Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Your .257 Roberts whitetail load ?

Looking for a proven .257 Roberts load for whitetail using 100 - 117 gr. bullets and IMR 4350 powder. Suggestions welcomed, I'm shooting an FN Mauser with 24" barrel.

A 100 grain Ballistic Tip over 43.5 grains of IMR 4350 gave a five-shot group of 1.08” at 2928 fps in the 24” Shilen barrel of my Jim Kobe custom. That’s fast enough for me, and where I hunt with this rifle, temperature extremes are not an issue.

A similar velocity with that bullet from my 250 Savage kills pigs dead.

Following this . I just got a couple boxes of 110 gr accubonds.

Got a bunch of 117gr. Sierras that I'm going to list in the Classifieds soon!

Hip

Barnes 100 TTSX, Hybrid 100V handload.

Yep, it kills as good as it shoots. H 100V is the speed champ in the Roberts.

The COAL on this load is longer than SAAMI; my gun is a LA M-700 with Brux barrel.

So with long action it accepts longer loads and the gun is so chambered.

DF

i am really liking these 75 gr. Hammer Hunters bullets in these older 257 Robert rifles because of the slower twist barrels and using Reloader 17 , i am getting great consistent accuracy have not checked velocities yet but will soon. my 11 yr. old grandson shot a doe, bullet did a good job ,the ladies in the family and the grandson because of the low recoil and accuracy are very happy with this load and bullet. in another fall hunting season will know much more then.

Haven’t tried the Hammers in my Roberts.

I like them, may need to try them.

DF

44.5 grains H414, Barnes 100 gr TSX or TTSX bullet

Killed many a deer under 150 yards…every one died in it’s tracks like lightning hit them.

42.5 gr. IMR 4350 100 gr. Ballistic tip. Sub Moa Browning A bolt.

I have a custom small ring Mexican Mauser that adores a 100 grain partition, 42.0 grains of IMR-4350 and a WLR primer. Nickel sized groups and it drops deer instantly.

Tag
Bugger

We've had good luck with IMR 3031 in 3 different 257 Roberts chambered rifles.

tag

My load in a BLR with IMR 4350 & 100 gr bullets is a good bit hotter than what's posted here but still under book max. It works well enough but maybe I'll try some of the milder loads posted.

A max. load of H4350 under a 100gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.

A load that kills

The 115 NBT over H-4350 is another good one.

DF

No shit

Because I have a good supply of 120 NPT’s, I’m gonna be using them over MRP. That combo shoots really good.

Got a bunch from SPS when they had them. BTW, that’s a great source for bullets, just gotta move when you see them. They often don’t last long.

They’re seconds but they shoot as good as first line bullets. Critters never know they’re seconds, never had one complain.

DF

figured a guy like you needed a clue

Go back to test riding your XXXL butt plug set.

Sounds like you have experience FAAAGOT, you the feral american team up ?

Hornady 117 BT at 100 yards. WW LRP

Ole Bob shoots real good.

Maybe you need to get him to shoot all your groups.

Ha!

DF

I have used 47.0 grains of IMR 4350 with 100 grain Sierra bt in my Ruger since I got it in 1993. It has killed a lot of deer for me over the years. That load still holds the number one spot for in the track kills.

GreggH

I’ve never shot a thing with mine that took a step. Pop’n flop.

46.5 IMR-4350, 110 NAB, 24" Savage, 3060fps, + or - a bit, Nosler brass, CCI BR2, 2.910 OAL.

That’s my load, but with H4350 110 NAB COAL longer at 2.940. Shot out of a custom Dennis Olson long action Ruger 77 with 22” PacNor barrel.

It always seems inappropriate to deviate from the first post, but since it is already too late to do that, I will make another comment on the effect of a 100 grain NBT and 45-47 grains of IMR4350. The 100 grain NBT will come darned close to 3000 FPS and kill whatever you shoot with it.


A truly magnificent cartridge capable of more than many thought possible…

Beautiful gun shrapnel!

Sorry, I'm still using Remington factory ammo loaded with 117gr RN bullets. I'm sure other loads will kill them more dead.

Only one I've used since I bought the early MKII Ruger 77 new is the 100 Interlock over H4350. Same with cheesy's Kimber Classic Select. I've taken lots of whitetail with it and a couple antelope out between 350-400 yards. We've never had a rodeo with it. Glad I've still got 3-4 boxes of those bullets left. Probably going to have to switch to Ramshot Hunter once my stock of H4350 is gone. Years ago I tried it in this rifle and it matched the H4350 pretty close

46.0gr IMR 4350 pushing 100gr Hot- Cors

46.0gr IMR 4350 pushing 100gr Hot- Cors

Have been using the .257 on whitetails for decades--along with other big game animals. But my wife Eileen has used it more than I have since taking her first animal with it in 1984--which was a big pronghorn with the 100-grain Nosler Partition, using the Remington 722 I inherited from my grandmother. The load was 45 grains of IMR4350, which got right around 3000 fps. The bullet went just behind the shoulder of the broadside buck at around 175 yards, and he backed up about 10 feet slowly and fell dead.

The .257 she's used for around 20 years now is an Ultra Light Arms Model 20. The biggest whitetail she's take with it is this eastern Montana buck. It was about -10 that morning, and she put a 100-grain Barnes TSX behind the shoulder at around 100 yards. The buck went 40 yards before falling.



She's also taken plenty of other game with the same basic handload, though in 2007 the bullet got switched to the 100-grain Tipped TSX, which dropped this cow elk instantly at around 125 yards, on an angling-away shot, due to the bullet cracking the underside of the spine on its way through both lungs:



The powder charge with both was 46.5 grains of Ramshot Hunter, which gets around 3150 fps. She's also used it to take a pronghorn buck at 350 yards--among plenty of other animals.

But will also comment that I've yet to find a cartridge that always drops deer instantly, especially with heart-lung shots behind the shoulder. Congratulations to those who have....

115 gr Nosler BT over 44 gr IMR4350.

Not made any more, but I use the 90 grain Barnes TSX with a mx charge if IMR 4350. Every deer has not taken more than a step. The other bullet I use is the 100 grain Nosler Partition. Again, a max charge of IMR 4350 at about 3000 FPS and stuff just drops.

I use a 100 grain Hornady spire point over 44 grains of H4350

I have shot a couple deer with the Hornady 120 gr hollow point, both were DRT, can't remember how many grains of 4831.

My XTR FW likes IMR 4350 with 100gr Speer Hot Core and IMR 4831 with 115gr Partition. One thing to consider when looking at loads people post is that brass brand seems to matter…load data for WW +P brass is a couple grains less due to thicker brass/less capacity.

Not whitetail but fallow which are of a similar size. The 100gn Swift Scirocco has performed well for me with 46gn H4350.

Just wheat field Muleys and Pronghorn with a M77 tang safety custom built almost 25 years ago now.

All taken with the 110 grain NAB with 45.5 grains H4350 for a MV of 2,984 fps. Could go faster, but it's just so darn consistent and accurate from the 24" barrel I've left it alone.

This Spring I worked up a 110 grain ELD-X load, backing off a 1/2 grain from the NAB load for 3,034 fps MV. Also, in this year's project of backing up all my H4350 loads with another powder, I used StaBALL 6.5 with that ELD-X at 45.6 grains to essentially duplicate the load at 3,090 fps MV. 2,900 - 3,100 is a sweet spot for this particular barrel.

Lots of good load choices out there for a whitetail rifle at reasonable ranges. Probably a lot more good ones than bad. I had one for a few years and would look hard at the 115/120gr Partition at 2800-3000fps. This was a very effective no-fuss killer for me. If I wanted speed, I'd reach for a 100gr Partition or Barnes TTSX/LRX. I tend to lean more toward the premium bullets in the 6mm and .25cal rifles, as history has shown me less frequent exits with cup/cores in those calibers versus generic cup/core performance in standard .270/7mm/.30cal deer rifle chamberings. Dozens of kills with controlled-expansion hunting bullets like a Partition or mono in the 6mm/257 rifles never caught a bullet in my deer.

Roundoak,, is that you?