Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 257 Roberts Ackley Improved - Worth the effort?

For a long time the .257 AI was my one and only centerfire, a Pre 64 Model 70. I found it on consignment at a local gunshop in southern MO when I was 15 yo. I knew that it had been re-barreled but the owner had no idea with what..


I had been saving my fur money for a Remington 700 in 25-06 but when I found this for less I bought it. It came with a set of dies but I did not have my own press at that time. My girlfriends dad had one and when I showed interest he began teaching me to reload. I simply fireformed factory loads that first season.

By the time my first spring with this rifle rolled around the GF was ancient history and I had enough money to buy my own press. My fireforming days were over, I had a ton of brass formed from shooting everything that walked, hopped, flew, or crawled.. The rifle simply amazed me everytime I pulled the trigger. I figured it would pretty much be a laser beam with fireformed loads.. I was disappointed when I could not tell a difference...

I didn't let it get me down though! I was determined to use IMR-4831 and the Speer 100gr BT Spitzer because both were cheap and readily available where I lived...Not to mention I was broke and liked to shoot a lot...!

Turned out, the load was accurate enough that I could stand my cases with cracked necks on a stump at 100yds and shoot a perfect hole through them without touching an edge. My buddies were always amazed and I developed quite the reputation because of those stunts.

In all honesty it wasn't that hard with a good rest and the 4x12 power scope I had. The rifle was simply more accurate than everybody's rifle, that's all....

I had no idea how fast it shot but I thought it was close enough to the 25-06 that I no longer needed that Rem 700. While it was rough on fur I didn't care, I always knew I could put up enough fur with my traps.....

25yrs later, I figure it has killed about as many deer as blue tounge, but I truly have no idea how many rounds I have put through it or how many heartbeats it has stopped. A peek at the shank may give you an idea if you know what your looking at. Hint, it used to say 257 Rob Ack Imp..! I believe it was initially chambered for 257 Roberts but re-chambered for AI some time before I got it.. I've set it back twice since then and the evidence of "Rob" is all but gone...


It's safe to say that it has been shot a helluva lot, and then some!

Last year I let the boy re-finish the stock for his freshman woodshop project. Considering the condition it was currently in, he couldn't hurt it. He got a B but I think it turned out ok. I told him the shop teacher was probably just jealous because he didn't own a Pre 64 257 AI.....He laughed! You can still tell it's been carried some...........


So, is the AI worth it? To me it is! After all these years reloading, I still hate trimming brass and the extra velocity is always extra icing on the cake! Lastly for me there's the nostalgia..After all, it's the rifle that started me down the road to "loony-ville"...

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