Some people just don't understand why the bob is so desired in a long action.
When the cartridge came out there were few short actions,and things like the Rem 722 were still down the road.The cartridge isn't a real "short cartridge" but it isn't a 30/06 length either...kinda in between.Factory ammo had RN bullets(which back in the 30's were likely more accurate than full spitzer types),and semi spitzers,and were loaded to short OAL,so fit a short action.Except there were none I know of...until the Rem 722 came along that is, but not everyone had one of those.
M70's had boxed magazines(limiting OAL with spitzer bullets), and longish throats...today we would refer to all this as a "goat [bleep]"...you couldn't seat longish 117-120 gr spitzers without seating them very deeply, consuming powder space,and there was jump to the lands.
Bullets got better,gun writers like JOC and Warren Page(and others)used Mauser 98's and other longer actions to build rifles in 257 Roberts with a 3" OAL. Some M70 guys pulled the magazine boxes,seated 100,and 117-120 gr bullets out to about 3" OAL. This worked out much better with the powders of the day but required a longer action (30/06 length; there are not a lot of actions sized perfectly for that 57mm case).So......that's kinda of how we got to the 257 Roberts on a 30/06 length action.
On top of all these issues,factory ammo was anemic from the start (I've chronographed early Rem/Peters 117 RN ammo from 22 and 24" barrels and gotten about 2650 fps;100 gr stuff at under 2900 fps).Judicious hand loading could improve it considerably.
It's nice to lecture folks about the 25/06 but the problem is it didn't exist in factory form until the late 60's,as I recall(when I bought my first one).I never liked the cartridge in a 22" barrel;it's noisier than a Roberts and recoils more like a 270. Haven't had one in years.
I have had a slew of Roberts rifles,everything from pre 64 M70's and PF Featherweight to short(and long)action Rem 700's;mostly 22" barrels.Every Ruger I recall was on a long action.
With the 3" OAL, it was easy to get 3100-3200 fps with a 100 gr bullet;115 NPT will get over 3000 fps and a 120 gr bullet will hit over 2900 fps from 22" barrels...recoil is moderate, powder charges lighter than a 25/06.Look closely and you will see this about what factory ammo gets from the 25/06.
I hear you can do the same with 24" barrels and short actions but never owned that combo.What pressures were I have no idea,but friends and I all had them,used the rifles here on varmints and out west on many deer and antelope without any issues.
Most recently,a couple of Kimber rifles(short actions)using Mule Deer's load of 46 gr H4350 and 100 gr bullets gave 3050.
The cartridge dropped in popularity when the 6mm's came along in the 50's.Outfits like Ruger, Winchester,and Remington kept it alive with special runs here and there .
The OP's rifle is one of those "special runs" from the 90's as I recall.They probably put it on a long action because all the Roberts nuts from the old days would want to hand load for more juice... Not cataloged, it just showed up. I bought mine off the floor at the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery,Maine.I recall taking it to the gun counter and telling one of the clerks it had to be a mistake....Remington did not make them that way. He told me they were a "special run".
Most people don't even know it was ever made....but it was.I have not seen them since.I have owned the MR with the short action as well.
Anyhow that's the long action Roberts story the way I understood it.
