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Joined: Apr 2005
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2005
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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 damage) close to half their weight shortly after impact.)
JMHO 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. I fail to see how the 267 Roberts would be a poor choice for hunting Colorado. What's on store selves have zero to do with a cartridges suitability for hunting
I got banned on another web site for a debate that happened on this site. That's a first
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Joined: Feb 2014
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JWP - I wasn’t saying that at all & wholeheartedly agree with you - I believe its a great cartridge & can be used anywhere.
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Joined: Nov 2006
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Mule Deer
450 yards is still a long shot. My longest with the Roberts is 380 yards. Never hesitated to squeeze the trigger. The deer collapsed and never moved.
GreggH
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Campfire Regular
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No one is saying the .257 is a poor choice for hunting the West, in the right application. I am just saying that it is not the best choice for an all-around western cartridge.
That Colorado stores have minimal stocks of .257 Roberts shows most people agree. If someone said they were planning on shooting elk at 400 yds with a .257 Roberts, they would get a lot of pushback on these forums. If an eastern hunter said he was coming west to hunt elk or mulies for the first time, and "what cartridge should I get", a 257 Roberts would be far down the list of suggestions.
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Joined: Aug 2015
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Campfire Regular
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I'm still pissed off from 1976 when I had a .257 R being built on a Santa Barbara right hand action in a quilted maple left hand stock with a long Shilen barrel. My buddy the smith calls and says "how would you like a 25-06 instead. The reamer chattered and so I took a 25-06 reamer and went in and cleaned it up". It's taken three elk, 6 or 7 antelope, and countless mule deer. Still shoots .3" groups with cheap Speer bullets. But I wanted a Roberts.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,449
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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A ranch manager I met in Sheridan in 2001 said his only rifle is a Ruger 77, tang safety. He had taken everything from prairie dogs to Shiras moose, including a mountain and a bighorn sheep. With factory ammo. Is it the best for all those applications? For him, it is.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."
Robert E. Howard
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,286
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
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I am just saying that it is not the best choice for an all-around western cartridge.
That Colorado stores have minimal stocks of .257 Roberts shows most people agree. Wow, quite the jumps in "logic." The Rob is not on many shelves because it's an old, obscure cartridge that was dethroned in the 1950's by the 243. And as to it not being "the best choice for an all-around western cartridge", I'm not one that is impressed with the concept of "best." It's a faulty idea. At the end of the day, it's the craftsman that makes the tool, not the reverse. I have zero doubt a good rifleman and hunter could use the Rob on all Western hunting over a lifetime with zero problems. Cartridges are more alike than different, but rifleman and hunters are not.
“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: Jun 2004
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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If shelf space meant all that much then someone who didn't know better would think light beer was the good stuff. 
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Joined: Jan 2008
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Love the Roberts. Only reason i don't have one is 3 mauser actions were warped or otherwise jacked up and another was so heavy once put together i just was never happy with it.
Got a 257 weatherby now but if I were putting one rifle together for all my hunting it would be a 257 roberts.
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Joined: Jan 2008
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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If you go by what's popular then you're stuck with McDonald's food and gas station coffee. Lol
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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If shelf space meant all that much then someone who didn't know better would think light beer was the good stuff. Har!
“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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Campfire Regular
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Now people are getting it. I agree that while store shelves demonstrate what's popular, they don't prove what's best.
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Joined: May 2002
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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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.
And there you have it...
"Chances Will Be Taken"
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Campfire Outfitter
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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...... Plus 1
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The LGS in Sauk Prairie had six boxes of 257 R on hand, with a like amount of 303 Savage. It's also the only place I've ever bought 7 WSM in person. Once in a while a store is owned and frequented by people that like the good stuff. Well, that and they were out of all the popular ammo choices.
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Campfire Ranger
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[quote=shinbone] - - - - -The Rob is not on many shelves because it's an old, obscure cartridge that was dethroned in the 1950's by the 243. - - - - I don't know whether or not the 257R actually was "dethroned" by the .243 and, given the significant difference, have to wonder why such a thing would happen among knowledgeable gun folks.
NRA Member - Life, Benefactor, Patron
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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If you go by what's popular then you're stuck with McDonald's food and gas station coffee. Lol Wait, you don't love gas station coffee? Please, for the love of God, don't tell me you turn your nose up at gas station roller grill hot dogs.
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I don't know whether or not the 257R actually was "dethroned" by the .243 and, given the significant difference,
Significant difference? Really?
“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: Jun 2002
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I am just saying that it is not the best choice for an all-around western cartridge.
That Colorado stores have minimal stocks of .257 Roberts shows most people agree. Wow, quite the jumps in "logic." The Rob is not on many shelves because it's an old, obscure cartridge that was dethroned in the 1950's by the 243. And as to it not being "the best choice for an all-around western cartridge", I'm not one that is impressed with the concept of "best." It's a faulty idea. At the end of the day, it's the craftsman that makes the tool, not the reverse. I have zero doubt a good rifleman and hunter could use the Rob on all Western hunting over a lifetime with zero problems. Cartridges are more alike than different, but rifleman and hunters are not. Well said!
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I don't know whether or not the 257R actually was "dethroned" by the .243 and, given the significant difference, The only "significant difference" between the two is the current availability of new 243 rifles, ammo and brass as compared to the 257R. That's it.
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