Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 25-06 and 257 Roberts

one the thing i like about the 25-06 is the way it feeds. the long case works awesome. the action is built to fit it too.

I like them both. How's that?

Hear..hear!

I just got my 6.5x57 up and running last Friday. I rebarreled a Brno ZKK600 with a 24 inch #1 profile barrel.

I had a Model 54 .250/3000 but sold it to my brother. But I have first dibs to buy it back if he ever sells it.

Never owned a Bob, got a 25-06, fun to shoot. I bet the Bob is too. I’ve never even seen one.

I've never owned a .257 Roberts but i know a few guys locally that do and they love that caliber. On the flip side i've been shooting a 25.06 for around 35yrs and actually had 5 rifles chambered in 25.06 at one time so needless to say i love that caliber. I'm mainly a deer hunter and kill an occasional coyote and the 25.06 has always been like a lighting strike on both. It's accurate, fast, flat shooting with mild recoil and it hits the target hard. It's an easy caliber to load for and just a pleasure to shoot. My favorite bullet is the Speer 120gr Hot-Cor and it's been pure deer poison around here with excellent results on game. The 25.06 here is considered a part of the family .

My son's first deer rifle is a 257 Roberts in a Mod 70. Got it used from a LGS that a friend owned. I walked in one day to look around and he told me he had something for me. Went in the back room and brought out this Mod 70 with a cut down ramline stock on it and told me one of his customers bought it for his son and his son did not want to hunt, so it had about 4 rounds run through it. He also gave me the original FW stock for it which is brand new never been carried. Took it home and gave it to my son and he has killed a lot of deer with it. Funny thing thing is he is in his late 20's now and it still has the cut down ramline on it. I have ask him if he wants the original stock put back on it and he keeps telling me no because he likes the way that stock fits him. I have a 25-06 in a 77 tang that has killed a pile of deer that now resides in my safe that I have not shot in years since I got my 270 WSM. That has become my go to for deer now.

I own many rifles and many calibers. In NA, I seem to have gravitated mainly to a (2) rifle battery:

Antelope & Deer---25.06
Elk & Moose---35 Whelen

I hunt Antelope in both CO & Wyoming. The terrain In CO that holds Pronghorns is pretty much just like Wyoming, so the shots can be longish. I try to shoot 400 yards or less, but you can take a shot much longer if you have the equipment and skill.

The 25.06 is perfect for Deer/Antelope out here and puts them down hard. I do not reload. My favorite factory load is Winchester 115gr. Ballistic Silvertips @ 3,040 fps.

I feed the 35 Whelen 250 NP or 280 SAF.

Very impressed with a 25.06. I sold it to purchase a 6.5 creed and was very unimpressed with its killing power vs a 25.06. I will be buying another 25.06 at some point!

I should add that I have three friends, two ladies and a man who hunt Elk with their 25.06, very successfully. Still, it's not my choice for Elk, but implies to me at least, that the cartridge is VERY adequate for Deer and Antelope, especially if a bit of reach is required.

I shoot the 257 Roberts, Ackley version and custom 25-06. Out to about 350 yards I can tell no difference in results on Javelina, any Deer or Pronghorn. So my affection is divided among the three and always consider the one I’m carrying perfect for the hunt!

I've had both. The 257 didn't do anything the .2506 couldn't and went down the road. I haven't shot the .2506 in years (10+) due to having three 260s.....owning them made me realize how mediocre the .25 caliber bullet selection was.

Kaiser Norton

I haven't shot my .25-06 for years. I have two Roberts' and a .257 AI that get used much more. I rarely shoot over 100m in the country I hunt so the smaller .25s do the job.

I used to lust mightily over some of the fancy wood stocked 257 Roberts Kimber made. Seems like wood selection has dropped off some. My 708 makes it hard to think another SA cartridge would offer something more/different to justify buying one at full price.

1st if you wanna worry about speed in a 25 caliber then buy a 257 Weatherby mag. this cartridge is fast and yes i hunt with a 257 Weatherby mag.which knocks big bucks down faster . but a 257 Roberts is a great older cartridge the Robert`s is accurate and fast enough as is a 25-06 ,but a 257 Roberts is the old classic and in my household we like the 257 Roberts for the young and the ladies,they like the less recoil ,also when i get older i will use a 257 Roberts too in my Remington 30 express that i had rebarrel`d this year .

I had my .257 AI built in1977. I bought a Mauser Mark X .25-06 barreled action and had my gunsmith cut and re-chamber it to .257 Ackley. It fills the gap nicely between my .22-250 for varmints and my 7 mm RM or .300 Wby for elk. For over 40 years its been my go to rifle for deer and antelope, and I've enjoyed shooting prairie dog with it and it dropped one of my best 6x6 bull elk in his tracks. I also felt that it was the perfect rifle for my sheep hunts.

I had 2 257's, both Rugers, a #1A and a Hawkeye. Neither would shoot to my satisfaction. The #1 went down the road, the Hawkeye got rebarreled to a 7x57 which later became a JES 338-06.

I have had 5 25-06's. All were good shooters. I killed a mule deer and 4 white tails with it this year. It just went to Pac-Nor today to become a 280. There was nothing really wrong with it, I just got bored with the round and wanted a 280.

I am keeping the dies and brass for the 25-06 that I have left, cause I am sure I will own one again. I wanted a 257 Roberts for years, probably wont ever own one again.

The only quarter bore in the stable is my wife’s Ruger #1 in 25-06. She and both of my sons are right handed but left eye dominant. I bought it as a compromise gun so the could figure out which way the preferred to shoot. It has accounted for a couple deer and one raccoon way out there just because. The 115 grain Partitions have produced quick one shot kills and inspire confidence. The gun tends to shoot 3 shot groups right at about MOA but every cold bore first shot I can recall firing since the gun was scoped and sighted in has hit dead center and 1.5” high just like it is supposed to. To me that is more important than grouping ability any day. I doubt I will ever have the need for a Robert’s but could be tempted into a 250 Savage in the 99 platform.

Three .250s, one .250AI, three .257Rs, and one .25/06 cover my .25 cal needs, although I would like a .25-35. I find all to be delightful to shoot, and quite effective on deer and antelope, but I've taken more with the Roberts than the others. A guy I met in '01 in Sheridan, my first Wyoming trip, felt the same. He managed a small, 30,000 acre, ranch, and his only rifle was a tang safety M77 in .257. It was used with great effect on prairie dogs, coyotes, deer and antelope, elk, black bear, sheep (1), and mountain goat. It was never going to be sold.

.26-06’s are for folks who can find or didn’t by a .257 Roberts in the first place. It’s not a “Bob”, unlike the little feller behind your zipper. If you really need a fast stepping .25, get the Weatherby. Go big or stay under the porch. I’m good with my Roberts and .250-3000. That is all, carry on.