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Joined: Dec 2002
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,193 |
As much as I like the 257 Roberts, I currently have 10 of them, plus 2 in 257AI, I don't think that it was ever a premier cartridge for any application.
The 257 Roberts was introduced in 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, and was cataloged by Remington in the Model 30 and by Winchester in the Models 54 and 70. Since you see very few of those rifles on the market, it would seem that consumer demand was weak, so not many were made. After WW2 ended and firearms manufacturers returned to producing rifles for the civilian market they didn't make much of an effort to sell rifles in 257 Roberts even before the 243 and 244 were introduced in the mid-1950's. Post-WW2 Remington chambered the 257 Roberts in their Models 722 and 760 while Winchester continued to offer it in their Model 70. Based solely on the number of used rifles that I see in 257 Roberts, the Remington 722s seem to be the most common and, IIRC, there were relatively few of them sold after 1955.
When Remington changed from their Models 721, 722, and 725 to the Model 700, they dropped the 257 Roberts and didn't catalog it again until the one year run of 700 Classics in 1982. When Winchester revamped their Model 70 in 1964, they dropped the 257 Roberts and didn't bring it back until it started to be cataloged in the Model 70 FWT in the early 1980's. During the last 50 years Ruger has been the only manufacturer to make a long term commitment to the 257 Roberts in both their Models #1 and 77.
I used to be a 257 Roberts snob, but in my 50's I decided that I was no longer driven to take the road less traveled.and started using the 243 in place of the Bob.
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Joined: Jan 2012
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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I doubt it. it would surprise me if the 257 Roberts even made up 10% of the rifles out for Deer in any season. The 30-30 and 30-06 reign at the top, with perhaps the 270 right behind.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,355
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,653
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2009
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Premier, no. Satisfactory, yes. I have owned a few and have two Ruger 77s left and after several bullet weight and powder combinations, settled on 115 grain Nosler Partitions for Whitetail and Mule deer. I still appreciate Ned's vision of a combo varmint and deer cartridge.
You're Welcome At My Fire Anytime
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,002 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2002
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Dammit, now I want a tang safety Ruger 77 in 257 Roberts......
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9,189
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2013
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For me, yes it was. In my early teens, I started hunting with my father's tang safety Ruger 77 in 257 Roberts. He had a mild loaded 100gr Sierra and 100gr Nosler Partition loads that shot to the same place at about 2850. He killed several deer and elk with it, and I killed several deer and other big game with it. Premier deer round indeed. I didn't need to shoot anything more than once.
I belong on eroding granite, among the pines.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
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I doubt it. it would surprise me if the 257 Roberts even made up 10% of the rifles out for Deer in any season. The 30-30 and 30-06 reign at the top, with perhaps the 270 right behind. I would guess less than 1%.....Hb
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
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My Dad always spoke highly of the 257 Roberts, but that said....he never had even one that I know of when I was a kid, and always carried his 30-30 in the PA deer woods. Not sure what he based his praise on. I eventually gave him a tang safety 77 roundtop that I got from a guy I worked with, but it was stolen before he ever got to use it. It's now one of MY favorite calibers....have a Rem 722, a VZ24 Mauser and a Win 70.
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,140
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
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As a kid in eastern MT in the 1960s, I knew what everyone hunted with....cause I asked everyone for a round for my cartridge collection. Friends, family, and everyone who asked to go hunting on dad's farm. Lots of 270s, 30-06s, 300 Savages. a few 308s and 243s, the occasional 30-30, 250-3000, and 7mm mag. Still quite a few with sporterized oddball military calibers...7 x 57, 8 x 57, 7.7 Japanese, all went hunting on that farm. But only one 348 Win and one 257 Roberts. The Roberts was a M 70 owned by a gun enthusiast neighbor.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 26,539 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
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I have one 257 Roberts. A Ruger Ultralight. Most of the deer I have killed with it, I killed with a 115 Partition. It puts them to sleep instantaneously. It's my favorite rifle. In my lifetime it has never been too popular. Is any manufacturer other than Kimber making them? Ruger hung on there for quite a while and were still chambering the Roberts when they introduced the Hawkeye stocked M77 MKll rifle. But even they have dropped it finally. I have two Hawkeye Roberts', one with matt bluing and one with gloss blueing and have owned three others. I think Ruger would do well to run a classic every now and then like Remington used to with their 700.
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Joined: Jun 2020
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Campfire Outfitter
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Ruger is WELL known for making uncatalogued firearms .
FUGK CCP
It’s time to WAKE UP
GOD BLESS THE USA
WWG1WGA
THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 347
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2011
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i have been lucky enough to have two of them (thanks Ruger) i have a No.1, and an M77. I was fortunate to find a 77, and then the No.1 was handed down to me from a cousin that can no longer hunt.
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Joined: Sep 2009
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2009
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I have one 257 Roberts. A Ruger Ultralight. Most of the deer I have killed with it, I killed with a 115 Partition. It puts them to sleep instantaneously. It's my favorite rifle. In my lifetime it has never been too popular. Is any manufacturer other than Kimber making them? Bucks County Arms and Ammo received a limited number of Ruger Hawkeyes in .257 a few years ago. I bought one and I absolutely love it. Check with them, as they may have some left. Someone else here in the fire bought one, and has since posted a range report of it. His actually shoots a bit better than mine, which is tough to beat.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,289
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I have used my M77 in .257 Roberts for everything from ground squirrels to elk. Premier? As in top performer? Maybe, but it's never been the top selling cartridge.
The .257 Roberts suffered from the low pressure rating and slow twist barrels. It has every bit of potential of many mid size cartridges. Loaded to modern pressures in modern rifles it is a stellar choice for an all around gun. Jack O' was the reason I bought mine. He's famous for the .270, but when I was young I did a lot of reading of Outdoor Life and Rifleman and his comments on it's usefulness sealed the deal. I had a .30-30 and as it was my only gun I used it for everything. I had an intimate understanding of making due. When I ran across articles on the Roberts and read how well it worked as both varmint and big game cartridge I was sure I needed to get one. Layne Simpson wrote an article that focused on choices for a do-all limited rifle battery and it struck a chord with me. His conclusion was that a two rifle battery consisting of a .257 Roberts and a .338 Win Mag would cover everything and not leave one short of performance. When I joined the Navy one of my first real purchases was a matching pair of Ruger M77's one in .257 Roberts & one in .338WM. That was a long time ago and I still have both and still use both religiously.
My Roberts has proven itself harvesting fur, filling the freezer, and putting an end to many pests. It has been used by family members to take many first deer, been in many family hunts, and used for truck loads of coyotes. Ned Roberts' darling would have made the introduction of the .243 & 6mm Rem non-existent had it been introduced with the same fanfare as bigger companies or anything being introduced today by Hornady. Hornady has successfully introduced "new" cartridges that duplicate existing flops and they're suddenly the bee's knees. Marketing was the reason the Roberts wasn't more popular. Those that know what it is capable of understand.
“You never need fear a man, no matter what his size. When danger threatens, call on me, and I will equalize.”
Samuel Colt.
�Common sense is genius dressed up in work clothes.� - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,279
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,279 |
The Roberts is something that should be wrapped in wood and blued steel... a nostalgic round for a nostalgic platform. Something to enjoy on a glorious fall day. For hard duty I’ll take something less sentimental and more practical. Pass the 6.5 CM in stainless and fiberglass 
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,123
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,123 |
The Roberts is something that should be wrapped in wood and blued steel... a nostalgic round for a nostalgic platform. Something to enjoy on a glorious fall day. For hard duty I’ll take something less sentimental and more practical. Pass the 6.5 CM in stainless and fiberglass Generally I'd agree and understand your sentiment. But, then what ya gonna do with one like this, wearing a Brux that shoots itty bitty groups...?   DF The picture messed up the color, turned sorta brownish on the edges. It's a McM Hunters Edge, Flat Dark Earth with Olive specks. True color looks more like center area of the second photo ![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/TWpKkr1.jpg) ![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/suzEgDJ.jpg)
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,193
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,193 |
The Roberts is something that should be wrapped in wood and blued steel... a nostalgic round for a nostalgic platform. Something to enjoy on a glorious fall day. For hard duty I’ll take something less sentimental and more practical. Pass the 6.5 CM in stainless and fiberglass One of my favorite rifles chambered in 257 Roberts is a 700 CDL-SF that has been bedded in a McM Hunter style stock. Stainless, fiberglass, and quite practical for all manner of varmints and medium game if you load your own. I'm old enough to remember when Winchester/Olin still cataloged 3 varieties of factory ammo with 87, 100, and 117 grain bullets, but they dropped the 87 and 117 grain loads about 40 years ago and only retained the 100 grain ST. I've never understood why 257 Roberts factory ammo was loaded to the same approximate performance level as the the 250-3000 despite the Roberts' greater case capacity.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,193
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,193 |
I have used my M77 in .257 Roberts for everything from ground squirrels to elk. Premier? As in top performer? Maybe, but it's never been the top selling cartridge.
The .257 Roberts suffered from the low pressure rating and slow twist barrels. It has every bit of potential of many mid size cartridges. Loaded to modern pressures in modern rifles it is a stellar choice for an all around gun. Jack O' was the reason I bought mine. He's famous for the .270, but when I was young I did a lot of reading of Outdoor Life and Rifleman and his comments on it's usefulness sealed the deal. I had a .30-30 and as it was my only gun I used it for everything. I had an intimate understanding of making due. When I ran across articles on the Roberts and read how well it worked as both varmint and big game cartridge I was sure I needed to get one. Layne Simpson wrote an article that focused on choices for a do-all limited rifle battery and it struck a chord with me. His conclusion was that a two rifle battery consisting of a .257 Roberts and a .338 Win Mag would cover everything and not leave one short of performance. When I joined the Navy one of my first real purchases was a matching pair of Ruger M77's one in .257 Roberts & one in .338WM. That was a long time ago and I still have both and still use both religiously.
My Roberts has proven itself harvesting fur, filling the freezer, and putting an end to many pests. It has been used by family members to take many first deer, been in many family hunts, and used for truck loads of coyotes. Ned Roberts' darling would have made the introduction of the .243 & 6mm Rem non-existent had it been introduced with the same fanfare as bigger companies or anything being introduced today by Hornady. Hornady has successfully introduced "new" cartridges that duplicate existing flops and they're suddenly the bee's knees. Marketing was the reason the Roberts wasn't more popular. Those that know what it is capable of understand. I've never heard about factory built rifles in 257 Roberts having slow ROT barrels. Which ones had slow ROT barrels and what was that slow ROT?
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 6
New Member
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New Member
Joined: Jan 2020
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I don't know if it was a premier hunting round, as at the time the people that my father hunted with used a variety of .303 British, .270, .300 Savage, .30-30, with one friend shooting a BIG .30-06 (or at least that was the impression). However, I bought two .257 Roberts in the course of a few years - WInchester Model 70 Featherweight (push feed models). The first one was bought used, and I splurged and bought a Leupold 4x Compact at the same store at the same time. That was my go to rifle for a number of years for woods walking. I have always had great success with the .257R, but it was never more effective than the .308 Winchester or .270 Winchester. Still, a nice light rifle with slightly reduced recoil was always great for hunting and shooting. I have used 90 grain to 120 grain, and they all worked fine.
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Joined: Nov 2017
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Campfire Regular
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I don't know about it being a premier hunting round I just know it is one of my personal favorites. I've had two. A Browning A-bolt that, in hindsight, I wish i had kept. It would shoot the 100 gr. Partition damn near in the same hole all day long. Alas, I gave in to sin and traded it off for a used Model 70 FWT, but that FWT has accounted for more dead whitetails and other critters than anything in my safe I think. The old 90 gr. X-bullet, which is no longer in production, over 465. grains of IMR 4350 and a CCI 200 gets me about 2800 FPD out of the 22" barrel. Low recoil and super accurate. I can't ask for much more.
The lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!
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