Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 257 Roberts versus the 243

Why is it that most seem very satisfied with most 100 grain bullets available in .257 diameter in the Roberts but it seems the unanimous pick for the 243 is the 95 gr. Ballistic Tip? Is there something that .014 in bullet diameter does for the bullets to make them perform better? I am a long time 243/6MM user and will say I have had some odd happenings with them yet will still say the two 6MM's are enough for deer. Personally I feel the 257 is flat out more gun than the standard 243 or 6MM Remington especially with the heavier bullets available for it. I have never shot a deer with a 6MM further than 150 yards out and many were inside of 75 yards and yes the 95 gr. Ballistic Tip is my favorite bullet with the 85 gr. Partition a distant second. I also had good results with the 100 gr. Nosler solid base bullet but they are gone forever. If any of you 6MM aficianado's start hyping the high BC bullets and their long range superiority well and fine but my deer hunting is virtually all done with shots under 300 yards and rarely that far.

What?

Dang, came back to this thread 'cause I thought one of the more clever fellows had figured out what this guy was on about. Never mind.

I do not know.


It make them .014 inches wider in diameter and gives it 0.33% more cross sectional area.


Good for you. Who said different?


So, thats your big gun. Interesting.


Good to know. That helps. With what, remains to be seen.


Lore.


News bulletin: High BC bullets work up close as well.

Nice job, Ready. My thoughts exactly!

Oh, and I am a 6mm Remington fan as well.

This ^^^^^^^

I don't own, nor I have ever owned a 257 Roberts, but I have had 243's for a good many years. If I were going to pick a rifle strictly for deer hunting, and that's all it would ever be used for, and the choice was between these two, I'd probably give the nod to the 257. I do that mostly on the fact that it's been around for a long time. If I wanted a rifle to do both deer and varmints, it would be a 243, and it wouldn't even be close. At any rate, does it really matter?

When I had my 257 Roberts I loaded the 115 grain NBT. It didn't do anything better than the 100 grain bullets I used in the 6mm Remington I owned. I think it is splitting hairs. I guess the heavier bullets may give the Roberts a theoretical advantage for larger game, but I don't think it matters. I would say it comes down to individual preference.

Get a Creedmoor...

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

If you reload, what one will do the other will do equally well UNLESS you feel that you must have the option to shoot hunting bullets weighing more than 110 grains.

If you don't reload, or don't feel the need to reload, there is a much bigger selection of 243 factory ammo than there is for the 257 Roberts and 243 is likely to be much less expensive and much more common than the 257 Roberts, since it is a high volume regular production item.

I usually load the 75 grain AMAX, 75 grain Sierra HP, 90 grain Sierra BTHP, 100 grain BT, 100 grain Partition, and 110 grain AB for my 257 Roberts rifles.

I usually load the 95 grain BT and 95 grain Partition for my 243 rifles.

I've shot a few deer with the 243 in recent years, most recently earlier this month, 11/2017, with the 95 grain Deer Season XP factory load from Winchester/Olin. I have yet to own a bolt or pump action 243 that wasn't capable of excellent accuracy with a variety of 90, 95, and 100 grain factory ammo from FED/REM/WIN.

Missing the point? The question actually is about why the 6MM guys are so picky about their heavy bullet choices but the 25 caliber shooters seem happy with just about any of the available 100 grain bullets. High BC bullets may work up close but are often designed to open quickly at long range which means they are pretty soft at high velocity impacts. I am not knocking the 6MM's though I would not choose one if all my shots were under 100 yards in thick brush or if I expected to get a majority of shots at over 300 yards either. And yes I know very well how much easier it is to get components (brass) and factory ammo for the 6MM's and that generally their accuracy is excellent. Presently I own 2 243's and one 6MM Remington, these rifles have gotten a lot of use in the last 25 years, especially the 6MM. While deer are pretty easy to kill I have had several go pretty far after being hit well with good bullets and leave pretty spotty blood trails while doing it. In open country this means little but when the animal is out of sight in a few steps it means a lot. All cartridges have limitations.

I like and use my .257R, a LA 700/Brux..

With the latest bullets, it seems to me a fast twist 6mm may be on the cutting edge. Lots of interest in the 6CM.

DF

between these two its more about the rifle than the caliber. I used 100 HotCors in my .257 and killed deer. I use 100gr anythings in my .243 and kill deer. Both great calibers and work very well.

I think an 80 gr TTSX running around 3300 fps is the bomb in my 6mm Rem. Of course I do kike shoulder shots on deer. Here is a recoverd 80 gr TTSX from the upper shoulder of a Black Bear after it went through its skull and neck:

The 25's are running on old technology. Lightweight and speed is how you get a 25 flatter/faster to 400-500 yards.

The 6mm's and 6.5's, are running on newer technology, faster twists, longer bullets, slower initial take off, but they hold up better on the far side of 400-500 yards.

The thing with 90+% of hunters though, the close side of 400-500 yards is where the hunting/shooting happens.

I've been happy as a clam with my 257 Roberts on deer out to 400 yards, but if twisting turrets and long range (600+) were the goal, I'd look for a different caliber and twist rate. The vast majority of hunters are the point and shoot, max point blank range types, and the 25's are pretty good at that.

The 243 fits better in a short action than the 257 and is easier to find ammo and brass for. Neither of those attributes add to ballistic performance.

All else is about the same.

I've had 6mm Remington's since the early 60's. I've had a few 243's. And now I have a 257 Roberts. I don't understand why one would feel that one is that much better than the other, they're pretty darn close in performance.

I think the 244/6mm is one of the finest varmint cartridges available. (But the others are too.) To me the big difference in the 6mm's is the design of the cartridge, not the performance of the cartridge. I like the longer neck and the sharper shoulder of the 6mm vs.the 243. The Remington 722's and the 700 short actions should have been longer for any of these cartridges, in my opinion - probably less so with the 243.

Early on, the 257 Roberts was a better deer cartridge, I think, primarily due to bullet selection. I was not satisfied with the early 6mm bullets for game (at least the ones I tried). The heavier bullets didn't seem to open up and the light bullets opened too much too fast. The 25's had a similar problem, but not quite as bad, in my opinion. Today, there's not much difference in performance. My Roberts was purchased mainly due to my dad had one many years ago and I always wanted one.

At 3,600 fps out of a .240, it may too much of a good thing, blew up a lot of meat. Most of the energy was expended early, just a punch thru the chest, doe ran 100 yds into the woods, had to find her with flashlights at night. I've posted this one before. Hope you guys don't get tired of looking at it, but it makes a point. Monos don't have a velocity ceiling, but speed does matter on how the bullet performs.

DF

I dropped off a 24" 700 SS .243 the other day at the gunsmith for a cut/crown at 21.5" (I need another truck rifle). Also picked up a jug of RL26. It appears that I may be able to make 3,250+ with the 90gr E-tip, and that combo has me rather interested. The 100gr version at 3,330 in the 25-284 does not appear to be prone to blowing off all the petals. Exits are not massive, but reasonable. Penetration is really good.

I do think the Roberts is a bit more rifle on game, especially when shooting good 115/120gr bullets. Mine liked the 120gr NPT at 2,800fps. I'd shoot any deer or hog that walked with that load.