.257 Roberts?

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D5CAV
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.257 Roberts?

Post by D5CAV »

Nephew wants to try hunting.

Was going to buy him a .243 Win, but friend recommended .257 Roberts as a better compromise round. He says better downrange performance for about same recoil.

What says the board?
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PawPaw
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by PawPaw »

The "Bob" is a great idea, but:

There's nothing that the .257 Roberts will do that the .243 won't do. We have better bullets now than we did 20 years ago, and while the .243 suffered from poor bullet construction, these days the 6mm bullets are awesome.

The .243 has ammo that is more universally available. I can't recall the last time I saw a box of .257 Roberts on the shelf. It's pretty much a handloader's cartridge. Likewise factory firearms. Who makes the Bob in a factory rifle today?

If you want your nephew to have more "oomph" than the .243 (depending on the game he's seeking) step up to the .260 Remington. Factory ammo is available, factory rifles are available and it's a damned fine caliber.

Don't get me wrong, I like the .257 Roberts. The quarter-bore rounds are one of my soft-spots. But, unless you're willing to build a rifle, it makes a whole lot more sense to go with the .243 or the .260. They're both wonderfully effective cartridges and I wouldn't feel under-gunned in the whitetail camp with either one.
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First Shirt
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by First Shirt »

Part of the problem is that it's neither fish nor fowl. Most American bolt guns are for either .308 or .30-06 length cases. But the Bob is based on the 7x57 case, so it's too long for one, and too short for the other.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I have a friend who uses the .257 Roberts for everything from coyotes to elk, but that's a case of "beware the man with only one gun, he probably knows how to use it."

If I were doing it, and wanted something bigger than a .243, I'd probably go with a 7mm-08, especially if I was handloading.
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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slowpoke
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by slowpoke »

PawPaw wrote:The "Bob" is a great idea, but:

There's nothing that the .257 Roberts will do that the .243 won't do. We have better bullets now than we did 20 years ago, and while the .243 suffered from poor bullet construction, these days the 6mm bullets are awesome.

The .243 has ammo that is more universally available. I can't recall the last time I saw a box of .257 Roberts on the shelf. It's pretty much a handloader's cartridge. Likewise factory firearms. Who makes the Bob in a factory rifle today?

If you want your nephew to have more "oomph" than the .243 (depending on the game he's seeking) step up to the .260 Remington. Factory ammo is available, factory rifles are available and it's a damned fine caliber.

Don't get me wrong, I like the .257 Roberts. The quarter-bore rounds are one of my soft-spots. But, unless you're willing to build a rifle, it makes a whole lot more sense to go with the .243 or the .260. They're both wonderfully effective cartridges and I wouldn't feel under-gunned in the whitetail camp with either one.
Around here you are more likely to find 6.5creedmore than 260 remington, both ammo and guns.
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First Shirt
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by First Shirt »

slowpoke wrote: Around here you are more likely to find 6.5creedmore than 260 remington, both ammo and guns.
Yeah, but you're more likely to find 7mm-08 than either one of them. I've even seen the "managed recoil" 7-08 loads in some of the local pawn shops. And I really like the 7-08! (I must like it. I own three, and am reloading for 6!!)
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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NVGdude
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by NVGdude »

.257 Roberts is a necked down 7mm Mauser.

Ammo is reasonably available, but "Reasonably Available" means about as available as 6.5x55 Sweedish Mauser. I'd rather shoot the 6.5 Sweed over the Roberts anyway.

Also, nobody has made a factory rifle in .257 Roberts for longer than I can remember.

6.5 Creedmore is a better choice. Ammo is plentiful, but Rifles are hard to find as they seem to sell pretty quickly. The 7mm-08 has also become surprisingly popular. While it was created for rifle silhouette shooting, it's flatter trajectory has endeared it to hunters as well.

My .243 is plenty accurate, but I bought it for hunting coyotes, not large game. With some of the newer more heavily constructed bullets I'm sure it would do ok on smaller Deer though.
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First Shirt
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by First Shirt »

NVGdude wrote: Also, nobody has made a factory rifle in .257 Roberts for longer than I can remember.
Ruger made their No. 1 in .257 Roberts a few years ago. (Five years, maybe?) But being a single-shot, it didn't have the issues that a bolt gun would have.
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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First Shirt
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by First Shirt »

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
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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D5CAV
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by D5CAV »

Thanks!

Knowing my weakness, my friend is offering his pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in .257 Roberts.

To further temp me, he's priced it so low that it would already be in my gun safe if it was .308 or .30-06.

Ammo seems to be an issue

I didn't measure it, but the action looks about the same as .308 or .243 size.

Someone mentioned the 7mm case needs a longer action?
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HTRN
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Re: .257 Roberts?

Post by HTRN »

I think pre64 only came as long actions. And I wouldn't mod a pre64 in something other than 30-06,they're just too valuable.

If you can get a deal,great! But 257 wouldn't be my first choice if you decide to build something.
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