Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .257 roberts

I was at cabelas in forth worth they have a nice ruger 77 in .257 roberts for sale..

b.t.w it's new bout $500.00

Robert...

If I remember correctly, about 449.00 was the last wholesale price I saw on the Ruger 77MKII rifles, so 500.00 isn't "gouging" per se. If the rifle happens to be one of the ultralight versions with the 20" bbl and black forend tip, then 500.00 is pretty close to wholesale. If you are looking for a dandy whitetail cartridge with class, (and you are a handloader) then by all means pick it up. You are likely to fall in love with it.

Is there a question there or are you just letting people know about it?

Don�t know if that�s a good price or not, but I know I got mine (22� barrel) used for $400 and it came with a Leupold M8 4x scope. The scope ended up on my Marlin .30-30 and was replaced by a used Leupold Vari-X III 4.5-14x. It�s become my favorite bolt gun. Using +P data as a basis for my handloads it is one sweet shooter.

Ditto! I picked up a Ruger No. 1 in 257 Roberts and I am loving this caliber. Get one!

I love the Campfire if for no other reason than I get to hear other shooters praise the 257 Bob. I feel like a lone voice in the wilderness otherwise. With every new Bob purchase, the world is becoming a better place. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've carried a roberts since 1988,either as my primary gun or as a backup,good round!!!

I guess I'll be the voice of dissension. Though I have nothing against 257 Bobs, I really see little reason for them in this day and age. With the 25-06 so plentiful and able to be DOWNLOADED if you handload, and also being right where BOB should be ballistically, if you don't (handload), what is the point? I guess the BOB fits in a short action, but I see very little difference betwen it and the much more popular and better-loaded (factory) .243. I am all in favor of using whatever you want. I see little practicality in the BOB cartridge though.

If I remember correctly, I mentioned the caveat of rolling your own. Even if one didn't though, the lite magnum ammo from Hornady makes quite a bit of sense. You can shoot a heavier bullet than the 6mm family, and although you can dowload the .25-06 to make a Roberts, there again you are in the land of rolling your own ammo.

The Bob IS definitely a handloader's round--------unfortunately. It deserves better. Actually so is the little over achieving .250 Sav.

The downloading practice does mostly work, but not with complete efficiency. But if you start down that slippery slope of practicality, you'll end up with only one rifle in your closet----------------a 30-06. Actually, a 300 Mag, because it can be downloaded to '06 or 308 levels, or loaded back up when needed. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
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every time I try to dowload one of my rifles, I have a terrible time getting it out of the diskdrive..... (rimshot please....)

no I have on already just letting people know where they are..

My .257 Rbts in Rem Classic has killed more muleys than you would believe if I laid the number on you.. Of course You have to take into consideration I have been shooting it quite a few years. It is an incredible accurate rifle.

"you'll end up with only one rifle in your closet"

We wouldn't want that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Since you brought up the 300 Win. Mag. downloaded...the last time I had one (I think I've owned 3), I looked in all my reloading manuals and couldn't find anything that was significantly loaded down. I'm calling 30-06 levels to be about 2800 fps with 150 grainers. I realize Horn. LM's are 3000, but they're LM's. I didn't even bother loading down since I was afraid of too little powder causing excess pressures. What loading manual has some good regular 30-06 type loads for the 300WM?

I had lunch today with a good friend who spent many years guiding elk hunters. The rifle in his scabbard those days was a Savage 99 in .243Win. But he was guiding, not hunting and would be the first to tell you there are better choices when you�re doing the shooting. A good friend of his had a Savage 99 in .300 Savage that he thought very highly of as an elk rifle. A lot of well-intentioned people recommend .243�s to young hunters, but I�ll often recommend a .30-30 instead � there is much to be said for heavier bullets even if it means giving up some range. For mulies and elk I prefer something larger than either, but I�ll take a 120g A-Frame or Trophy Bonded and a .257 Roberts over a .243 Win any day. Oh, wait � they don�t make A-Frame or Trophy Bonded bullets in.243, or, for that matter, ANY 120g .243 bullets. Silly me.

The .257 Roberts really shines when handloaded, but good loads are available from the factory, too:
Hornady 117g SST @ 2940fps (published specs)
Federal 120g Partition @ 2780fps (published specs) (2807fps, 5-shot average, my Ruger with 22� barrel)

The .257 Roberts, being based on the 7x57, has more case capacity than a .243 which is based on the .308. While it was originally handicapped by a SAAMI pressure spec of 45,000 CUP, the more recent SAAMI +P spec of 50,000 CUP has helped it out considerably, as seen with the factory loads above. As a handloader who rarely shoots factory ammo, my +P .257 Roberts loads give up very little to the .25-06, especially when you factor in the difference in barrel lengths. And yes, the Roberts can be downloaded, too.

From my 22� Ruger, +P loads:

3609fps, 75g V-Max
3185fps, 110g Accubond
3013fps, 115g TSX
2947fps, 120g A-Frame
2904fps, 120g Partition

Granted, the .257 Roberts is not a .25-06, but in my favorite action, a Ruger, it�s considerably lighter, shorter and handier. Mine has become my favorite truck rifle for that very reason. Make that my favorite bolt gun, period. Shorter, handier, lighter, mild recoil and 120g bullets at very decent velocities � can you say �Youth gun�? I call it �Practical�. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Accurate powder has a manual with starting and ending loads. The starting loads are very reduced, and the ending ones are also pretty conservative. My Speer #12 has some good 300WM loads with the bullet weight and speed you want if using the faster powders and starting charges. Jump to the 165gr bullets and you can really slow down (2650fps range).

I was kinda cutting through the neighbors yard to make my point about the 257 Bob. Once you decide what caliber, bullet weight, and velocity you feel is needed to hunt your particular species of game, then the smallest cartridge case that will meet those numbers will be the most efficient. Most gun loonies love an excuse to have a closet full of rifles with capabilities that overlap each other. Others settle on the 30-06 and call it good. No wrong answer.

You make my case for me...

I said:

"With the 25-06 so plentiful and able to be DOWNLOADED if you handload, and also being right where BOB should be ballistically, if you don't (handload), what is the point?"

You said:

"As a handloader who rarely shoots factory ammo, my +P .257 Roberts loads give up very little to the .25-06,"

and...

"Granted, the .257 Roberts is not a .25-06, but in my favorite action, "

I reiterate, what's the point of shooting an inferior cartridge which is less plentiful? If you just like it, you have my blessing but...?

You said...

"but in my favorite action, a Ruger, it�s considerably lighter, shorter and handier."

To which I'd already conceded. A "pre-concession" if you will.

"I guess the BOB fits in a short action,"

On the .243 vs. BOB:

I take it you're saying that the .243 is inferior in its factory loadings. Perhaps you have a point. I wouldn't hunt elk with either cartridge unless I were desperate for meat and had nothing else. I will concede that the 257 with the loadings you mention, makes a better deer cartridge. However, I doubt that those who think the 243 is too little gun for deer would think that the BOB, even in those loadings, was adequate. So I guess you have a few people who think the BOB has a slight edge on deer-sized game over the 243. I'll concede that too.

Thanks for the tips. I haven't ever used AA powders, but I'll get their manual and peruse it.

Nothing against the BOB or those who love it including you and Coyote Hunter. I just wondered if I was missing something. Maybe I was. Of course we all love a bunch of guns. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

We do, indeed. No offense taken, just a discussion with differing points of view. The .257 Roberts and even the .25-06 wouldn�t be my first choice for elk either. More like a .270 and a 150g bullet as my minimum.

The .257 Roberts was very popular until the .243 Win came along. These days factory ammo is limited for the .257 Roberts (Winchester appears to have quit making it), and rifle buyers much prefer the .243 and .25-06.

Nevertheless the .25 Roberts continues to have its advocates (like me!) because, in spite of its place in the current popularity contest, it is a very practical cartridge.

[Full disclosure: I was leaving a gun show to go to Sportsman�s Warehouse to pick up a Ruger .25-06 when I literally bumped into a guy with a Ruger .257 Roberts with a Leupold 4x hanging on his shoulder. We settled on $400 and the rifle was mine. Two years later I am very happy with the outcome. Would I still like a .25-06? You bet! And a .223, a .338, a .375, and... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

I think the Bob's days were numbered with the into of the 243Win. As is often the case when new cartridges hit the market, there was a lot of hype (and exageration) about it's capabilities. It was also released in rifles with a 1-10" twist which added to the versatility that the 6mmRem didn't get credit for. It's a OK catridge, but not the end-all of varmint/deer/antelope rounds. IMO, if Bob was commercially loaded to it's full potential, and "re-released" in a variety of rifles, with the standard hype from gun rags, it would absolutely smoke the .243Win. It's just a better "all around" cartridge (so is the 6mmRem). But the reality is that general masses aren't educated about Bob, so it's left as a secret treasure for us gun loonies. The addition of +P load data, Hornady ammo, and the internet, have all helped the Bob's small come-back IMO. Word of mouth advertising helps Bob find new homes, and I have yet to hear or read of someone who bought a Bob and was disappointed in it's abilities.
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Dang,I've got a 257 Roberts and a 25/06,and hunt with both of them.I must be living in a sea of redundancy!

WB.