257 Roberts

DANCESWITHEMPTIES

DANCESWITHEMPTIES

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Wondering what the minimum barrel length should be for a 257 Roberts, without handicapping the cartridge? And what would be the optimum twist for that barrel length, with say, around a 100 grain bullet? This build would be on a No.1 action with hunting & occasional plinking in mind. Thanks in advance for any input.
 
mbogo3 said:
I'd run a 1-10 twist at 24" with IMR4350
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That is good to hear!! I have IMR 4350 here, and a 24" 10" twist McGowen long chamber barrel to fit into a cute Mauser 98 action - except my centre rest on lathe kinda got wrecked by stupid me - so have to fix that, to set headspace!! But will get done!!!! Hoping that 115 Partitions at heavy end, and 75 grain V-Max on light end, work out for 257 Roberts ... Is almost silly, though, I already have a good 22-250, 243 Win and several 6.5x55 - going to have to split some things very finely to ID what one can do, that the others can not!!!
 
For 100 grain bullets a 1-12 and even a 1-14 will usually work quite well, other than ELD and VLD types. The 1-14 twist can be hit or miss with SPBT bullets of that weight. Flat base will stabilize very well, as long as your velocities are over 2700fps.

I've built several rifles chambered for the 257Rob, as well as having factory chambered rifles.

The rifle with the shortest barrel was a lovely little M70 FWT. It only had a 20 inch, #2 contour barrel, with a 1-12 twist rate but it shot extremely well with all shapes of 100 grain bullets.

The load I used was 42.0 grains of W748, over CCI 250 primers, under 100grain Hornady #2540 Interlock, for 2800+fps. This was a Hot load but OK in my rifle.

The longest barrel I used was on a Ruger No1, 26 inches, with a #3 contour and a 1-10 twist rate.

The bullets I used for this rifle were the same as those used in the M70. However, I changed the powder to 46.0 grains of W760, over CCI 250 primers. This load shot consistently into 1/2 moa groups out past 300 yards, at 3000+fps at the muzzle.

I wanted to get a bit more out of it, for whatever reason seemed relevant at the time, so recut the chamber to the 257AI. I gained another 25fps with the same powder and even lost velocities with some of the others I tried. It was still very accurate though.

My present 257 Roberts is a Remington 700 Classic, 22 in bbl, 1-10 twist rate and it will shoot all bullet weights and lengths well, right up to the 120 grain weight.

Velocities with 100 grain bullets are right around 2950fs with the same load of W760 as above.
 
I currently own a stock Ruger 77 MK II in 257 Roberts using 120 grain bullets with good success and absolutely loved the cartridge from years back before owning my own rifle. I have a Ruger No.1V in 22-250 I bought new & used it out west when I lived there. Now that I'm back east again I may look at getting it re-worked to a more usable cartridge for this area. I figure a 100 grainer (or there about) in a single shot, is a void in my gun rack that needs filling. The idea was to have the most compact rifle with at least a 14" l.o.p. Weight isn't as critical now, as I'm not hoofing it like I use to. I see RJ Renner out of Nevada does beautiful conversions, but have yet to contact them or research anyone who has used their services. Let alone the quag of shipping & return. I know I'll have to find and price what it would cost using a Canadian gunsmith. I do need a No.1 in this cartridge though... LOL!... & a 22 hornet come to think of it... Again, thanks for the input!
 
Markin & Webber, out of Kelowna, BC do every bit as good a job as Renner.

Quicker turn around time, no border hassles, and I'm willing to bet cheaper.
 
bearhunter said:
For 100 grain bullets a 1-12 and even a 1-14 will usually work quite well, other than ELD and VLD types. The 1-14 twist can be hit or miss with SPBT bullets of that weight. Flat base will stabilize very well, as long as your velocities are over 2700fps.

I've built several rifles chambered for the 257Rob, as well as having factory chambered rifles.

The rifle with the shortest barrel was a lovely little M70 FWT. It only had a 20 inch, #2 contour barrel, with a 1-12 twist rate but it shot extremely well with all shapes of 100 grain bullets.

The load I used was 42.0 grains of W748, over CCI 250 primers, under 100grain Hornady #2540 Interlock, for 2800+fps. This was a Hot load but OK in my rifle.

The longest barrel I used was on a Ruger No1, 26 inches, with a #3 contour and a 1-10 twist rate.

The bullets I used for this rifle were the same as those used in the M70. However, I changed the powder to 46.0 grains of W760, over CCI 250 primers. This load shot consistently into 1/2 moa groups out past 300 yards, at 3000+fps at the muzzle.

I wanted to get a bit more out of it, for whatever reason seemed relevant at the time, so recut the chamber to the 257AI. I gained another 25fps with the same powder and even lost velocities with some of the others I tried. It was still very accurate though.

My present 257 Roberts is a Remington 700 Classic, 22 in bbl, 1-10 twist rate and it will shoot all bullet weights and lengths well, right up to the 120 grain weight.

Velocities with 100 grain bullets are right around 2950fs with the same load of W760 as above.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the twist? Maybe I'm nuts but years ago the .244 Remington's reputation was ruined by a slow twist that reputedly wouldnt stabilize 100 grain 24 calibre bullets. Remington marketed the 244 as a varmint round with a 90 grain bullet. Winchester sold the .243 with a 1-10 inch twist and buried the .244 Remington. By the time Remington realized their mistake the 244 was done though a great round. Reintroduced as the 6mm Remington with a faster twist and had some success.
 
Mike Webb said:
Not sure about the twist? Maybe I'm nuts but years ago the .244 Remington's reputation was ruined by a slow twist that reputedly wouldnt stabilize 100 grain 24 calibre bullets. Remington marketed the 244 as a varmint round with a 90 grain bullet. Winchester sold the .243 with a 1-10 inch twist and buried the .244 Remington. By the time Remington realized their mistake the 244 was done though a great round. Reintroduced as the 6mm Remington with a faster twist and had some success.
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I've shot several 257 Rob rifles with 1-14 twist rates and they've shot the flat base bullets very well.

Can't say the same for boat tail bullets though.

As mentioned, velocities have to be around 2800fps or faster to get them to stabilize in a reliable/repeatable manner.

The early rifles were built on 93 Mauser actions and velocities were limited by the safe pressure limits on those rifles.

I have an early 244 Remington, with a 24in, 1-14 twist barrel. Lovely rifle chambered in a Remington Mod 721.

If I load to the velocities and pressures listed in the early manuals, this rifle won't shoot 100 grain bullets, with either flat or boat tail base bullets.

Comparing a .243 diameter bullet to a .257 diameter bullet doesn't make much sense as the same weight bullets in each diameter are of different lengths. The 257 is noticeably shorter, which makes it easier to stabilize.

As soon as muzzle velocities are over 2900 fps, this rifle is consistently very accurate. There's plenty of room in the case for relatively modern powders of the ball type to get those velocities up there.
 
DANCESWITHEMPTIES said:
Wondering what the minimum barrel length should be for a 257 Roberts, without handicapping the cartridge? And what would be the optimum twist for that barrel length, with say, around a 100 grain bullet? This build would be on a No.1 action with hunting & occasional plinking in mind. Thanks in advance for any input.
Click to expand...
Built a .257AI on a pushfeed M70 with a Benchmark 1 in 9" twist barrel at 24". It handles everything up to 115-117 gr quite well.
 
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