Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What is a .257 Roberts good for?

What type of game would you feel comfortable hunting with a .257 Roberts? Who makes ammo for them? Jeff

I shot one for a long time, wondering why everyone else found them so terribly lethal... I never found the cartridge to be a spectacular killer and stopped using it quite a few years ago. I have shot many deer, black bears, caribou, a few wolves, a mountain goat and some other assorted stuff with it.
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<br>Some tell me I need to chrony what I was using and see if I really had it loaded up to potential and to be honest I have not done that yet... I stopped using the round before I got a chrony, but I did try a LOT of different bullets with marginal results. At the same time I have found the parent case round, the 7x57, to be a far more effective poker...
<br>art

I've owned two and used them on game up to the size of deer. IMO, the 257R is an ideal "dual purpose" IE deer and varmint rig. This is especially true if one desires a short, light rifle with light recoil. I think that it is a better killer on deer sized game than the 243-6mm without losing effeciency on varmints.
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<br>But!! It is not a terribly popular caliber, therefore rifles are hard to find when you want one, and hard to sell when you decide to play with something else.
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<br>But #2!! Much of the factory ammo is loaded very light and does not optimize what the cartridge can do. There are some full power factory loads available but availability may be sketchy in your area.
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<br>So....it's a gun nut/reloader cartridge that is superb at it's job, but may not be the ideal choice for a casual shooter who relies mostly on factory ammo.
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<br>JimF
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Ngrumba
<br>I have used and built several Roberts over the years. I have taken several deer with good results.......all one shot kills. Luckily , I have never made a bad shot with a Roberts. I always take lung shots. I have used just about every bullet available. My favorite is the 120 grain Partition. The most accurate has been the 100 grain Sierra matchking. In my experience it is plenty for deer and animals under 300 pounds. Light recoil , accurate, feeds good, easy to handload for . Factory ammo is usually down loaded quite a bit. Handloads will give at times 200 fps faster velocities. Hornady Light-Mags are loaded on the uper end. I am building one now for myself so I maybe able to give you some specs tomorrow afternoon if all goes well.
<br>Charlie

OK, this is good....always wondered what the heck I would do with my 700 Mountain Rifle 257 Bob.I'll keep reading this thread and maybe I'll find a use for it.Give us the goods Charlie.....

Rembo
<br>Use it for Whitetail, Mule deer, pronghorn, sheep, groundhogs,prarie dogs, gophers, all kinds of exotics,coyote,fox,wolf,goats, or it makes nice little small holes in paper.
<br>Charlie

Well, I can tell you I'll be using mine to hunt Antelope in October here in Montana, and maybe even a Muley buck.
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<br>Hudge

It would be all the rage in the rags. It would be billed as the answer to the varmit hunter who also needs a great deer and antelope round. All rifle mfgs would chamber for them and load the ammo the way it should be.
<br>David

The Roberts suffers from a bad design and is strapped with unrealistic limitations in factory ammo.
<br> It was originally designed/throated for 100 gr. round nose bullets and mild pressures.
<br> Modern powders, and techniques, when used by knowledgable handoloaders, will make it hum. But, like the .308/30'06 debate, modern bullets makes this a pretty acedemic argument. We have the .243 on one side, and the 25-06 on the other. The "Bob" is in the middle. E

Ngrumba,
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<br>I used to shoot the 257 Roberts and 257AI a lot, before I became a .260 Remington convert. Like Charlie, I'm a lung shooter and never had a problem killing deer or antelope.
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<br>In short action rifles, like the Remington Model 722, I used the lighter, shorter, bullets so that I didn't limited the powder capacity of the case. I like the 75 grain Sierra and the 87 grain Speer TNT for varmints. I like the 90 grain Sierra HPBT for small deer and coyotes that you aren't shooting for the fur. Very explosive expansion! The Barnes X bullets might be a good choice, but I have not used them enough to offer an informed opinion.
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<br>In long action rifles, like the Ruger Model 77, I like the 100 grain Nosler Partition and BT, as well as the 120 grain Partition that Charlie is fond of.
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<br>I did find that the heavier bullets showed their best accuracy at, or close to, the maximum recommended powder charge. So, if you buy a 257 and can't get it to shoot, try pushing it hard. Besides, if you decide that you don't like the 257 Roberts, you can easily rechamber to 25-284 and gain a couple of hundred FPS.
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<br>Sincerely,
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<br>Bearrr264

I've had 4 - 3 standards and 1 A.I.. I've used them for deer, moose, black bear, wolves and coyotes. Not the most spectacular cartridge but it will do the job if you place the bullet where it needs to go. Mostly use Sierra 100's and Nosler B.T's.. Several moose were taken with Speer 120 grain blems. Can't recall ever using a second shot but I may have.

I've only killed one animal with mine. A mule deer doe last year. Heart shot she lived for about five seconds after impact. The ammo was Hornady Light Mag with their 117 gr BTSP bullet. Chrono's between 2900 and 3000fps out of my 24" barrel.
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<br>Light recoil and more oomph than a .243/6mm makes this a great dual purpose cart as mentioned in the other posts. I won't use 6mms for big game, but I will use the Roberts.
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<br>I have licenses for four does and one buck this year. The Roberts will likely get a workout again along with the Whelen and the .45-70.

In reply to the title of the post--I bet it was good for Mr Roberts......
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<br>Blaine

To second what Eremius said and mention that Ned Roberts did not get much satisfaction. Remington did not use his cartridge, the .25 Roberts but instead necked down the 7mm Mauser! Ned was a Schuetzen shooter of note and later a successful experimenter. He developed the .25 Roberts which was shorter than the .257 REMINGTON ROBERTS and had a more gradual shoulder. It' looks like a .243 Win, just a little longer. It would have fit the Rem. 722 just right unlike the .257 RR.
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<br>Just another screwup by Remington. It never had a chance anyway compared to the outstanding .270 Win.

Mine is good for frustrating .243 Win owners.....

Rechambering to 25-284.

Ouch!...........(grin)

My wife and I have used the .257 for many years, at first my grandmother's Rem. 722 which she used for everything up to and including cow elk, with the wimpy factory loads yet. Here in Montana have killed umpteen pronghorn and deer (both WT and MD), as well as a few wild turkeys that got in wht eway, with no problem as far as we care to shoot. I have three now (722, and a custom Ruger #1 and Mexican Mauser) and my wife has one, an Ultra Light Arms Model 20.
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<br>If you load Partitions up to .270 pressures you get over 3200 with 100's and 2900-3000 with 115 and 120's in a 24" barrel. These have killed everything we've shot quite neatly, including my biggest pronghorn at 430 yards (one shot with 100 P.) and my third-biggest muley (one shot with 120 P.) Tried the .257 Ackley and found it could get another 100 fps, which made no difference in the field. Have not really been able to tell much difference between handloaded .257 and .25-06, in fact have begun to have doubts about claims that 200 fps more velocity makes much difference in real life, other than SLIGHT flattening of trajectory. Sight in a handloaded .257 2" high at 100 and it shoots about 3-4" lower than a .25-06 (or .25-284) at 400, with noticeably less recoil.
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<br>It's also a great large-varmint round (rockchucks, coyotes) with any good 75-87 grain bullet. Too much for prairie dogs! Kicks too hard and barrel heats too fast in a dog town.

Mule Deer........This was a very good post in my mind. I also own both rifles, and like you I can't tell a whole lot of difference in their performance.
<br>Both of these rifles were used by my wife on many occasions and she displays a strong preference for the .257 Roberts. I still carry the 25-06 as a back up on most Deer Hunts. The 25-06 is, in my mind, a bit more accurate than the Robert's using their best loads but that is really splitting fine hairs. They both shoot as good as I can shoot them as I have only occasionaly fired the sub. MOA groups that most people seem to be doing on a regular basis.
<br>Although I take the 25-06 along for it's "rangeing abilities" the longest shot was actually taken with the .257 Roberts at just over 280 "paces". Not too far by some standards, but a heck-of-a-long-way for Mamma, at age 56. Both of these rounds are good to great. Both are "shootable". and both create a lot of useless arguments. What one can do, the other does just as well for the average hunter.
<br>I am a long time "lurker" on these boards without much to say, but this time I thought I should speak up in defense of these two wonderful rounds.
<br>I have owned the 25-06 since it was still a wildcat and I grew up with the .257 Roberts. A choice between the two would boil down what "fits" best in your hands.
<br>Respectfully, Russ

I have a 25/06 never owned a Roberts.
<br>Now saying that, if I had a choice, I would buy the 25/06 before I bought a Roberts, but if I owned a Roberts, I would feel no need to sell it for another.