Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 257 Roberts experience?

I'm a Ruger 257 Roberts guy. The 110 Accubond has performed well for me.

My latest was a hog hunt in Mississippi. My .257 Roberts started out as a Pre-64 Model 70 Super-grade that someone had butchered the stock. The rifle is wearing a Legend stock from Echols with Zeiss glass and S&K mounts.

I shot the first hog behind the ear at 50 yds. DRT. The rest of the flock busted out of the cover and ran. I shot 3 more hogs with my next 3 shots as they crossed the ATV trail. The running hogs piled up in a 10 yd. radius.

Clickty-Clack Bang.... Clickty-Clack Bang.... Clickty-Clack Bang. Love that sound!

I thought the govt bought the guns back from the kangaroo fu&#%rs? Pre 64 mod 70's dont work down there? LMAO v best WinPoor

I can smell the smoke from the cooker/grill from here Whitbird

Well done.

I brought my Montana in 257R to the pig hunt, didn't get it out for fear someone would make an offer on it, still don't know if I like it enough to keep it yet.

Sorry for the late reply.

The tiny little +P on the case head is worth 200 fps

Seriously, when they were introduced I read they were stronger, and could take loads higher than std cases. The factory ammo so stamped is a few thousand psi hotter than standard Roberts loads. I just looked, and it appears both Nosler and Winchester sell +P brass.

i have no idea what mine are but I put up to 47 grains of H4250 under a 100, thinking about the Barnes 80 grain as well. I really at this point in my life have revised my opinion/knowledge. You don't need a 100 grain copper bullet for a deer.

Just starting to work up loads for my M70 (1981) in 257 Bob. I am having to seat bullets a lot deeper than I want due to the short box restriction. Other than that, cool gun/caliber.
Tim

100gr. Speer BT has worked well for me on deer.

Wasn't the +P designation used for factory ammo and meant for modern guns? I seem to recall that you can load any modern brass to "+P" pressures and be fine. Am I wrong?

That is my understanding as well. Modern 58,000 PSI vs Standard 54,000 PSI. No difference in brass.

But I have been wrong before

I started with the 257 in the mid 1980's. My rifle is a Mannlicher 1952 model and a low power scope. Usually a Leupold 1.5x5 or something similar. We don't have to shoot very far down here. I always had great luck with anything that weighed 100 grains. It is just not complicated when what you hunt is deer and you pick your shots, which I do with anything I shoot. Great round. I am now using a Sako with an after market barrel. I'm saving my Mannlicher for my Grandson but I'm still using any good grade 100 grain bullets, Sierra this past year.

You hardly ever see a .257Roberts being used over here, it seems that the introduction of .243win was its death knell.

Its a shame really as I suspect the Roberts is actually a bit more versitille than the .243win, and for larger deer, I would much prefer the 115 to 120 grain bullets that are commonally available for the .257 Bob...

308 tell me about the stock on your m77. I have one that looks very similar . I thought it was a light weight version when I first saw it in the LGS but it is a std tanger that someone reworked the factory stock on.

It is a Ruger Hawkeye factory ultra light, 20" barrel. Stock measures 30-1/8 or 1/4" from tip to center of butt stock not including pad or spacer.

308, Your Ruger UL is solid gold.

I have not read all the posts, but will add my limited experience.

I have an 03a3, with a 24 inch Douglas barrel 1/10. The load I used was the 100 grain partition, pushed by 3100 powder. I couldn't tell you how fast they were going, the end results were the same DRT.


I also loaded some v-max of 75 grains, they were my varmint load.

I love my .257! The pics are of last year. I used one of my Whelens last year, but my Dad got his first deer with his "hen's tooth" 760 in .257. Took many years of looking for one for him and finally almost tripped and fell into one that had been in a friend's closet for years. (It was a "Oh, do you know anybody who buys old guns?" moment...) He has quite the collection of original 760 Amish AR-15's. Still looking for a .222 and one stamped .244, other than that he has them all...

I believe Dad was using 100gr Sierras, and knowing him it was a mild load. We both have Mausers in .257 also. Have used everything from 87gr to 120's. Seem to like the 100's the best. My mauser I am ashamed to say LOVES Remington factory 117gr loads. But the deer sure are dead quick.

The first 257 Roberts I owned, was picked up just a couple of weeks before the whitetail opener in 2003, if I remember correctly. The first load I put together shot well and so I just went hunting with it.

The 90 grain Sierra HP Gameking laid three out on opening morning, and all three were bang flops. One was a neck shot, one a spinal tap, and the third a high shoulder. I don't think any one of the three exited, so in the years to follow, I haven't used that bullet again.

I traded that rifle before hunting with it again, but bought a 77mkII Ultralight for my son to hunt with when he turned 8. I loaded the 100 grain Hornady with a starting load of H4350 and we each took a deer that fall with that setup. It worked fine. No muss or fuss and with exit wounds too. The blood trails were short and the deer died in sight.

Subsequent years have seen us use that rifle with the 110 grain Accubond, which also worked well, although I can't say I felt it did a "better" job than the 100 grain Hornady.

I think it has been a few seasons since we used that rifle. Both of us have been tinkering with other cartridges, but I'll just about bet it sees some time this fall. (I've actually been shooting the fraternal twin of the 257 Roberts, the 6mm Remington.)

I would most like to work up a load with a bullet in the 115 to 120 grain range to see how they work. I made a run with the 115 grain Partition a few seasons back, but the accuracy didn't want to gel for me, so I ended up putting the rifle back in the safe and went with something else.

Maybe this year.

What kind of accuracy were you getting with the 115 Partition? I've found them pretty easy to get to shoot in several .257's, but my accuracy standards may not be as stringent as those of some other hunters.