Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .257 Roberts Handloads

Does anyone have some good handloads for .257 Roberts?

Gun 1: pre-64 Win 70.

47 grains of surplus 4831, any 100 grain bullet, any large rifle primer, WW or Rem brass (mixed).

Gun 2: tang safetied Ruger 77 RL

75 grain Sierra HP, 44 grains of IMR 4064, WW or Rem brass, Fed 210M or 215, but not std 210. Best load for the gun.

90 grain Sierra BTHP, 41 grains of IMR 4064, otherwise same as above.

120 grain Hornady HP or 120 grain Nosler partition, 43 grains of H414, WW case, Fed 215.

Gun 3: Ruger 77 Mk II RL

POS would not shoot even after a trip back to the factory.

Gun 4: Rebarreled 700 short action. Special long mag, shells loaded to 2.97" OAL.

100 grain Nosler b-tip or Partition, 48 grains of H4831, WW case, Fed 210M.

120 grain partition, 43 grains of H414, Fed 215, WW case.

Tom

Lots of 'em, what bullet weight?

JEff

Will use 100gr and up for bullet weights. Do people use lower weights for deer?

Some do, yeah. In fact, when I was about 13 and just starting with the .257, I knew a guy in his 70 that did his deer hunting with 87 grain soft points. I don't personally recommend it when there are good 100 grain and heavier bullets, but they can be made to work.

Also, I believe Barnes and Hornady both make sub-100 grain monolithic bullets.

Tom

I like to shoot deer with 100 grain Partitions from my .257" bore rifles, but think that the less expensive Hornadys will do equally well.

Brass: Winchester/Olin 257 Roberts +P (WSC257PU)
Primer: Federal 210M
Bullet: Nosler 100 grain Partition
Powder: H4895, start at 36.0 grain, about 5% below Hodgdon's maximum, and work up for your rifle

This combination of components works well in several 257 Roberts and 257AI rifles that I have or have had in the past.

JEff

I have had very good luck using H414 in mine. My loads are pretty mild and I get the 90 gr speer hp, the 100 gr hornady sp and the 117 gr hornady btsp going 3000, 2900, and 2800 fps respectively. The great thing is I can shoot about 1" groups using them interchangeably as the POI seems to be the same for each of them.

Check out the Hodgdon site for Hybrid 100v and 115 gr. partitions.

I believe the .257 is best suited for the 100 grain bullet for hunting deer sized animals. Smaller will work, but why not the 100 grain.

I use Nosler 100 grain Ballistic Tips for both my .257 Roberts and 25-06. The Roberts load is 46 grains of IMR4350. It works well, shoots great. Thats all you need...

Yeah, when I get another .257 I always try it out with an accurate 100-grain bullet (Nosler BT, Hornady Spire Point, Sierra, whatever) and 46.0 grains of either IMR or H4350. If it won't shoot with that load, then something's wrong with the rifle. It will also kill game, too.

Beyond that the sky's the limit. In my experience it's hard to find a load a good Bob DOESN'T shoot well, but if you want all the powder the cartridge can provide, it's hard to beat around 50-51 grains of Ramshot Magnum and any good 115-120 grain bullet.

Another vote for 46.0 H4350 and a 100 grain bullet(NBT, TSX and hornady sp). The 100 NBT and TSX also perk at 47.0 grains...

Also, since this is the varmint section, 43.5 grains of R15 and the 85 NBT work pretty well also.

I like the 100 grainers, subbed H4350 for a bit more RL-22 nowadays.

How much '22 are you running?

50 grains

MD: guess my latest 257 is the exception to your rule. 1st tried 4350 with several 117-120gr bullets ( I prefer the heavier bullets at about 2800-2900). Next tried 100gr Hornady's with 4350. Even your old reliable 46gr load stunk. I was beginning to think there was a problem with the gun.

Then I tried some 120gr Sierra HPBT's with H4831 and things were looking up! Latest is 75gr VMaxes and 80gr TTSX's with 4064. Much better. Guess I'm gonna have to see what all the fuss is about using TTSX on deer.

Yeah, once in a while you'll find a .257 that doesn't like the 4350's, just as once in a while you'll run into a .270 that doesn't like H4831!

Got one of them, too. Much prefers 4350!

I had one that preferred RL19 to either H4831 or IMR4350. Must have been because it was one of those European .270's, made by FN!

I have owned only one 270 out of a dozen or more that shot H4831 better than 4350. The Model 70 i presently own shoots both powders very well plus Rel 22