Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters SO ABOUT THE 257 ROBERTS...

I've always wanted a Manlicher-Schonauer and whilst at the gun shop yesterday, saw this beautiful example (1956 manufacture) in 257 Roberts. Turns out, it's a fairly rare caliber for this rifle, so a bonus. My buddy Pugs loves the Roberts and is sending me some data, but I'd be curious to know from you guys of any pros-cons (other than pricey brass!) on this caliber..

I have a couple of Ruger no.1`s in 257 Roberts only have shot one of them its in a Manlicher type stock and its been very accurate right out of the box. I have not hunted with it yet but should this year ?

Great accuracy and speed with Re19 and 100gr Sierras. Rem 722

Wow....your lucky day to walk into the gunshop.

I have plenty of RL-19 and 100gr Hornadys on hand.

If you don't mind saying, how much? I'm looking for one. Have been for a long time

two large and a C note, but I lessened the damage with a trade in...

.257 Roberts is a scarce caliber in a Mannilcher, congrats on finding such a nice one. I have a custom Paul Jaeger M/70 Winchester Featherweight in .257 Roberts and have owned several others over the years. It is a great cartridge and is easy to load for, I enjoy shooting mine often.

Fine round, just like a bunch of others.

It's about the rifle, not the cartridge.

My local Sportsmans Warehouse has Wichester 257+P Brass in stock. Check yours. It's $30/50.

I lusted after a now departed friend's Ruger No. 1 in 257 Roberts for many years. Not for the caliber but for the beautiful wood on that particular gun. I can assure you there are not many No. 1 rifles in the world that had factory issue wood as nice as that one. On his passing, the rifle went to a son (as it should). But, by then, the 257 Bob had begun to intrigue me and the introduction of the Kimber 84M Hunter took me over the edge. I have a love of lightweight hunting rigs and this Hunter really fills that bill. I used it to take my Whitetail this past season and it was a spot-on performer. Though I have always prided myself in harvesting with my handholds I used Nosler 110 grain Accubond factory ammo and it really got the job done.
Congrats on your purchase. While aware of what the M-S is I did not know it was ever produced in 257 Roberts.

we don't have a Sportsman's here in Orange Park

I've owned three of them......one is still with me....it's a M-70 featherweight and is the best of the three as it's magazine is long enough for loading longer rounds without losing a lot of powder capacity. Some .257 Roberts were built on actions too short to do the kind of hand loading that makes the Roberts act like a .25-06.....notably a Browning A-Bolt I had years ago.
That's one drawback of the Roberts ..... not all of them are made on long enough actions.

There is another drawback and that's that it's primarily a hand loader's special. as factory rounds must conform to the SAAMI pressures. Good hand loads can improve the.257 Roberts substantially.

Given a medium length action and some well made hand loads, the Roberts will act a lot like a .25-06 and that's pretty good performance for an ancient round.

Had Remington specified 60-65,000 PSI initially, there would have never been a need for either of the 6mm rounds that have eclipsed it so completely.....The Roberts is (possibly) the finest dual purpose.....deer/varmint..... round ever. Out to 300 or so yards, it'll stand it's own against the .25-06 and even the .257 Weatherby.....it's a truly fine cartridge!

Thats a nice score on a great rifle and added style points on the cartridge.

"Pricey brass". "Good things come to those that wait." I have three Roberts rifles and they get shot a lot so I am always looking for brass and here are some recent purchases.

Local gun show snagged 3 boxes of Winchester.



Bulk R-P brass from Midway



You can always neck up 6mm or neck down 7x57 brass.

Should you want to get started loading I can send you 20 R-P cases, then you can spend some time searching for reasonable priced brass.

Let us know how it shoots.

Wayne

Easy to load for if you can find brass. Great cartridge for deer, my favorite.

so....how about some loads, say with 100 & 117gr bullets?

100 grain BT and Partition = 41 grains of H4895

110 grain AB = 39 grains of H4895

I use regular, not +P, Winchester/Olin brass. If you use different brass, I'd suggest backing off 3 or 4 grains and working back up from there.

These loads work well in the 257 Roberts rifles that I shoot the most, a 700 CDL-SF with a 24" barrel and a 77 RSI with an 18.5" barrel.

I have a lot of confidence in the 110 grain AB, as it was the bullet that I used to "bang - flop" my heaviest whitetail, over 300 lbs. live weight.

Thanks, that's the bullet my buddy Pugs likes. I just ordered some Norma Brass.

Wow, nice...!

If you believe half of what gunner500 says...

You'd consider the 100 TTSX over max charge of H100V. You can push that bullet to 3,250 fps and it is, as gunner claims, a real "buzz saw"... It's a very effective WT and hog load, kills'em quick.

My COAL is longer than 2.8"; my Roberts is on a LA 700 with 24" Brux.

I'm not sure what length box you have.

H100V is the velocity champ in the Roberts, isn't the most temp stable, but burns clean.

I don't hunt sub zero weather, so it's not an issue with me. I like the load.

DF

jorgeI,

If the 100 gr. bullets won't shoot in your rifle, try the 80 gr. Barnes TTSX- The 100's show so-so accuracy in my Ruger No. 1 .257, but the 80 grainers are in the .5 MOA range. I use Nosler +P brass, and H100V powder, and CCI 200 primers. At 3300 fps MV, the load is no slouch, and should work as well as the 100"s for deer-sized game.