the post holes by hand with a 5-foot, 20- pound steel bar and post hole digger in granite. At any rate, it s projects like fence building, or maintaining an 18-year-old Dodge Ramcharger and a 34-year old Ford Bronco, that keep me from going bonkers from what has proven to be an 18-hours-aday, 7-days-a week job. And somewhere between the 7th or 8th post hole, I realized it was my 18th year as editor and 22nd year on the staff of Wolfe Publishing. I know some folks are thinking, Hey, it can t be all that bad, shooting, hunting and all the freebies. And to some degree, they would be correct, save for the late nights and up-before-dawn routine that goes hand-in-hand if you expect to disappear into the Alaskan wilderness or African bush for a week or so (if the bush plane arrives on time to take you out) and still deliver a magazine to the printer on schedule. That s roughly how it s been for 216 issues of Rifle and Handloader, not to ignore Successful Hunter and several other magazines and books we ve put out over the years. I m also reminded of the 250 (plus or TWENTY-TWO YEARS AND COUNTING minus) columns and who knows how many features I ve worked up. I was serving as a staff writer, Dave started writing for Rifle and Handloader in handguns and cast bullets, and living in Klamath Falls, Oregon, when Dave Wolfe offered the position of assistant editor. We, myself and two children, moved to... and took on the editor s job in Prescott in 1989 and Al Miller, the editor at the time, handed me the keys to the wash room in December of that year. (It was mostly symbolic since I ve never had a key to the wash room, mostly because it isn t locked, or the front door.) I have always been somewhat humbled by the realization that Dave Wolfe and Publisher Mark Harris trusted me with their little magazines. Back then, both magazines were printed in black-and-white on the same cut-and-paste layout forms I used back in high school, circa 1960, on the annual staff, and most of the features were written by freelance writers, save for stalwarts like Ken Waters, Layne Simpson, Wayne van Zwoll, Don Zutz and others. I could run off quite a list of who s who in the industry who have contributed to the magazines but would undoubtedly leave someone out. Suffice to say, those folks, freelancers included, kept the magazines afloat. Both magazines were pretty much cult publications that enjoyed a small, but devoted, following among professionals in the industry, mostly gunsmiths, writers and, as staffer John Barness affectionatelly refers to them, rifle loonies. In effect, you could seat the entire subscriber base in a medium-sized concert hall or the visitor section of the Rose Bowl. When Dave Wolfe, who also started Shooting Times, sold out to Mark Harris, we changed the artful covers and added color. Long-time subscribers 8 Rifle 236

5 Precision Riflesmithing Barreling to Benchrest Standards since 1987 Mike Bryant Bryant Custom Knives & Firearms 7761 FM 592 Wheeler, TX Shop: (806) TROPHY CARIBOU From Canada s Arctic Trophy Quality Game Great Location Fully Guided Quality Hunts For centuries man has hunted the vast treeless habitat of the Central Canadian Barren Ground Caribou. You can now be a part of this ancient rite on the uninhabited frontier. We speak your language, take care of you, and know what you want! Arctic grizzly, muskox, wolf, wolverine, fishing and world-class caribou hunts. Booking for 2008 and 2009 hunts. Complete list of references available. Write: Barry Taylor, ARCTIC SAFARIS Box 1294 W, Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada X1A 2N9 TEL (867) FAX (867) arctic.safaris@nt.sympatico.ca 10 Building DOUBLE RIFLES on Shotgun Actions By W. Ellis Brown This book is written to take the gunsmith or advanced hobbyist step by step through the process of building a double rifle, using the action of a side-by-side shotgun. Chapters include evaluating actions and cartridges; building monoblocks; ribs; bushing firing pins; and proof testing. Of particular interest is the chapter on regulating the barrels to shoot Now to available the same - DVD point of of the aim. Brown details each 2006 step Double of the entire Rifle process, Builders to end Symposium with a functional, well regulated double rifle. $ $2.50 S&H (U.S. & Can.) $5.00 S&H (Outside N.A.) HB, DJ, Large Format, 187 pages with over 250 b/w photos, color Order photos direct and from diagrams address below, or.. visit.. $49.95 our website: + $5.00 S&H. Colo. Res. add 3% sales tax ($1.50) (For a signed copy, add $3.00) *Orders outside the U.S.: S&H is $15.00 Bunduki Publishing, WCR 19, Ft. Collins, CO Dealer inquires welcome. SOLD OUT! 2nd Edition available soon! Check our web site for availability. cried foul. We were changing their magazine, and they didn t like it. In spite of the uprising, Mark put the magazines on a few newsstands in convenience stores and gas stations, mostly in Texas. They did well and the print run increased to supply more outlets, including a few book stores. With modest success came advertisers, and whether folks like it or not, advertising is the lifeblood of the publishing business. As circulation grew, we managed to add a full-time writer staff. Some have moved on to other publications, but the best of the lot chose to stick with us, starting with the most prolific writer and firearms authority to ever pop a primer, Ken Waters. By the late 1990s, the late Finn Aagaard and John Barsness came on board, and Mike Venturino, who worked for the magazines previously, signed on along with John Haviland, Brian Pearce and Ron Spomer. We also added Stan Trzoniec, one of the best photographers in the business, followed by Clair Rees and Dick VanDenburg. Gil Sengel, a full-time telephone company employee and part-time gunsmith, continued with features and his popular Cartridge Board in Handloader, and currently, a gunsmithing column. They didn t all join up simultaneously, of course, but in time pieces of the puzzle fell into place. To the man, they represent topnotch work ethics and, what appears to me at least, a stunning backdrop of knowledge no doubt, the result of growing up with firearms and hunting as a way of life. None of this is to ignore the production staff either. Magazine Rifle 236

6 features don t mysteriously appear in a layout. It requires dedication and commitment, day after day, year after year, to make it work, coordinating advertising and features, adding just enough graphics and artwork. So, while reading this issue, take time to review their work. Call it a special talent, or whatever, but it s quite remarkable. Their names, like the rest of the staff, are on the masthead. No, these folks aren t just department heads, they do it all, including dishes on Friday! I ve been asked how I came to have this job. Rather than go into detail about growing up in logging camps, working my way through college at odd jobs in the woods and lumber mills and ranch work, followed by a stint in the U.S. Navy and 14 years in retail, it s easier to tell folks I fell off a lettuce truck near Prescott and Dave Wolfe picked me up and offered me a job. I ve been here ever since. Considering what some folks think of editors, it s probably more believable anyway. Looking back over the last 18 years, I m somewhat surprised by the fact that we are still here with an ever-increasing following, and magazines are selling on newsstands and in book stores across the U.S., Canada and Europe. Thanks to what is now 52 years of handloading and hunting, a split-rail fence and a couple of older 4x4s, I ve also managed to maintain some measure of sanity. Although my children, Jason and Alicia in middle school when we started this adventure in Prescott and now grown and married would probably take issue with my definition of sanity. R Gas Checked & Plain Base Match Grade Cast Bullets Everything from 6.5mm to.500 S&W, BHN Real Keith Bullets -.357,.41,.44 & , 465 & 500 Gr. in.500 S&W,.460 S&W Gr. Cochise Thumbhole 349 NW 100 St. St. John, KS Tel: Website: We supply all of CorBon s cast bullets! Harry Lawson Co. Since 1965 CUSTOM STOCKS - Finished or semi-finished Muzzle Brakes, Custom Metalwork CATALOG $ N. Richey Blvd., Dept. C, Tucson, AZ (520) A NEW CONCEPT A round bottom trigger guard & floor plate assembly for the Model 98 Mauser standard action. Also available for the Pre-64 Model 70 Winchester. Jerry Fisher, 631 Crane Mt. Rd., Bigfork, MT (406) Dealer inquiries welcome. March-April

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8 Stan Trzoniec My M first exposure to Weatherby products was through its ads in the various sporting magazines, company literature and in those lavishly illustrated homebrewed catalogs that listed all of its products by caliber, high velocity and, of course, by the testimonials of hunters worldwide. As a young boy, I can remember spending many hours on a dreary day dreaming of the day when I could afford my first Weatherby and put it to good use on a pronghorn hunt out West. Born to a Kansas farmer in 1910, Roy Weatherby worked hard and with his savings put himself through college. Later he married, moved to California and found work as an insurance salesman. While that was a good start in life and paid the bills, in the early 1940s, Roy had a dream. He visualized sporting rifles of the highest quality and design with one uppermost trait in mind. He wanted them to stand alone in the sporting industry not only by looks but also with additional killing power at extended ranges. Roy theorized that if he could get a bullet traveling fast enough, he could, within reason, kill most any animal (within the proper caliber) with one shot. The rifle should have enough power to spare, just in case the rifleman should misjudge the distance or perhaps the size.257 Weatherby 72

9 and weight of the game while still knocking him down for keeps. In those initial years, Weatherby and his shop built rifles with actions supplied or purchased on the open market. Enfields, Springfields, Mausers and Winchester Model 70s lined his modest shop. His new line of proprietary cartridges based on the.300 Holland & Holland case was fireformed into a lineup of highvelocity magnum cartridges. It all started with the.220 Rocket, a blown out.220 Swift. Next up was the.270 Weatherby Magnum, which gave him the free press he needed to propel his company into the shooting spotlight. First Premium Package for North American Game The rifle is a custom Weatherby Vanguard.257 WM and the scope is a Leupold 3.5x10 in a Weatherby/Talley ring set. Known as the high priest of velocity, Roy E. Weatherby is the man who started it all. Vanguard March-April

10 .257 Weatherby Vanguard of a series made from the.300 H&H, this new cartridge could propel a 130-grain bullet over 3,300 fps, which on paper was roughly 10 percent more than the popular.270 Winchester. He designed his new offerings around the double radius shouldered case that is the hallmark of the Weatherby firm today. In theory, this case design allows gases to circulate and escape more efficiently than a conventional cartridge case something that is still debated over any campfire today. In any event, the.300 Weatherby came along and even today is still one of the most popular.30-caliber cartridges around. The.257 Weatherby came just about the same time and is not only my favorite rifle cartridge but also one I ve personally used many times in the West for pronghorn and mule deer. Roy said the.257 Weatherby has always been my favorite rifle for almost anything, and he was quoted as saying that he shot animals up to as far as 300 yards with dynamic success. Everyone has a soft spot in his or her heart for a certain caliber or rifle, and in my case, the.25 calibers seem to take top billing. With rifles available in the.250 Savage,.257 Roberts, Remington and the.257 Weatherby, they all offer good accuracy potential over the long haul, but for the ultimate factory.25 caliber, go for the Weatherby. Within a 3,000-fps range, the.257 Roberts will drop about 7.6 inches at 300 yards when zeroed at 200 yards with selected handloads and a 100-grain bullet. Moving up to the Remington at around 3,300, drop is about 6 inches. With a muzzle velocity of around 3,600, the.257 Weatherby reduces drop at 200 yards to 4.5 inches. That is just about half of the.257 Roberts and about onethird less than the Remington offers, so what s the catch? If we use a propellant similar to IMR-4350 to establish a base line, the uses about 15 percent more in the case than the Roberts. The.257 Weatherby uses a whopping 23 percent more powder This Weatherby combines plenty of space for even the largest scope eyepiece and has the safety lever mounted on the bolt shroud. The trigger is adjustable and the floorplate release is mounted on the front of the trigger guard. Use only.257 Weatherby Magnum ammunition; don t be tempted to use anything else. Trzoniec found that the action was very smooth and easy to operate with the addition of a Teflon coating on all the action parts. The bolt is fluted with three gas vents. The Vanguard features a Monte Carlo comb on the Desert Camo stock Rifle 236

11 It all started with the.220 Rocket. While the Mark V has been a Weatherby tradition for decades (left), the Vanguard is certainly a new departure with two vice nine locking lugs. than the.25-06, but the end result stands by itself. I can remember back (and I m not that old!) when the.257 Roberts was the traditional plains rifle, but now with the technological advances in powder, freebore rifles, better manufacturing tolerances and more spendable income, the.257 Weatherby makes a lot of sense. While this is fine, you need a good rifle to get all this accuracy and power downrange. Over the past decade or so, Weatherby has moved the Vanguard from the back pages of the catalog to the front as it gains more and more popularity among hunters. The reason is obviously cost and as well liked and strong as the Mark V is, even if you go for the Deluxe model, it s still more expensive than a similarly equipped Vanguard with a semi-fancy wood stock. Today in the Vanguard line there are traditional wood and synthetic rifles in all classes that range from varmint to big game models chambered upward to the.300 Weatherby and.338 Winchester. The Vanguards are solid, come in stainless and blued versions, and if you turn a few more pages in the current catalog, you ll come to the section on custom Vanguards. While I m not going to quote prices for the numerous options, they are all within reach of the average wage-earner who likes the feel and quality of a rifle made just for him, and that goes double for the Vanguard. The list is quite extensive. For example there are more than a half-dozen Specifications Rifle model: Weatherby custom Vanguard Action: bolt Stock: synthetic with various colors, patterns Cartridge tested:.257 Weatherby Magnum Magazine capacity: 3+1 Barrel length: 24 inches Overall length: inches Sights: none furnished, receiver drilled and tapped Weight: 8 pounds with Talley rings/ bases and scope Finish: choice of carbon blue or stainless Options: from the Custom Shop many choices in stocks, action and additional equipment Price: on an individual basis only Maker: Weatherby, Inc Commerce Way Paso Robles CA patterns in synthetic stocks that include spiderwebbing, colors and airbrushed textures to suit either your style of hunting or the locale you ll be in. The popular laminates are there as is semifancy walnut that can be used as an upgrade on production guns also. Complete with the rosewood tip and grip cap, high gloss finish and high comb, this says Weatherby all the way. Metalwork can include the recoil-reducing Accubrake that tames felt recoil by 53 percent Left, like all Weatherby cartridges, the.257 Weatherby works best with slow-burning powders. Bullets used in the tests are shown here. Below, unprimed brass, dies and primers are available at most large sporting goods stores. March-April

12 .257 Weatherby Vanguard Left to right,.25-caliber cartridges include the Savage,.257 Roberts, Remington and the.257 Weatherby with 87-, 100- and 117- grain bullets. Trzoniec shot this Wyoming pronghorn with a Deluxe version of the.257 Weatherby Vanguard. general contour of the stock, it s not necessary. Pillar bedding hugs the contours of the action as if it were poured around it. Since I wanted a true all-weather gun, I had the Custom Shop black Teflon the complete action including the bolt. Even though the bolt locks by opposed locking lugs, only a slight tip of the muzzle allows the bolt to slide rearward, due to the smoothness of the Dupont proprietary coating. On the bolt face is the typical plunger-type ejector, followed by a massive M16-style claw extractor. The bolt is fluted to reduce weight and contains three gas ports to vent the gases away from the shooter in the unlikely event of a case failure. The safety lever is mounted directly behind the knurled bolt knob and handle; when set in the safe position, it locks both the sear and the movement of the bolt. Pushing it forward allows the rifle to fire. The adjustable trigger on my rifle registered exactly 3 pounds without a hint of slack, so I left it as it came from the factory. The receiver is forged and tapped for commercial rings and bases. Weatherby has a neat aluand comes in stainless steel, high polish or matte blue. An 11-degree parabolic target or recessed field crown is available, as are fluted barrels and a choice of metal finishes to include a black Teflon coating. I placed an order for my custom Vanguard with a tan stock in a desert camo motif with black spiderwebbing. The stock is pure MERIT CORPORATION meritcorporation.com 76 Weatherby with its high comb, cast off and Decelerator-type recoil pad. The pistol grip is tightly swept downward to afford somewhat of a compromise for either prone or offhand shooting. Forward of the floorplate, it tapers gracefully to allow a good purchase on the stock even with winter gloves. Being a synthetic stock, there is no checkering, but with the spiderwebbing and the Merit #4 Hunting Disc For the man who really hunts, the Hunting Disc is an indispensable piece of sighting equipment. PAUL MATTHEWS, Rifle #124 The #4 Hunting Disc is an adjustable iris aperture that screws into your peep sight. It has 12 different aperture sizes with positive click settings from.022 to.156, all available instantly by turning the knurled face. This aperture will provide a clear, focused sight picture in any condition. The rugged steel construction and compact size makes it perfect for any sporting rifle. In the field or on the line, see your sights and target clearly. Since 1934, Merit has been providing shooters with sighting solutions. All of our products are satisfaction guaranteed and we strive to provide the best customer service. Please call or write for a free catalog or visit us on the web. (518) P.O. Box 9044 Schenectady, NY Rifle 236

13 .257 Weatherby Magnum Vanguard Range Tests overall loaded bullet length velocity group (grains) (inches) (fps) (inches) Factory Loads: 87 Weatherby Spire Point , Weatherby Spire Point , Weatherby roundnose ,387 1 overall loaded 100-yard bullet powder charge length velocity group (grains) (grains) (inches) (fps) (inches) Handloads*: 75 Sierra hollowpoint IMR , Hornady Spire Point IMR , Speer boat-tail AAC , Sierra spitzer H , Hornady hollowpoint IMR , * Federal 215 primers used in the above five loads. Reduced Loads**: 87 Speer spitzer SR , , ** CCI 250 primers used in the two reduced loads, and they were shot at 50 yards. Be Alert Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data. minum ring/base combination made for the company by Talley. I mounted a Leupold Vari-X III x scope. It s one of my favorites, and its low profile and high magnification make this rifle a master of many hunting duties. Chambered for the.257 Weatherby, it is undoubtedly one the most powerful.25-caliber cartridges in production today with a handsome advance of around 20 percent in muzzle energy over the Remington. Shooters who might balk at this figure should still keep in mind that apparent or felt recoil levels are still below those of the more popular Currently Weatherby offers four selections of factory ammunition. For our testing, I had the 87-, 100- and 117-grain bullet weights in stock. When I placed the order, the 120-grain Partition was out of stock, so I used the now-discontinued Federal load with a 115- grain Nosler bullet in nickel cases. Both Federal and Remington did offer the.257 Weatherby in factory guise at one time, but apparently it s been dropped from their respective lines. For the first round and to fireform cases, I limbered up the Vanguard with factory ammunition. The weather was early RMS CUSTOM GUNSMITHING Robert M. Szweda Classic Style Stocks and Custom Checkering. Call: (928) or visit my web site: Barrel & Gun Works Reboring Rerifling Custom Barrels Lengths to 36 Calibers.22 to.585 Chrome moly or Stainless Steel Dan Pedersen, Barrel Maker 339 Grove Avenue Prescott, AZ dan@cutrifle.com WORLD S FINEST PRODUCTION RIFLE BARRELS DOUGLAS ULTRARIFLED BARRELS IN MOST SIZES, SHAPES AND CALIBERS. Stainless Steel or Chrome Moly AFFORDABLE QUALITY Write for free information to: DOUGLAS BARRELS, INC Big Tyler Rd., RM11 Charleston, WV FAX March-April

14 .257 summer, with a morning temperature of around 70 degrees. All ammunition both commercial and handloads was fired from a three-round magazine and not single fed. This gives the shooter a better idea of how a rifle will function with a fully loaded magazine and brings immediate feedback of any malfunction potential. Three-round groups were fired with each product, which I consider practical accuracy when big game hunting. First up was Weatherby s 87- grain bullet that delivered 3,833 fps, producing a three-shot group that measured under an inch. Going up a notch to the 100-grain softpoint pulled in a group of 7 8 inch with a mean velocity of 3,642 fps at 100 yards. Finally, I gave the Weatherby 117-grain roundnose a shake, although I can t understand why it is still Weatherby Vanguard One Piece Scope Mount by DEDNUTZ PRODUCTS, LLC PATENT PENDING When Accuracy is a Must.....Choose DEDNUTZ 2710 Wilkins Dr. Sanford, NC The Speer 100-grain boat-tails went into nice, tight.75-inch groups. in the line. The.257 is a high-velocity round, and to me a pointed bullet in this range makes more sense, but like most businesses, they try to please everyone, and with one-inch groups, it still deserves to be in the line. Later, on a casual shooting session, Federal s three-shot groups averaged inches with a velocity of 3,126 fps, which surprisingly is a few hundred fps under the roundnose Weatherby offering. Things really started to happen when I came back with my handloads. Out of the five normal loadings and two reduced handloads, nothing went over a minute of angle. All these loads are from off-the-shelf reloading manuals, and two loads pulled from the Sierra manual under accuracy loads showed they indeed are doing their homework. I used Weatherby brass and standard Federal 215 primers with the exception of the reduced loadings, which employed the CCI 250 primer. First off was the lighter weight 75-grain Sierra hollowpoint. While I really don t think the.257 The Sierra 117-grain spitzers went into groups under an inch with velocities over 3,100 fps. For those who may want to use the.257 WM on small game, Sierra 75-grain hollowpoints did over 3,800 fps with groups around.5 inch. Weatherby is a good standard to use for varmint hunting, if you have some spare time in camp, bring these along. With 68.3 grains of IMR-4350, at 5 8 inch, who is complaining! Moving up to 87 grains, the Hornady Spire Point with 67.0 grains of IMR hit that magical 1 2-inch group with a respectable 3,415 fps. This load showed some promise as claiming my target showed two shots in the same hole. The Speer 100-grain boat-tail went under an inch with Accurate Arms 3100 powder. Sierra s 117-grain spitzer hit 3 4 inch, and the Hornady 120-grain hollowpoint managed to sneak under an inch at over 3,150 fps. Rifle 236

15 For close ranging chucks or other small game, I prefer to use reduced loads and the Speer 87- grain spitzer with SR-4759 powder. At 50 yards with 20 grains, groups around 1 2 inch are possible. For casual shooting, plinking or perhaps showing your son or daughter how to handle a large centerfire rifle, this is one sure way to get them interested without the heavy kick. Handloading still offers the greatest versatility with the.257 Weatherby Magnum, and with an average case capacity of 83.0 grains of water, this.25 caliber needs plenty of fuel to get going. Large magnum styled cases like the.257 WM call for slower powders like those in the IMR- 4350/4831 class. Those powders fill the cases with aplomb. Because these are stick type powders, it is still a good idea to drop the charge to within a grain or two of the load and trickle up from there. Conventional handloading techniques are used on the.257 Weatherby. For example, since this is a hunting cartridge, always fulllength resize all cases to avoid problems with extraction or chambering. For my testing, I ordered the Redding Deluxe Die Set (84226), which includes the neck sizing die only. For range testing, I use the neck size die; for hunting, and after I confirm my loads, all cases are then run through the full-length die. Case mouths were chamfered to keep from collapsing the neck, especially when loading flat-based bullets. Slow-burning powders work well with the Federal 215 Large Rifle primers as the company recommends. Overall, the Weatherby custom Vanguard chambered for the.257 Weatherby is a great combination for plains game. It shoots very flat, is deadly accurate and put together in a rifle made just for you brings bragging rights to any hunting camp. R SPEAR POINTED CLEANING JAG JDS Quick Measure Cut Your Reloading Time! Not Your Powder! This powder measure will not cut powder! Charge directly into the cartridge cases Charge 100 cases in less than 4 minutes Johnson Design Specialities 4607 W. Elderberry Avenue Spokane, WA smalstuf@mindspring.com PRO-SHOT PRODUCTS Manufacturer of Gun Cleaning Supplies for Accuracy - 100% Cotton Flannel Patches (Finished Both Sides for Extra Absorbency) - - Brass Core/Bronze Bristle Bore Brushes - Jags - Bore Guides - - Cleaning Rods - Action Tools - Bore Mops - Bore Solvents - Bolt Lube - - Complete line of Cleaning Accessories. Send for Free Catalog - Dealer Inquiry Invited, Pro-Shot Products, Box 763, Taylorville, IL PH (217) FAX (217) March-April