Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5x55 vs .257 Roberts

I'm looking to put together a rifle for my 11yr old to hunt with next year, and leaning heavily towards either a .257 Roberts or 6.5x55. I like the prospect of using the 6.5x55, simply because I already have a rifle in the cartridge and another rifle in .260...so bullets aren't a problem. Factory 6.5x55 ammo is cheaper, especially the Prvi stuff, and seems like the 6.5x55 would be a tad bit more versatile.

I have nothing in .257, so it would mean buying dies, brass, bullets, etc. Any reason to go with the .257, other than the fact I really want one?

Swede, Bob........ 243?

Having rifles in both, I recommend the Swede.

I’m discouraged by the intermittent availability of cases and the bullets being discontinued in 257. Factory load selection seems to follow suit, but choices are adequate, if the loads will shoot in your rifle. It seems that neither neither ammo nor rifles were made with any standard, and now that the Creedmoor is so popular I fear the 257 is about done.

At the same time, 6.5 bullets are at their best, quality Swede brass is obtainable, and ammo can be cheap as you’ve pointed out.

All of the above said, I’m going to continue to work with my 257AI Mauser until my components are exhausted, at which point it will become a 9.3x62.

Im partial to the .257. Mostly because of the nostalgia I guess. My grandpa used to caribou hunt with one. Plus the cartridge is around 100 years old and still great even by modern standards. Ive never owned on but have always wanted one. My son is 12 and shoots a Marlin 30-30. Good luck.

I have a great 6.5x55 and a .257 Rob, but I don't own a .260. But if (like you) I did own a .260, and wanted to set up a rifle for my 11 year-old without buying any new components and dies, I'd make it a .260.
I'm kind of dumbfounded though by this apparent desire on your part to NOT get a new caliber. Come on, Man!
Cheers,
Rex

Easy decision for me. 6.5x55 Swede hands down. Having supplies on hand is just a bonus.

Great brass, great bullets, can load it modestly and it will work. Can load it up to modern pressures and be, well, modern.

257 Roberts kicks like a 22

I have no recommendation in the caliber — too similar IMO.

You mentioned PRVI ammo. I have some in 6.5X55, and 140 gr bullets.
Over the Oehler they ran 2220-2235 FPS.

Soft recoil especially for a youngster. Food for thot.


Jerry

Ever shoot a Swede ? Similar bullets —- similar recoil.


Jerry

I have a bunch of the same ammo that I shoot for foulers in my Swede also and it clocks the same.
Rex

Hell, the 6.5x55 has been around for 125+ years...in fact, my current 6.5x55 is a Carl Gustafson Swedish Mauser from 1900. That being said, I've always wanted a .257 Roberts...but as others have mentioned, bullet selection and ammo availability aren't in the same league as the 6.5x55.

Yes, I have. Otherwise, I would not have commented.

I bought a bag of 100 257 cases 5 years ago, still using them, still reloading them, shooting a Kimber select classic 257 roberts, bullets of course are easy to find, now I mostly shoot 117 grain Hornady bullets over H4350. I don't know anything about the swede, I am sure they are in the same class, OTOH the roberts is my favorite cartridge for deer hunting, almost no recoil, very accurate, as lethal as anything bigger I have used. I get a kick out of thinking back to when I thought I needed a 30-06 to kill a deer, even had a 45-70 for a year! I think your leaning toward the swede and that's good as well, the roberts is however a very good cartridge for deer sized animals. The Kimber is a short action roberts I believe, which makes a difference to some regards OAL but not to me.

For a young shooter, .257 Roberts.

You answered your own question.

When I built one of my rifles, I debated on whether I wanted a .257R / .25-06 or if I wanted a 6.5 Swede. The calibers are only 0.007" different in diameter...but bullet selection (even 10 years ago) heavily favored the 6.5mm. This trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future.

I decided to go Swede and initially loaded it with 100gr bullets (Partition, NBT, Hdy SP) at about 3000fps to essentially duplicate the Roberts. In my Looney mind, I rationalized that this was a better version of the Roberts with the ability to load heavier weight bullets if I hunted anything other than close range whitetails.

My wife and I ended up taking probably about a dozen deer with the 100gr Hdy SP before my ADD kicked in and I started playing with other bullets. While the Hdy SP is now discontinued, I wouldn't hesitate to use the 100gr Partition in the same capacity for just about any deer hunting east of the MS River.

I guess my point is that the Swede is probably the more practical cartridge choice in this situation based on some of your points as well as the ability to essentially duplicate Roberts level performance if you so choose.

Ditto...

Why not take the path of least resistance and buy a 243?

You don't know if the 11 year old will get bit by the rifle bug and become a reloader, which would be a big advantage if you choose to go with either the 257 Roberts or 6.5x55.

I'm like both the 257 Roberts and 6.5x55. I currently have 10 of the former and 11 of the later, but I think that both of them are much more useful for the shooter who reloadds and who has the foresight to plans ahead, stocking up on component brass when it is available.

Exactly on the 243 (Or *gasp* 6.5 CM).

I actually have a Browning BLR .243 and Rem Model 7 in .260, and he may end up using one of those, but we still want to pick up either another 6.5x55 or .257 Bob. Not really sure why I'd want to put together a hunting rifle in 6.5x55 when I already have a perfect hunting gun in .260, but there's just something about these old cartridges that suck me in.