257 Rob Hornady vs Nosler

[rabid wombat]

Everyone,

Please give your experience in 257 Rob in 117 SST Hornady SuperPerformance vs any of the 257 Rob Nosler. Specifically, I have a pair of Rem 700. Either {round of ammunition} shoot better than the other? Before reloading, I will buy a decent factory ammo. Your input is greatly appreciated!

Rabid

Edit - added round of ammunition to eliminate confusion on whether the rifle or ammunition shoots better

 

[eastbank]

i load the 117sst hornady bullet in my rem 722 at 2900 fps and its accurtt and deadly. eastbank.

 

[Captcurt]

Just started playing with a Kimber 84M Hunter in 257 Rob. No brass available unless you want to pay double for Nosler Brass. I bought 3 boxes of Hornaday with the 117gr SST. After a box to sight in and to semi-break in the barrel, it will shoot 1"-1 1/4" three shot groups. Now I have enough brass to start a work up of handloads. I did notice that the groups tend to open up with horizontal stringing as the light weight barrel heats. Need to float it a little. It is making contact about 2" in front of the recoil lug.

Haven't tried the Nosler ammo in the Rob.

 

[Sunray]

If you're not reloading, you must try 'em both.
However, No$ler appears to only load .257 Roberts +P ammo. 115 grain BT with an MV of 2800 FPS.
The Hornady SST is a +P load too. 117 grain bullet at 2945 MV.
"...No brass available..." Yep. Midway shows every brand as 'No Backorder'. Remington isn't made regularly. Ditto for Graf's.
There is a guy on Gunbroker with 100 pcs. Currently at $80 and 1 bid. Minimum bid $82.

 

[LoonWulf]

Form from 7x57?
PPU sells that stuff for cheap, ive used their brass in a few calibers and Id be comfortable using it as a base for Bob loads.


and i forgot to answer the question.... I agree with needing to try them both, unless the first one you try give you the accuracy your looking for. either way id try get as much of THAT lot of ammo as you can, ive found that usually the same ammo shoots...duh, duh, dun, the same. But getting ammo from the same lot helps reduce variances.

 

[cdb1]

I use PPU brass to hand load 6.5x55 and have had excellent results.

 

[jmr40]

Not the 257 specifically. But factory Superformance ammo has a spotty reputation for both accuracy and delivering extra speed. In my 30-06 speeds were no faster than my hand loads and accuracy was unacceptable. In my 308 accuracy was quite good and while velocity didn't quite match the listed specs it was faster than I could safely get by hand loading. Based on reports from others on the internet this seems common. Just try it and see how it works for you. It may work great in your rifle, but don't be surprised if it doesn't.

The SST bullets in my experience are VERY accurate. They also have a reputation for rapid expansion, sometimes too much expansion and not enough penetration if impact speeds are too fast. That is neither good nor bad, it just means this isn't a good bullet to be firing at magnum speeds for hunting up close. Use it within it's design parameters and it works, ask it to do something it isn't designed to do and it will fail.

Nosler makes several options. Their Ballistic Tips are similar in performance to SST's. Their Partition would be the better option if lots of penetration is needed for larger game. The Accubond combines the aerodynamics of the Ballistic Tip with the penetration of the Partition.

 

[dranrab]

What will you shoot with the gun?

 

[rabid wombat]

Primarily white tail and pig....

 

[rabid wombat]

Primarily white tail and pig....

 

[rabid wombat]

Primarily white tail and pig....

 

[RPZ]

OK we're convinced!

 

[rabid wombat]

RPZ

You are right. Sorry - the IPad did not seem like it was uploading....I did not find a way to delete them either.

 

[Riomouse911]

Since you're looking at whitetail and hogs, just about any cup and core, monolithic, or partitioned 100 to 120 gr round/bullet combo will work in the .257 Roberts. If you were looking at elk i'd say go with the 120 gr Partitions or something similar.

I'll suggest that you buy one box of each and try them for accuracy. My 722 HATES the 117 gr. +P Hornady ammo, but adores just about any other 100 gr. round I fire. (I have no idea why, it may be a twist-rate issue with the longer bullets?)

 

[General ap.hill 47]

my browning micro also prefers the 100gr bullet, very accurate (speer 100gr.spbt 48grs.imr4831, I don't mean that it tastes good to all two fifty sevens though.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

My old Ruger M77 will only shoot the Remington Core Lokts round nosed shells, I tried the Hornady SST and Winchester....all over the place but the Core Lokts are tack drivers.

 

[LoonWulf]

From my reading it seems some .257s, even with their 1-10 twist, are marginal at best with bullets over 100grn, especially the more pointed options. Ive never owned one tho so i cant say from personal experience.
My 1-10 .250AI stabilizes the 115 berger vlds just fine tho, so i wonder if there are other forces at work.

 

[Captcurt]

My old Ruger M77 will only shoot the Remington Core Lokts round nosed shells, I tried the Hornady SST and Winchester....all over the place but the Core Lokts are tack drivers.

That is usually a sign of a slow twist.

 

[Captcurt]

From my reading it seems some .257s, even with their 1-10 twist, are marginal at best with bullets over 100grn, especially the more pointed options. Ive never owned one tho so i cant say from personal experience.
My 1-10 .250AI stabilizes the 115 berger vlds just fine tho, so i wonder if there are other forces at work.

The faster speed of the AI probably accounts for it. The velocity puts a faster spin on the bullet. Seems like I read that somewhere, but I have no recollection of where.

 

[LoonWulf]

Thats true, you can actually play with it if you want. The ballistic calculators from jbm, and berger, will both give you a stability number based on inputs, and velocity is one.
My .250AI is on the fair side of "marginal" according to Bergers calculator with its 1-10, and 115Vlds @ 3100.

Ive only shot them at shorter range, so i have no idea if being "marginal" effects the consistency down range. Since this is supposed to be a longer range gun that most of my other small guns, ill check it out when i practice.

 

[GooseGestapo]

The "issue" with the Roberts is not 1/10" twist, it's the throat lengths are all over the place.
I have a 1983 mfg E.R.Shaw on a 1939 LaCorouna M98 Mauser action. I've shot 5-shot 0.6" groups at 100yds with Hornady 75gr HP at 3,500fps.
Likewise, I've shot 117 and 120gr Sierra GameKings into some tiny groups over 4350's (IMR, H, ACC) and 4831's (same, to include RL22).

By request, my rifle has the "so called" 3" chamber, throat. Besides, it's a high quality custom barrel.

I had a Ruger M77MKII as well. It had a much shorter throat, and didn't shoot well, PERIOD!!!
Only load it shot "ok" with was an ancient classic load of 38.0gr IMR3031 under the Hornady 100gr Soft Point. It had a short throat, but the real problem was a crummy barrel.
I'm not a Ruger hater. I've got a few, but many more have passed through my hands, but weren't "keepers".
Contrary to many opinions to the contrary, Remington has made some outstanding bullets, the old round nose Corlokts among those.
The current rage and fad are the 6.5's. I've got a Remington M7 in .260. Decent rifle/cartridge but re-invented the .257 Roberts. Out to 400yds, I can't detect a difference, however, my M7 has a 1/10" barrel that actually measures 1/11". It "GAGS" on any plastic tipped bullet over 123gr. 129gr SST's shoot 4"3-shot groups at 100yds. 140gr SST's won't hit the berm!!! However, it will shoot .7" 5-shot groups with a Sierra 160gr RN.

If your "Bob" won't shoot a 110-120gr bullet, it's more likely the bullets, or the barrel doesn't like that bullet design.
I've had spotty luck with various plastic tipped bullets. If it won't shoot well with a Sierra 117gr ProHunter over 42.0gr IMR4350, then I'll concede you have a barrel problem. In that case I'd measure the twist. I'd bet its 1/12" or such.

I've had spotty luck with Hornady bullets. More so the plastic tip variety, particularly in .25caliber. If I were to shoot factory ammo, I'd first try the Hornady WhiteTail Classic with 117gr BTSPT Interlok. (Unfortunately it has the picture of a "has been" rock star on the box)... Secondly, I try the Federal Premium 117gr GameKing, followed by the 120gr Partitions. If you have an elk license, use the latter. However, I prefer the various 100gr bullets for deer. Particularly the 100gr Sierra's. I've got a lifetime supply of Hornady 100gr Spt "blems". They'll work for any use applicable to a Roberts.

 

[Captcurt]

If your "Bob" won't shoot a 110-120gr bullet, it's more likely the bullets, or the barrel doesn't like that bullet design.
I've had spotty luck with various plastic tipped bullets. If it won't shoot well with a Sierra 117gr ProHunter over 42.0gr IMR4350, then I'll concede you have a barrel problem. In that case I'd measure the twist. I'd bet its 1/12" or such.

I'll let you know about your Pro Hunter load. I laddered the 117gr with IMR-4350. My only gripe so far is the depth that you have to seat the bullets in my Kimber, but alas, I am at the mercy of the magazine length.

 

[30Cal]

The Hornady 117 Super shoots well in the Savage 275 Ackley I have (frequently well inside an inch for 5 shots0. Barrel mfr is unknown; very short throat on it. It seems to shoot everything pretty well.