Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .257 Roberts fav's

[img]https://i.imgur.com/vR8ns90.jpg?4[/img]

Mo bettah!!

its getting to be kinda sad these days with the common American rifle manufactures don`t even offer a 257 Roberts in their rifle selections anymore for me to stock ,this fine cartridge and now ammo for 257 Roberts selection is poor and many times what ammo is for sale from warehouses 257 Roberts it is out of stock too. so much for a very fine cartridge and that is very sad !

I don,t think RL22 and MRP are the same. If I make to loads just the same RL2 will be faster, but I will have to stop adding powder to
the RL22 load as it gets over pressure. With the MRP after I get about one more grain of powder it starts to exceed velocity of RL22,
and I can keep going a little. Also I get more velocity from heavy bullets in the 270 win. Have started to use a lot of RL23 in the 270 with 140gr
bullets, also works good in 270 WSM. But not so good in small case, you can not get enough in.

Early start at the range at 70 degrees. Went back after noon at 83 degrees, having cleaned the barrel and loaded some more. Not bedded, and I doubt I will. Anyhow, here's the result.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/LeRGy3n.jpg?2[/img]

Ooops.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/qbcXabM.jpg?1[/img]

Are you going to replace the vented recoil pad?

What are you planning to shoot with it?

There are 4 bullets that I have loaded extensively in a variety of 0.257" bore rifles:

I've shot a tall stack of pdogs with the 75 grain VMax and Sierra HP over 44.0 grains of H4895.

I've shot a gross of predators and a dozen or so deer with the 90 grain Sierra BTHP over 42.0 grains of H4895.

i've settled on the 110 grain AB for shooting medium game with my 0.257" bore rifles and like 38.0 grains of H4895 in my 2 favorite 257 Roberts rifles, a Remington 700 parts gun and a Ruger 77 RSI parts gun.

The slip-on pad and ammo sleeve are to get me to my LOP. Just wanted to have a rifle in the caliber I shot my first two deer with (late '80s.)
Shooting paper mostly, and I'll play with bullet weights, etc. Safari hunting with .300's is more my "style", and I have a long 7 mm Weatherby to also play with.
H 4831 SC and IMR 4350 look good so far with 117's. If I get REALLY bored, I can bed the .257 Roberts, but the barrel is fully floated ahead of the action already.

Thanks a bunch for the recommends!

Barry

IMR 4350 with 100 grain Sierra's was good at 44 grains. Gonna try H4895 next, as recommended.

I have the exact mate to that one here except my bbl was made by the late Bevan King in BC.

I'm not sure why I bother tinkering with other WT rifles this is the only one that goes out now. I got the donor gun online when a fellow advertised it with the bolt "stuck" in the receiver. It was sold "as is" for a stupid low price. Removal of an extra long weaver screw was all it took to get the bolt out.

If you want to try again switch to a magnum primer and use a full bore load and a heavy bullet. Many slow powders are like burning charcoal until you hit the pressure level they were designed for. I have seen this with H870 consistently. A tight neck can help sometimes too. I am not seeing too much crud with R26 and the similar 6mm AI. Bore looks a little dirty but it knocks out with one patch. Some are theorizing the anti coppering agency is what your seeing and is not carbon build up. YMMV

Unburned powder in the chamber can be a sign you are not generating enough pressure for the case to seal itself. Put the hammer down on those loads and they may come around.

Thanks for that info.

I've had such good results with H-100V in the Roberts with 100 gr. TTSX, I'm probably staying there with that round.

I'm going to work up 7RM loads with RL-26 and 160 gr. NAB's for my bud's Africa PG hunt in Aug.

Already got a CDS dial for his VX III 4.5-14x50 LR scope. He loves that scope and it's a proven performer. The gun is a SS Sendero.

I asked him why he packs such a heavy rifle. His response, "I know what it'll do when I get it there". And his track record with a .270 Sendero on WT's and hogs is pretty impressive.

DF

Blew primer at 43 grains H 4895. Bolt sticky at 42, seems fine at 41 and grouped well?

One of my buddies love the Roberts. I think he has 4 or 5 of them. I think his rifles love the Nosler Ballistic Tip in 100 grains. Most of the pics of animals he has killed and sent to me have an old 721 laying next to it.

My current Roberts is a Savage Axis originally in 308. I had Shaw make me a factory contour barrel 24" chambered for the 257 Roberts with a short throat, the same as the 250 Savage barrel I bought on sale from MidwayUSA. I had a gunsmith buddy with a barrel vise screw it on, and now I have the best Roberts rifle I have ever owned (of three). It shoots great, and the rifle weighs 7-1/2 lbs with a 2-7x Burris scope on top.

It shoots about everything very well, as in 10 shots into an inch. My favorite load so far is 44-45 grains of IMR 4831 under a 117 grain Hornady boat tail. Loaded to the cannelure, the bullet is firmly into the lands when a round is chambered. 44 grains of IMR 4831 gives me 2,875 fps and 45 grains gives me just under 3,000 fps. Recoil is modest. If I were to take it hunting for something larger than a NY State buck, I would load up 115 Nosler Partitions to around 2,900 fps. That's 25-06 territory. My first centerfire bolt gun was a Remington 700 in 25-06. Back in the 1980s, I shot a pile of woodchucks and some deer with it. My whitetail load was a 120 grain Hornady HP at around 3,000 fps. This Roberts should be right on its heels.

My first Roberts was a tang-safety Ruger 77 made in 1976. It had a very long throat, but shot well with long bullets. My woodchuck load used Speer 100 grain HPs. The difference in the loads these two rifles would tolerate is vast due to the throating differences.

The third Roberts was a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester. It was somewhere in the middle of the two already mentioned as far as throating is concerned. Like the Ruger, it was also a heavy rifle, so I sold it.

The Savage isn't the prettiest of my Roberts rifles, but is sure is the best shooting and carrying one.

Going against the tide here a little, but the old Sierra 3rd Edition published 38.2 gr of good old 3031 for hundred grainers. Same load listed for both accuracy and hunting. I get around 3000 fps and a little under 1 moa, nothing fancy but it's in a 23 5/8" bbl on a traditional Mauser sporter, set trigger etc. Same load works with 90 gr GMX, 3100 fps. Fed match primer, un prepped Hornady cases. SD runs around 16 fps. May not win at Camp Perry, but it sure is simple.

(Looks like I'll have to bed it.)

[img]https://i.imgur.com/TDZbKbx.jpg?1[/img]

Favorite loads in my Roberts are the ones that shoot well enough to suit me. So far 117-120 grain BTSP's and 42.0 grains of IMR 4350 popped with CCI 250 magnum primers is where my Ruger likes to be. Just ordered some on sale Speer bullets from Midway and just got done testing them. Worked up looking for pressure signs stopping at 43.5 grs. of I4350 with the Speer 120 gr. Grand Slam bullet. Loaded ten with that bullet and put all in 2.5 inches, not good enough. I also ordered some 120 gr. Speer BTSP's to test, loaded ten with 42.0 grs. of I4350 and put them all in just over an inch. Went back to the Grand slam bullet trying the same load and got all ten in just under 2 inches. Still need to do some work with that one. The rifle really likes the 100 gr. Speer hollow point and both Hornady and Sierra 117 gr. BTSP's. Nice day out after the race, might just load ten more up and see what happens.

Well after trying a couple of different seating depths and shooting the Grand Slams on top of three different amounts of I4350 I got them shooting into 1 1/4 inches. The rifle wanted them seated just off the rifling and did prefer the 42.0 load. This testing took a box of Grand Slams out of general population leaving me with one box to load and shoot a couple hogs with. It seems my Roberts needs a lot of love finding a load that shoots well for some reason.

Should have left it unbedded. Still trying to find a sweet spot.

257 Roberts is a great old cartridge i own 4 now and am in the process of building another one with a real nice Remington 30 express ,7 1/2 twist Brux barrel. its kinda sad how this grand old cartridge is being forgotten , but not by some of us !