Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Considering a 257Roberts. Help!

Get it if you want. Thats the fun of guns. As for myself I can shoot cartridges that make bigger holes without any takebacks.

The 257 RR does not fit many actions well. Is not popular. Its sort of in between just right. Not that it won't work some of the time when the demands are easy.

Is it a long range cartridge as say compared to the 270? N0.
Is it a optimum varimint round as say compared to the 243? NO.
Is it a optimum woods round for deer and bear? NO.
Is it big enough to always make a deep large humane wound? NO.

That enough. Some like it and it's a fun round for them.

How many extry yards of fun,is the 270 good for?

How many extry yards of fun,is the 243Win good for on Vermin?

How close do Deer and Bear gotta be,before 25's "won't work" on 'em?

Whatsa humane wound? In passing what would you point a 270 or 243 ay,that you'd not do likewise with a Bob?

75V-Max haul ass for fun,the 75XFB stuffs [bleep] in their tracks and the 100XBT is heap much impressive...wayyyyyyyyyyyyy out there.................

With a 30-06 which I am quite comfortable with in every way a rifleman could not only take 200/300 lb game but use the same rifle for larger game. I skipped over the 270 as its almost as good but less flexible. I would not want to shoot big game at long range with a 257 RR. I am sure some would.

The 243 will richocet less as optimum varmint bullets are available. If B&A's sizing up principle had been discovered in the 1930's the 257 RR might be a optimum long range choice for pests. It just lost out due to the bad bullets of the day.

"How close do Deer and Bear gotta be,before 25's "won't work" on 'em?" Whats the sense of testing cheap or small parachutes to see if they will get by?

"Whatsa humane wound? In passing what would you point a 270 or 243 ay,that you'd not do likewise with a Bob?"

I can shoot the 30-06 well. The small bullet of X type some aim for the bone I read. Don't want to be limited unless it's an advantage.

Old Burt Kellerstadt used to say "Don't force it, use the big hammer."

I'd have zero qualm using the Bob on everything up to and including Moose. Prefer the 25-284 however.

The Bob will smoke Vermin to NeverNever Land.

As to the too close for a 25 to "not work" on Deers or Bears,I'm not forced to speculate. They kill in routinely amazing fashion and I think highly of both the theory and it's Application. You could say it's my bread and butter.

You did much writhing,when you simply could have said" I'm OldSchool,have zero firsthand accounting of the particulars in question and carry a 30-'06 because it's all that I know".

Not too much shame in that...........................

Your making an unfounded accusation. I have seen the 257 RR fail. And its you who aim for the bone. Don't see any advantage in that unless its just a stunt.

Go on testing parachutes. Not much future in that. Not going to get famous advocating minimum gear.

I've seen dismal '06 results,dismal 375H&H results,dismal 7STW results,yada,yada,yada. there runs a common theme,in that projectile selection was sub par.

BT's are bombs in the '06,235Speer's will/do nuke outta the Six-Bits and the STW will scatter Hornie SP's and BT's with equal enthusiasm.

Of course I gun for bone and know X's to be without peer for flatout killing ASAP. In that scenario,chambering largely means dick,because placement and bullet construction are far more important in dictating final outcome,in repeatable/reliable fashion.

I'm the first to advocate one making his own luck and if a man can shoot and savvy boolit types,the rest is mundane in the way results follow suit.

I'm THE advocate of maximizing performance,skills and tackle....................

I rather imagine you saw the shooter fail. Blame the shooter. Or are we referrin' to the same cartridge? What is this RR thing, never heard that. "Reduced Roberts"?

By the by, if you think the .243 has a leg up on Bob for long varmints you may have missed a few chapters along the way. I'd never suggest it for the prairie dog towns but it do some amazing things out long with VMAX and the 85 BT. 'Course I'd not suggest the .243 for a dog town either, but that's just me.

I like the Remington Roberts name. I have an original 25 Roberts here in my cartridge collection made on a 7-57. It has a very gradual shoulder angle.

I compared the 257 RR to the 243 in terms of varmint bullet availability. There is a theory of relativity to bullets. Bigger bullets go further and do more. Of course a 257 RR would be a long range varmint round.

There was great hope for the 257 RR but just from those who hoped something different might happen by fooling with the case. The bullets were just not available

Bieler and Astles were the first to make dies that made good bullets.

I feel the same way about the 257 aand the 7/57.
I had a 257 it was a Mod 70 Fwt and super accurate with 100gr bullets but would not stabalize 120,s even at 2,880 fps.
I shot it a lot and the throat became worn so I rechambered it to 25/06. At first I was sad I lost my Bob but it was the best move I could have made. I could load down to 257 velocities or load up to 270 velocitices. At 3,160 120,s shot just fine.
Mule Deer says a 257 will fit in a short action but most are built on standard length actons and so is the 7/57.
Both are nice little cartridges but why not go with the standard length round and be done with it.
-Doc-

Minimum gear would be more like a .223 with Trophy Bondeds, I would think. For quadrupeds up to 3 or 4 hundred pounds at reasonable ranges, the Bob would be more in the middle of the range.

Here's a .257 Roberts story.

In 1992 my dad and I were headed into one of our favorite deer hunting areas. It was a pretty good hump (3-4 miles) up a steep ridge and we were going slow in hopes of not spooking the critters.

About 2/3's of the way in the ol'man hisses "freeze, I see a buck." Sure enough about 275 yards up the facing ridge in the edge of a pasture was a huge bodied buck meandering along with his nose on the ground trailing a doe. Pop asked me if I wanted to try him, but from where I was standing I couldn't get a clear shot between some trees so I whispered for him to "take the shot."

Dad wraps up tight in the sling of his .257 Roberts Model 70 Featherweight and lets go. At the crack of the rifle the buck humps up and turns back down the ridge. After 8 or 10 steps he slides on his belly.

The 100 grain Winchester Silvertip (old style with the aluminum nose cap) factory load went in behind the onside shoulder, made a soupy mess of the deer plumbing, broke the offside shoulder and lodged just under the skin.

This old buck was absolutely ancient. His teeth were just about gone and his muzzle was just about solid white. He was also one of the largest NC deer I've ever seen. As best as I remember, he dressed at 170 lbs. His rack was nothing huge, a non-typical 9 point with one crazy droptine and about a 16-17 inch spread.

Hard to believe its been 14 years since this hunt, Lord but I am getting old.

HBB

The 22� barrel on my Ruger is one of its main attractions. Why on earth would I want a 24� or longer just to get a .25-06?

As it sits, using modern +P data as the basis for my handloads I get the following:

3682fps, 75g VMAX
3132fps, 110g AccuBond
3013fps 115g TSX
2947fps 120g A-Frame

Here are some .257 Roberts loads from Barnes:
3648fps, 75g Solid
3149fps, 100g X
2975fps, 115g X


Compare that to Federal factory .25-06 loads:

3210fps, 100g TSX
3210fps, 100g Ballistic Tip
3100fps, 110g AccuBond
2990fps, 115g Partition
2990fps, 117g Game King

Please explain how the .25-06 is a �meaningful 25 caliber� and a Roberts is not?

The truth is that unless you go to a 26� tube, the .25-06 doesn�t offer much more than the .257 Roberts - but in doing so you give up the very thing that makes the .257 Roberts so sweet.

In a short action I prefer the 25-284,in a long action the 25-06/25-06AI.

But I can like all 25's in general....................

Coyote Hunter,

Those are some very stiff loads you show for the Roberts.
3600+ with a 75gr. bullet, 3150 with a 110gr. How long do the primer pockets last? I had a 6.5X257AI with a 23in. barrel and hit just under 3200 fps. with a 120gr. bullet. Your loads no dought are on the wire's edge. If you like the lugs on that Ruger bolt back off abit. Pedro

I've load for two of the 22" Ruger .257's. Both can be a bit picky on which bullet you feed them. For some reason, both needed up pressure at the forend. Never have been able to get them to shoot well free floated. Both do very well with the various 75 gr. bullets, but are picky on game size offerings. Mule Deer has stated that the 10" twist is borderline at Bob velocities for the 117-120 bullets so this may have something to do with it. One rifle likes the 115 Partition, the 2nd does better with the 100 Hornady. Got to try the 100 Partition in the near future. The 2nd rifle will group the 115 if I push it past comfortable limits on pressure. Still and all, they are becoming my favorite deer rifles. I've got a terrific M70 .243 and a M77 MKI in .250-3000 that may just have to wait on grandkids to grow up.

Here is a 257 story that I like to tell. An old buddys only CF rifle was a 722 257 and all he had was 87 gr Sierras. This guy was a gifted athlete, hunter and a very good shot.

He was hunting in the mountains of Vermont in the 60's when game was plentiful and leaning against a tree at dawn which is what we called posting back then.

Another hunter comes slowly up the hill and instead of going by he stops to talk. If your posting you don't want to talk.

The hunter asks what caliber he is shooting and when he finds out its only a 257 he tells him that it's really too small and the 30-06 is the gun to have.

Finally the hunter leaves and soon thereafter a nice buck comes walking by my old buddy. He shoots it with the 257 and it drops dead. As he prepares to gut it out the 'expert' comes back down the hill to watch.

As the guts come out the 'expert' throws up his breakfast!

My bob uses a 10" twist 3-groove 24" barrel. Shoots 75 gr., 100 gr., 110 gr., & 120 gr. handloads like house-a-fire. Never tried the 115 or 117 gr. bullets.

L/A Bob or S/A Bob?

Particulars?

I'm such a 25 Slut................

prepare to drooool.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

M77 MK1 LA all spiffed up. Mated to a Lilja stainless tube. Snug chambered, minimum headspaced. Trigger tweaked to 3lbs. All the metal including rings Tef-Cote'd in OD Green by Spradlin's. Everything dropped into a McMillan R stock that's been both pillar and glassbedded. Wears a Vari-X III 2.5-8x glass. Glass goes off to Leupold next week for a B&C reticle upgrade.

too much fun

Very nice.

Have related often,that my best 7mmRemmag was aboard a MK I Ruger RoundTop and wore a Shilen tube,with Timney trigger.

Rattlecanned it and she defined SLEEPER.....................