I would like to build a .257 Roberts, was wondering what cartridge you guys would choose to build one from? I like the 700 action- would probably choose that in a long action to start with, but if I decided a short action- I would probably go with a model 7, just don't know what cartridge would make the best and easiest route to start with.

If you gotta then you gotta, but I wouldn't build a 257 these days.

25 cal, long 700 --> 25-06

7, short 700 --> 6.5 CM

I'll take a different tack from mathman and say do it because not everyone else will have one. You can get 700 ADLs for $350 bucks if you want a donor. Long or short? Probably short. but a good argument could be made for going either way.

Short action and load your own. Send a few dummy cartridges loaded at about 2.825" so it will be throated right.

The 257 Rbts was my favorite cartridge for many years. I've had SA and LA and Win 70, etc. I'm down to one Win Pre-war 70 custom and a 250AI custom.

A natural fit for the Roberts is where it started- a 98 Mauser action, (8x57, 7x57) unless you don't like it for a particular reason. a few trips to the local pawn shops will usually turn up a diamond in the rough- usually already drilled and tapped for a scope mount, aftermarket trigger and safety. also I think there are still a lot of short chambered barrels in .257 Roberts out there and available, as are a variety of really nice sporter stocks and other accessories. Just my 2 cents worth- Desertshooter

As much as I love my 257s, if I were starting today, I'd do this ^^^^^^^

I'm with desertshooter.

Somebody who lusts for a .257 Roberts isn't into ballistic minutiae. While the .25-06 may beat it in velocity and "practicality", when handloaded to modern pressures the .257 is so close there ain't any meaningful difference in the field out to at least 300-400 yards, and I've taken plenty of animals with both rounds.

Build a .257 on a commercial 98 action and be happy. Or even on a short 700 action--unless you feel compelled, for some reason, to use one of the very few high-BC .25-caliber bullets.

My wife and I have been killing pronghorns, feral pigs, whitetails, mule deer and cow elk with the .257 for decades. It works.

No question about that! And I'm committed. I've got the rifles, dies, and a lifetime supply of brass and bullets. I ain't changing now!

But if I were starting from scratch, I'd look pretty hard at the 6.5CM: Lots of apparently accurate ammo available. Plenty of brass and a great bullet selection. A plethora of accurate rifles in pretty much any price range you could be interested in.

And best of all....it launches good 120gr bullets at 2900ish....just like the Bob.

I've had a couple of .257 Rob on LR98 actions and am nearly finished with one on a Mexican small ring 98 but really love my Kimber 84M Classic Select and wouldn't have built if I'd have started with it.

On the other hand I must agree with John; if you're looking to build a Bob the commercial 98 is the way to go.

Agreed. Problem is, you build one and then get hooked on it and find that lately it's a bitch to find brass for it. Been using 6mm and 7x57

Bunch of damn romantics ......

Hard to beat starting with a Kimber 84m already in .257 Roberts. (I'm biased)

I agree there are "easier" and more practical choices out there- but there's just something to me about a light little wood/blued .257 Roberts that does it for me.

If I didn't lose on my first spin of Kimber Roulette, I probably would have bought one of those. I'm soured on Kimbers now, and while I'll never say never- I will say not now for them. I don't know a whole lot about Mauser actions, which makes me leery about getting into a build with one at this time.

From what I have read, the only advantage to the long action is you can seat heavier bullets out further and they're guaranteed to fit in the magazine? The only advantage to the short action is they can be built lighter, but if you are using the heavier bullets that are seated out further the magazine may not work? I was originally thinking of building something like an old Remington Mtn Rifle, before they made them with a detachable magazine, maybe with a nice stick of wood. Obviously I'm a bit too late to get this done for this season, so I have some time to think over my options. Thanks for all the expertise, as usual, guys!

I think that's the gist of the choice, yes





I really like this idea personally. Seems like finding one in 7x57 and then rebarreling would be a cinch.

Ive never owned a Remington short action and don't know their specs but if their mag constraints are shorter than the Kimber action I'd not go that route. In my Kimber even middle of the road 100 gr NBTs are seated pretty deeply.

Good luck on the build; as was pointed out brass is tough to find right now but I've had good luck sizing down 7x57.

My Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts quickly became my favorite rifle after I acquired it in 2004. It is a long action with a long throat and shoots tiny groups with 75g V-MAX, 100g TTSX, 110g AB and 120g AF. With the longer action and magazine I can seat bullets to the base of the neck and no deeper, regardless of the bullet.

If you choose a short action you lose some flexibility in loading. No other drawbacks. Whether the modest gain in reduced action length and weight is worth it is a personal call.

the .257 is a very pleasant cartridge to shoot. I have to fight my daughters for it when we are at the range. With the 110g AB in WW +P brass and with +P pressures (3163fps in my 22" Ruger), the .257 Roberts gives up very little to the 6.5CM or .360 Rem. The 100g TTSX does 3233fps. Both loads use H4350.

Good luck on your build - I think you'll like it.

Other than quality/availability of brass and precision oriented die sets.

The thing that surprised me when I got mine is how much "nicer" the .257 Bob is compared to the .243. If all you need is about 2900 fps. w/ a 100 gr. bullet, the Robert's does it at much lower pressures. The brass seems to last forever, the muzzle blast isn't so bad, etc. With today's quality bullets, it is a great choice. E

Nosler .257 Roberts brass is usually available and I think Jamison's made some too, or maybe I'm mixing it up with 250 Savage?

I have had a 700 classic and a Ruger 77 in 257 roberts. Both were /are very nice as was a 700 min rifle . My 77 has a stock that someone slimmed down and re checkered and added an ebony nose cap. Both shot quite well but I like the Ruger of the two. If I was wanting a new roberts I would probably look at Kimber, or if you can recall the recent thread where someone was recarving Ruger stocks to resemble old prewar Mauser style stocks , I might hustle up a model 77 and go that route.

I've had quite a few rifles come and go in my life, and most I but dimly remember. The .257's stick out though- a Mannlicher-Schoenauer M1952 (I really should have my ass kicked over that one), Ruger M77 Lightweight or Featherweight or whatever it was called (a joy to carry but not particularly accurate), and a custom pre-war 98 Mauser marked ".25 Roberts" and a rather famous maker's name who shall remain anonymous or you'll really kick my ass. The urge has been coming over me again of late and I've been casting mean glances at a 98 Mauser I have.

The Savage 99 .250-3000 is a sweetheart, but it ain't a .257 Roberts. .25-06 is more gun than I want/need.

Brass is available from Jamison, Winchester, Nosler and Remington. The Winchester and Nosler are +P stamped. I use the Winchester.
The difference between how my Roberts shoots and how if ***might*** shoot if I used a "precision die set" is marginal at best. So marginal I don't mind using my RCBS dies.

Below is an old target. I don't do a lot of shooting for groups, but last time I had clay pigeons on the 400 yard berm they didn't last long.

Have you shopped that 257 brass lately?

No, but I know it is out of stock most places.

Ammo, on the other hand, is in stock many places. Buy 4-5 boxes and you're set for reloading for a good while.

Had my Roberts at the range today. Banging steel at 600 with 110g AB was a piece of cake. It was pretty breezy so never did hit a clay pigeon at 600, just danced around the edges.

What is this ready made ammo of which you wrote?

I basically traded mine for a 6.5 CM. Twisted right. Match bullets in factory offerings (for a little more than a buck a round). I hate that I've abandoned my first love.....but I never shot it. And I kept the Win 70 Bob.

A quick Internet search came up with Hornady Superformance ammo with 115-grain SST's for sale at $26.99/box on a couple of websites. In my experience Hornady brass has been excellent in the past few years, and at that price the ammo is about as cheap as a lot of .257 brass--when you can find it.

One thing that puzzles me is why Hornady doesn't offer .257 Roberts component brass. It's not on their website's list of available brass, and I've never seen it in the several local stores that carry plenty of Hornady cases.

Midwayusa currently has 6 types in stock. Cabelas has two additional types. Cheaperthandirt.com has one type. Take your pick.

Yea, I need to take it to my shooting pit soon.Hoping the ammo I have shoots as well as your targets showed, with me driving it.

Allen

People actually shoot ready made ammo?

I always find myself sort of shaking my head at firearms related manufacturing. One will read an article that discusses that now that the election is over that the hoarding is slacking off and ammo companies are experiencing slow downs and even doing some layoffs, yet some of the various brass while not one of the top 10 sellers, the Roberts , 250 savage et.al. which are are fairly common can't be found. Johns hornady brass example is a good one.

Some pics for consideration. I used a 700 long action for mine as I wanted to load my ammo at a 3" OAL. If I was going to go on a short action, I'd build a 250AI or 25-08

The short action works fine as well, so it comes down to a personal preference.

If you decide to go with the .257, I have a brand new set of Lee dies and case trimmer pilot for sale. I bought it to help a buddy build a load and then he enlightened me that his was an AI.

Build? I'd go with a 700 short action and a Wyatt's long mag box. I had Wyatt build one in his shop for me on a shot out .22-250 700 LVSF. Quarter inch gun with 100 grain ballistic tips and H4831. Being the idiot I can sometimes be, when my ex B-I-L was building rifles I let him talk me into building something and that was the most available action. He built a 700 VSSF type package in 6mm Rem AI ... shot well but something was up with the barrel blank I gave him to work with 'cause I got crazy pressure excursions. I still have the stock, trigger, and barrel, just need to buy another action.

My current .257 is a Kimber Montana. In my Kimber, the Nosler +P brass is interchangable with WW +P .. no modifications to loads or sight adjustments necessary. The last batch of Remington .257 which they sold via Cabela's was very good brass as well.

Tom

Mine are on Mauser actions. The chuck rifle is a commercial 98, the first deer rifle is on a 95 Chilean Mauser, and the newest is a Montana action with Douglas barrel in a M70 glass stock. That'll have to be changed at some point. All rifles take rounds loaded to about 2.9"OAL.

Factory stuff.

IMG_1189 (2) by Ed Rivera, on Flickr

Never thought about a build. Factory Ruger No.1 and Factory Ruger UL. Had four 257s, but settled on these two.

Ruger257s004_zpse1b5f475 by Ed Rivera, on Flickr

I don't reload much, but for the 257 Roberts this is all I reload. 2.912" OAL @ 3030fps out of the 20" UL.

IMG_1190 (2) by Ed Rivera, on Flickr

I have that same Ruger UL. What kind of accuracy does your load give you?

From the bench 1.25" - 1.5" @ 100yds, BUT, I'm old and my eyes are not what they once were. An accomplished shooter could do better I'm sure.

Gorgeous stock on that #1.