Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 257 Roberts

Well lets hear it. What are you suggestions as to what bullet I should use. I am thinking the Barnes 100gr TTSX or Noslers 110gr Accubond. Maybe a Nosler Partition 115gr. Yes I know their is a better choice for cartridge but this is what I have for now and it is hat will have to work.

Thank You

A friends mother uses a 257 Roberts for elk and she has tipped over quite a few with it. Her bullet of choice is 100 grain hornady interlock. Her husband brings the big gun with them when they go (25-06) and he also runs 100 grain horandy interlocks and they have tipped over lots of elk.

A 115gr partition for my daughters rifle. I am limited to 2.8 OAL and don't like how far I have to seat the 100gr TTSX to get it to fit. Otherwise the TTSX would be my choice.

I use 100g TTSX and 110g AccuBond for antelope and 120g Partition and A-Frame during elk/deer season.

Haven't taken any elk with it so I can't tell you how they work.

I've got 257 Bob that's taken 3 bulls and 1 cow. 115gr Partitions seem to work fine

I carried one for a while. My load was a 120 grain partition over 43 grains of H414, federal 215 primers, in WW +P brass.

I spent about 2 hours waiting for friends to try to push a bull they thought they'd wounded out of a brushed up clearcut. I had the width of a skinny graveled road to (a) see the elk, (b) react, (c) get the gun lined up, (d) fire an aimed shot, and (e) put it on the ground 'cause if it got across it would be over a steep bank and into 3 miles of brush.

At that point I decided my .257 wasn't gun enough for the job it was called to do. The elk exited the other way. No blood was found. All good. And by the next year I was carrying a .300 win mag which I shot my own first elk with.

Nothin' wrong with a .257 Roberts for elk unless something goes wrong. It doesn't have the snot to do mop-up.

Tom

On the other hand, one of my early elk-hunting mentors (now gone to the Happy Hunting Grounds) once neatly dropped a bull somebody else had wounded with a .30-06--with a single 100-grain, non-premium bullet from his Savage Model 99 in .250-3000. It happened in the thick country of far western Montana along the border with the Idaho Panhandle, on a moving bull.

If that's all you've got, load a Nosler 115 or 120gr Partition and shoot straight and you'll be eating elk.

My father used a mild 257 load with 100gr Partition at about 2850 to kill his last elk. It was pretty straightforward, and basically a broadside and a bang-flop at just under 200yds. Good bullet, good shooter, good result.

Those are important compoents, but you forgot one. When using something pretty far to the light end of the spectrum for the job, the additional factor you need is a very cooperative elk that gives you the opportunity to put those other 3 to use. The likelihood of that depends much on location: terrain and cover. They matter with all cartridges and bullets to some degree, but the smaller you go, the tighter the window gets.

I've thought very hard about chucking all my other hunting rifles and going back to a .257 Roberts ... but I notice that I haven't actually done it yet.

I never got a chance to actually hunt with my dad for anything bigger than rabbits, but I know he tried to get as close as he could, and wasn't afraid to turn down shots he couldn't get set for. Too, he was one of the best off-hand shooters I've ever seen or heard of. He heart-shot big game.

I think the partition is the best choice. The Barnes does a good job out of my 257 Weatherby but I think the Bob is a little slow at the fringes to guarantee expansion. I

If the shots are relatively close, then any of these will work just fine.

For every bang flop, DRT and "I knew a guy" story there are 10 stories that didn't have a happy ending that don't get talked about.

What would Elmer Keith have to say?

No doubt some expert marksman will chime in that they have 57 consecutive one shot kills with small caliber light bullets on heavy game and that since they have done it everybody should aspire to be as deadly an expert sniper as they are.

If you have to carry the damn thing, do yourself and your quarry a favor...take enough

Just sayin...

I'm sure my father felt he had enough gun. After all, it was a step up from the 6mm that he used for most of his elk hunting. He didn't lose any critters. His hunting partner and best friend used the same, and likely still does.

Certainly, experience decides what is enough, not internet critics, or gun writers who happen to be elsewhere taking 600yd shots at big game with a handgun.

Yep:

Now is when everybody gets to tell their me and my friends and family don't need big guns cause we are expert hunters and expert marksmen and we never lost an animal story.

Keep um comin...

And you say that because you sat there and contemplated the issue for a while, deciding that it wouldn't work?

Because obviously the conclusion was reached without any actual experience in the task at hand.

That elk, had it come out in front of you, would have died if you placed a .257 bullet into the vitals. It would have continued to run had you placed a .308 bullet into the guts.

Elmer Keith would say he pulled out a .44 mag revolver and stopped the elk with one running shot at 600 yards with open sights.

And for that, I will never give a $hit what Elmer would say.

Expert hunters do kill most of the elk, and the gun figures into that equation about .5%.

That's a fact, whether Pennsylvanians want to acknowledge it or not.

Yeah my elk experience has been much less about gun and caliber much more about getting up the mtn, getting downwind, getting in front of them, getting set for the shot, getting the shot off fast, etc. I don't have to defend my father's, nor my hunting practices and exploits.

In short, it does not matter to me whether whomever reads my post believes me or not. What matters is whether I can articulate what I have to say, and therefore add value to the discussion. Calling BS is your prerogative, but I assure you, you aren't adding value to the discussion.

99, I forgot to add: I've never lost an animal. I am a really good shot, and I hit where I aim when I can get a good shot off, based on many years and many animals. It seems I've got the luck that way, and can get away with stuff others can't. I suppose that's kind of like my dad and his friend killing 60+ elk between the two of them with 6mms. They were just lucky.

Obvious?

Y' know what it tells me about your intelligence when you call something "obvious" that is absolutely wrong?

Yep, confirmed: you won the dumb [bleep] award.

Tom

Lets recap:

You tell a story about waiting for a wounded elk to be pushed to you.

You had a .257 Roberts.

You sat there waiting and decided it was too small.

The elk never came out, so you never got to try the .257 and gain ACTUAL experience.

The next year you killed your FIRST elk with a .300 Win.





I think that about covers it?

Show me again where you actually tried to kill an elk with your .257 before deciding it was too small and moving to a .300 Win?

To the OP- Go Hunt!
I've used the Roberts a bit and wouldn't worry as much as some here. It doesn't need to have Barnes (or any other) mono-metal bullet to work. I like 115gr or 120gr Partitions and Hornady 117 or 120's. The extra weight helps penetration just like with every other caliber.
Lots of animals are taken with small caliber guns every year.
Be sure to post pictures when you get one.

+1

Not at all. Your assumptions fail you.

Prior to that I'd killed a BUNCH of deer with the .257 plus a 3-4 things a little more than double the size of an elk.

My hunting buddy carries his 257 Bob every year for both elk and mule deer. He uses the 117 gr Sierra Game King. That rifle/bullet combo works extremely well for him with no objections from the participants.

I'll bite ... What are these 3-4 things double the size of an elk?

And what kind of penetration did you have on the deer you shot with your 257 that makes you think sticking it behind the shoulder of an elk wouldn't work?

Keep um comin boys....

Laughin

You don't get it, do you?

I had a little skinny lane to shoot down. 12 feet approximately. No visibility on either side. If that elk had crossed those 12 feet we'd have been fooked. It's bad steep and real brushy for 3 miles after that.

The point of .257 vs .300 had nothing to do with shoot it behind the shoulder, it was about shooting it THROUGH both shoulders .. right through the big damn ball joints and turning it feet to the sky without it getting even a foot beyond that 12 foot lane.

I'm done. I've said my piece ... this field is yours. Enjoy.

T O M:

Don't start trying to confuse the issue with science and facts.

The 257 is just as good an elk gun as the 300

Especially when it's in the hands of a skilled marksmen.

Haven't you been paying attention?

So this bull is being pushed by your friends and is possibly wounded so this bull is moving along not just out on a sunday stroll and you have a 12' window with zero visibility on both sides. That bull is going to make it across that in two strides and you would have been able to get your 300 shouldered and on the elk in time to put one through his shoulders?

The best hunter in our elk camp always carried a .270 and killed his elk with it quite handily. Sitting in tent one night, right after he'd killed a boxcar cow with one shot, he decided he needed a .300 Mag to really kill elk properly. Next year he came to camp with a silly damn Weatherby and a 4x14 scope. Promptly shot a 4x4 rag horn through the gut. Another hunter from our group ran across the poor little devil bedded out in the open and killed it. The next year he blew a leg off a decent bull. Had heavy snow cover and we followed the bull into the unit next to ours -- decided not to press our luck in an area where we didn't have a liscense. We pulled out and never did retrieve him.

This example doesn't prove anything -except - it takes more than paper ballistics to kill an elk.

Before you leave, I'd still like to know what those 3-4 things are. Inquiring minds want to know!

Cartridge debates are a lot of fun if done civilly. In fact, sometimes science (factual knowledge) gets in the way of a lot of fun.

In an arrow flying at about 300 FPS will kill an elk, just about anything will kill an elk if it destroys important stuff such as the stuff that gets oxygenated blood to an elk's brain. Biology wins every time. Puncture lungs and an elk downs in its own blood. He won't go far. Destroy its heart, get out your gutting knife.

The only thing I'll add/support is the part about Partitions. I ain't yet used Accubonds. Partitions leave two blood trails: one on each side. If I were going with factory loads, I'd go with green box Core-Lokt, and not the expensive stuff.

The reason why I step into these cartridge discussions is usually thus: there is an aspect of the discussion that I advocate for, which is if a certain cartridge and bullet has been used to hunt and take a certain animal, and it has been successful more than a few times, then that cartridge/bullet combo IS effective for hunting and taking that animal. We can argue the value of overkill, or of errant shots, etc, when it comes to how well a cart/bullet combo actually works, but if it has been done, it can be done. I chuckle inside when I consider the veracity of certain arguments in regard to 'light' cartridges and big game vs magnums.

There is nothing magical in a headstamp that alters the laws of physics. Bullets that injure or destroy vital structures harvest animals. How one decides to go about that is the most important factor in cartridge and bullet choice.

It cracks me up when people generally believe that one cartidge or another is a majic wand and everything shot with it will automatically fall down right where you want it to.

The one thing about elk hunting you'd better be willing to accept is that they rarely die in a handy spot.

Yeah there really isn't any magic.

My elk hunting education got started watching a Wyoming rancher friend haul in all kinds of elk killed with a measly little 250 Savage.Along the way others hunting the ranch (local guys)used the Roberts, the 243,270,25/06,308 Norma, 7 mags, etc, etc. It seems that killing large animals like elk with smaller calibers is something of a western tradition.

I spent nights with a cold beer or a cup of coffee,and a skinning knife chasing wound channels through elk carcasses and looking at the damage done by various bullets and calibers.It really did not take long to figure out that the trauma inflicted along the wound channels was greater with the 30 calibers than anything much smaller.

Since I was digging around the carcasses of dead elk, it was pretty obvious that the 25's killed them;but it was equally obvious from the size and nature of the wound channels, depth of penetration,broken bones,etc., that the 30's had more of what it takes to be a good elk killer than the 25's,with the bullets of the day.(Of course we have better bullets today in both 25 and 30 caliber so the playing field is equal in that regard).

These conversations go round and round because there is only a singular degree of "dead", but infinite variations of wounding effect, depending on the bullet construction, impact velocity (distance),what we hit, and so forth and so on.

So it seemed to me that the conversation should not be about what "kills" them, but rather what kind of wound trauma we can expect to inflict with a 30 vs a 25 under a broad range of conditions. I think the 30 calibers win hands down.

This may seem a bit arcane but it led me to the conclusion that I'd hunt elk with a 257 Roberts if it's all I had(I've killed piles of deer and antelope with the cartridge);but would rather take a 30/06 or 300 magnum for the job.I have never regretted that decision.I can't wrap my head around the notion of a Roberts being anything like a 300 magnum in terms of effectiveness on animals of the size and tenacity of a big bull elk.

BTW the rancher who got me started on this stuff went from that 250 Savage to a 270;found it very much more effective than the 250 Savage...he has also used some 7 mags and a 300 Win mag. He says the 270 kills them fine, but the 300's just pound them at any distance. He has killed a LOT of elk.

As always, YMMV.

Good post Bob and I agree that if you can shoot the 300WM as good as the .25 bore then that's the gun to use. But most cant shoot the 30 cal mags as good as they can the smaller caliber.

+1 Bob.

A bit of western tradition, I agree. Guys around hear smoke elk every year with various 6mm's and 25 cal rifles.

I have yet to kill an elk with my bob or the 25-06, just have not seen an elk while I have said calibers in hand.... another tradition that happens a great deal while hunting elusive elk, the lack of elk....

No replacement for shot placement and know your limits.... Thats what I have learn't from 25+ years of hunting elk in the rockies

Well said by BobinNH

But not an elk, correct?

Lung shot would have done him in after a few yards. Sharpen your tracking skills a bit.

I'll bet at 12 feet a TSX or a TTSX would of blown through that bull with ease. And with "ten fold" less recoil a second shot blowing another hole right through the already dead bull would be easy. But if you want to try and settle in for another shot out with your .300 go for it.

The shooting distance wasn't 12 feet, that was the width of the shooting lane. Reading comprehension IS important.

Jim

BobinNH - I believe what you are advocating. This thread wasn't a plea for advice on a great, better, or perfect gun for elk.

The OP asked for advice specific to what he's got available to him. He wants to go hunt with his Dad with a gun that can and has worked. So how many have offered useful input?

By the way, my favorite "elk" rifle is a .338WM. I used my Roberts for everything from Rockchucks and bigger until I bought my .338WM and it has been used a lot since then. Not arguing effectiveness of bigger bullets. What he has will work.

I am not opposed to carrying small calibers or moderately powered cartridges for elk. I know 243s and 257s have been flawless elk guns in the hands of some hunters, and of course when carried by women and children. I know my dad was a big 6mm guy, but for my kind of elk hunting, I wouldn't have the stones to use one. It has been a rarity that shots have been under 300yds in the open country I hunt, and often the shots are a lot farther. I had to learn to make those shots or go home empty-handed. I wouldn't attempt them with a 257.

I've been trying to find more spots to hunt the timber, where shots are close, and in that case, a handgun, levergun, or smaller cal rifle should work perfectly.

Big Nate: I did not read the entire thread....my bad! But who has the time?! I was commenting on the comments,so missed the gist.

But I will go back and read the whole thread. Thanks!

I have seen the 115 NPT used on elk and black bear; have used it myself on mule deer, and antelope,so that's what I would use.

There I fixed it for ya. BTW, bullet comprehension is important.

For elk I would stick with 110 Accubonds or 120 gr Partitions. The .257 Roberts is plenty for elk as long as you know its (as well as your own)limitations.

Nosler 257 115 gr PT

JD338

That is pphucking beautiful and what we shot in our 25-06... Id trust that bullet anytime anywhere. BTW, John B(mule deer) says him and his wife have filled Arks with that bullet...

257 Roberts 115 gr PT at 3000 fps. Bullet went through 5 water jugs and was found in the dirt.
Bullet weighs 79.5 grs and expanded to .595".



JD338

That's the beauty of a Partition. It's most likely gonna look the same every time, out of anything you find it in.