257 Roberts

I've got one handed down to me that is built on a mauser action.

I reload for it but don't hardly shoot it. Very soft recoil and I know it has put a fair amount of meat on the table before it was handed off to me.

Great round. Just overshadowed by the 243.

VoodooMountain said:

Great round. Just overshadowed by the 243.

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Yes, beaten by advertising, the short action fad, and mediocre factory ballistics.

mshootnit said:

Are there any intermediate length actions common today which could reasonably fit a roberts with 120 gr. pills? Or is long action pretty much it.

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The Yugoslavian "Intermediate" Mauser actions fit this application. Neither a "Long" nor a "Short" action, it's designed specifically for the 8X57mmJS cartridge and is a good fit for any ?X57mm cartridge. It has its own issues with stocks, scope bases, etc. Not impossible by any means but lower availability of things than a true "Long" action like the Zastava LK M70 which can use stocks, scope bases, etc. for FN commercial Mauser actions.

Jim Watson said:

It is about the most extreme case of needing to be "loaded to its full potential" that I know of, though. Few of the theories about its factory load design hold water.

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I can get 2900fps from a 100gr bullet loaded to SAAMI spec (51K PSI Pmax, respecting old steel) out of a 22" barrel, or 3000fps if I'm willing to bump PMax to 56K PSI.

My .257 Robert’s is a Remington 721. My Grandfather swore by it, killing a barge load of hill country white tails with it firing either R-P 100 gr core lokt or Win 100 gr Silvertips when he was alive.

I don’t get to shoot it much, but when I do it’s a lot of fun.

Nice pick up on the Model 7, those look amazing with the maple stocks!

Stay safe.

As mentioned in previous posts, the .257 Roberts was done in by the advent of of the .243 Win, which is largely correct, but the truth of the matter is that the Roberts was never all that popular anyway. Certainly never popular to the degree that the .243 was soon to achieve. Winchester's sales records of their M-70 Roberts, which was offered for several years, indicate it was never more than marginally popular. Which is why Pre-64 Roberts are hard to find and now fetch top dollar. Curiously, sales of .257 M-70's suddenly increased in late 1950's-early 1960's. A sales boost that was eventually found to be due to the promotion of the ..25/06, which at that time had become a popular wildcat and could be quickly and easily created by simply rechambering existing .257 Roberts M-70's and adjusting magazine length and bolt stop. I've had two such M-70 conversions, both of which had be shot-out beyond redemption which then, as now, seems to have been the fate of .25/06's in the hands of exuberant handloaders. The Roberts has a cult following that ensure it stays alive and well spoken of, and is occasionally resuscitated by new generation gun writers who discover it is pleasant to shoot and tends to kill whatever it is pointed at. I have a couple of .257 Roberts: One a Remington M-722 of 1950's vintage that I especially enjoy shooting because it reminds me, once again, that 722's of that era were spooky accurate. The other, was built on a much modified Argentine DWM action and dressed up with pretty wood.

I don't shoot it that often but I've got a custom Mauser in .257 Roberts. It's a good gun but I had it built when I was a lot younger and less knowledgeable and had a medium-ish contour barrel put on it. Since the setup is more hunting oriented than target I really should have put a lighter sporter contour barrel on it, but it's still cool and the recoil with it being a bit heavy is completely nil.

The base action was a 1938 Turkish Mauser and the stock is Myrtle wood, which has a nice unique look from the more common Walnut.

I've got a tang safety red pad Ruger M77 .257 Roberts. I like it, fun to shoot. Never shot a deer with it. Too many rifles and too little time.

M8 6X Leupold.

I went to look at what I was told was a Rem. 722 in .257Bob.
Gun was UG-LEEeeeeee! And, it was a 257AI of some flavor or another. I passed. I'm not looking for another rebarrel project.

OP, congrats. That's a gorgeous rifle. Enjoy it.

A-eod; pics or it didn’t happen!

I wish all the data would be updated for modern rifles. I look at some pretty watered down data on Nosler, and it does not inspire confidence.

If you guys want some educated guess data I can run it on quickloads

I've got a savage in 257ai that I like, but the barrel is shot out of. I'm mostly just shooting it now to burn up components. Most if my brass has been ackley'd, but I have some regular 257bob brass, a couple hundred bullets, and I think a lee die set in 257 roberts I could be talked out of. Pm me if interested and I can take a look in the bob box.

Also have a browning a-bolt in 257 roberts.

(Savage is going to be rebarreled with a short 308 factory takeoff barrel for use with a suppressor. Much as I'd like to do a 280ai, the 308 makes more sense for me at this time.)

LoonWulf said:

If you guys want some educated guess data I can run it on quickloads

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I have Quickload load data as well that I'm always willing to share, and it's been shot and verified.

mshootnit said:

I wish all the data would be updated for modern rifles. I look at some pretty watered down data on Nosler, and it does not inspire confidence.

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You would have to get SAAMI to rewrite the specifications. For some reason (and the usual legend does not hold water) the Roberts is lightly loaded.

Or of course you can overload it to whatever rbernie's computer says or what the old time writers souped it up to based on "pressure signs."

SAAMI MAP (max average pressure) for the 257 Roberts is 54K PSI, and 58K for the +P spec. I run most of my loads to hit a PMax of 50K-52K PSI at 70F, since I live in Texas and routinely shoot when it's > 95F. There is no real need to push the Bob very hard to get decent performance. My standard range load is a 100gr Speer GD running just over 2900fps over the chrono out of a 22" barrel.





If I need better than this, I grab the 25-06 or the 257 Weatherby. No need to try to make the Bob into the Weatherby when that's not its intent.

I've always understood that the Roberts was a short, standard length cartridge, i.e. too long for a short action with big game bullets, anyway. I've got a buddy who's a 257 fan, and his handloads OAL with 120g bullets are almost as long as my 270's. Did they making Model 7's on standard action? Thought they were short action only.

Seems like a Mauser would be the right length action... for a 6.35x57.

They can be built on a long action too. I’ve got one built on a Springfield action. That gives a lot of magazine room for long pointy bullets.

It was once popular to put .30-06 magazine follower and bolt stop in a Model 70 Roberts, too.

army_eod said:

Short action

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I'll be. Just looking at reloading info for the 257: SAAMI OAL shorter than a 308. All of a sudden I find the Roberts way more interesting than I ever have. And I've got an "extra" M77 308. Maybe a new barrel...

I've read a lot over my lifetime about how the Mauser derived chamberings (Xx57) needed a 'longer-than-a-traditional-short-action' action length. And yet when loading for 257 Roberts, I find that most 25cal field bullets (and the SAAMI chamber spec for 257 Roberts) have been designed for traditional short actions, and I almost always wind up with an OAL in the ballpark of 2.75"-2.80" (even thought I have a Savage short action with a bolt throw / magazine box that will accommodate up to 3.0" OAL). Only the 115-135gr VLDs really seem to be able to use the extra length that the Savage offers, and even then not fully due to the SAAMI chamber specs for leade/freebore.

For example, if I try to seat the 120gr Speer Grand Slam out much past 2.815", then I will wind up jamming the bullet hard into the lands and being unable to close the bolt (or force it closed and seat the bullet deeper during chambering). This is true using barrels made by a number of different manufacturers, all of whom use SAAMI spec reamers. Until the heavy-for-caliber VLD designs hit the quarter bore bullet market in force (e.g. 135gr-140gr eVLD) or somebody really wants to pay for a specialty chamber reamer / custom barrel with significantly more leade, I'm not seeing a need to ever worry about 257 Roberts being 'limited' to a 2.8" OAL from a traditional short action.