The first 257 Roberts I owned, was picked up just a couple of weeks before the whitetail opener in 2003, if I remember correctly. The first load I put together shot well and so I just went hunting with it.
The 90 grain Sierra HP Gameking laid three out on opening morning, and all three were bang flops. One was a neck shot, one a spinal tap, and the third a high shoulder. I don't think any one of the three exited, so in the years to follow, I haven't used that bullet again.
I traded that rifle before hunting with it again, but bought a 77mkII Ultralight for my son to hunt with when he turned 8. I loaded the 100 grain Hornady with a starting load of H4350 and we each took a deer that fall with that setup. It worked fine. No muss or fuss and with exit wounds too. The blood trails were short and the deer died in sight.
Subsequent years have seen us use that rifle with the 110 grain Accubond, which also worked well, although I can't say I felt it did a "better" job than the 100 grain Hornady.
I think it has been a few seasons since we used that rifle. Both of us have been tinkering with other cartridges, but I'll just about bet it sees some time this fall. (I've actually been shooting the fraternal twin of the 257 Roberts, the 6mm Remington.)
I would most like to work up a load with a bullet in the 115 to 120 grain range to see how they work. I made a run with the 115 grain Partition a few seasons back, but the accuracy didn't want to gel for me, so I ended up putting the rifle back in the safe and went with something else.
Maybe this year.
