Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Considering a .257 Roberts for Deer

I used a Rem. 700 Classic in .257 back in the '80s sometime. I believe the barrel was twisted l-10. My most accurate load was with the 120 Hornady HP at about 2800 fps. (a very stiff load of I4831 according to the books.)

It was with this gun I had my very limited exposure to the Nosler BT bullets (100 gr.) Performance was so poor I have never since then bought another BT bullet. Have had a few given to me and these were just shot on paper.

Great gun and I think a fellow gun club member is still shooting it!

Jim

I have been very happy with the performance of the 100 grain TSX bullet.

Idholton,
Midway has those Hornady Interlock 117 BTSP's.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=277630

I killed my first deer with a .257 Roberts...desert mule deer, in 1949..over the next 60+ years I've killed lots of ungulates with more than fifteen different cartridges, none were any deader than that one.

I see a plenitude of Bob's on Gunbroker in the Ruger #1 configuration, as well as some 6.5x55's.

Great info guys. You are about to talk me into trying one for deer, but it is hard for me to get away from the .284 and .30 calibers. That is all I have ever know for deer. I think I am stuck in a rut and that is when I shoot a gun I want to make alot of noise and I want meat to hit the ground fast. I suppose the .257 Roberts will kill them just as dead with the correct shot placement.

And they hit the ground just as fast...Ingwewife has used one for years...

Excellent hunting for Ingwewife, you have yourself a good woman for sure. That�s a plus, having a woman that can shoot and bring home some meat. My wife shoots pistols, but if I can just get her to start hunting with me. Of course that will never happen; I don't think she could pull the trigger on Bambi.

I don't have any pictures of the deer I shot with it, but I assure you it's dead.

I was in the same boat as you. Never used anything but a .30-06 or a .308. Then I dislocated my shoulder and couldn't shoot them that summer. So I bought a Ruger MKII in .257R. It was fun to shoot, accurate, not real loud, and factory loadings were relitivly easy to find.

Once you practice with it and feel the lack of recoil, you'll LOVE it.

What gun is Ingwewife using?

If it works for you,don't "fix it"......if you're successful with what you use, it ain't a rut...

Tom its a Remington vintage 722 her dad got her when she was 16.....so that makes it 13 years old now....

Shes shot a pile of stuff with it, including a couple cow elk, and we typically run 100 grainers through it. NPTs TSXs and Horns....she has killed game with all of them...no favorites...

Dis one caught a 100 gr. Horn.@ 200 yds..

BIGR -

The .284 and .308 cartridges are very good, but don't underestimate the .25's. Was on an elk hunt a couple years back and saw a big bull elk, a cow and a very nice muley bock that had all been taken with a single shot from a .25-06 laoded with 117g bullets of unknown vintage. The shooter was a 12 year old girl from Wisconsin (or maybe Michigan, I forget).

No .257" is going to be my first choice for elk, but I often carry my Bob once my first elk is down and I'm focused on helping others fill their tags and maybe getting a mulie for myself. Loaded with WW +P brass and +P loads, my Bob quickly became my favorite rifle after I acquired it in 2004. 120g A-Frames during elk/deer season, 110g TTSX and 110g AB for antelope, 75g V-MAX for varmints of all sizes. Low recoil. You won't regret getting one.

Does ingwe dog hunt with you too, or just show up for the glory shots?

As much as I like the 257R, I don't think it's any more effective on deer sized game than a multitude of similar non-magnum cartridges The 243, 250/3000, 260, 6.5x55, 270Win 7mmMauser, 7/08, 280, 308, 30/06, 303British, 8mmMauser, 338Fed, 358Win, etc, etc, etc would all perform with equally good results on deer. Where the 257 does shine is that it is very easy to shoot [low recoil] and a well balanced round with enough power for longer range shooting, but is not overkill for the task.

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Ingwedog used to hunt with us but is retired now ( she is 14...)...All she ever did was tag along at heel ( thats all thats legal...) and help us recover game that wasn't DRT....She recovered nearly fifty critters over the years for folks...

Shooting deer isn't as much of matter of shooting them as what you shoot them with. If all you want is a dead deer, then almost anything will work.

On the other hand, if you want to experience everything relating to deer hunting and outdoor opportunities, then the choice of caliber matters.

A 257 Roberts has nothing on dozens of newer cartridges and bullet combinations. It does, however, carry with it over 75 years of history that none of the WSM (Winchester Stupid Magnums) and more recent chamberings bring to the field.

In short, a 257 Roberts is a wonderful deer rifle with a 100 grain bullet at around 2900 FPS. You can't get the satisfaction shooting a Stainless Steel/Nylon stocked rifle in a newer chambering that you can with a nice old Model 70...

Thank you for that...

Here's my take on it ....

My take.
(short action and all....grin)