Was originally stuck on a .25-300WinMag. but dies and reamer were tough to come by.

After some checking around is seems that the .257 STW is the way to go. Any one have one of these? What caliber of action do I need to get started? Got a gunsmith that you trust to build one of these?

Id imagine a rem 700 action would be the way to go. Man thats a fast ass round. Short barel life id assume. Where are you located? If youre near CS i have a suggestion for you.

I'm in The Woodlands but am in B/CS regularly. It is a hot round, but fun to shoot and can do some pretty serious damage to what it's pointed at.

Barrel will probably go about 750 to a 1000 rounds. Figure thats at least 50 deer seasons.

Shot you a PM.

Have you heard of a 257 hot tamale ? A guy in Wharton builds custom rifles and handloads for them.
At the muzzle your going over 4000fps and if you dial in at 350 yds you can hold dead on a shoulder to 400yds. Oh and you still have over 2000 ft lbs of energy at 500 yds

Speed is great - but what about bullet selection? Anyone can dial for elevation, but a good BC will knock the wind when going long.

Just curious, what were the deciding factors for a 257 STW? Seems there are other cartridges out there that will do the same thing just easier on the barrel and your shoulder.

Don't get me wrong, I love off the wall rounds, heck that is why I started reloading. I have a 7mm STW and love it.

[This message has been edited by Banks_Hunting (edited 2/7/2010 1:48p).]

Wanted a high velocity round and had a buddy that set up a .25-300 Win Mag wildcat. Shot it a couple of times and loved the performance.

But when I started shopping around to duplicate it, came upon the .257 STW, which is essentially the 7mm STW (8mm Rem Mag case) necked down to the 25 cal projectile. The guy in Wharton put his name on it a branded it "Hot Tamale", but in reality, I've seen this around quite a bit. Dies and a reamer are available for purchase.

In the end, its just me wanting to try something as you said, "off the wall".

you should contact kirby allen.

he makes some pretty cool wildcats and really knows his stuff

here is a list of the guns he has designed

Allen Magnums

One that sticks out is the 257 AM
257 Allen Magnum
338 Rem Ultra Magnum parent case, necked down to 257, fireformed to min body taper and sharper shoulder angle.
100 gr.(4100 fps)up to 156 gr. ULD RBBT(.820 bc) 3350 fps in 30” barrel length
Design purpose for long range pronghorn and deer hunting. Out to 800 yards on heavy deer, 1000+ on pronghorns. Also makes a very effective long to extreme range coyote rifle but a bit hard on pelts
Appropriate powders: H-870, H-US869, AA8700 and WC872

I've shot a 6.5 STW, and it is a burner. Isn't the STW cartridges based on the 8mm rem mag case? I can't remember for sure though.

[This message has been edited by str8shot1000 (edited 2/7/2010 10:09p).]

^
Rgr. and the 8 comes form 375 case.

Therefore the lost chapter of Genesis says:
"On the 9th day God created about 6 rifle catridges. And they were good. All other cartridges were begat from them. And they were better, in most cases. But sometimes people did silly things. And they were a waste of time. But a really fast quarterbore wasn't one of them."

[This message has been edited by Centerpole90 (edited 2/7/2010 11:01p).]

Pete Piper at precision barrel works in hempstead does all my work. Find you the cheapest, nastiest Rem 700 ADL and throw it all away except the action and bottom metal. Have Pete true the action, screw in a custom barrel, tinker with the trigger, and drop it into a Mcmillan or Manners stock.

Peter just chambered and installed a 30" tube on my friends 300WM around Christmas. Great work, got it back in about a week. It shoots lights out - all 15lbs of it.

quote:

---

Pete Piper at precision barrel works in hempstead does all my work. Find you the cheapest, nastiest Rem 700 ADL and throw it all away except the action and bottom metal. Have Pete true the action, screw in a custom barrel, tinker with the trigger, and drop it into a Mcmillan or Manners stock.

---

what cal of action do I need? Any magnum cal or only the 8mm rem mag will do?

Long actions with a bolt face .Dia of .540
examples:
264 Win Mag, 270 weatherby Mag, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Weatherby Mag, 7 STW,
7mm Rem Ultra Mag, 300 H & H, 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby Mag, 300 RUM, 303 Brit,
8mm Rem Mag, 338 Win Mag, 340 Weatherby Mag, 338 RUM, 375 H & H, 375 Weatherby,
375 RUM, 416 Rem Mag, 458 Win Mag, and the 458 Lott.

taken from longrangehunting.com

[This message has been edited by Banks_Hunting (edited 2/8/2010 8:04a).]

You should have looked at a .240 Weatherby.

Gil '91

.257..Weight..MV....ME....300yds...500
.............85...4000..3031.....0.........-16
...........100...3750..3123.....0.........-17
...........120...3550..3219.....0.........-19

[This message has been edited by sunchaser (edited 2/8/2010 2:19p).]

Sunchaser- where is that from?

I did a quick google search but could not find out anything for sure but I would think the round would need a long action. The long actions are easier to find as there are more of them out there.

Call Pete first to be sure but I would start cruising pawn shops for a real dog. Probably can pick one up for around $200. FYI new 700 actions are about the price of a new rifle if you can find them.

Actions that are already "perfect" and need no additional work such as Surgeon and BAT will run $1,000 or more. And you will still need bottom metal and trigger. The law of diminishing returns kicks in pretty quick unless you shoot competitively.

Spend $200 on gun/action and another $300 on truing and bolt work, reuse the bottom metal and touch up the trigger. Use the extra cash on a good stock and barrel.

Barrel life on this caliber will probably be under 1500 rounds, maybe even 1000.

Thanks Snod.

I talked to Shilen today and they can chamber a barrel in the contour I want and have worked with Pete at Precision in Hempstead on several occassions. Pete suggested the same thing: get a dog of a long-action rifle at a pawn shop. I'll have him true up the action and go from there. I'm keeping my eye out for a HS Precision or McMillan stock.

Certain I'll need a slow twist rate (1:10 or 1:12) and looking at a 26" barrel length. How does that sound?

Thanks for all the advice. This will be the first rifle I didn't buy off the shelf and don't want to sound like an idiot to the gunsmith. I don't know any of you guys, so it makes no difference to me if I come off as an idiot....

Berger recommends a 1/10" twist for there 115 grain VLDs. If you can put up with the extra length a longer barrel will give you a little more speed. they say a general rule of 25 fps per inch. so a 30" barrel would give you an extra 100fps" of the 26", but a 30" is a LONG barrel.

Barrel twist obviously depends on the bullet weight or really the corresponding velocity. The heavier the bullet the faster the twist needed, ie a 1:8 twist will shoot heavier bullets than 1:12. The .25 calibers do not have the variety of bullets available as say the 308 or 243 so choose carefully.

Find out what you really think you will be shooting and ask Shilen, they are great to work with. In my 243 I can shoot one "size" bullet down and one up (kinda). In example, I sized a 243 (1:10) for a 95 grain bullet. It shoots 80s fine but 70's are no go. It will shoot 105s ok at 100 but really poor past 300.

It also seems to me that I have a little better luck shooting bullets which are lighter than designed than the other way around. Bullet design and jacket thickness also come into play.

Talk to someone who really knows as my knowledge is limited and my results are probably skewed by poor reloading and shooting technique.

http://www.lazzeroni.com

Shipley....that is a Lazzeroni Scramjet. Basically a 257 rocket. My "Concern" meter starts to peg out when someone starts trying to achieve those type numbers. NW80 is a Laz owner and I think he broached the subject subtely in your earlier 25 300 thread.

[This message has been edited by sunchaser (edited 2/8/2010 7:36p).]