.257 Roberts?

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First Shirt
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by First Shirt »

Yeah, but I know where the buyer is!

Honestly, if he's careful about where he places his shot, and uses good ammo, a .257 Roberts will handle 90% of the live targets he will ever encounter in North America.

And he never has to worry about someone "borrowing" his ammo.
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slowpoke
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by slowpoke »

First Shirt wrote:Something to think about....

A quick check of Gunbroker shows the following,

In bolt-action rifles, we have:
.257 Roberts -- 40 listings.
.260 Rem. -- 75 listings.
6.5 Creedmoor -- 101 listings.
7mm-08 -- 808 listings.

Didn't check .243, because I assumed you'd already done that.

That's just for bolt-action rifles. (not gonna say "I told ya' so.) :D
I expect this is a chicken/egg thing. There are that many more 7mm-08's because Savage, Ruger, Mossberg, etc make their budget guns in that caliber, so more guns, more ammo. Did demand drive it, or was it an easier way to fill the gap between 6mm-08 and 308(7.62-08?) rather than 6.5mm-08(260)? All good callibers though. I think creedmore will mostly drive off the 260 from what I am seeing, Ruger even makes an american rifle in it.
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Termite
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by Termite »

D5CAV wrote:The bigger issue for me is ammo. It sounds like the round is pretty much handloaded. That might be a teachable moment for nephew.
The price on the rifle is attractive enough that I'll probably end up with the rifle, although I'll probably regret it after I buy the .257 Roberts handloading dies.

Wish me luck finding ammo.
Unless your idea of ammo shopping restricts you to Wally World or similiar stores, ammo is available. Midway has 5 varieties, Cabelas has 2. Buy in quantity.
The Hornady Superformance .257 Roberts +P with the 117 SST bullet is deadly on deer. Or, as you say, you can handload. I have a .257 Roberts, have taken numerous deer with it, and have handloaded for it. Generally any powder that works well for the .270 Winchester will work in the Roberts, but check your reloading manuals.

As for the bolt not being original, check your headspace. Go/no-go gauges can be purchased. You can also check locking lug engagement using dye.
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D5CAV
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by D5CAV »

Termite wrote:Unless your idea of ammo shopping restricts you to Wally World or similiar stores, ammo is available. Midway has 5 varieties, Cabelas has 2. Buy in quantity.
The Hornady Superformance .257 Roberts +P with the 117 SST bullet is deadly on deer. Or, as you say, you can handload. I have a .257 Roberts, have taken numerous deer with it, and have handloaded for it. Generally any powder that works well for the .270 Winchester will work in the Roberts, but check your reloading manuals.

As for the bolt not being original, check your headspace. Go/no-go gauges can be purchased. You can also check locking lug engagement using dye.
Thanks for the ammo hints. The local Cabelas didn't have any on the shelf, so I guess it will have to be mail order.

I think I'll just take it to a gunsmith. I have go/no-go/field gauges for .223 Rem, .308 Win and .30-06, which cost about $100 per set IIRC. It's worth it to have those gauges because I have multiple rifles in those calibers. I don't plan on having any more .257 Roberts.
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Netpackrat
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by Netpackrat »

Honestly, if it will chamber a loaded round, all you really need to verify safe headspace is a field gauge.
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