I am considering a .257 Roberts for deer. I have never owned one or hunted with one. I would mostly be using it for deer. What has been your experience with the round on deer? What bullets do you prefer? Have you seen much difference between in the performance on game with the .257 and say a 7mm-08 or .270? Thanks.

I would say its marginal on deer, lately I have been educated in how deer really are, virtually unstoppable. I would go with nothing less than a 300 magnum of some sort, with a light really fast ballistic tip.

in all seriousness the .257 is great for deer, my hunting partner uses one and has for many years.


.260 rem is also a great deer round, second only to the .243 win

I've killed truck loads with the 250 Savage and it does great, the Roberts should do even better...

the 257 is an excellent deer cartridge will kill deer just as dead as a 7-08(another one of my personal favorites) or a .270 with a lot less recoil if you worry about that i personal use 110gr accubonds or 115 tsx just because mine dont like 100gr. tsx's have not yet tried the new 80gr.ttsx

Of course you could get a 223 and load up some good bullets, now that is a fine deer cartridge...

I've never killed a deer with a .257 Roberts. But I've watched lots of stuff die from very similar rounds. Like the .243, the .240 Wby, the .25-06 and the .25-284. The only real difference in the larger cased rds. is the remaining velocity of the bullets. If a .25-06 will do a good job at 300 yds. and .257 Roberts will do just as well at 250 yds.
They all work fine as long as you use big game bullets not varmit bullets. 100 gr. bullets often shoot through on broadside shots if the bullet doesn't hit any bone or heavy muscles and and the 120 gr. stuff works even better for those shots.
A lot of people have grown very fond of such rounds for deer because they shoot them better. E

One of my favorites!

I�ve taken Elk with mine using 115 gr Nosler Partition bullets, and the died just as quickly as if I�d used one of the .338s

Great choice, sweet shooting rifles.

Respects,

Richard

I shot a grand total of 1 doe with one. It died. I used 117gr round nosed Winchester's.

I shot the doe standing at 40 yds, and she turned to face the other way so I shot again... She walked 40 yds and tipped over dead about 20 feet from me.Both bullets exited.

Jelly lungs.

The 257 Rob is a favorite of mine since the 1960s. No complaints using it on anysize deer. Started with factory 117grs and reloaded 120grs - soon realized the lighter 100gr c&c bullets worked just as well.

90gr sierra hpbt is the most accurate .257 I have ever used, but don't have complete confidence in it on deer. 115gr Nosler Part. pushed as hard as possible is where I am at now.

I own twin tang safety Ruger M77s...when one gets hot, I set it down and commence firing with the other.

Good luck - Wayne

Ingwewife has been killing stuff with hers for more years than she will let me tell you....

Trying to get my stuff in order to have RedNeck rebarrel my .270 to .257 Roberts. I've shot 270 for 20years and no complaints. Just WANT a .257R for now and (Lord willing) 30 or more years down the road on older already jacked up shoulders.

You'll love it. I mostly used 120 gr Rem. CL but have switched to the 117 Hornady recently when my suppy of the Rem's dried up. Mostly load H414 and WW760. Deer die quick when you hit them with a 117-120gr going about 2700-2800fps.

Question about the 257 Roberts barrel twist rate. I've been interested in this caliber for some time and have noticed that factory rifles are all offered with 1 in 10" twist. Have you guys had problems shooting the longer bullets in the 110-120gr range with 10" twist? Would it be better to rebarrel to 1 in 9" twist, if your primary use for the 257 Roberts was deer hunting and you wanted to use 115gr TSX's or NPT's?...CT

I've only killed one deer with my M70 Ftw, but I was very impressed. I had to squat down to shoot under some branches. Deer was at 150-160 yds. Only went as far as gravity could take her sliding down the hill. I don't think she kicked the first time.

I was very impressed with my snap shot abilities until I walked up to the deer. The shot hit just in front of the hindquarter and passed below the spine to exit exactly the same spot on the other side. No bone or muscle was hit. I know there are a couple of major arteries running in that vicinity, but never would have expected a bam/flop from hitting there. The bullet was a 117 gr Hornady SST loaded over 4831.

Yea, the Bob will work!

Bullets matter more than headstamps...

I picked up a Tang Safety Ruger in Bob AI from another member here and the rifle is Sweeeeeet!. It really dotes on 120 partitions. Though I'll be trying 100gr TTSX's, I'd have no worries about running the 120 Partition lengthwise on a buck.

Likely knocked out her nervous system ( which runs just along and below the spine) Either way you slice it Great Deer round and good hit...anyday for either

The Bob will kill deer. You do your job, the Bob will do its job.

A great low kicking round. I would say good out to 300 yds on deer.

Took this antelope at around 275 yds. Shooting 100 grn bt

I think my Bob(Kimber) is a 10 twist. It shoots 115/117's just fine out to 400-500 yards which is as far as I've shot it.

As far as 257 Roberts go on deer, I have only shot one deer and one pronghorn with the Bob. Both lung type shots(no big bones) and complete pass throughs using a 117 Sierra Gameking.
The antelope was bedded at 208 yards, never got up at the shot.

Big, alert whitetail doe at about 250 yards ran at the shot and made it 250 yards before she tipped over. Luckily she died out in an open field and there was an easy blood trail to follow.
Bullet appeared to have done minimal damage to the lungs(went through both, but no mush). I think it hit a small branch and flipped in the air right before impact, basiclly penciling through.

I have shot several deer and antelope with a 250 Savage and a 25-06(soft point bullets) and always had excellent results(all broadside chest shots).

The SGK's shoot so well and they're cheap to shoot so that's what I load. Any decent 100-120 grain bullet should do fine on deer. The 110 Accubond should be a great bullet.

My Ruger Hawkeye is a well balanced rifle and handles great. It shoots 100 gr TSX's pretty well, but it will put Hornady 117 factory loads under 1" at 100 yds.

When we go to the range I can't seem to pry it away from my daughter. I may have to find another, maybe in a Model 70 FWT.

I often wondered what all the hype over the .257 Roberts was about. I hunted with a guy that had a .257 Roberts and I kind of thought where in the heck did that caliber come from. I never did see him shoot any deer with it so I had no clue on how it performed. What makes it so special and what does it do that a 25.06 will not do? My brother in-law has a 25.06 and I have seen what it will do on whitetails. Most of my deer rifles start at 7MM-08, 30.06, 7MAG. and go up to the .300 WIN. MAG. Lately I have been thinking about a smaller caliber such as a .260 or some type of .25 caliber in a lightweight rig. Carrying some of those big guns around in the mountains does take a toll. I am not getting any younger and one of these days I will get to the point where I would like a lighter recoiling rifle. Would the .260 be a better round than the Bob for deer?

I've never hunted with the .257 Roberts and for some reason, the opportunity to fire one always escaped me till last year. The round is a joy to shoot. I'm thinking of the late Larry Koller who used a .250 Savage to fill his tag each year. He never once complained that he needed more horse power. Yes, the headstamp doesn't say magnum but the deer don't know that.

Does Hornady still make the 117 Grain Round Nose InterLock in 257 Diameter? I'd like to try these in my Bob but everywhere I look is out of stock.

Dave

The .257 Robts is a joy to shoot. Not too big, not too little. Just right for many applications. Practice on varmints builds confidence. The old generation of writers liked it a lot giving it a "cool" factor. New bullets and rifles have made it an even better choice than ever. I only have three of them.

I think my dad is primarily loading 100 grain Hornady spitzers in his .257 Roberts (and both .250 Savages for that matter). The deer don't like when he shoots at them, and the couple of antelope as well.

I've shot one whitetail doe with my .257. 100 grain TSX. Was walking out of the house to drive up into the pasture when we see a couple does standing across the creek, 120 yards or so. Leaned against the truck, shot one. She ran maybe 40 yards with a jellied heart and lungs.

The only problem I have now is figuring out how to sneak a Kimber Classic Select in and a Ruger #1. Then the question is what do I do with my existing Ruger 77.

around this house myself,wife and kids have used both the 257 and 260 on a lot of deer and honestly if the 257 is too small or deer is too far for it the 260(as much as i do like the round) aint enough of a step up to make much diff.

i can find the round nose but i cant seem to find the btsp 117 pm sent on where to get some rn 117's

The BTSP will do the job just as well as the RN--if it's put in the right place.

BIGR: The cartridge came from Ned Roberts,who developed it by necking down the 7x57 case,and used it to shoot woodchucks back here in New England. Remington introduced it as a commercial cartridge in 1934,and it was one of the cartridges for which the pre 64 M70 was chambered when the rifle came out in 1937. IIRC the Winchester M54 was also so chambered.

The "hype" is because it works....

Back then it filled the same niche filled today by other cartridges like the 243 Winchester.etc, ie a general purpose deer/varmint cartridge that recoils lightly,generates relatively high velocity,yet with enough bullet weight to do a thorough job on deer sized game.

A ore 64 M70 in 257 Roberts was the second centerfire rifle that I ever owned,and I used it extensively to shoot piles of woodchucks, crows and fox here in NE.I hunter deer some with the cartridge but the rifle was a bit heavy..this led to other rifles that were lighter....in the early days of my western hunting I frequently took mine and have shot a good many pronghorn and some mule deer with it..

Mostly I have used 100-120 gr bullets on deer sized stuff driven between 3100-3200 fps;120's at 2900 as well, and 75-87 gr at 3300-3400.

I've had that pre 64 M70,a couple of PF M70's, Rugers,custom on Mausers and M70's, Remington MR's and Kimber Montana's and Select Grade.Long actionor short , they all worked well.I think the Kimber and the Rem MR are the slickest factory rifles chambered for 257 Roberts to come down the pike.

I have used the 25/06 as well;it beats the Roberts by 150-200 fps, but generally comes in somewhat longer, heavier rifles,and for the uses to which I put a 25 caliber, the Roberts burns less powder,gets the above velocities in a 22" barrel, is less noisy,and kills as well, near as I can tell..

It's trajectory with 100-120 gr bullets is about the same as that of a 270 or 280 with 130-150 gr bullets.I have used it on pronghorn out to about 400 yards and would not hesitate to use it again under similar circumstances.

The rifles I have had were all twisted 1-10,but if I were to focus on heavier bullets I would not, today, hesitate to use a custom barrel twisted 1-9.

The cartridge got beat up by the 6mm's when the 243 and 6mmRem were introduced,without good cause.I have had more than one Western rancher tell me the Roberts is more gun on an antelope flat than a 243,but I think this was more a function of early 243 bullets behaving erratically than anything else.

That said, the Roberts is a sentimental favorite for me, and my own #1 choice in the venue of 24's and 25's.Were I building strictly a target/varmint rifle I would lean to the 6mm's but as a general purpose deer/antelope cartridge, I like the Roberts the best.

Great post, Bob.

Bought my girlfriend a Kimber Select in 257 Rob. She's taken quite a few whitetail with it using 115gr. NP's. The BOB is great deer medicine and my GF would sooner get rid of me than let go of that Kimber.

BW: Thank you. I love the Roberts....they named it after me!

.257 does the same thing at "normal" deer hunting range with less recoil than 25-06. Have considered buying one for my daughter numerous times.
I have hunted and killed deer with all three (.257,25-06 & .260).
I think all qualify as "perfect" deer rounds.
Of the three, .260 in a model 7 is what I carry now.

stumpy

Over the years I had problems with Hornady 117 grain RN bullets opening up. At closer ranges in soft areas (Lung) they just poke holes. I still have one .257 and recently sold a Ruger Ultra-Lite at auction and it went for with in $20 of what I paid for it new over 20 years ago, and it was "hunting" scratched up. I believe it has a certain following, but there is nothing spectacular about the .257 Roberts.

Hard to blame the cartridge for the bullet, at least in my experience.

I've run Hornady and Remington 117 grain RNs in my 1949 vintage Winchester 94 carbine and have never had a problem with them not expanding, even at s-l-o-w-e-r 25/35 speeds.

JEff

Bob pretty well covered all the bases on the 257. I have hunted with the cartridge since the 1970's with a variety of different rifles and to answer MCT3's question, if one is putting a new barrel on utilizing this cartridge, a 1-9 twist is the way to go. Mine with that twist shoot all weights from the 75 grain Vmax on up very well. The past few seasons I have gotten to like the 110 Accubond's performance in the quarterbores and in a 1-9 twist barrel it really shoots well. I have not tried the 115 grain Barnes bullets yet with the quicker twist, but from what I have seen with other longer bullets, it should be the clear ticket. However, if I had a 1-10 twist barrel that was shooting the bullets that I want to use, I would leave things well enough alone.

Its one of the best. I feel confident in using it up to 300 yds on the small South Carolina whitetail.Nosler 117 gr Partition pushed hard sounds good to me.

Consider it PERFECT for deer. Mine gives me the warm/fuzzies every time I shoot it.

That's another thing I like about the Roberts. The 100gr Hornady is perfect for that chambering, so easy on the pocketbook with good results.


.

I used a Rem. 700 Classic in .257 back in the '80s sometime. I believe the barrel was twisted l-10. My most accurate load was with the 120 Hornady HP at about 2800 fps. (a very stiff load of I4831 according to the books.)

It was with this gun I had my very limited exposure to the Nosler BT bullets (100 gr.) Performance was so poor I have never since then bought another BT bullet. Have had a few given to me and these were just shot on paper.

Great gun and I think a fellow gun club member is still shooting it!

Jim

I have been very happy with the performance of the 100 grain TSX bullet.

Idholton,
Midway has those Hornady Interlock 117 BTSP's.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=277630

I killed my first deer with a .257 Roberts...desert mule deer, in 1949..over the next 60+ years I've killed lots of ungulates with more than fifteen different cartridges, none were any deader than that one.

I see a plenitude of Bob's on Gunbroker in the Ruger #1 configuration, as well as some 6.5x55's.

Great info guys. You are about to talk me into trying one for deer, but it is hard for me to get away from the .284 and .30 calibers. That is all I have ever know for deer. I think I am stuck in a rut and that is when I shoot a gun I want to make alot of noise and I want meat to hit the ground fast. I suppose the .257 Roberts will kill them just as dead with the correct shot placement.

And they hit the ground just as fast...Ingwewife has used one for years...

Excellent hunting for Ingwewife, you have yourself a good woman for sure. That�s a plus, having a woman that can shoot and bring home some meat. My wife shoots pistols, but if I can just get her to start hunting with me. Of course that will never happen; I don't think she could pull the trigger on Bambi.

I don't have any pictures of the deer I shot with it, but I assure you it's dead.

I was in the same boat as you. Never used anything but a .30-06 or a .308. Then I dislocated my shoulder and couldn't shoot them that summer. So I bought a Ruger MKII in .257R. It was fun to shoot, accurate, not real loud, and factory loadings were relitivly easy to find.

Once you practice with it and feel the lack of recoil, you'll LOVE it.

What gun is Ingwewife using?

If it works for you,don't "fix it"......if you're successful with what you use, it ain't a rut...

Tom its a Remington vintage 722 her dad got her when she was 16.....so that makes it 13 years old now....

Shes shot a pile of stuff with it, including a couple cow elk, and we typically run 100 grainers through it. NPTs TSXs and Horns....she has killed game with all of them...no favorites...

Dis one caught a 100 gr. Horn.@ 200 yds..

BIGR -

The .284 and .308 cartridges are very good, but don't underestimate the .25's. Was on an elk hunt a couple years back and saw a big bull elk, a cow and a very nice muley bock that had all been taken with a single shot from a .25-06 laoded with 117g bullets of unknown vintage. The shooter was a 12 year old girl from Wisconsin (or maybe Michigan, I forget).

No .257" is going to be my first choice for elk, but I often carry my Bob once my first elk is down and I'm focused on helping others fill their tags and maybe getting a mulie for myself. Loaded with WW +P brass and +P loads, my Bob quickly became my favorite rifle after I acquired it in 2004. 120g A-Frames during elk/deer season, 110g TTSX and 110g AB for antelope, 75g V-MAX for varmints of all sizes. Low recoil. You won't regret getting one.

Does ingwe dog hunt with you too, or just show up for the glory shots?

As much as I like the 257R, I don't think it's any more effective on deer sized game than a multitude of similar non-magnum cartridges The 243, 250/3000, 260, 6.5x55, 270Win 7mmMauser, 7/08, 280, 308, 30/06, 303British, 8mmMauser, 338Fed, 358Win, etc, etc, etc would all perform with equally good results on deer. Where the 257 does shine is that it is very easy to shoot [low recoil] and a well balanced round with enough power for longer range shooting, but is not overkill for the task.

.

Ingwedog used to hunt with us but is retired now ( she is 14...)...All she ever did was tag along at heel ( thats all thats legal...) and help us recover game that wasn't DRT....She recovered nearly fifty critters over the years for folks...

Shooting deer isn't as much of matter of shooting them as what you shoot them with. If all you want is a dead deer, then almost anything will work.

On the other hand, if you want to experience everything relating to deer hunting and outdoor opportunities, then the choice of caliber matters.

A 257 Roberts has nothing on dozens of newer cartridges and bullet combinations. It does, however, carry with it over 75 years of history that none of the WSM (Winchester Stupid Magnums) and more recent chamberings bring to the field.

In short, a 257 Roberts is a wonderful deer rifle with a 100 grain bullet at around 2900 FPS. You can't get the satisfaction shooting a Stainless Steel/Nylon stocked rifle in a newer chambering that you can with a nice old Model 70...

Thank you for that...

Here's my take on it ....

My take.
(short action and all....grin)

Sam where did you get the cartridge carrier...I like that!

Bob, Pat hooked me up with it.

It's a sweet design, works great with gloves(if you need an extra round....grin).

Something that will last 50 years or until a guy loses it.

Sam is that Pat as in Scenar Shooter "Pat"?

Mucho thanks.

Surprised no one has mentioned the 75 gr. Hornady hollow point for woodchucks. My uncle built my .257 on a Mauser action and I got it when I was 13. Killed a lot more woodchucks than deer although I have taken 4 or 5 whitetails and one mulie. All of them with Hornady's 100 gr. PSP

Bob, that would be the fellar.

Sam, is the Kimber the short action, or do you have another?

Tzone, one and only 84M. 2.815" COL max useable.

Sammo....dude....Kimbers don't shoot.....

Mmmm. I was thinking that of a .243. Maybe I buy a Rem .243 and a Kimber .257R?

Does Pat sell those ammo holders?

SamO,
PM incoming. I gotta get one of those!
Marty

For typical deer hunting, the .257Roberts is all that you need. I've taken 5 deer between 180-300+yrds with my Ruger m77 Roberts and the hornady 117grn spbt going mid 2700fps. 3 out of the 5 never took another step.

You can carry it in a light rifle, get light recoil, and better bullet weight than the 6mm's. My Ruger has shot 3 different loads at or under 1 moa. My best group to date is .278" @ 100yrds.

My favorite quote about the Roberts:"It'll dance with the .270." and it does.

No need for special bullets, bonded, tipped, mono metal, etc. The cartridge delivers great trejectory without applying too much force on standard bullets, which would lead to bullet failures, blow ups, etc. My wife and 11yr old daughter also hunt with it, and no worries about recoil, or not holding up its end of the bargain.

When I bought it I was looking for a step down from my 300winmag, and I've been very happy with it.

I shot a 149" buck and two does with it this past season.

I have killed a few with the .257 Roberts and so has my son. I have also killed several with a 7mm/08, and a couple with the .270.

I will always have a soft spot for the 7mm/08. It is a great cartridge. That said, the .257 seems to kill as good with less noise. It also kills deer as well as the .270 does with less recoil.

One of these days, I will stumble on a Winchester featherweight in .257 Roberts, and I'll bring it home. I have found that I don't care for a short action roberts for my own purposes, and then I'll be all set.

Good luck.