Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 257 Roberts +P vs Standard

That brought a grin from me!

It's been quite a while since Ned Roberts developed his original version of the round as a woodchuck cartridge, and quite a while since woodchucks (or "groundhogs," as they're called in other parts of their Eastern range) have been abundant and available enough to burn out many barrels. Plus, better woodchuck cartridges have been developed since then--partly due to newer bullets with higher BCs and faster twist barrels.

Right now we have two .257s, my paternal grandmother's Remington 722, which left the factory in 1953. I don't know how many rounds the barrel had through it when it got passed along to Eileen in 1984, when she first started hunting. It probably wasn't over 200, even though several members of the family had used it as well, including my father. (If I recall correctly, Eileen was the 6th.) They were all factory loads, because neither Grandma B. or the rest of 'em handloaded. But she still managed to kill game up to elk, even with the typical factory loads of the day.

We shot a lot of rockchucks with the rifle during the first few years, partly to provide Eileen more practice, and even some prairie dogs. I also used it on the one Eastern "groundhog" hunt I've done, with Melvin Forbes in West-by-God Virginia around 30 years ago. Right now 1049 rounds have gone through the barrel since 1984, some when it was pretty warm. While a little throat erosion can be seen through my Hawkeye bore-scope, it will still group three shots of its favored handloads under an inch at 100 yards, especially the 100-grain Ballistic Tip and Barnes TTSX--and I used the TTSX take its most recent animal, a pronghorn at right around 350 yards.

Well, I was just experimentin' a few years ago with my M70 SG put together in 1951 and it did this at 100 yards. It doesn't seem too concerned about run out. The bullet was a Horny 117 gr BTSP, So I tweaked the up/down/left/right knobs after #15 and.......imagine that. A barrel that's more than 70 years old......

I have 80 gr TTSX bullets coming in a couple of days. I mainly got them for the 250 Savage, but I’m for sure going to see how they do in the Roberts. I loaded some 101 gr bullets today, using the Barnes load data for 100 grain TTSX. From among the powders they tested I had nearly a full jug of Reloder 17, so I loaded a few different charges with that, from a grain or so under their published max to half a grain over.

DD, I’m not surprised with your Model 70’s accuracy—my friend has a standard grade pre ‘64 in the Roberts that shoots amazingly well. Also, I’m not planing on going to go too hot with my loads, but in my admittedly limited experience, Barnes bullets seem to do best when pushed relatively hard. I like them because they almost always go clear through and don’t fragment if you happen to get a close shot >20’, which has happened enough times where I hunt that I have to factor it in.

That'll work!

Yet I read a chapter in a book which appeared almost 40 years ago, authored by a then often-published gun writer, who claimed the .257 Roberts wasn't very accurate.

Not so oddly, the guy disappeared from the gun-writing biz during the 1990s. But that's another story....

ROFL

I've been feeding my custom Bob 110 gr. NABs @ 3,000 fps MV using H4350 since forever. I seriously doubt it even breaks 60 thou psi.

With the latest news out of Wyoming regarding the Pronghorn winter, I may just have to start using it again on cow Elk for the next few seasons...

The Hunter's Rifle or The Rifles, The Cartridges, And The Game or Popular Sporting Rifle Cartridges?

Popular Sporting Rifle Cartridges....

I could tell some interesting tales about him...

Ahhh, Clay Harvey, a/k/a douchebag.

I'd bet that Rick Jamison could too, since Clay cited him repeatedly. I enjoyed the story about the rifle that Kimber loaned to him for an article that he was writing and instead of returning it to Kimber, he sold it to some guy who later called Kimber for customer service.

Here's an old Campfire thread about Clay. It's long, but worth reading, partly because it involves some people who were very involved with the early 'Fire:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/247338/Where_is_Clay_Harvey

Wow....old memories just flooded my noodle. Thanks!

That sentiment in spades!

It reminds me how much value Steve Timm added to the conversation.

Now that was an interesting reread. Has Clay Harvey found success as a fiction author?

Yes--but apparently it was short-lived. He published a half-dozen of "action" novels around 2000, some under his name and some under a pseudonym. According the reviews they were filled with lots of shooting of evil people, and plenty of mentions of firearms, but whether the firearm info was any more "accurate" than in his gun writing I dunno. And then all of a sudden, both Clay and his pseudonym disappeared.

Steve's tribute to his friend Allen Day in that thread is a snippet of his talent. Sure do miss the nuggets he used to bring here.

UnderMountain,
I got some of those 80 gr Barnes, just because they look cool. Pretty sure the 100 gr cup and core's will work at the ol Bob Speed for our shots here in the North East. But it has always been fun to dream about taking the rifles out to where they can stretch the range a bit and see what a bullet does on paper. Enjoy your search for the perfect load.

I placed an order for Gun Gack II the other day. Looking forward to reading it.

Meanwhile I tried my first Roberts loads today. Kimber Montana 22" barrel. I used IMR 4350 starting at 45 grains and increasing in 1/2 gr increments up to 48 gr. 3 shot groups were around an inch until I got up to 47 gr and then they opened up considerably. 46.5 grains gave about the best accuracy/velocity at around 3030 fps, but I hope I can do better in regards to both with a different powder. Forgot to add this is with the 101 grain LRX.

Bob B, Looks like we're in the same general area. I'm NW Connecticut near the Mass. border.

I was out that way last winter for Work. Near Bulls Bridge and Roxbury. Very nice to return to the Hills near where I grew up. Saw some really good sign on the Eversource ROW's where the work took place. CT still has some good spots to use your rifle and those loads. And if you jump the border to UpState, your really in the game with a rifle. Most of my sits are over in the East with a bow now, but I still like the rifle for the nostalgia it brings from my early hunting mentors.

Clay Harvey, A Thrilling Debut

https://greensboro.com/a-thrilling-debut/article_f549671c-47ea-56b5-8c08-7e163a73583a.html

I was amused by this quote:

They married four years later, and when Christopher was born, Harvey chucked gun writing altogether.
"I didn't have any passion for it anymore,' Harvey says. ``After a while, you've said everything there is to say."

Actually he was run out of the business, because he'd sold every gun a manufacturer sent him--without even paying the standard writers' discount for it, which is usually wholesale.