Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 25-06 vs 257 Roberts AI

To me rifles fit into "ranges" of usefulness. I already have a nice .250-3000, so I have no "need" for a .257 Roberts (although I'd likely buy a really sweet one if the price was right).

When I decided I "needed" a high velocity .25 caliber rifle, I was looking for a .257 Wby......but a really good deal came along on a .25-06 so I no longer needed a Weatherby.

The "advantage" of the Weatherby over the .25-06 or the Roberts over the .250-3000 is just not enough to have both or replace one with the other. They (Wby-.25-06 or .257-.250) are in the same "class" as far as I am can see and are thus interchangeable within the range.

I have never had any use for the "improved" rounds as I see no significant performance edge and a lot more trouble with the need for reloading and "custom" dies and such. Also except for true "loonies" any wildcat round will make resale more difficult.

I can see no reason whatsoever for replacing a good .25-06 with a .257AI. You lose a bit of performance and gain trouble. That said.....we don't know that the .25-06 in question was a "good" one and the very fact that it is an AI spells "loonie". Us loonies don't have to justify our purchases.....we do it "just because".

I just can't see the point of the 257 Roberts in a long action. If you can squeeze it into a nice short action or even better, one of the Mausers of "intermediate" length built around the x57 cartridges, then I can see the point for sure.

For a long action, 25-06 all the way. If I needed to go loony, I would go for the totally unnecessary 25-06 improved and luxuriate in all that extra case capacity.

In a true short action, I see the 250-3000 as just about one of the most well balanced medium game cartridges around.

2.8" compared to a 3" Roberts. Mine is on a 700LA. Waaaaay too much action for a Roberts, but I like the 3" option nonetheless.

'Cub, thanks for the pics, they paint a thousand words.

However, I would sooner fill the 30-06 action with 3.3" of 25-06 and have either the higher performance or greater margin of pressure safety, depending on what I was trying to achieve with the load.

This is all given the choice in identical long action rifles. If I came across a beaut 247R in a long action rifle and it was a great price etc, I wouldn't say no. But if it was a case of all other things being equal, the 25-06 appeals much more to me.

Thanks again.

Mebbe so, but the last one went for over $650 a few years ago, when they probably were still actually worth around $450, tops? ;O)

Same ol' same auction scenario: Two guys showed up who had both decided they were taking it home, until one came to his senses.

One of our local gunshop fellers died late last winter and they had a series of four auctions this past late summer into fall. Guy was in his 90s when he died, so there was plenty of stuff to sell. All the "good guns" were gone before the first auction, claimed by family or sold to friends via the family.

60+ years worth of guns, partial guns, gun parts and accessories from that stash, plus lots of ammo and reloading components. Much of the ammo went for higher than it was selling for at retail, during the first two auctions.

Myself and several others I know, marveled at the prices fetched for what was mostly junk. If a rifle or shotgun wasn't already in one piece, then whatever condition it was in, was how it was sold. Stocks, forearms and butt stocks were sold by the armful. Partial shotguns/rifles were sold, as is, minus the wood that was mostly sold separately, because no one wanted to spend the time to match wood to firearm.

I bought lots of Sierra bullets at a good price, because few others were interested in them. What little 22 ammo was there, really went through the roof on prices at the first auction.

Anyhow, been going to gun auctions for many years. Sometimes a good buy can be had. Other times people get carried away and go beyond reason, price-wise. And that's been my experience with M722s in 257.

Back in the mid to late 1980s, I was able to buy 722s in 222 and 300 Sav for $150+/- all the time, with the 244s running around $200 and the 257s around $250 because they were much less common. In New England, the 222 Mags were never nearly as common as the 222s. I made a little spending $$ back then by trimming the barrels back to 20" for guys who wanted a 600/660 but didn't want to pay the higher prices that they were commanding. 'Still have several parts guns that I put together around 722 actions.

Jeff

dubepa,

My experience at auction sales (not restricted to gun auctions) is that with any reasonable sized crowd in attendance many of the desirable items will go for over their actual worth. People seem to lose their common sense when they start bidding against someone else.

I've been to gun auctions where bidders have paid (for used guns) more than NIB identical guns could have been bought for. Don't know whether some buyers think anything they get at an auction is automatically going to be a bargain.

If I have an interest in something I establish in my mind what this price is. I avoid early bidding, just sit back to see what the crowd is going to do. Only if the bidding seems to be stopping short of my perceived price will I enter into the bidding.

To my recollection only once did I go a little over my initially established price. That was for a Ruger No. 3 in .375 Win. In that case the rifle and caliber were unique enough in my mind to warrant going a little high. Can't understand overbidding on 06's etc.

Jim

That has often been my experience, although now and then something strikes my fancy and comes home with me, but usually at a price reflecting its actual value.

Maybe 5 or 6 years ago I watched a minty M88 in 284 go for less than $700, which I figured was probably a good deal. Had a VXII on it, but no magazine. One guy that dropped out, then kind of regretted it, said not having the mag was the deal killer.

I told him that I'd bet a dollar the old boy I mentioned in the above post who passed away last year in his 90s, would've had a mag for that rifle? He laughed, said he hadn't thought of that. ;O)

I may land a M722 in 257 someday? Ain't quite dead yet in my late 60s and have a few more auctions to attend.

I've had far more luck responding to newspaper ads in the past several years. That's how I scored a Win. M64 (30-30) in very good condition a few years ago, for $600. Even I get lucky now and then. That's what the old boy wanted for it and I didn't offer to haggle. He was kinda shocked when I handed him the cash, thanked him and ran away.

I don't go to many auctions, but do go to a lot of gun shows and stores that have used guns. Can't remember seeing a .257 722 at any of them priced for less than $500 for several years now, and often they're around $600. They also seem to sell at those prices--or at least when I go back to the same store, or attend the next gun show (where many of the tables are rented by the same people) they're gone.

One way many people gauge the going price for various firearms these days is Googling. Some of the results will be "asking prices," but some will be selling prices at various on-line auctions. I just Googled "Remington 722 .257's for sale," and came up with five results from the past two years ranging from $450 to $700, averaging $542. And the $450 was for a barreled action only.

You're obviously free to judge what you think a rifle is worth, and bid accordingly. That's the way to get bargains, but the market for this model has gone up recently. My web search did find some older results from as far back as 2002, and they were in the $400 to $450 range. Buying one for that price would be a really good deal in today's market. Obviously you don't "need" one so can afford to wait.

I shot out my 25-06, and when I FINALLY get around to chopping it back, it will be a 257 AI. I just thought the 25 was a bit overbore, didn't last real long, even though it shot fine.
I suppose I could simply set back and re-cut with a good 25-06 reamer, but I have done lots of load workups for other people's 257s and they were easy-cheesy to make shoot.
Never mind that just about everything based on the x57 case is mild-mannered and accurate.