257 Roberts vs. 6mm Remington

Well, not too upset the folks that love the 257 Roberts, I like it too and it's a round that does a lots of jobs well and is filled with charisma and nostalgia, but I would go with the 6mm because I think rifles chambered for 6mm Rem are more often real tack drivers then are rifles chambered in 257. Since punching holes in paper is number one on the list that is the one I'd go with. If shooting targets wasn't such a high priority I might have chosen the other way around... The 257 might be a lil better on hogs and a 300 yrd mule deer. I just never see anybody out shooting sub-MOA with a 257, but maybe that's just me.... With a 6mm it's common if not the norm... That could be just because there are so few new rifles made in 257 and that most of the 257's are older then the 6mm's, but I don't think that's all there is to it...

I think you also will find a better selection of bullets in 6mm as well...

Based on my observations and a two rifle sample (one of each),

6mm: Remington 788 was a 0.5" 5-shot group gun at a100 yards. I killed deer with it out to 325 yards, but the terminal ballistic performance was not quite as good as I would like (But, dead is dead and killed 30 deer with it).

257 Roberts: Ruger M77 Lightweight (My SILs gun.) While not as accurate as the 6 mm, she has killed an impressive number of deer with it, and the terminal ballistic performance is more impressive than the 6 mm.

This tends to make me feel that the 257 Roberts is a better hunting gun for the game listed, but the 6 mm is better on the range.

Just a note, all other things being equal, the 257 Roberts will tend to drive bullets of the same weight a little faster than the 6 mm Remington. The question is how much pressure the action and cartridge case can stand.

What is more important, nostalgia or performance. Both will get the job done, but there are much better options for bullets in 6mm. Get it twisted right and you can shoot 115 gr 6mm bullets that will easily out perform anything in 257 Roberts. And it'll kill deer a lot farther than 300 if you choose to do so.

I agree that it will kill farther than 300 yds. The question is: Can I?

257 roberts, because I like them

mshootnit said:

Some of us here have been toying with the idea of rebarreling a 10-16-14 Savage w/ DBM to either 257 Roberts, or 6mm Remington. 24" barrel. That would be the platform.
The intended uses listed in order of probable actual use:
1. Punching holes in paper while shamelessly shirking responsibility and subsequently bragging about it on the internet.
2. Seriously: good sized whitetail and mule deer to 300 yds.
3. Hog hunting
4. Coyotes

Which would you pick and why?

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6mm. It has better bullet selection than 257.
The 6mm is a surprisingly good cartridge that has been abandoned because Remington fails at marketing most of their cartridges.

someguy2800 said:

257 roberts, because I like them

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1. 257 Roberts because of what someguy2800 said.
2. 257 Roberts because it's classier.
3. 257 Roberts because it doesn't have a metric name.
4. 257 Roberts because I might have one built myself someday. It will be my designated mule deer rifle.

I agree with an above post that the .257 Bob and the longer 115-120 grain bullets most suitable for deer may be too long for the magazine of the short action Savage. The 6mm Rem probably won't have that problem.

My vote is still the .257 though because I like different not very common calibers and the .257 Bob just has that "coolness" factor. Assuming the magazine works for the .257 I'd run the 110 Accubonds as fast as suitable accuracy allows, then for paper shoot some 100-115 grain cheaper bullets.

What is more important, nostalgia or performance.

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Performance should trump nostalgia, especially when self defense, sustenance or the clean, humane taking of game is involved... However......

257 roberts, because I like them

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However, after the issue of performance is taken into account, I get an added kick out of using a rifle or shotgun that is a "classic" or is chambered for a nostalgic or historical round or one that I have some special affinity for... I think a lot of hunters/shooters do... It's part of what makes your rifle special to you and not just another tool...

Based on the OP's criteria though I'd still have to go with the 6mm but if someone choose the 257 Bob for other reasons I get why...

The 3" box on the savage short action will probably be a little short for either. But not enough to matter as long as the barrels don't have super long throats.
If the 6mm is used with bullets long and pointy enough to really give it an advantage, then it will run out of space first.

The longest .257 bullet I'm aware of is the 115 Berger vlds, I run them in my .250AI, at 1.2"

The 6mm 103+ bullets are all 1.2" +

Again space shouldn't be a huge issue.
Performance wise, I see little advantage to either over the other in general deer hunting situations.


Anyway, I'd go .257, just cause I'm bored with the 6mm caliber for now.
My wife wants another .243 tho......

Having owned and shot several 6mm rifles, and killing over 100 deer with various .257’s, mostly Roberts, (and a few with 6mm’s) I second what others have said above:

For targets and varmints the 6mm shines.
For larger game, the .257’s, hands down.
Ditto, the 6.5’s vs 7mm’s.

As for accuracy, the .25’s held many bench records till the .222 and later, 6mm and .22PPC’s came along. They’ll shoot, too!

I’ve never owned the.257 Roberts, but would like to.

I did have a M700V in 6mm Remington. It was vicious on varmints, targets and deer. I set the zero at 300 yards, firing 95 gr Nosler Partitions at 3,371 FPS.

Impact deadcenter on a deer at 300 yards resulted in digging that partition from under the hide in its rear end.

The bullet and flying bone completely dislodged the heart. I used a Redfield 6-18 “Widefield” optic with Accu-Trac turrets.

I wonder about COL. Quarter-bore?! Nice!!! Six one way, half-a-dozen the other.

Geno

I’ve been on a 257 Roberts build spree this winter; two 24” heavyweight field rifles (FatBob and XBob), a 26” bench / range use rifle (LongBob), and a 22” AR10 (ARBob). I’ve got one more in work - a 22” carry field gun (LiteBob).

I chose 257 Roberts because I also favor 25-06 as my long action longer range go-to. For the Bob, I mostly load 75gr varmint / range loads and 117gr medium game loads. While there are very few true VLD bullet choices in 25 caliber, there is a very wide range of field and target bullets.

Guess what I would recommend?

I’ve been on a 257 Roberts build spree this winter; two 24” heavyweight field rifles (FatBob and XBob), a 26” bench / range use rifle (LongBob), and a 22” AR10 (ARBob). I’ve got one more in work - a 22” carry field gun (LiteBob).

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Hey RBernie, I'm curious what kind of accuracy do you get out of your 257's, especially FatBob...

.256 Newton, woo, woo.
Take a long action, though.

rust collector said:

Aren't both 6mm Rem and 257 based on the 7x57 mauser?

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Yes and that's the real reason the 6mm & 257 Roberts have fallen from favor. The 57mm case is too long for a short action and too short for a long action.

Since the donor receiver is short action I’d do neither cartridge. Both cartridges appeal to me big time in a long action rifle. I’d go .257 Roberts in a long action because even though I like the 6mm Remington, I like 6mm-284 more.

Some people like to shoot as long of a cartridge as possible in the shortest action they can cram it in to and there is nothing wrong with that. I’m the opposite though and don’t like cramped space or skinny jeans.

MistWolf said:

Yes and that's the real reason the 6mm & 257 Roberts have fallen from favor. The 57mm case is too long for a short action and too short for a long action

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Too short for VLDs, maybe, but SAAMI spec holds cartridge OAL to 2.8”, just like the 7.62x54 (308). I’ve not found 3mm of case length to be an issue for any factory loads or my handloads.

Bushpilot said:

Hey RBernie, I'm curious what kind of accuracy do you get out of your 257's, especially FatBob

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Dunno yet - i’m just starting to get them to the range for their christening. Straight out of the chute, FatBob gave me a five shot cloverleaf with factory 117gr Hornaday ammo, so I’m thinking they’ll work out pretty well.

rbernie said:

Dunno yet - i’m just starting to get them to the range for their christening. Straight out of the chute, FatBob gave me a five shot cloverleaf with factory Hornaday ammo, so I’m thinking they’ll work out pretty well.

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I own a Pre 64 Model 70 Winchester in .257 Roberts.
Quite a "tack driver" with reloads and I wouldn't swap it for a truckload of .244's.
Just my opinion though!
Zeke

rbernie said:

Too short for VLDs, maybe, but SAAMI spec holds cartridge OAL to 2.8”, just like the 7.62x54 (308). I’ve not found 3mm of case length to be an issue for any factory loads or my handloads.

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In the minds of shooters, the 57mm is too long for short action and too short for long actions. Popular calibers are 243 Winchester, 260 Remington, 7mm-08 and 308 Winchester for short action and 25-06, 270 Winchester and 30-06 in the long action. These calibers are based on either the 308 Winchester case or the 30-06 case. None of the popular calibers are based on the 57mm case. In fact, all calibers based on the 57mm case are dead or dying.