getting new rifle - 243 or 257 bob?

[razorback2003]

I never see 257 roberts ammo sold at the stores. They may sell it at Bass Pro in Memphis. It is hard to find. You'll have to mail order 257 roberts or reload.

243 is a lot easier to find if you are buying ammo. There are a lot of choices.

For hunting, the 257 might be the better round. Shame the ammo is hard to find and also not many guns are chambered in the round.

If I was buying a 25 cal rifle, I would go for the 25-06 because there are a lot of rifles chambered in this round and the ammo is easier to find than 257.

 

[wlewisiii]

I'd go with Bob because that's one I've always wanted unlike a dime a dozen .243 That said, since I hand load, I'd get the chamber reamed for .257 Robers AI. You can use factory .257 Roberts in it and get a slightly larger case back for reloading. If you don't reload, yet, you can always save the brass for when you do.

 

[moonzapa]

My pick is the .243 Win

This is a late reply to this thread, my apologies. You must have already made your choice.

Anyway, I would choose the .243 for at least 3 reasons:

More efficient in use of powder, if you are a handloader, less powder burned;

ammo is more readily available in stores than .257 Rob;

Has better accuracy than .257 Rob; you don't see benchrest shooters using .257 Rob.

(I could go on and on...)

 

[dubya450]

Thanks fellas, i still haven't decided but want to order it asap so its here by next fall but im.leaning towards 243, for now anyway. I want to get into handloading but i don't have much time right now (new house, and baby) nor do i have a "mentor" to help me learn the ropes. Keep em coming though as im still not sure what to get! Thanks again.

 

[Random Discharge]

Considered 260 Rem?

Will have a little more recoil than 257 Roberts, but no more than a 30-30, and will provide more top end game size versatility when it becomes your son's rifle someday. Based on the 308 Win case, so a short action. It's not going to outsell 243 anytime soon, but is available as factory ammo. Just get it in a 1:9 twist - not 1:10. Course, if it is the low end of versatility you are after, my apologies for muddying up the thread with a third choice.

 

[DanTheFarmer]

Good Evening All,

I've been having a fun but frustrating time trying to work up loads for my 257 Roberts. I was getting decent speed but not great accuracy. Lots of possibilities to check on and to continue to tweak.

Then I tried Hornady Superperformance 117gr SST's. This is both the fastest and most accurate ammo in my rifle. I'm getting 1" groups at 100 yards and 2900+ fps (chronographed) out of my 22" Savage. That should be a great combination for deer with a lot of room to spare.

I think this is better on paper than what the 243 can do. You get to decide if that means anything to you. 243 shooters may have handloads or know of commercial loads that can equal or better this. Chime in if you do, we're all on the same team.

Good Luck which ever way you decide.

Dan

 

[dubya450]

Just looking on gunbroker i found a kimber montana in 257 for $1050 which is $250 cheaper than where i was going to order from, its NIB with free shipping so im probably going to order it up tomorrow or Thursday

 

[dubya450]

Same seller has a 243 same price, same free shipping
..

I might just have to flip a coin!

 

[browningguy]

There isn't much of a difference in the two, excpet that you can actually buy .243 in most sporting goods stores if you need to.

 

[C-grunt]

I'm always for ammo that is easy to find. I'd go 243.

 

[Savage99]

Of the five Kimbers I have none are a 257 Roberts. LOL

The 257 died out years ago. It's too big for chucks ricochet wise and too small for big game common sense wise. That's why it died out, it's best for nothing.

Get a 308 and have a real rifle for game. Later get one in 243 when you have more money.

 

[harrygrey382]

that's a pretty narrow minded view. It might be overkill for rabbits and undersized for moose but is very well suited to smaller species of deer and fine for bigger ones with more careful shot placement.

I think you should get the bob. As said, it has a slight (but probably negligible) advantage. Although it is easier to get longer/heavier bullets so will be better on bigger animals. But they do have a lot of overlap.

The real reason I'd get the bob is that the Kimber action - basically a Mauser 98 - was designed along with the bob's parent cartridge. This means you will get the best, smoothest and most reliable feeding from it. The 243's parent cartridge however was designed for auto loaders and will NOT be as smoothe (but will probably work ok) due to its straight walled case and short overall length.

It is also an ugly cartridge (along with everything to do with 308) but that doesn't concern most people.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

if deer and bear were on the agenda too id say take the roberts hands down but for the game your after the 243 might have a slight edge.

 

[303tom]

Thanks fellas, i still haven't decided but want to order it asap so its here by next fall but im.leaning towards 243, for now anyway. I want to get into handloading but i don't have much time right now (new house, and baby) nor do i have a "mentor" to help me learn the ropes. Keep em coming though as im still not sure what to get! Thanks again.

Then you are leaning in the right direction..............

 

[MistWolf]

The 257 Roberts is a good caliber. The trouble is that it's based on the 57mm case which is too long for a short action and too short for a long action. In a short action, OAL of the cartridge is limited, especially with longer and/or heavier bullets. There will be less trouble in most short action rifles when chamber for a caliber based on the 51mm (308 Win) case.

That isn't to say it's enough of a problem to shy away from the 257 Roberts. Just that in all practicality, the 243 Win is a better choice. Really, a better choice would be between the 243 Win and the 260 Rem and possibly the 7mm-08. At the end of the day, the choice is up to the shooter and which one they really want to shoot

...The real reason I'd get the bob is that the Kimber action - basically a Mauser 98 - was designed along with the bob's parent cartridge. This means you will get the best, smoothest and most reliable feeding from it. The 243's parent cartridge however was designed for auto loaders and will NOT be as smoothe (but will probably work ok) due to its straight walled case and short overall length...

How the cartridge feeds from the magazine is dependent on the magazine rails, not the action type. It's likely that Kimber has the mag rail angles set for the 308 case as it's by far more popular anything based on the 57mm case

 

[thewilbur]

A friend of mine once had a 257 Roberts Ackley Improved built for him. He loved it. I am thinking of trying the 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[GooseGestapo]

If you reload, get the .257Roberts and don't look back. If you don't get the .243.

Having hunted, reloaded, and killed deer and varmints with both, the Roberts is just as good for varmints as the .243. Any short coming for varmits for the "Bob", will justly apply to the .243 (someone mentioned ricochetes..)..
However, when it comes to big-game, the 'Bob has it all over the .243.
I've only shot a "dozen" or so deer with the .243 and have lost nearly that many more due to bullet failures of various descriptions. Mostly failure to penetrate a close range, and failure to expand at longish ranges (over 300yds).
The 'Bob is much better at this. I've shot over 100 deer with my custom M98 'bob, as well as half a dozen with a Ruger M77MkII. Not to mention the dozen or so with the .257WbyMag.
The 100gr .257 typically holds together better at extremly close ranges and expands better at extreamly long ranges than equivalent .243 100gr bullets. A case in point is the 100gr Hornady Pt.Spt "Interlok" vs. the .243 100gr equivalent. I've had several deer lost, or had to have a second shot and recovered bullets had shed jacket and basically disentigrated to lead shards. On the other hand, I've had .257's impact at over 3,200fps (90yds, m/v of 3,600fps) and recover them on opposite side of the deer under the hide at 67.5gr with classic mushroom.
It only took one evening "culling" deer at a local airport with a co-worker to convince him of the superiority of the .257 over the .243. I was using the Hornady 75gr hp @ 3,500fps and he was using Remington 80gr PtSpt's from his .243 (22"bbl = 3,300fps). My bullets impacting gave a "whap" like a snapped wet towel and deer universally hit the ground. His gave a light "pop", and unless cns was hit, his ran 25-100yds.
I know this is "anecdotal", and apple's-vs.-oranges, but comparing a .257Robt. to a .243 is IMO an apples to oranges comparison from the start.
If you are limited to "factory" ammo, the .243 wins hands down as there are only a few full powdered .257Robt loads available, and require ordering them "online". But, with hand loads, there is a world of difference.
Having shot the .257 so long, the .260 I've been playing with for about 18mos is a "meh...", nothing special.... as it is Soooooo Cloose to what I've experienced from the .257 w/ 117-120gr bullets vs. 120-160gr bullets from the .260....
Sorry, you .243 affecionados if I've "gored your ox". It's just my 35yrs of experience of using both calibers..... I lump the .243 with the .22-250 as a "varmint" rifle, and yes I've shot deer with the .22-250 and my opinion, it's as good/bad as the .243 with 60gr+ bullets....
Now comparing the .257 to the .270win, now you have a "close" race.... for anything you'd shoot with a .270 with 130gr bullet, the .257 will do with a 115-120gr bullets...

 

[mdauben]

The 257 died out years ago. It's too big for chucks ricochet wise and too small for big game common sense wise. That's why it died out, it's best for nothing.

Get a 308 and have a real rifle for game.

I would agree if the OP was looking for a deer/elk catridge.

As a coyote/deer cartidge (he never said anything about woodchucks), any of the quarter-bores are IMO superior choices to the .308 Win. Sure you can kill a coyote with a .308 Win, but you can kill it with a .375 H&H, too, that does not make it the best choice. The Bob may never have had the following that the .308 Win does, but that's IMO becuase its been eclipsed in performance by the .25-06 Rem and .257 Wby, not by the .308. The quarter-bores in all their variations retain a solid following among hunters, particularly for deer, antilope and sheep sized game.

 

[beatledog7]

That's why it died out, it's best for nothing.

So tell us, oh Great One, which cartridge is best for each shooting situation?

On second thought, don't.

 

[Victor1Echo]

257. if you reload.

 

[Hollerpoint]

243. I have personally shot deer with both and there is no distinguishable difference in effectiveness. My 243 is the most carried gun in my library. Low blast, good ammo selection, accurate, cheap S&B ammo available for plinking.

 

[dubya450]

Yeah I've gotta go 243. It just makes more sense for now since i don't reload yet. As soon as i figure out who ill use for an ffl ill order. Pics to come!

 

[Abel]

What scope?

 

[mljdeckard]

Here's the problem. Off the shelf ammo is pretty limited for the .257 right now. If you reload, you will be fine, but to just buy it, you won't see many options. I was in Sportsman's the other day, there were two boxes, and they were both +P loads.

My dad had a 760 in .257 when he died, we gave it to my sister. I am going to buy her a good rifle in .243 and trade to get it back from her. She will have a great rifle in a great caliber with lots of options that she will love to shoot, I can handload for the beat up old Bob.

 

[dubya450]

Abel- i just got the Leupold vx3 1.5-5x20 i ordered in the mail today. I know a 1-5 power isn't ideal for varmint but i wanted to keep the light rifle light with a good scope i can acquire a deer in quickly since this will be my walking/stalking deer rifle also.