Hunted last two weekends carrying a 45 Colt Rossi carbine and a 7-08 M7 Remington. Saw deer both times just not the big buck I know is there. Leaving Thursday and will stay till Sunday this trip and I am going to trade of between my 444 Marlin in the morning and my 257 Roberts in the evening. I recently scratched the old Leupold 4x's rear lense so today I mounted a Bushnell Trophy 3x9 on it and sighted it in. Cold out there but I got er done. I have Hornady 117 SPBT's, Sierra 117 SPBT's, Speer 120 gr. Mag Tips and Speer SPBT's loaded for it. They all hit within an inch of each other with the variation being vertical. The odds are that i am going to get a shot as the rut is just beginning and I am legally able to shoot 3 does and 2 bucks though I will only shoot 1 doe and 1 buck the whole season. The target buck is around 200 pounds live weight, his horns are non typical super high and his brow tines are at least 10 inches tall. There is another nice buck this one an even 8 point with a bigger body than the other one. Which bullet does this eclectic group of deer hunters suggest I use?

257 Roberts the whole time, yes the 120 gr bullet will do just fine.

The 120 grain Speer Mag Tips.

That was the bullet I was thinking of using. It shoots particularly well in this rifle as it has a long throat. Do you think it will get through a shoulder easily and do enough damage? I probably won't hit the shoulder but maybe.

I know Speer makes 257 120grainers in SBT, Grand Slam, and formerly Hot Core and Deep Curl configurations. But I do not recall them making a 257 120gr Mag Tip.

They had them on sale at Midway so I bought a couple of boxes. Before I started using a lot of Partitions the 30 caliber 180 grain Mag Tip was a good elk bullet for me.

Actually your right they are Grand Slams. Must be slipping but did like the Mag Tips in my 30-06.

My guess is it should.

No one can hunt with a scratched rear lens. Cant be done.

Well it is a huge scratch! Worst I have seen on a scope lense.

I use handloaded 90 gr Barnes X bullets in my 257 Roberts A LOT! I also have a couple boxes of Hornady 117 SBT factory loads hanging around. Of those you listed, I'd use the Hornady's first and the Grand Slams second.

My latest Loony project is my 24" .257R Brux M-700 that I put in an OEM take off stock, painted to make it a bit less ugly. May have overdone the webbing...

It will shoot the 120 NPT over MRP into 3/4" inch groups at around 2,800+ fps. Scope is a 3-9x40 Conquest with Z-plex reticle in low LW Talley's.

That should whack about anything I'm going to be hunting. I may take it this weekend; our local rut is about to get interesting. They were running last weekend, saw a bunch of deer.

DF

120s usually go with me in my 25-06. Another vote for the Grand Slam's.

I killed my first deer a long time ago with a Winchester post 64 featherweight 257 Roberts and a Speer 120 grain Hot Core over an appropriate charge of IMR 4350. I ended up taking several deer with that combination before I moved on to other rounds. I have an FN Mauser in 257 now. I've not hunted it much but still love the round. I load 120 Partitions now but think it would be hard to fault any of the available 117-120 grain bullets for deer with a 257 Roberts.

dirtfarmer, I like your web pattern.

My Ruger M77 likes Barnes 100 TTSX and Hybrid 100V. Velocity is north of 3000 fps.

However, deer don't like it at all.

Thanks.

It’s growing on me.

DF

In a 24" barrel, you can move that speed on up to near 25-06 terriroty without pressure issues.

COAL too long for a SA, It is a killer, WT's and hogs definitly don't like it... Will do do a job on a 'yote...

DF

My Ruger M77 is a long action thankfully.

My buddy has a Remington 722 and he has to seat his bullets MUCH deeper in the cases than I do.

BTW, that is the exact powder and charge that I use in my Ruger!

I got some of these loads from gunner500 who had traded his Roberts for a 280AI. I don't generally shoot other peoples reloads, but no problem with someone like him. Those rounds are seated at the top ring for a shorter COAL and shoot about as well as these. Monos generally like to jump, so no big deal with the shorter round length if one has a SA.

I wish they made more 3" actions, which would be about perfect for several mid length rounds that otherwise get crammed into a 2.8" SA.

DF

My rifle generally performs best with an COAL of 3.00 inches depending on ogive but pretty close generally. This Ruger Ultra lite is the most finicky rifle I have ever owned, never seen anything like it. Is it the barrel? The cartridge design? It is free floated, has a Timney trigger and with certain loads is a really good shooter notably with boat tail bullets for some reason. It should not take a box of bullets or more to find a load it likes. Or several different powers either. For instance the Grand Slams shoot adequately with AA 4350 but barely under 2 inches and IMR 4350 with any load generally 3.5 to 4 inch groups! With 120 gr. Speer BTSP's, 117 Hornady BTSP's, Sierra 117 BTSP's and the 100 gr. Ballistic Tips once you find the magic load will shoot MOA or better. The difference of one grain of powder can make a 2-3 inch difference in groups size. Do a lot of 257 Roberts rifles exhibit this behavior? I have a Ruger 77 in 270 that shoots everything well and load development is hardly anything more than deciding what velocity level you want to run, looking in a manual to get data and loading them up.

IME, the Roberts is more finicky than a Creed, but most are.

That one sounds pretty extreme.

If it was mine and acting like that, it may end up with a new barrel.

DF

Exactly what I was thinking. I carried the rifle from Thursday night to Saturday night, saw 10-12 deer but nothing I wanted to spend a buck tag on. Got a call from the wife saying I ought to shoot a young one for Thanksgiving. But for some reason I switched out to my 7-08, first deer I saw Sunday morning was a yearling doe and my M7 7-08 did the deed.