Question about centerfire calibers

[THE GUESS WHO]

Why do people like these type calibers 6.5x55 or a 257 roberts or .250 savage ect. They are outdated and newer cartidges outperform these. But it seems people love these,,, what is the allure ? I do not understand ? I am a deer hunter,,help me understand why you would'nt rather have a .270 ?

Thank You

 

[bang_bang]

I consider these as the "fine wine" calibers. They oftentimes fill the gap between the most common calibers used today for big game also.

I'd really love to get my hands on a nice 6.5x55.

 

[janobles14]

they all kill deer just fine and dont recoil like an m1 abrahms! for those who are recoil sensitive or just dont wanna get beat up then they are perfect (as are .243 and 7mm-08).

 

[Jubjub]

Truth be told, about 99% of all hunting done with centerfire rifles for any game on the North American continent could be done with the .223 and the .308. The remaining 1% could be handled by the .375 H&H.

Everything else is just personal preference. One of the older, mild, easy to shoot cartridge is often effective on game far out of proportion to the numbers on paper, just because the bullet is more likely to end up square in the middle of the kill zone.

An uncle of mine took a turn of the century 6.5mm Steyr sporter to Africa a few years ago. Using 160 grain round nosed bullets, he took about the same range of plains game that he had taken on a trip a few years before with a .375 H&H. No real difference.

With good bullets, and most bullets these days are very good, just shoot what you like.

 

[browningguy]

Maybe because the .270 is so boring?

I have a .270 but haven't hunted with it in 5-6 years, maybe longer. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, or with the other calibers you mentioned. I regularly hunt with a .300 Savage, 7x57, 30-06, .308 etc by the way.

Why do you care what other people hunt with anyway? To each his own I say.

 

[dirtyjim]

we like them because they work & they are pleasant to shoot. i'll take a 6.5x55 or a .250 savage over a .270 anyday even though the .270 is pushing 84 years old & newer cartridges outperform it.
if you have to buy your ammo at walmart you might be better off with a .270
but if you handload their is nothing you can with a .270 that you can't do better with a 6.5x55 & loaded to similar pressure the 6.5x55 actually has more energy past 600 yards than a .270 or a .308 that supposedly outperform it

 

[NCsmitty]

They are outdated and newer cartridges outperform these.

Outdated huh? Take a look at the 6.5x55, you'll notice that this cartridge, designed around 1891, has a beautiful bottleneck case that was years ahead of it's competition. When loaded to it's potential, it's superior ballistic coefficient will spot other rounds a few hundred fps and overtake those rounds at 300 yds and beyond. And it will do it without a lot of punishing recoil.
I understand that you are still learning these things.


NCsmitty

 

[highorder]

The .257 Roberts has class.

 

[THE GUESS WHO]

I appreciate everyones answers except for Browning guys comment,, you ask me the sarcastic question and I Quote "Why do you care what other people hunt with anyway? To each his own I say".

I am on here trying to learn something on this forum I do not know it all ,, thats why. I do not care if you hunt with a sack of marbles and numchucks. All I ask was whats the allure of these particular vintage cartriges and I recieved six out of seven very intellectual educational answers. I have learned something today.I appreciate the information.

 

[higene]

A case for the Un-Bob

You mentioned a .257 Roberts. After WWII a bunch of vets were really into wildcatting they did just about everything that could be done to a center fire rifle cartridge. Expanded them up, necked them down, messed with the case geometry. The 7x57 was a child of the Mauser family. Americans messed with the case but the shooting culture was very prejudiced against things German. In necking the 7x57 down to .257 they got a light, accurate round with good speed (at the time 30-06 was the gold standard with 2700 fps and a little heavier bullet). They renamed it the .257 Roberts to ward off prejudice against things German (Wildcats were traditionally named after their inventor).

I guy named PO Ackley perfected a way to improve performance through improved chamber geometry. He applied it to the .257 and obtained good results. The thing with the .25s is that they are all overbore (it might be underbore), meaning that the reduced bore size restricts the amount of powder you can burn because of chamber pressure and short barrel/throat life. 25/06s show max loads at or about 50 grains. Some people do load up to 55 grains but they pay a price and they know it. Blown primers, short case life and shorter barrel life.

The .257 Roberts hits peak performance at or about maximum pressure levels. They are inherently accurate and they push a 120 grain bullet to 3100 fps with a 24 inch barrel and they are very low recoil compared to the competition. I have heard it said that the .257 was PO Ackley's favorite round.

In 2000 one of the big gun magazines picked the bolt action of the century and the Mauser 98 was # 1. With 50 grains of H 4831 SC and a 120 gr bullet, sighted in for 250 yards (2" high at 100 yards) you have point blank shooting to 300 yards.

The three cartridges shown are left to right are a .308, a .257 Roberts Ackley improved, and a .270 (I don't own a 25/06 and they are very similar to a .270).

The result is a rifleman's rifle, a snapshot of one man's example of striving to attain perfection (I did not build this rifle - I just shoot it and polish it).

Higene

 

[C-grunt]

Isnt the 6.5x55 considered to be a pretty decent long range target round?

 

[mlaustin]

I've always gone for .30-06 because in my area, ammo is a lot cheaper and I see no downside to it (to be fair, I'm 6' and 200lbs, so recoil is...not a problem). Surplus is just fine for honing my skills at the range, and I'm a sufficiently starved student that money matters to me.

 

[rcmodel]

After WWII a bunch of vets

The problem with that is, Ned Roberts designed the .257 Roberts in 1920 something, and Remington made it a factory chambering in 1934.

rc

 

[higene]

Un bob

Is the time period correct for the AI portion? Are the other facts true and relevant?

Higene

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Here is all you need to know:

In 1888, a commission of German Bureaucrats got something right - the 7.9x57mm cartridge. What is so special about it? Study its case head design and dimensions.

It is the basis for the vast majority of the top selling commercial non-magnum calibers.

Its direct descendants, in no particular order:
30-06
270 Win
7x57
280 Rem
25-06
257 Roberts
308
243
7mm08
35 Whelen
6.5x55(half brother, since the Swede tweaked the diameter)
8x57 JS (yes, technically a different cartridge post the 1898 bullet diameter change)
6mm Remington and 244 Remington (half brothers)
250 Savage (half brother)
300 Savage
8mm-06
358 Winchester

So when you talk about 257 Roberts, 7x57, 6,5x55 and 270 Win in the same sentence, its "All in the Family"

 

[HoosierQ]

I know that the 6.5x55 is favored by many because one of the best Milsurp rifles out there, Swedish Mauser is chambered for it. People love that gun and the way it shoots. I passed on one back when I was ignorant of Milsurps and figured I'd never find such an "exotic" round (not handloading myself). Had I known you could get ammo almost anywhere and that almost all rifle manufactures make at least one product in this chambering...well I'd have one too. Oh well.

 

[CoRoMo]

I've gotten jeered out of a gun shop for inquiring about any available rifles in .35 Remington.
Some people just don't accept what others like. The reason I was looking for a rifle in .35 Remington is because my dad hunted elk with a .35 Rem, reloads for it, and I guess I sorta just like the cartridge.

 

[THE GUESS WHO]

I think I will buy a .257 Roberts to hunt deer with this year. Is a Dakota model 10 a good choice.

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

It better be for that price.

 

[NCsmitty]

Is a Dakota model 10 a good choice.

The Dakota M10 single shot is a beautiful high end firearm.

Here's a Ruger single shot, beautiful and about $3000 cheaper than the Dakota.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=138046548


NCsmitty

 

[C-grunt]

Thats a beautiful Ruger #1.

 

[THE GUESS WHO]

I like that gun,,

 

[C-grunt]

I owned Ruger #1 when I was a teenager in 7mm magnum. Probably the only gun I really regret selling.

 

[Arkel23]

Truth be told, about 99% of all hunting done with centerfire rifles for any game on the North American continent could be done with the .223 and the .308.

No, I wouldn't trust a .223 to anything but a varmint and just plain don't like the .308.

 

[COSteve]

.270 Winchester is from 1925...


Man, that's older than the .257 Roberts! Must be time to put it to bed.







Some people like runny spaghetti sauce too.