Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 257 Roberts or 243 Winchester in the Montana

Hi I just cashed in a little stock I had in Exon Mobile and am going to buy me a good deer rifle. I am going to get reloading equipment too and a scope too. I don't know if the 257 Roberts or the 243 winchester is best in the kimber montana rifle because it is a short action is the 243 best in this rifle? There are a lot of factory ammunitions also available for the 243 winchester but someone said that they burn up barrels faster. I think the 257 shoots a bigger bullet so if I want to use it for something bigger in the future I wonder if the 257 is better?

Don't exclude the .260.

DF

Orville, the 243 might be a better option for the Kimber 84M action.

I have both and haven't run into any problems loading for either but the 243 will give you more room to work with.

And unless you plan on shooting a lot I don't see barrel life being an issue. And of course if you do get wild and burn it out it could always be re-barreled.


As far as game goes I think you'd have to step up to say a 270 in order to see much difference.

Both are fine deer calibers. I've been shooting the same Savage .243 since the early 60's without ANY barrel issues. Don't be concerned about burning one up. You are correct about more factory ammo options and bullet options for the .243. With the newer Barnes TTSX and other X bullets you can reload even 80 and 85 gr. loads and be good for deer. The .257 isn't going to do anything for you that the .243 can't IMHO, so pick a rifle that fits you well and take your pick of calibers. If you think you might want something bigger, look at the .260 Rem or 7mm-08. Both cartridges, like the .243, are necked down .308 cases.

I would go for the 7 08, but would pick the 257 over the 243 as a deer bullet.

I would also go 7mm-08, otherwise the .257 Roberts was one of the most disappointing calibers I have ever owned..

The .257R at modern pressures in an action with room to stretch the COAL can be impressive.

DF

The 243 has all the modern advantages but I would get a Roberts.

Because I have killed lots of animals with it.

Looks like the old gal will still shoot......

Go with the 257 Roberts. Loaded to modern pressures it is a great cartridge.

GreggH

I shoot both and, as far as I can see, there is no meaningful difference in field performance if all factors are equal. All in all, everything about the 243 is easier, but the 257 Roberts has a mystique about it. When I was younger, "mystique" interested me more than it does late into my sixth decade.

You oughta look up the .260 Remington instead.

If they make the same rifle in a 7mm-08, grab it. It's the same case as the 243 but necked up to 7mm (or a 308 necked down).

The 260 would be fine except I don't think Kimber offers that one anymore.

A 243 and a decent bullet will most certainly kill a deer.

I just checked my 257 Roberts and ran the loads over a chronograph. I am using 100 grain Ballistic Tips and IMR 4350 powder. The rifle is a pre-64 model 70 with a 24 inch barrel and the velocities were within 15 fps of each other at 3275fps, no sign of pressure.

My money would be on the 257...

Kinda dark out to be shooting over a chronograph, you must have an Uber 9000 Chrony.

Don't think she ever quit...

DF

7-08 first, bob second unless you just want a .243.

7-08 all the way :-D

The 257 has panache that the others don't. 😀

.243 is so easy and fun to shoot. But if it were me, I'd get the Roberts to be different.

The recoil is not noticibly different from the .243 and since you're going to reload, it won't matter much anyway for bullets.

I will say 308 since people are suggesting 7-08 and thats NOT what you asked about.

If its your gun only and you plan on reloading... go 257.

If you plan on handing it down to your kid that may not be a rifle looney or interested in reloading... then 243.

The 7-08 suggestion isnt bad because it lets you handle larger game.

I own a 708 and 308 and cant tell the recoil difference so I lean towards 308 because I am not a reloader (yet).

The ammunition shortage made finding 7-08 ammo a challenge and my father in law had a hard time finding ammo for his 257 roberts.

243

Better fit to short action.

Wider variety of bullets available, particularly low drag designs.

Better brass available.

The better types of dies are available in the lowest price tier for their type.

Lot of good suggestions.

You just gotta get into reloading if not already there. Too much difference with what can be accomplished. And, it's enjoyable.

The .243 is a good one for the non-reloader, as is the .308.

I'm partial to the .257R over the .243. I don't see .243 loads pushing 100 gr. bullets at 3,250+ FPS...

For the .257R to really shine, I'm thinking a 3" box mag. That's an expensive proposition, converting a SA, or one can go LA. I know there's wasted space in the longer box, but I'd rather have the room than not.

IMO,

DF

When in doubt, go big. Of your choices my preference would be the Bob. I have an 84M in 308 and it is a dandy rifle and has been used up to zebra. The 7-08 would be a fine choice also.
Don't have any experience with the 260 and the my experience with the 243 was long ago and bad because of the bullets available at the time.

We have both in our house as well. They both work for deer fine, but the .257R is a favorite that gets passed around.

As previously pointed out, it does better out of a standard length action where COAL can be a bit longer.

Not my first choice but it'll work on an elk if need be.

I love the .243 but I would be tempted to get the Roberts in that gun.

I would opt for the 243 if you are sticking to deer with this gun. The .243 has a great selection of bullets available to the reloader and a plethora of factory ammo available until you get your reloading bench and supplies set up and become proficient. That being said the .257 115 gr Nosler Partition is good enough to build a gun around!

Mine is a .257 Roberts.

I don't see a real strong practical reason to choose one over the other and what reasons there are seem to mostly offset.

Unless you want Nosler, .257 factory ammo and reloading brass is pretty scarce. Mine likes 120 grain partitions and 110 grain accubonds ... haven't seen either in months. So far it shows no love for 100 or 115 grain partitions.

With those bullets it is, IMHO, fractionally more effective than the .243, however, I don't work in fractions, if I need more than a .243 will do I'm not stopping at .257 caliber, I'm going for a .270 with 150s, a 7mm with 160s, a .30 with 165s or 180s .. etc.

I've seen a little bit of WW .243 brass lately but 6 months ago it was nearly as hard to come by as .257 brass.

It is possible the .257 will have a little more barrel life. Doesn't matter. Barrel life in a rifle bought to hunt game, not shoot varmints or paper, is measured in lifetimes. A non-factor.

You might consider .260 or 7mm-08 if you can find one. Both have been discontinued in the Montana. You might find one on a shelf somewhere, otherwise it's a "build" proposition. If you are going to build, you might also want to think about a .22-250 std or AI with a fast twist. Its a notion that's been percolating in the back o' my cobweb collection for a while.

Tom

The thread title says hunting in Montana. Who can hunt in MT without eventually trying for an elk? The 7mm-08 is a good all purpose caliber that will do an elk nicely.

^^^ ... and is also no longer offered in the Kimber Montana which the OP said he was going to buy. Just in case you forgot.

Ah, the Kimber Montana. I though he was talking about hunting in MT. Sorry about that.

No worries. You had the answer right. Kimber is who done forked it up. What the heck are they thinking? That's the LAST cartridge they should have discontinued.

Wow! That is the exact same load I use in my Ruger 1976 "Year of American Liberty"! Like yours, that load shoots fantastic in my rifle!

To me the 257 comes into the equation as a better cartridge because of the availability of 115-120gr bullets. The .25 caliber hole is bigger, even though just slightly and the recoil is a wash. A good modern 257 w/24in barrel and 120gr Partition is right on the heels of a good 270W. powdr

I could say "great minds", etc.

But, that load was given to me by gunner500. It worked out exactly like he said it would, even the velocity. That boy is lot smarter than he looks, for sure...

DF

Powdr, that is a valid point but also goes to show that you might as well just get a 270 and be done with it...grin



Dirtfarmer, not too shabby!


I would prefer your TTSX Roberts combo for jump shooting deer.

For sub 450 yard 'calm' shooting I think the 243 is still a decent choice. Perfect truck gun.


Re-bedded my 243 Montana on Sunday, re-zero'd it early this morning before the wind came up.

Last 3 shots(420 yards, dirt/bipod/rear bag), not bad for a little POS lightweight factory rifle...grin


2.5-8x36 VX3 w/B&C that is left on 8x 99% of the time.

You missed the tape measure.

Its a kimber...what do you expect?

I've killed elk with my 243, anything bigger than that you'll want more than a 243 or 257.

243 is way more common, components are easier to come by, and I've found often bullets are cheaper with more deals. mainly shooters proshop since mine loves the 95 NBT.
heck I picked up 1k of the 70gr 6mm varmigeddon bullets 2 weeks ago for $106 AND got a free hat. try buying 1000 257 bullets that cheap (that aren't cast)

You know you want one....

I'd go 243, had often considered one in a Montana

I want one of those ,270 green stocked grouse guns like yours....

If he decides to hunt elk in the future, he can get another rifle. The 243 Win is a fine deer cartridge.

The thread says... "in the Montana"... which probably implies the Montana model and not the state....

Nothing in his text body indicated state either.

So for me it's the 243. Components are readily available. It's more than enough for deer and light skinned game. Low recoil. How far do you plan on shooting at game? If under 300 then it's 6 one way half a dozen the other. Dead is dead and 250 fps doesn't matter at that point. I have shot a lot of deer and 1 hog(lol) with a 243. Never let me down. Plus if in a bind you can find factory ammo everywhere

To the O.P
I'd probably go 243 in the Montana given the two choices. More components to be found and more variety of good projectiles. Also reams of good load data. You need to go off the books to get a 257 Bob to be all it can be, if you are new to loading it may put you out of your comfort zone. Having used both I'm pretty sure no game animal can tell the difference.

Sam, are you still shooting 90 grain Scenars in your MT?

I used the 90 gr. Scenar once out of my .240 on a WT. Only once...

Made nasty soup out of that deer's chest, blew thru the diaphragm into the stomach, corn floating around in the soup.

I know the .240 is a good bit faster than the .243. The 90 Scenar may be OK in that setting. Never again in the .240.

Scenarshooter sent me some 105 Scenars to try, but my 10 twist couldn't hack it. If I had an 8 twist, that would probably be my bullet.

This .240 loves the 100 NPT over a full powered load of MRP, like half MOA. The 90 Scenar was as accurate, just not a good WT bullet in this gun at that speed.

DF

The old 257 never caught on. Not easy to find brass or ammo.

I have the Montana in 243, 308, 270 WSM and 7mm WSM.

When we go up North for deer and b.bear I might bring the 7mm WSM for a SS rifle.

The .257 never caught on? Another brilliant post. The .257 was introduced as a factory round by Remington in 1934, and between then and 1955 (when Winchester introduced the .243) it was the most popular chambering in its class, which might be called the combination varmint/big game rounds. But the publicity surrounding the .243, thanks mostly to Warren Page, somehow convinced the public the .243 was far superior. It really wasn't very different than the .257, but between the PR and some inflated velocities for the .243 factory ammo (this was before average shooters owned chronographs) the .257 faded. But it did "catch on" in the 21 years before the .243 appeared.

On the other hand, I've been shooting both the .243 and .257 for years, and my wife has for quite a while as well. If there's any real difference in killing power between the two we haven't been able to find it.

Though I also must note that I've never had any troubles killing stuff out to 500+ yards even with short-action .257's. In fact used one as my back-up rifle when guiding deer and pronghorn hunters in the 1980's, loaded with the 100-grain Nosler Partition at around 3250 fps. (I was more of a hotrodder in those days, though the rifle never showed the slightest strain from the load.) Whacked a bunch of animals, both mine and a few previously wounded by clients, out to around 550 with no problems.

243 Win over the Roberts any day just for no other reason than the availability of Factory Ammo in any sporting good store you enter

The Montana is available in 308. That would be a very good choice, too. Use 150 or 165 bullets.

.243 is a good round, I just don't have one at the present time.

I actually let a 4 digit, no prefix #1, .243 get away...

Traded it for something I thought I needed more.

Oh well...

DF

I would pick a .257 Rbts over the .243, especially if you are planning to handload

Having it to do all over again, for deer and everything else smaller than elk, I'd buy a Kimber Montana in .243, slam a 6x42 FX-III on top, and slay schit with aplomb.

My vote goes to the Roberts....

I've handloaded for both and I've seen the .243 kill lots of stuff. I've also seen the big cased 6 mm's and the big cased .25's, like the .240 Wby, the .25-06 and the .25-284 kill lots of stuff at the longer ranges.
Like Mule Deer says, if there is a difference, I haven't seen it. With premium bullets, they will amaze you as to how well they can kill.
The big difference to me is that the Roberts gives one 2900 fps. with any 100 gr. bullet at much lower pressures than does the .243. The report isn't near as tough on the ears, and the brass seems to last however. Much easier to find accurate loads as well.
While ammo for the .243 is easier to find, even premium .257 Roberts factory ammo has always been availiable, even here in Kalifornia.
I'd much rather have a .257 Bob if I had a choice. E

Just because the Roberts is low pressure loaded doesn't make it a low pressure round. With +P cases and good loads in a modern action, that 2,900 fps 100 gr. round becomes a 3,250+ fps 100 gr. round without breaking a sweat.

The Roberts is the parent of the 6mm/.244 family, loaded at modern pressures.

Turn the Roberts loose and let it do its stuff...

That extra 300-350 fps livens up the old round.

DF

.243

Dude, yep.


Local store had a couple boxes of 95 grain Partitions on the shelf so I bought those to try out as well.

Shot them at 400 yards the other day and they didn't match real well with the Scenars(landed about a foot higher). Gonna fiddle around and see if I can't get them both hitting the same place.

.243 for practical, .257 for cool (and elk if that's a possibility).

I often cruise around on the web looking at the availability of stuff to feed rifles I'm interested in, and the .243 wins the brass and ammo contest, hands down. Not that the .257 can't be fed, just that it may take a little more effort. Not long after I picked up my old Sako, I scored 400 Sierra 100gr PH blems for a ridiculous price. Brass at that time was scarce for almost everything but .223 and .308, but I found Hornady .243 brass on Amazon and Grafs (same lot number, go figure). Also consider that if things get tight again, a .308-based round can be fed with the mountains of surplus brass out there.

Now go buy something and report back so we can all dump on you for buying the wrong one.

Why Thanks Buddy. , it's a little burner for sure.

Pappy nailed it. I like the Roberts a lot (my go-to hunting rifle is so-chambered & I built one for my son) but brass is impossible to find right now and high-BC projectiles are non-existent.

Of course that latter point doesn't matter if you're sticking to a max of 350-400 yds.

When a buddy called me yesterday asking for advice on a rifle purchae. He does work for Hornady and has been invited on a hunt but doesn't care for shooting his 06. He knows my love of the Bob and asked it I'd suggest that but he doesn't reload so I recommended 243 Win.

For a non-reloader, as much as I like the Roberts, I would have given him that same advice.

DF