Rare .257 Roberts Platforms

[Gary W. Strange]

My Grandfather gave me his Pre 64 Winchester Model 70, .257 Roberts, years ago. It was and is a cherished possession to me. I have shot and hunted with it some and it is a fantastic rifle and has take several deer, out to 200 yards. All pretty much dropped on the spot. Several years ago, I bought a Kimber Classic select, chambered in .257 Roberts, because I wanted a lighter, easier to carry rifle in .257. It has been great, same results on deer and very easy on the eyes, to look at. .257 Roberts is one of my favorite calibers. For deer and such, at modest ranges, it’s everything you need and is a fine round. It doesn’t kick like a mule and it the right rifle, it’s a joy to carry. I like the .257 Roberts way more than .243 Winchester. To me it’s night and day difference between the two. I was around back in the day and I honestly believe the gun writers of that era killed the .257 Roberts, building up the .243 Winchester. The .257 Roberts, is a round that preforms much better on game than it does on paper. One has to reload to get the most out of the .257 Roberts now, because factory ammunition is very limited. Don’t let the talk fool you. The .257 Roberts is a great round. If you ever spend any time with one, you will see why.

 

[schlitz45]

The .257 Roberts is one of the "legacy" calibers that tend to go in and out of fashion. Back in 1950's it was the temporary darling of guns writers praising it as a flat shooting all-purpose caliber for both varmints and deer sized big game. Writer Jack O'Connor said his wife and son killed some fifty head of game, deer and antelope, with their .257's. But then the 6mm .243 Win .244 Rem appeared on the stage and captured claim to the all-purpose title. And about that time a wildcat cartridge called the ,25/06 was getting lots of notice and word got around that .257 M-70 Winchesters could be converted to the sizzling wildcat by simply rechambering the existing .25 caliber barrel and making a couple changes in the magazine to handle the longer cartridge. Which in recent years has caused considerable grief among owners of the M-70 conversion as values of untouched Pre-64 .257's have skyrocketed, Here are a couple .257's : a nice custom job built around a 1909 Argentine Mauser style action with some pretty walnut, and Remington B-Grade 722, topped with a Bausch & Lomb scope from same era. View attachment 1252437View attachment 1252438View attachment 1252439

Holy cow, Batman. They are some pretty guns. You're a lucky man.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I’ve kicked myself for not getting the Remington M700 Mountain Rifle in .257 Roberts.
I somewhat redeemed myself by getting the same thing in 7mm X 57mm Mauser, however.

Mine never shot all that good. I carry it some but it's never been a track driver by any stretch.

 

[tdbmd]

I have one of the Remington 700 Classics in .257 Roberts. I think they were made in 1982 if I remember correctly. I have taken about a half dozen deer with it over the years and a couple of antelope. I love the cartridge, mostly because I love stuff that is not quite mainstream. I hunt with a .35 Whelen, .280 Rem and the .257 Rbts, not because they are necessarily better but because they are just cool to me. Had my Roberts out last weekend, hadn't shot it in about 2 years and just wanted to confirm the zero. Has not moved and still wears the Leupold fixed 6x scope.

 

[zeke]

Used to have a 81 BLR in 257 bob, still have a Browning micro. Haven't shot it in quite awhile, but do remember hogging out front of mag to allow seating bullets longer.

 

[AWS]

I had two, a custom Rem 722 with a Buhmiller barrel, sold it to a fellow in ND 50 yrs ago, very accurate. Also a custom/sporterized Ariska, aftermarket walnut stock and aftermarket 257R barrel, again a very nice rig, hated the safety though, sold it at a gunshow in Fargo.

Went through a few Sav 1895(25-35), 1899, 99's, a Sav 1920 and a rebarreled Sav Model 10 in 250-3000.

Now I have a 25-204 that I built in 2005, it matches original 250-3000 and 257 Rob factory ballistics. It's a keeper.