Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 257 Roberts whats the attraction

Has anyone yet mentioned that the 257 Roberts is just plain sexy?

Paul they look even cooler with the round nose bullets in it!
GreggH

After you fall in love with .257, and when you really want to shoot long and flat, you can move into .257Weatherby. The "perfect' longer range antelope/sheep/goat/deer caliber.

This is definitely one of those "if you have to ask you wouldn't understand" sort of things.

There is no doubt my own attraction to the round is mostly fueled by nostalgia, and I like a Roberts wrapped around blued steel and walnut. That's what I'd want in my hands were I sitting in a deerstand for Whitetail rather than a Stainless-Plastic-Fantastic.

There are a number of 308 fans on this site, and I'm absolutely one of them. But the 308 kicks more than the Roberts, and I have never seen where a 308 is any more effective on deer sized game. Does the Rob do anything more than the 243 does? Except in the minds of a few loonies, not really. And not being readily available in factory ammo, the 308 or 243 are infinitely more practical than the 257, which is really a handloading proposition. But what it does have is an indefinable quality that you either "get" or don't.

My 257...

I don't often consider myself an envious man, but that .257R of Brad's is just about perfect. Were I to ever get back in the Roberts game, that's how I'd do it too......

gnoahhh, gnoahhh, gonoahhh..........don’t have much else to say😳

PennDog

Oh the attraction......it takes attention away from the 250-3000 so I can obtain ammo and brass😁

I've always considered the Model 70 classic featherweight to be THE best looking rifle ever made. But It's not a true featherweight, and weighs in way above what it needs to in light cartridges.

The Kimber walnut/blued rifles are a better blend of attributes and are cool as all get out...

RNs in brass is way cool over plastic tips in chrome cases.

I am a big fan of the .25 cal cartridges. Although, I tend towards the 25-06 over the .257 Roberts for the bump in speed.

But, I think the OP makes a good point that, as nice as the .257 Roberts is, it is not the best "utility" round for those living in the West. That doesn't mean the .257 Roberts doesn't perform well in its respective niche, which it does quite well. But being good in a niche application, is not the same as being a good utility round. Meaning, if you like utility cartridges, the .257 Roberts doesn't make much sense. If you like low recoil and nostalgia and only shoot whitetails/antelope/etc. at moderate ranges, the .257 Roberts makes a lot of sense.

I would also say, that since we can easily and cheaply buy meat at the grocery store, hunting is about fun, and if a person likes a certain round for other than performance reasons (nostalgia, tradition, history, got a good deal, etc.), then they should by all means hunt with it and enjoy themselves.

(As an aside, taking dangerous game off the table, the best utility round is the 7mm-08. This is particularly true with modern monolithic bullets, which don't wastefully shed (i.e., any weight lost is in the form of sharp shards that continue to do damage after separating from the bullet shank) close to half their weight shortly after impact.)


JMHO

My own 257 has yet to be carried on a hunt. I have too many rifles! I built it because I always kind of wanted one. The barrel, a gain twist which ends at 1 in 12, wasn't ideal but it was there so I contoured it to a slightly skinny #2 (.520 at the muzzle at 24") and put it on the FN action. I re-worked the ugly stock and added a half inch to the length of pull. I was not surprised when it shot 100 gr Hornady bullets into 3/4 moa but I was a bit surprised when it did the same with 120gr Speer spitzers. The rifle weighs just under 7 1/2 pounds, ready to hunt, and carries pretty well. I think my ideal bullet for this one will be the 100 gr Nosler Partition.
Like most cartridges, the 257 Roberts doesn't do anything a bunch of others won't do as well but it has class. GD

Thats an handsome stick of kindling. Real nice looking and in my mind thats what a real classic rifle looks like. Nice to see the pretty stuff out there.

[quote=Theoldpinericker] I dont know about nostalgia but i dont target deer specifically most times. To me they are mostly incidental if elk season overlaps. As i mentioned earlier, at the moment i dont live where the deer and antelope play but in timbered country. Specifically i spend most time in N Idaho, the Selway, and NW Montana. Sometimes i go north for moose, sometimes ive been in the Crazies, the Beartooths and that region of Montana.

I like heavier bullets but im also a big 338, 348, 358, 375 fanboy. Id probably love the 9.3 too if i had one. But these things are my very favorite. They have some real punch and useful range. /quote]

I have considerable experience with the .338 Winchester Magnum, along with various "mediums" from the .338 Winchester Magnum up through the .358 STA, 9,3x62 and .375 H&H, both in North America and various other places. Hunted a lot with the .338 throughout the 1990s, but didn't find it noticeably more effective than .30 calibers. Do think that at around .35 caliber cartridges become somewhat more effective, but that also depends a lot on the bullet used, placement, etc. etc.

But so far haven't found any cartridge or bullet the magic answer--but have found the .30-06 to be a LOT "bigger" cartridge than many hunters think.

There's that and the senile dementia.

Shinbone, I never considered the Western/Eastern application that you suggest. It is worth noting that Ned Roberts lived in New Hampshire & Townsend Whelen spent lots of time in Vermont and for most species outside of Moose that live here, the .257 Rob was/is nearly perfect - especially given the groundhog population if the time.

I spent a bunch of years hunting whitetails in Virginia. Small deer, close shots. I did not own a .257 Roberts during that time, but it would have been an ideal choice for that hunting situation. Now that I live in Colorado, while I think the .257 Roberts is a cool little round and would be fun to shoot, it would be far from a top choice for most hunting around here. And, that is confirmed when you see which cartridges the local retailers devote the most shelf space to.

Shin
The stores here devote the shelf space to the same rounds as they do there. Have not hunted CO but have traveled it a good bit. Turn me loose there with tags and my Roberts and I would be bringing home game. Nothing there I would not put a good bullet from the.257 in. Try one you will be surprised by how easy it is to work with and well it kills. Enough velocity for real world hunting but not enough to really stress bullets to the point of failure.
GreggH

GreggH,

Exactly. I was born and raised and live in Montana, and haven't found the .257 lacking as a "utility" cartridge. My wife and I have taken some very big bucks, both whitetails and mule deer, with the .257, and used it considerably for 300+ yard shots, mostly on pronghorns but also some on deer. The longest was around 450 yards, in pre-LRF days, on one of my bigger pronghorns. While this isn't considered long range today, it was in those days. Eileen has also used the .257 on cow elk, with no problems, as have several other hunters I know.

I think what we're running into here, again, is older attitudes about what cartridges are "truly adequate" for certain game. As I have noted earlier, in this thread and others, after considerable hunting not just in North America but other parts of the world, I find less and less difference between the "killing powder" of various cartridges, within certain broad limits, as long as the bullet penetrates and expands sufficiently--whether it's a cup-and-core or controlled expansion.

I can't speak for others, but when I wander through a Cabelas, or Sportsmen's Warehouse, or the myriad mom&pop stores in Colorado, I see hardly any .257 Roberts on the shelves. And, I've noticed because I do like the .25 cal cartridges. (I am talking before the great 2020 ammo shortage.)

Mule Deer makes an interesting observation that maybe what we are seeing is a generational shift in attitudes towards cartridges. The older cartridges are the same as they've always been, it is the users and their expectations that are changing.

I still say the bottom line is: shoot what makes you happy. And if that is the .257 Roberts, then more power to you. I, personally, just don't accept that it is one of the better all-purpose cartridges available today.

Shin & JB - great points! A shift certainly looks like it’s underway. As a Westerner transplanted to VT but having DIY/backpack hunted all over the US, I’ve enjoyed observing the regional differences & preferences. Fun to see the non-mags getting the appreciation for what their capabilities really are. That said, I still have a .340 Wby that shoots great but dang it pushes back good too.

I used it a bunch in earlier days - built it on a Mauser action excellent .25 for deer and antelope back then - will not part vwith it due to find memories. At least out here in the west, I think the excellence of the 25/06 and such other developments simply edged the less flat and not as far reaching Roberts into the background. My 25/06 is indispensable - shot the .257 Weatherby for a while - fantastic performer. Roberts has been resting.