Tell me about the .257 Roberts
- Thread starter philthygeezer
- Start date
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
One of my favourites !
I load 75 gr. V-Max for varmints and 100 gr. Noslers for deer.
My current "Bob" is a walnut/blue 700 Mountain w/ floor plate
and a Leupold VX-II 2-7 in QR mounts.
Quit accurate, light enough and very little recoil.
I load 75 gr. V-Max for varmints and 100 gr. Noslers for deer.
My current "Bob" is a walnut/blue 700 Mountain w/ floor plate
and a Leupold VX-II 2-7 in QR mounts.
Quit accurate, light enough and very little recoil.
Based on the 8x57 mauser case, same as the 7x57, 257 Roberts, and 6mm Remington(244 Remington), it is an excellent platform to start with, the Bob has been a favourite of many for a long time, it just works well. That and it is also pretty classy, lol.
I'm interested in hearing about it also. I have a .308 target rifle but would like to add another with nice wood to be mostly shot at the range. On a rare occasion it might be used on a coyote at 200 yards. Would the Bob be a good cartridge for this or one of the 6.5x cartridges? I'm thinking of a Cooper. I'm normally shooting out to 300m at the range and reloading Don't plan to hunt with it - got a Win 70 in 30-06 as an all round hunting rig.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Any standard cartridge, including your .30-06, shoots very flat to 300 yards, so I wouldn't be looking for vast trajectory gains. In fact you'd only notice a difference on very small varmint like gophers.
The .257 Roberts is a really lovely cartridge. A better big game round than the .243, and its equal as a varminter, it's in the class of the "biggest" varmint rounds and transcends into the big game class nicely. .250 Savage, also great, .25-06 burns too much powder for my liking, but also has the same characteristics.
I find myself without a Quarter Bob at the moment, my last one was a Ruger 77 Hawkeye, with nice walnut... that I butchered with an India Rosewood Mannlicher tip, grip cap and Butt spacer... she sold at the range, I guess the light hit her just right... or maybe it was a full box through one hole at 100 yards! My hunting load was 115 grain Nosler Partitions over H4350... it is a very fine classic cartridge... lends itself well to a light carry FS.
I like it cause it's cool,but I'd take a .260 first
Same and have owned both. 257 ackley is a super cool compact cartridge. I'd say the weakness is the lack of bullet choices in that calber. Bracketed by 6mm and 6.5 of which both have huge precision/target rifle followings.
Great calibre 85-120 gr and one of the better rds out there, Have a Rem.722 that is 60 yrs old and one very good shooter. And all I ever shot is Sierra bullets, never got around to all this new type bullets. Possible sale if anybody interested.
I like it cause it's cool,but I'd take a .260 first
The .260 or 6.5-08 AS is why I no longer have the Quarter Bob... it got sold for the .260 project... I now shoot and enjoy the .308 family immensely (.243, .260, 7mm-08 and .308).
I shot a .257 for many years on pronghorn back home in west Texas - it's a beautiful flat-shooting little round. When I moved to Ontario I (reluctantly) sold it coz I was after bigger game at way shorter ranges and I wanted someone to own that gun who would use it well. I sold it to a young woman from Odessa who i understand is still using it 25 years later.....
Love its successor though - my BLR .308.....
Love its successor though - my BLR .308.....
I bought a 257 Roberts back in the 1980's, when Remington issued their 700 "Classic" in that chambering.
Original barrel shot lights out with boattail bullets, but did not care for FB ones.
Since I bought it to hunt, and use Partitions a lot, I had a similar contour Shilen screwed on.
The thing was unreal!! It grouped almost every bullet I tried well, and the 115/120 partitions would regularly turn in groups around 5/8"
I took a fair bit of game with it, including a couple of moose, using the 120 Partition at 3060 fps. [yes, you read correctly, lol]
No flies on the 257 Bob. Mild recoil, accurate and effective.
Regards, Eagleye.
Original barrel shot lights out with boattail bullets, but did not care for FB ones.
Since I bought it to hunt, and use Partitions a lot, I had a similar contour Shilen screwed on.
The thing was unreal!! It grouped almost every bullet I tried well, and the 115/120 partitions would regularly turn in groups around 5/8"
I took a fair bit of game with it, including a couple of moose, using the 120 Partition at 3060 fps. [yes, you read correctly, lol]
No flies on the 257 Bob. Mild recoil, accurate and effective.
Regards, Eagleye.
The word that best describes the 257 Roberts is "balance". With a good 100gr bullet @ 3000fps, it is perfect for deer hunting. Lots of power, easy to shoot with little recoil and a classic/cool round to boot. Some folk say it's not big enough for larger animals, but that's the point as it's perfect for deer. Just right! If you need more for larger game, buy a 30/06.
I've owned a 3" 257 Roberts for years.
I've owned a 3" 257 Roberts for years.
- Location
- Yellowknife, NWT
I'm on my second Roberts. This one is a Hawkeye and my best groups so far have been 120-grain Speers over H4831; I've shot a couple of 1.5-inch groups at 200 yards but really, they average right around MOA. I have yet to make a truly accurate 100-grain load, but I may just try some 4350; I hear it's the bee's knees.
The Roberts is a mild-mannered, flexible cartridge that will perform lots of hunting chores from varmints to big game. I am a bit recoil-shy and find the Roberts with +P handloads a joy to shoot. I have tried the only non-+P load left, the Remington 117-grain, and it feels exactly the same as shooting a .250 Savage.
I have only shot one deer to date with the Roberts, a good big whitetail doe at about 40 yards quartering on. It was an absolutely perfect DRT, that deer just fell in her tracks and never even twitched.
I agree with some other posters that the .260 Rem and 6.5 Swede are a bit more flexible due to their ability to shoot heavier bullets well, but I find it hard to give up my sentimental attachment to the .257 Roberts.
The Roberts is a mild-mannered, flexible cartridge that will perform lots of hunting chores from varmints to big game. I am a bit recoil-shy and find the Roberts with +P handloads a joy to shoot. I have tried the only non-+P load left, the Remington 117-grain, and it feels exactly the same as shooting a .250 Savage.
I have only shot one deer to date with the Roberts, a good big whitetail doe at about 40 yards quartering on. It was an absolutely perfect DRT, that deer just fell in her tracks and never even twitched.
I agree with some other posters that the .260 Rem and 6.5 Swede are a bit more flexible due to their ability to shoot heavier bullets well, but I find it hard to give up my sentimental attachment to the .257 Roberts.
Mine in it's current form. Bevan King built this for me years ago.
The age old SA (2.8") vs LA (3") debate.
Nice, accurate rifle! I think I like the long action fit better as the bullets don't protrude into the powder space...
I'll never understand the big deal about a quarter inch of bolt throw.
