King of quarter inchers, the .257 Ferguson “Hot Tamale” is legendary among .257 aficionados, and with good reason. With muzzle velocity of 4,000 fps, there is nothing to compare with it. Add the precise quality of James Ferguson’s custom rifles that will typically shoot groups of ¼ – to 3/8–inch at 100 yards and you have the best combination of speed and accuracy that money can buy.
Compare the Hot Tamale with another famous .257 caliber cartridge. For example, when the 100–grain .257 bullet fired from the Hot Tamale has traveled 300 yards it is still traveling in excess of 3,200 fps, which would approximate the muzzle velocity of a .25–06 with the same bullet. In other words, with the Hot Tamale you just got the first 300 yards free!
When sighted in 2 ½ inches high at 100 yards, the Hot Tamale shoots flat enough to allow the shooter to aim directly at a deer sized target out to 500 yards with no holdover. It delivers over 3,500 foot pounds of energy at muzzle and still maintains almost 2,800 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards.
The impact of the 100–grain bullet on game is phenomenal. Ferguson encourages the shooter to aim at the point of the shoulder – the hardest spot on an animal’s body. The results are astounding. The animal drops dead in his tracks and the bullet exits the offside like a hot knife cutting through butter. The “point of the shoulder shot” has been proven on game animals from white–tailed deer to Yukon moose and the results are the same – an animal drops dead in its tracks. The Hot Tamale has proven to be more than “enough gun” for the biggest game in Canada, Mexico and the United States as well as the toughest plains game of Africa. The results are always the same — “DRT” as they say in Texas – dead right there. The Hot Tamale Rules!
All Ferguson Custom Rifles are designed to shoot custom hand loads, which are worked up for each individual rifle by James Ferguson. No two rifles are identical and factory rifles will not duplicate the performance of Ferguson’s Custom rifles, therefore the loading data are not published. However, the loading data for each individual rifle are given to owner to be loaded for his or her specific rifle.
Ballistic Calculation VariablesLoad Data
Name: .257 STW
Ferguson "Hot Tamale"
.257 Cal,
Barnes – 100 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.430
Bullet Weight: 100
Velocity: 4011
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500
Hot Tamale Rifle Ballistics Data Chart
Hot Tamale Rifle Ballistics Graph