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It's an old Ultralight in reasonably good condition. I got it at the Mesquite Rodeo gunshow today and while there I picked up a couple of boxes of ammo put together by a local guy I have bought ammo from before. I put a Leupold 3x9 on it, and bore sighted it. Took it out to my 25 yard range and the first shot was centered but 4 inches low. The second shot was 2 inches low after a bit of adjustment, third shot was 1 inch low at 25 yards but the bolt wouldn't open, I had to tap it open with a rubber mallet. The fired case could not be tapped out with a cleaning rod. The guy who loaded the ammo said to take it to a gunsmith and have him fix the rifle and he would pay for it. The load data on the box is 42.0 grains of WW 760 under a 117 gr. SST. So crap!


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Factory 110 Nosler accubond, Doubletap 100 TTSX, but they aint giving it away.


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Last edited by 308ld; 10/09/17.

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I just bought the ammo for the brass and to get the scope lined up. Taking the rifle to a gunsmith tomorrow.


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Good luck with the rifle. My 257 Roberts is a 1989 M77. Not an ultralight but easily my favorite rifle and very accurate. I think I'd take the rest of the ammo apart and burn the powder with a match. Or sell it back.

Check the throat when you get a chance. My guess is you will find it is quite long, as is mine and as are the throats on several of my Rugers from that era. I've always joked the bullets in my Roberts couldn't touch the lands with a stick, but it doesn't hurt accuracy. Best 3-shot group I've ever shot was with that rifle, .232" center-to-center @ 100 yards, 75g V-MAX.

Used the Roberts and a 110g AccuBond @ 3163fps MV to shoot a buck antelope in Wyoming two days ago. 300 yards on the run, quartering a bit into a 20mph wind.



PS -
If you are interested in my +P load data (WW +P brass), PM me with your email address.

Last edited by Coyote_Hunter; 10/09/17.

Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!

No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

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Mine is a MKII, one of my favorite rifles. Shoots under MOA with 100s on down, but will do 1.25 with the 115 partitions and 110 Accubonds. One of these days it's going on a diet, weighs close to 9 lbs with a 3-9 VXII. Must be a real dense piece of walnut.

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Originally Posted by rickt300
I just bought the ammo for the brass and to get the scope lined up. Taking the rifle to a gunsmith tomorrow.


My local Sportsman's Warehouse had 2 bags of Winchester brass a few days ago. If you need the brass, shoot me a PM.

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I was at the gun show so I bought what was there. I just took pictures of the bolt face and the case head still in the chamber. Don't know why the primer is still in the case as it looks like there is space all around it. I don't know if this will harm the barrel but the bolt looks fine other than the heavy ring of residue around the firing pin. Does Ruger still put new barrels on their rifles?

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Well I got the rifle back today. The gunsmith charged me $35. for removing the case, $30. for detail cleaning the rifle and $40. for test firing the rifle. Does this seem about right? I know he had to buy a box of ammo to test fire the rifle so that may have been a bargain. At any rate I put the scope back on it and had it sighted in 1 inch high at 100 yards in 4 shots. This using an old box of Federal red box 117 grain +P I found at a gunshop, the only ammo he had for a 257. Seems like an accurate rifle. I ordered 4 boxes of 110 grain Accubond 257 ammo loaded by Pendelton ammunition from Grafs. Good price also as it's on clearance. I have 16 rounds of the Federal ammo left so I could shoot something with it when I go hunting.

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As for the appearance of the case that was removed, the case head had expanded just behind the chamber to almost looking like it had a belt on it, the primer fell out as the gunsmith removed it from the chamber. The case looked pinkish near the shoulder area as if it had gotten very hot. The federal cases I fired today look just fine though the primers stick out just a bit. The gunsmith did not have a headspace gauge for a 257 Roberts so I didn't get a check on that.

Last edited by rickt300; 10/18/17.

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From your description of the appearance of the case it sounds as though there was a problem with the ammunition. I would not shoot anymore of those loads. I say this because during the time that I worked in the gunsmithing department at Browning Arms Co. I worked on several rifles that had cases like you describe stuck in the chamber. In many of those cases it was found that the owner had fired the wrong ammo. This took place after Remington renamed the .280 Rem. the 7mm Express, inattentive shooters fired these shells in their 7mm Rem. Mag rifles. The renamed .280 had plenty of room in the larger 7mm Magnum chamber and came apart. I realize that you were firing the correct ammunition in your rifle but the result indicates far too much pressure, perhaps a double charge, wrong powder or some similar was to blame. The swollen case head and destroyed primer pocket are sending a clear message of DANGER which needs to be thoroughly investigated by a gunsmith experienced in this kind of situation.

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The manufacturer of this ammo is local and he has said he will pay the fees the gunsmith charged and buy the ammo back from me. I will see him Sunday at the gun show. I was tempted ot pull a bullet and weigh a charge or two and find out if it was what was listed on the box but I think I will just give them back loaded and let John figure it out.


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Probably the best course of action right there.

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You do know the difference between regular and +P, I hope.

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+P brass is heavier and loaded ammo is loaded to a bit higher velocity if marked +P.


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Don't shoot handloads assembled by someone else.

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+1 on not shooting someone else's handloads whether they're a professional or an amateur. The fact that the seller was willing to pay the gunsmith bill and buy back the ammunition say something right there. Sounds like the guy's afraid of a lawsuit.

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Originally Posted by bobnob17
Don't shoot handloads assembled by someone else.


This ^^^^ pretty much covers it.

I would add don't shoot ammo obtained from someone else, either. When I purchased my Marlin 375 (.375 Win), it came with a couple boxes of 'Winchester factory ammo'. Not suspecting anything, I fired a few. They seemed safe enough but accuracy was horrible and velocity was very inconsistent. Couldn't decide if it was really bad factory ammo or bad handloads. Either way, I stopped shooting them and tore the rest apart. Nowadays I don't even consider shooting ammo unless I know for sure it is factory fresh or I've loaded it myself. The one exception is my hunting buddy's handloads for his 7mm RM - I've taken a couple shots using his 7mm RM at the range but only after watching him shoot from the same batch. His load is one I used for 20+ years and he has used since '98 or '99 when he got his 7mm RM.


Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!

No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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The guy has a pretty big operation and I have bought a lot of ammo from him, he employs 10 people and loads everything from 22 Jet to the big bores. I"m not defending him but he is acting responsibly. I have also had some way too hot ammo from Federal in the past, most noticeably some 165 grain 300 Win mag "Deer Thug" loads. However these are the last three rounds of his stuff I am going to shoot!

Last edited by rickt300; 10/19/17.

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Ok I shot 18 rounds of the Pendleton 110 grain Accubond ammo. Easy extraction, primers somewhat flattened, pin indentation not cratered, accuracy not stellar 1 3/8 inch for 5 shots.


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Based on my experience with quite a few Ruger ULs, that's as good as it get with accuracy. I shot a 3 shot group with my 77 MK2 257 Roberts today that eyeballed at about that, and I was happy with it. I'd say you have a very good load there.

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