Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rem700 257 Roberts

I finally got my faux Ti out with a variety of loads and found a good one for the upcoming season. (Cooters can pop a doe the 26 & 27th of Oct and it doesn’t count on our limit.)
The rifle was originally a 700 Mountain and it’s been trued & bedded, Talley rings, Timney trigger and put in a Ti takeoff stock. I caught some hell from a few members about it having been trued and it just being a clunker🙄. With 100 grain Sierras seated to 2.812 over a charge of H414 it’s shooting under an inch at 100 yards. I changed out the 6x Meopta for a pre-Monarch Nikon 3x9 and love it. It’s weighing in at 7lbs ready to hunt. If time permits I’ll work up a 117 grain load before the season but am comfortable going out with the Sierra loads. The earlier loads were right on the lands and it seems that affected the accuracy. Even with 117s there’s plenty of case capacity with 414. I’m pleased.

That ought to make a fine deer rig. The 257 is a great cartridge. I have killed several deer and a bear with it.

Where do you get your H 414 load data for the Roberts? I use the data from Hodgdon and they show only a 1.0 grain difference between starting and max loads for the 100 grain bullet. I could never find out why that was.

I also shoot the 100 SGK with H414 and get sub MOA precision with it. I think that particular bullet is it little light for my tastes at the 2950 fps I was shooting it at. I’ve been meaning to work up some heavier bullets in it.

Load manuals. Speer, Sierra, Hornady, Nosler. I only rely on the Hodgdon data online when the bullet maker doesn't offer the combination of powder/bullet that I want to use.

Jeffrey, I’m taking my load data from an old Hornady book I e used for years. I’ve also found some sane load data online. I’m running them right about 2900. I’d feel more comfortable with 117s so I’ll try to work up a good load. The best formula for me is to keep the bullet off the lands just a hair. I was screwing up before by trying to seat them too long. I’ll post if I have success.

If that's the 100 grain Sierra then you're not pushing things. 2900 for a 257 Roberts is just cruising along. I get over 2900 with H4895 book data from my 700 Classic in 250 Savage.

The top SAAMI pressure for the 257 is pretty conservative. OTOH, ball powders generally work better when loaded close to or at full steam. Put those two things together and you have a plausible explanation for the small difference between min and max for that powder in the 257.

I agree that I’m leaving velocity on the table. It just turns out that while working up a load from Hodgdon data I found a load that turned out to be accurate, and it works very well on whitetails. Maybe a little too well. I killed 6 deer with that load the last two years and only got two exits. One exit was a younger buck at 260 yards and it was all ribs and lungs. I’ve shot a few mediumish sized pigs with that load and had two get away with what I felt were good shots. Found one a day later, dead in the field, but freshly dead, still stiff . No exit. I like the load, but will either tune it down a bit or bump up bullet weight. Likely the latter.

I think it’s a good load and I agree with your COAL comments. I usually start my Sierras about 15 thou off the lands and wiggle from there. Usually don’t have to fool with it much.

I’ll have to double check, but I think the data for the Roberts and 414/760 is scarce. I could be wrong but the crop of manuals that I have seems to be slim on that combo. I will have to check my Hornady manual.

My comment was more about you being well into the safe zone. I don't even load my 250 Savage full throttle a lot of the time.

Go buy some 100 gr TTSX and Ramshot Hunter and stuff 47.0 grains of Hunter in front of a Fed 215 primer and go kill stuff.

Mathman, I seldom load to the max but that’s just me. I honestly can’t think of a load for any of my rifles that have shot most accurately at or very near max. I know experiences vary…. I’ll look at the Hornady manual and post the range of 414 charges for the 257.

I made it to the man cave and looked at my Hornady manual.
With W760/H414 - with Horn 100 gr IL
Min 37.7 gr @ 2600 fps
Max 43.7 gr @ 3000 fps

I’m loading 42.2 or .3 (didn’t look at my notes) figuring it gives me 2900.

I‘m a bearded hillbilly too! Very much looking forward to hunting with this rig. Every indication is that it was well done. I may need to set the trigger up about a pound to make me happy but all in all it’s pretty good. I hunt on and around the Mon and as I expect you know it’s pretty steep country so that 7# weight is welcome. What part of this great state are you in?

I hunt the Mon quite often too, around Otter Creek. It’s a great place to slip away from folks if you like to walk. I live around Buckhannon. What about you, where are you from? It’s good talking to you.

Matt

Any velocity that you leave on the table will not be missed in on-game performance. I load my favored 115 grain Partitions conservatively, and they kill authoritatively.

Matt, Elkins🤓

Paul Barnard, great minds….

Dave