It's an old Ultralight in reasonably good condition. I got it at the Mesquite Rodeo gunshow today and while there I picked up a couple of boxes of ammo put together by a local guy I have bought ammo from before. I put a Leupold 3x9 on it, and bore sighted it. Took it out to my 25 yard range and the first shot was centered but 4 inches low. The second shot was 2 inches low after a bit of adjustment, third shot was 1 inch low at 25 yards but the bolt wouldn't open, I had to tap it open with a rubber mallet. The fired case could not be tapped out with a cleaning rod. The guy who loaded the ammo said to take it to a gunsmith and have him fix the rifle and he would pay for it. The load data on the box is 42.0 grains of WW 760 under a 117 gr. SST. So crap!

Factory 110 Nosler accubond, Doubletap 100 TTSX, but they aint giving it away.

I just bought the ammo for the brass and to get the scope lined up. Taking the rifle to a gunsmith tomorrow.

Good luck with the rifle. My 257 Roberts is a 1989 M77. Not an ultralight but easily my favorite rifle and very accurate. I think I'd take the rest of the ammo apart and burn the powder with a match. Or sell it back.

Check the throat when you get a chance. My guess is you will find it is quite long, as is mine and as are the throats on several of my Rugers from that era. I've always joked the bullets in my Roberts couldn't touch the lands with a stick, but it doesn't hurt accuracy. Best 3-shot group I've ever shot was with that rifle, .232" center-to-center @ 100 yards, 75g V-MAX.

Used the Roberts and a 110g AccuBond @ 3163fps MV to shoot a buck antelope in Wyoming two days ago. 300 yards on the run, quartering a bit into a 20mph wind.



PS -
If you are interested in my +P load data (WW +P brass), PM me with your email address.

Mine is a MKII, one of my favorite rifles. Shoots under MOA with 100s on down, but will do 1.25 with the 115 partitions and 110 Accubonds. One of these days it's going on a diet, weighs close to 9 lbs with a 3-9 VXII. Must be a real dense piece of walnut.

My local Sportsman's Warehouse had 2 bags of Winchester brass a few days ago. If you need the brass, shoot me a PM.

I was at the gun show so I bought what was there. I just took pictures of the bolt face and the case head still in the chamber. Don't know why the primer is still in the case as it looks like there is space all around it. I don't know if this will harm the barrel but the bolt looks fine other than the heavy ring of residue around the firing pin. Does Ruger still put new barrels on their rifles?

Well I got the rifle back today. The gunsmith charged me $35. for removing the case, $30. for detail cleaning the rifle and $40. for test firing the rifle. Does this seem about right? I know he had to buy a box of ammo to test fire the rifle so that may have been a bargain. At any rate I put the scope back on it and had it sighted in 1 inch high at 100 yards in 4 shots. This using an old box of Federal red box 117 grain +P I found at a gunshop, the only ammo he had for a 257. Seems like an accurate rifle. I ordered 4 boxes of 110 grain Accubond 257 ammo loaded by Pendelton ammunition from Grafs. Good price also as it's on clearance. I have 16 rounds of the Federal ammo left so I could shoot something with it when I go hunting.

As for the appearance of the case that was removed, the case head had expanded just behind the chamber to almost looking like it had a belt on it, the primer fell out as the gunsmith removed it from the chamber. The case looked pinkish near the shoulder area as if it had gotten very hot. The federal cases I fired today look just fine though the primers stick out just a bit. The gunsmith did not have a headspace gauge for a 257 Roberts so I didn't get a check on that.

From your description of the appearance of the case it sounds as though there was a problem with the ammunition. I would not shoot anymore of those loads. I say this because during the time that I worked in the gunsmithing department at Browning Arms Co. I worked on several rifles that had cases like you describe stuck in the chamber. In many of those cases it was found that the owner had fired the wrong ammo. This took place after Remington renamed the .280 Rem. the 7mm Express, inattentive shooters fired these shells in their 7mm Rem. Mag rifles. The renamed .280 had plenty of room in the larger 7mm Magnum chamber and came apart. I realize that you were firing the correct ammunition in your rifle but the result indicates far too much pressure, perhaps a double charge, wrong powder or some similar was to blame. The swollen case head and destroyed primer pocket are sending a clear message of DANGER which needs to be thoroughly investigated by a gunsmith experienced in this kind of situation.

The manufacturer of this ammo is local and he has said he will pay the fees the gunsmith charged and buy the ammo back from me. I will see him Sunday at the gun show. I was tempted ot pull a bullet and weigh a charge or two and find out if it was what was listed on the box but I think I will just give them back loaded and let John figure it out.

Probably the best course of action right there.

You do know the difference between regular and +P, I hope.

+P brass is heavier and loaded ammo is loaded to a bit higher velocity if marked +P.

Don't shoot handloads assembled by someone else.

+1 on not shooting someone else's handloads whether they're a professional or an amateur. The fact that the seller was willing to pay the gunsmith bill and buy back the ammunition say something right there. Sounds like the guy's afraid of a lawsuit.

This ^^^^ pretty much covers it.

I would add don't shoot ammo obtained from someone else, either. When I purchased my Marlin 375 (.375 Win), it came with a couple boxes of 'Winchester factory ammo'. Not suspecting anything, I fired a few. They seemed safe enough but accuracy was horrible and velocity was very inconsistent. Couldn't decide if it was really bad factory ammo or bad handloads. Either way, I stopped shooting them and tore the rest apart. Nowadays I don't even consider shooting ammo unless I know for sure it is factory fresh or I've loaded it myself. The one exception is my hunting buddy's handloads for his 7mm RM - I've taken a couple shots using his 7mm RM at the range but only after watching him shoot from the same batch. His load is one I used for 20+ years and he has used since '98 or '99 when he got his 7mm RM.

The guy has a pretty big operation and I have bought a lot of ammo from him, he employs 10 people and loads everything from 22 Jet to the big bores. I"m not defending him but he is acting responsibly. I have also had some way too hot ammo from Federal in the past, most noticeably some 165 grain 300 Win mag "Deer Thug" loads. However these are the last three rounds of his stuff I am going to shoot!

Ok I shot 18 rounds of the Pendleton 110 grain Accubond ammo. Easy extraction, primers somewhat flattened, pin indentation not cratered, accuracy not stellar 1 3/8 inch for 5 shots.

Based on my experience with quite a few Ruger ULs, that's as good as it get with accuracy. I shot a 3 shot group with my 77 MK2 257 Roberts today that eyeballed at about that, and I was happy with it. I'd say you have a very good load there.

Agree completely, but there was an era when they over-bored them about .003" and they generally sucked for accuracy, especially with harder bullets...

Rickt300: NEVER shoot ammunition loaded by another individual!
EVER!
Sorry for your troubles.
Lesson learned (I hope!)
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

No need to go shooting someone else’s handloads. You’re dangerous enough on your own, firing 280’s in your 338!

The OP bought the ammo from a small manufacturer.

The 110 Accubond seems a pretty tough bullet, my backstop is pretty hard black clay and the bullets made good mushrooms and retained their cores. I ordered some dies and bullets today so soon I will be building my own for it. In reality 1 3/8 groups are good enough for just about anything I would use the rifle for. I really like the rifle itself, light, well balanced and fits me well. Maybe we are all just too used to our bullet holes hugging each other!

Like you, I love the way Ruger ultralights feel and fit me. We have become spoiled by sub MOA accuracy, but the truth is a gun that will give us 2 MOA is perfectly suitable for about 99% of the shooting we will ever do, Brass for the 257 is hard to find at times. I have started shooting Accubonds, but have yet to put one in an animal. Everything I have read about them gives me good confidence.

I have my 257 set to go with the Nosler factory ammo with the 110 Accubond so I am also encouraged by the reports of it. Hopefully I can bloody the Ruger pretty soon into the season.

The 110gr Accubond works on bear, so deer shouldn't be too much of a problem. This was launched from a 250AI, which is nothing more than a Roberts that fits a short action better. MV 2935fps

It would seem a 25-243AI would be a fine round also.

The 110AB works great in my 22" barreled Ruger M77 .257 Roberts. I handload them long to fit the magazine but they still can't touch the lands. +P brass, H4350, CCI Large Rifle, 3163fps. Very accurate in my rifle - busting clay pigeons at 400 is child's play, hitting them at 500 and 600 is more of a challenge but doable - especially if the wind cooperates.

I sent the serial number in to Ruger and they say the rifle was made for the European market or for export. So the 257 was popular in Europe?

I have the same rifle (M77 UL .257) and found that the 110 AB is what it likes the best. 43 gr H4350, best five group just a hair over .5". Anything close to Mule Deer's loads with 100 or 115 Partitions gives me sticky bolt lift. Going to try seating a little deeper with the PT loads as I'm pretty close to the lands and see if that helps with the bolt lift. Also picked up some 115 BT and 100 TTSX the other day to try as well. Factory 117 SST pattern like a shotgun!

Welcome to the forum. That's an impressive load you have with the 110 and 4350. Which Mule Deer load are you referring to?

Don't you love it when you have a picky rifle? Think of all the shooting you wouldn't have done if things went right the first time you put together a bunch of loads. I'm still waiting for my dies and bullets to arrive. I am hoping for a good shooting load pushing the 117 Sierra Gameking or the 120 grain BTHP Gameking. Planning to stay inside 2600 to 2700 fps.

That doesn't seem like good information. Ruger used to, maybe still does, sell firearms through the base/post exchange stores on American bases/posts in Europe, so it is possible, but doesn't seem probable.

I doubt that the 257 Roberts has ever been popular in Europe.

His favorites, 100 gr with 46 gr 4350 and 115 gr with 43 gr 4350. My bad on the original quote I'm using IMR 4350 in my Roberts and H in my 7X57.

Mine likes 42.5 gr. H4350 with the Sierra 117gr pro hunter, Remington brass, CCI200s. Groups 1.5” at 200, three shots. 2725 FPS on average. It’s literally the only load I’ve found that this gun will shoot, so I’m done looking for loads.

Old70

The rifle was built in SouthPort, Conneticut plant and this is supposed to be where the export rifles were built. However the lady I spoke to was a bit hard to follow.

I have recently gotten my new Ruger Hawkeye, in .257, going at the range. It shoots the Superformence 117 gain SST pretty poorly. I have shot one group of 100 grain Accubonds through it, and came up with a 1 3/8" group. I expect the groups to improve as I work with it more. This rifle came well built and finished. I think I'm gonna like it!

100 gr Accubonds??

I wish they made a 100!

According to MD, they didn’t offer the 100AB because it performed just like the 100 BTip

They do make 100 gr partitions though...

Laffin...I'll have to check the box tomorrow. Must be 105 or 110? Nonetheless, they shoot a LOT better than the Hornady ammo.

Well I shot it some more with the somewhat warm Pendleton 110 gr. Accubond ammo. First it copper fouled pretty badly, second it averaged 2.6 inches for 5 3 shot groups! The bullet in this ammo is seated deeply, COAL is 2.755 and the case neck is barely past the ogive! My dies and bullets came today and since we have company I didn't want to go full reloader on em, I just pulled the bullets from 6 of the Pendleton loads, poured the powder out and replaced it with 38.0 grains of H380 and seated a 117 grain Hornady SPBT to a COAL of 2.970. This is just off the rifling by .010. With two scope adjustments the total group size is 1.45 for 6 shots! Now oddly the primers protrude out of the cases .017 but the cases are only 2.220 long. Fired cases from the warmly loaded factory Pendleton ammo are spot on 2.230, they have the headstamp JBA, wonder who makes em? Tomorrow I will load a series with the fired factory cases to see if it gets any better but I am now happy with the way it shoots. Interestingly the Hornady bullet seemed to wipe away the copper fouling the Accubond left in the barrel.

Ruger has always made the Model 77 at the Pinetree Castings production operation in Newport, NH.

Ruger's administrative operation is in Southport, CT, but all of their firearms are actually made in either Newport, NH, or Prescott, AZ.

The lady who you spoke to seems to be illinformed.

I have owned a couple of Ruger 77s that the Ruger CSRs told me that didn't exist or I wasn't authorized to own.

Now that it shoots with adequate accuracy I won't have it rebarreled which is why I called Ruger in the first place, only to find they won't do it. She could have been wrong though as she was wrong on everything else!

The JBA brass was a product of Rick Jamison, JBA stands for Jamison Brass and Ammunition. One of the 40 fired split at the shoulder and was used as a seating dummy. Otherwise the brass looks pretty good.

If you ever need accurate information about Ruger long guns, you call Rody's in Newport, NH, between 6 and 9pm and asked for Bill or Henry. There isn't anything that either Bill or Henry don't know about Ruger long guns and if by chance there was, they would know who to ask. 603-863-3356.

However it is crappy brass! Some of it developed small neck splits at the junction of the neck and shoulder on the second firing. I did find evidence of excessive headspace also in the rifle. Crap again!

"I did find evidence of excessive headspace also in the rifle. Crap again!"

Seems to be a common occurance in the tangers. My tanger M77 in .35 Whelen will have complete head separations with Remington factory ammo. I took some 30-06 brass, converted to .35W, then opened the necks to .375". The readjusted the sizing die to create a false shoulder and fire formed the brass. Gun works just fine that way.
I have three rifles chambered to the Whelen so each has it's own custom adjusted resizing die. No more case head separations.
Paul B.

Took the rifle down to the nearest gunsmith that had a headspace gauge and turns out the headspace is fine, problem turns out to be the JBA brass is undersize! Short from head to shoulder by .012. Good and bad as I am now looking for some good brass again.

I have had good luck necking down Prvi Partisan 7x57 cases from Graf & Sons. I adjust my FLS so the resized cases are tight in the chamber due to false shoulder then anneal them after the first or second firing.

Bob brass is harder & harder for me to find! I do have a hubdredNosler cases and it’s excellent stuff.

Sounds like a nice rifle; I love this cartridge!!

Midway has Nosler brass available

When will Hornady sell empty brass for the Roberts?

I don't know if they still have it. I will check for you if you want me to. I will pick it up and ship it to you if you want. Either that our buy very expensive Nosler brass which was readily available last time I checked.

Kudo's for Grafs! I called them about the crappy brass that came with the Pendleton ammo and how hot it was loaded and they are replacing the Pendleton stuff with Hornady Superformance at no charge to me! Maybe my 257 Roberts brass problems are over for a bit.

This left me with ten pieces of Federal +P brass to play with. I loaded the 117 Hornady spire points, the 117 gr. Sierra BTSP and the 120 gr. Sierra BTHP. I can say this when you reach the pressure level the rifle doesn't like groups really get bigger! This at no visible pressure signs. At any rate the load I have settled on gives 3 shot groups of an inch or very slightly over. 38.5 grains of WC852 under the 117 gr. Sierra BTSP Gameking is it for now. The federal brass is tough stuff As I did load workups for three bullets and then fired ten of what I settled on for each bullet. I'd say the ten pieces of brass were loaded 6 times each at least. Thanks for the offer Paul but the ten pieces I have will get me through opening weekend of deer season here in Texas and the Hornady Superperformance stuff will be here before the Oklahoma gun deer season opens.

My Hornady "Superperformance" ammo arrived today, while exhibiting no pressure issues it spewed bullets into 8 inches for 3 shots!

I think they should offer a 117 gr. RN just like the original factory load and stop all this nonsense.

When I got my 257 UL I picked up a box of Superformance 117gr SST until I got a die set. My gun would barely keep them on a paper plate at 100yds.

One more data point: I bought a box last year when i left my hoadloads at home for a very accurate 257. First 3 shots went into 3 inches.

I am seeing that at least my 257 is exceptionally ammo sensitive to say the least! Guess I will be pulling the bullets and using the brass to make something usable from it.

So I pulled the 117 SST's from the remaining 17 in the box, loaded them with 42.0 grains of AA4350 and topped them with the Hornady 117 grain BTSP and went shooting. Satisfaction with three three shot groups no flyers and all under an inch.

That's impressive Rick!

With the very inconsistant factory ammo I have gotten from Pendleton, the custom loader and now Hornady I was beginning to wonder if I had gotten a bad barrel! Until I started using the ten pieces of Federal brass I was really thinking about rebarreling or selling the rifle. I mean it was shooting worse with a scope than I can usually get with iron sights. But all is good now. When I pulled the bullets from the 17 Superformance loads I measured the powder charge and it generally averaged 51.5 grains of what does look like Superformance powder, and the Hornady book max is 45.9 grains. On top of that the powder is so compressed I had to use a piece of wire to break it up to get it out of the case. Same thing with the Pendleton ammo. So it seems to me that the manufacturers are trying to kill the Roberts with crappy ammo. Another snivel arises when I try to get my reloads into the original box as they are too long. My rifle seems to prefer the bullets to be seated just off the rifling not .22 short of it like the factory ammo is loaded, imagine that.

Sounds like problem solved!

Yep, ready before the Oklahoma deer season. On the other hand I fired around 90 shots to get there so I should look at the bright side, got some trigger time!

If you ever try the factory load lottery again, look for Hornady 117 grn BTSP, in the Hornady Custom line.

It is listed as 2760fps, but my Ruger m77 loved them.

I started handloading for that rifle specifically to duplicate that factory load. 43 grns of RL19 got me there.

I have probably enough brass now to not sweat it for years to come. When I did the search for ammo there was very little choice.

Forgot all about this thread. Went hunting on my place in Oklahoma. When I got there I poured a line of corn down a trail below the stand for a possible shot of 100 yards. First day nothing but squirrels and does. Second day saw a small buck and passed him. Third and last day right before dark I shot a doe in the neck with a 117 gr. Hornady BTSP pushed with 42.0 grains of IMR4350. Needless to say my next project was getting the doe 100 yards uphill to the hanging tree. She was a bit over 100 pounds and made for some good eating. The bullet went through the neck just in front of the shoulder leaving a 2 inch exit hole with some other small holes that could have been jacket material or bone. Had to leave so after gutting her I loaded up the truck and on the way out in the dark I see a monster 12 point in the dirt road. He waited for the last second to jump into the trees for me. Good but short hunt done by myself. Wish my old hunting partner hadn't passed away. I got a bad case of the flu and wasn't able to get back before deer season ended.

I have a 1976 Ruger M77 tanger and it loves to shoot Barnes 100TTSX over Hybrid 100V.

With mine it seems I can find a good shooting load with any of the powders I have tried but I have to look for it. Mine is a fickle rifle!