My Ruger M77 .257 Roberts is easily my favorite rifle. Recoil is minimal and it is certainly capable of taking elk, the largest animal I hunt. So why has the Roberts NEVER been the gun I carry opening day or even until I get my first elk down or am specifically hunting deer? The short answer is that for all its merits, I've historically preferred a larger cartridge with heavier bullets for elk (7mm RM, .30-06, .300WM, .338WM, .45-70).
For fun I ran the calculations on four of my loads, two for the .257 Roberts and two for the .30-06. These loads were as follows:
.257 Roberts, 110g AccuBond, 3163fps (my "antelope" load for the Roberts)
.257 Roberts, 120g A-Frame, 2947fps (my traditional "elk" load for the Roberts)
.30-06, 150g AccuBond, 2991fps (last elk I took with a .30-06 used this load)
.30-06, 165g AccuBond, 2900fps (not a load I use, but easily doable)
For my calculations I assumed MPBR zeros for 6" diameter targets and 22" Ruger M77 or MKII rifles, 8.3 lbs each, scoped and ready to shoot. wind drift was calculated for a 10mph wind.
Here are the numbers for 400 yards:
.257/110AB = -12.5", 2320fps, 1315fpe, 11.2" drift, 12.3ft-lb recoil
.257/120A-Frame = -17.1", 2073fps, 1145fpe, 13.9" drift, 12.7 ft-lb recoil
.30-06/150AB = -15.1", 2207fps, 1622fpe, 11.7" drift, 20.5ft-lb recoil
.30-06/165AB = -16.2", 2191fps, 1758fpe, 11.1" drift, 27.8ft-lb recoil
After looking at those results I decided to crunch the numbers for my .338WM, which uses a 225gAB @ 2742fps:
.338/225AB = -19.1", 2106fps, 2216fpe, 11.0" drift, 33.8ft-lbs
In the 33 years I've been hunting Colorado big game I've only taken one animal past 400 yards. That one was a cow elk at 487 yards with the .338WM. The vast majority have been at 300 or less. The Roberts is looking better and better...
