# .257 Weatherby 100 grain Barnes TSX question



## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Have any of you guys who shoot this rifle tried these yet? One of my buddies who has Mark V Ultralightweight with the 24" barrel can't get them to group for anything. He went back to the 117gr roundnose rounds and had a 4 shot 1.2" group.

Just wondering if anyone else with a 26" barrel Mark V like mine has had any luck with these before I shell out $70 plus tax for the experiment.


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## tokavi (May 6, 2006)

I have several .25 calibers rifles. I have loaded those bullets for the .257 Roberts, .257 Roberts Ackley Imp., 25-06 Rem., 25-06 Ackley Imp., 250 Ackley Imp.. They shoot well in all of those. The .250 can group 5 round in an inch at 300 yards. Some rifles just do not like certain bullets. I have one 25-06 that loves Trophy Bonded bullets and will shoot under an inch with them. A good friend has the same rifle ( Remington Sendero ) that will not shoot 2" groups using those bullets. His loves Accubonds, mine shoots them so-so. I suggest your buddy trys another bullet but only after making sure his rifle/scope combo is not the problem. My .02


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## waterbug (May 22, 2004)

While it's not a Weatherby, I have a Remington 700 in .257 Weatherby that will shoot 3 of the 100 gr TSX factory loads into less than 1/2" at 100 yards. I would take Tokavi's advice and start with checking the scope and mounts. 

If you are limiting yourself to factory loads, some other loads to consider are the 100 gr Hornady Spire Point and the 110 gr Nosler Accubond. The Hornady loads are substantially cheaper than either the TSX's or Accubonds.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

I have been shooting the 100gr Spire points for the last 4 years in mine. No real reason to change to the TSX except I had one not exit last year. I found it just under the skin on the backside shoulder. I guess I'll get a box and try them out to see how they do. 

My buddies rifle is most likely not scope or mount related because he shot a very good group with the round noses he was using after he tried to get a good group with the TSX's. His rifle just doesn't like them I guess. Thanks guys!


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

I'm not sure if they make that bullet in the new tipped version, but I have found the tipped versions are much more forgiving. They seem to group a lot better for me in every rifle I've tried them.

THE JAMMER


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Blake we're shooting the 115 grain Barnes X bullets in our .257 weatherby magnum. I bought all I could when I found out they were going to go to the 100 grain Barnes TSX.

Try it; lot of difference between the 24" ultra lightweight and the 26" barrel MV.

TH


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## HornSuperFan (May 31, 2005)

One of the important keys with Barnes bullets is to start with a very clean barrel. That would be my suggestion.


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## wedington (Dec 19, 2007)

I have been shooting the Mark V Ultralight in .257 for a while. I shoot the 120 grain Nosler Partition, I really like them. It will shoot around an inch group at 200 yards. The great thing about these are the knockdown power that they have at longer distances. At 200 yards, you get complete pass through and a large exit wound. I have seen some of these the size of a basketball (on deer).


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## davidb (May 10, 2006)

I don't load for the Roy but have for several others. As mentioned a clean barrel is critical. Two other factors are the rate of twist and free bore. The older 257's had a 1 in 12 twist, this will not stabilize the longer 115-120 grain spire points. That's why the round nose is still loaded. A 1-10 or 1-9 is needed even at the Roy velocities.

The free bore can cause erratic results with some bullets, Barnes recommends 0.05 inches off the lands as a good starting point. Try the 100 grain bullets in that rifle. I saw a discussion of this on another site about the TSX and 115 bergers not working in a Weatherby can't remember which one.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

BASKETBALL ?????????

THE JAMMER



wedington said:


> I have been shooting the Mark V Ultralight in .257 for a while. I shoot the 120 grain Nosler Partition, I really like them. It will shoot around an inch group at 200 yards. The great thing about these are the knockdown power that they have at longer distances. At 200 yards, you get complete pass through and a large exit wound. I have seen some of these the size of a basketball (on deer).


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

davidb said:


> I don't load for the Roy but have for several others. As mentioned a clean barrel is critical. Two other factors are the rate of twist and free bore. The older 257's had a 1 in 12 twist, this will not stabilize the longer 115-120 grain spire points. That's why the round nose is still loaded. A 1-10 or 1-9 is needed even at the Roy velocities.
> 
> The free bore can cause erratic results with some bullets, Barnes recommends 0.05 inches off the lands as a good starting point. Try the 100 grain bullets in that rifle. I saw a discussion of this on another site about the TSX and 115 bergers not working in a Weatherby can't remember which one.


That is pretty much what he said his buddy at HCR told him. Probably the twist rate or even that the crown could be throwing it off. I made a mistake on what he is shooting... it is the 115 gr Barnes X bullets, not the newer 100 TSX's. I'm going to buy a box of the TSX 100 gr today and go shoot them Monday or Tuesday. I'll let y'all know how they do in my gun.


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## davidb (May 10, 2006)

I almost went back to correct the 100-115 gr. thing. Another thought is that if the rifle has had 500 plus rounds through it the throat might be rough. A rough throat will increase the copper fouling. If your gunsmith has a bore scope it might be worth checking. 

I have had one rifle that was like this and it improved after using Tubbs Final finish. I would not do this with a barrel that was shooting other loads well as it lengthens the throat slightly.

It is more of a step to prolong accuracy before replacing a barrel IMHO.


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## Javadrinker (Feb 13, 2008)

THE JAMMER said:


> BASKETBALL ?????????
> 
> THE JAMMER


da a big hole! I think he meant baseball.


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## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

HornSuperFan said:


> One of the important keys with Barnes bullets is to start with a very clean barrel. That would be my suggestion.


Tip #2, have plenty of Sweets to remove all that copper fouling...


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

I have plenty of Shooters Choice. How often between groups do you guys that shoot the Barnes bullets feel you need to clean the barrel? 10 shots or more? The Hornady bullets I was shooting did much better groups after the barrel was fouled. I only cleaned it once before and once after deer season was over.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Once before and after is good Blake. We've been shooting them since they started loading them in Weatherby's ammo and have had no problem with fouling.

TH


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Trouthunter said:


> Once before and after is good Blake. We've been shooting them since they started loading them in Weatherby's ammo and have had no problem with fouling.
> 
> TH


Gracias... I don't want to have to take my coated rod to the blind...LOL


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

I finally got to the range this morning to shoot the Barnes TSX 100gr through my gun. The first shot thru the clean bore was 2"high and to the right about the same. The next 2 were about 1"high at about 1 o'clock and less than 1/2" apart. I let the barrel cool and shot another 3 shot group that was similar to this one except it was the last shot was a flier at about 1 1/2"s high and right. I figured it was me so I got my scope adjusted to where I thought it should be and let the barrel cool down again. The next 2 shots were almost touching at 2"high dead center but to my surprise the 3rd was again high and right at about 1 o'clock. I guess that bullet doesn't like a warm barrel but I can live with that.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

It doesn't like a HOT barrel and that barrel gets hot after two rounds hotter after 3, lol. Sterling's put three touching an inch and a half high over center at 100 yards then fired a 4th and it was 2.5 inches high and an inch right.

Sure do like that caliber and that rifle.

Good luck this weekend.

TH


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

Well I have found the seating the barnes deep and allowing plenty of space before the grooves that they seem to shoot lots better. Anothr issue I have found is that Barnes bullets are much longer for the same weight of lead bullets therefore the twist rate is critical. I have found the lighter bullets in Barnes are about the same length as the heavier lead bullets and in my gun the lighter (shorter) Barnes shoots better.

Charlie 

Charlie


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Remember Charlie that a Weatherby MK V has a long chamber throat and are freebored so the bullet will always have plenty of space between it and the lands.

TH


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

Oh OK trouthunter I didnt know that. I guess it was to make shure of pressure issues huh ??

Charlie


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## Brassnadz (Jun 18, 2007)

I dont know about the .257, but my Bushmaster has a 1-9 twist and really hates anything over 60 gr. I have been told that the heavier bullets take longer to spin up and leave alot of the copper jacket in the first inch or so of rifling. This would especially be true if what Troutmaster said about the throat on the Weatherby is correct. That would mean that the bullet has a bit of free travel from the casing to the lands. A 1 in 12 is a pretty tight twist. I would bet money alot of your jacket is getting shaved off when the bullet hits the lands. Were it me, I would clean out the bore real good and use something like Blue Magic or the above mentioned bore cleaners and try using lighter bullets. It makes a real difference in my Bushmaster when it comes to grouping. The plain old .55gr is the magic number for mine. I have seen other Bushmaters shoot well with heavier bullets. Either they are lucky, or have a different twist. Like someone else said, each gun has its own 'personality' so to speak and will like one load over another.
Let us know how it turns out.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Martin and Charlie... I'm a happy camper


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