What is the toughest 257 cal bullet in the Sierra, Speer , Nosler or any other brand? To be used for deer & hogs. Prefer they are cup & core and not mono's. Your personal experience counts more that manufactures marketing hype. Thanks Daniel

Keeping it cup and core go bonded and my choice would be Accubond. If going cheaper the current Ballistic tip hunting bullets have the thicker shank of the accubonds but are not bonded.

Sierra, Their gamekings are dependable cup and core bullets as are the prohunters.

Speer, gold dot bullets are bonded but nor expensive bullets that by lots of reports perform well.

Kmon, The 7 mm 120 gr Ballistic Tip is one tough bullet and in the last couple of weeks it has proven it. Need one that I can stuff in the wife's 25-06 that is as tough. I have not been able to find any 25 cal bullets, I have a generous supply of the Partitions but darn if I can get them to shoot with any reasonable accuracy and I am tired of fighting with them, they WIN. Daniel

Any bonded bullet will be tougher than a traditional cup and core. To help with toughness, go as heavy as possible. When you go light weight for caliber, the added velocity creates more bullet upset. But the "toughest" will be your solids, like a Barnes TSX or Hornady GMX or the new Hornady CX bullet line. you can also look at Cutting Edge for their solids.

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/cx#!/

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/shop/cutting-edge-bullets/rifle-bullets?caliber=5

On a side note, what powder(s) are you using for the Partition? They are not known for being a "match" bullet for accuracy, but 1 moa should be very doable.

115 Berger. From hogs to elk

This is a 120gr Sierra hollow point, boattail, taken out of a mature whitetail buck. Shot was about 100 yards, mv about 2700 fps, from 257 roberts. I have had very good luck with these bullets. Extremely accurate .

I know we’re you can get 25 cal Berger 135g LR Hybrid Targets. One of my gunsmiths posted earlier today he has 15,000 in stock. PM me if you need info. Midway also has 4-5 options in stock currently.

. If tough in a cup and ore is what you seek from Sierra, Speer or Nosler, the Accubond is your huckleberry.

I've used 115 Nosler Ballistic Tips in my 257R. Worked really well. The other I used is no longer made, the 120 HP Interlock. My buddy borrowed the rifle with some 117 Sierra Pro Hunters hand loads and he killed several large TX whitetails without incident.

I think the 115 NBTS would be great.

Think those need non standard twist

BOBO, You are correct and the Tikka has a 1 in 10 twist, which means the 135's will not shoot in the Tikka.

If you aren't shooting long range, Midway has 120 Grand Slams available. They have a mag tip so not the sleekest bullet but they are known to hold together.

Thanks, I am going to look at them, Daniel

Don't forget about Swift Scirocco or A-frames. They have been pretty tough in my experience

The regular Speer 120's will do it. The Grand Slams are almost as expensive as the mono's. The 115 Barnes is my favorite .25 caliber bullet though from bull elk to hogs. DRT

Haven't seen regular Speers in stock. I agree they are fine. The Grand Slams aren't as high a monos. Midway has them for $.48 and Barnes are unavailable but their last price was $.88 a bullet.

I just came back from our lease with my grandson his first hunt . I reload the 2506 and for what its worth try H-1000 (57.5grains) powder with a 115 grain partitions
if you shot past 300 yards with that bullet make note of the cross wind learned that this weekend lol also I do have some 115 grn BT Nosler if your heart is set on them

Sage's has Hornady 117gr SST in stock right now, 40 boxes. Not sure if that's what you're looking for, but they are IN STOCK :-)

That might be the best route with current shortages and prices going up. I miss the old Hot-Cor 120 grain flat base but looks like it was dropped. Keep an eye on Midway's blems and seconds page. Sometimes they will get a run of mono bullets priced cheaper than cup and cores. Garage and estate sales are about the last resort for some of those great old bullets.