Roberts' Fans

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I might be concerned about ammo if I wasn't a reloader.
Click to expand...

I am a reloader and I am concerned too.

I did some web searches of the major component places like Midawy looking for 257 Roberts brass. One word...none.

I suppose I could buy factory ammo and end up with brass that way.

Or, the same gun at the same price is also available in 25-06 Remington. Plenty of brass for this caliber.

I'll have to sleep on this.
 
My tang safety Ruger in .257 Roberts is my "go-to" hunting rifle. It is a pleasure to shoot - even my wife likes it, and it is good for 1/2m.o.a whenever I am - not as often at 66 as it used to be when I was in my 40's (sigh!). But it has never needed more than one round on whitetails, and it has done DRT on a nice muley buck at 200+yds.

I reload, and I love to load for the gun - there isn't much it doesn't like!
 
I ran into a guy out at my shooting club, and I asked what he was shooting,, and he said its a old round ,,, I bet you never heard of it,, I said hold up a unshoot round,, he heald it up/ and I said oh that looks like a 257 bob,, he about fell off his seat...I said how I love them old roberts, I like the 7/57. and the 257 is such a great old round, I would buy one in a heart beat, If I didnt already have so many Guns now...And the savage came a long ways since they redone everything,,, My buddie who once had one of the tang safety ruger,and he's still kicking him self for selling it. now has the Savage in 308,, and that thing shoots half in. groups at 100 yards, right out of the bx.
I say go for that 257 bob.in savage,,
 
I just inherited my dad'sold Remington 760 in .257 Bob. It was his go-to brush gun, and he always said it made him look like a really good shot. Some might choke on the travesty, but we put peep-thru mounts on it, and it got him more than one shot at a deer in thick sagebrush.
 
I love all the old Mauser length calibers, but I went with the 6.5x55 since the rest of them have become so hard to find good brass for. Shame really since the 7x57, 257 Roberts and 8mm Mauser are such great rounds.
 
The problem with some of those good old rounds is their names. Not enough adjectives!

If the 257 Roberts was named the 257 Super Duper Short Magnum Bob, I'd bet it would be so popular that your local 7-11 would stock brass for it.

Some caliber developers and designers might be very good at making great hunting rounds, but their marketing skills leave alot to be desired.;)
 
I don't know about that. The Remington Short Action Ultra Mag rounds never cought on, all the while the .243, 308 and 270 win are outselling ever magnum on the market combined. I think it has more to do with rifle makers not wanting to make mauser size bolt faces and mauser length actions. or a chambering to stay alive or catch on to begin with it has to fill a nitch. Take the 270 WSM for example. Despite many millions of naysayers calling it newfangle garbage when people looked at the ballistics they saw that they could get 7mm rem mag performance with a rifle 3" shorter and half a pound lighter with less recoil. Now a decade later you can find 270 WSM rifles and ammo at every Walmart in the nation. The 257 Robers sales sufferd from rivals like the 243 win and 250 Savage that were standard bolt face size, true short action and had one standard pressure instead of two. I expect the 6.5x55 to fade a bit too now that it has several new contenders with standard sizing and one standard pressure 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5x47 Lapua, and 260 rem.
 
I inherited my grandpa's .257, an old Remington M722 short action. It's 1/2 MOA accurate to this day with a 100 grain Sierra Game King over a compressed load of H4831 (haven't loaded it in a while, but something near 50 grains IIRC). It shoots 3150 fps, very low standard deviation, packs north of 2200 ft lbs and retains a lot of that for a long way. I have the computer print out in my reloading book, too lazy to go look it all up, but it's putting deer killing power down at 400 yards, something like 1400 ft lbs I think. Sight in is 250 yards, with point blank range near 300. It's closer to the .25-06 loaded this way than it is to the .250 Savage, though factory ammunition is traditionally loaded quite below the capabilities of a modern bolt gun. I consider the round a handloader's round for this reason and the fact that there isn't a lot of variety in .257 Roberts on ammo shelves at gun stores now days.

I love this gun, though, killed my first deer with it at age 11, 48 years ago. I had it reblued, had the iron sights removed, refinished the stock, and will never sell it. :D
 
The .257Robt is everything the .25/06 is. The case capacity difference is less than the difference between the .308 and .30/06.
Mine is a M98 Mauser custom with a 22" E.R.Shaw bbl. It has become pitted in mid bore, but is still well under MOA and occasionally 3-touching with Sierra or Nosler B.T. bullets. Several different powders. BTW mine has accounted for over 100 deer to include white-tail and muley's. Several dozen prararie dogs on a town near BigSandy,MT one afternoon in 1993. Not bad for a rifle that weighs 7lbs with a 2x-7x Leupold scope.
The difference between it and a friends Interarms Viscount MkX in .25/06 is the difference between a 22" and 24"bbl. In fact, my handloads are faster than his are w/120gr bullets. (I'm using a more suitable powder, but 3-5gr less still than his charges....).
Brass is easily formed from 7x57 or 8x57. I've even got 30 or so I formed from 6mmRemington range pickups.....
Yes, I'll agree, it's the most useful rifle I've ever owned. And I've owned a few, to include another Roberts (Ruger M77MkII), but it had a "stinker" barrel on it. I kept the Weatherby Vanguard in .257Wby, but dumped the Ruger..... In a contest (but not a race!), the Roberts beats the Weatherby hands down. (only 300-400fps difference at 1/2 the powder consumption....).
But, if I was "stuck" shooting ONLY factory ammo, I would go with the .25/06.
 
BTW, I picked up 50 rounds of new brass at a LGS in Victoria, Texas a couple years back. If I run out of brass in the future, I doubt there'll be a shortage of 7mm Mauser commercial to neck down. I've done that. The Remington has a problem ejecting it occasionally, so I sorta prefer .257 brass, but it does work.
 
I did it.

I walked into Cabela's early this afternoon.

The first thing I did was go to their reloading section. There on a shelf were two bags of 257 Roberts brass. I took this as an omen.

I grabbed the two bags and went to the gun counter. The salesman took my name and went into the back. He came out with the rifle that was set aside for me.

Some paperwork, an exchange of money, and the rifle came home with me.

I accomplished two firsts with this purchase.

It is my first Savage with AccuTrigger.

It is also my first 257 Roberts.

They didn't have dies. No biggie, I'll direct order them from Lee. Yes, yes, I know, crappy dies and my rifle will self-destruct if I reload with them. I'll take my chance, I have a little daredevil in me.

I do have bullets from a previous 25 caliber rifle. Powder and primers are good to go.

Can't wait to shoot it.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback.

A shooting report will be posted ASAP.
 
lizziedog

I wouldn't worry about those Lee dies. That's all I've used for the last 25+ years of reloading
(.280 Rem, 7 & 8mm mauser, .300 Sav, .375 Win, 38-55 Win,) as well as a host of pistol-revolver rounds.
Lee dies don't dissapoint, and you can't beat them for the money. That "Factory Crimp Die" is awesome!!
 
Outstanding.

Congrats on the new rifle.

If weather permits today, I'll be testing some 257 loads with Vihtavuori N160 myself.
 
lizziedog1 said:
I did it.

I walked into Cabela's early this afternoon.

The first thing I did was go to their reloading section. There on a shelf were two bags of 257 Roberts brass. I took this as an omen.

I grabbed the two bags and went to the gun counter. The salesman took my name and went into the back. He came out with the rifle that was set aside for me.

Some paperwork, an exchange of money, and the rifle came home with me.

I accomplished two firsts with this purchase.

It is my first Savage with AccuTrigger.

It is also my first 257 Roberts.

They didn't have dies. No biggie, I'll direct order them from Lee. Yes, yes, I know, crappy dies and my rifle will self-destruct if I reload with them. I'll take my chance, I have a little daredevil in me.

I do have bullets from a previous 25 caliber rifle. Powder and primers are good to go.

Can't wait to shoot it.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback.

A shooting report will be posted ASAP.
Click to expand...
Congrats on the great gin and caliber :) what model does Savage make in 257???? I have owned five Savages and have loved them all. Great shooters.
 
I have a Mauser with a Shilen barrel on it. Nice, light rifle and enough ooomph! for whatever might attack me in the deep TN woods. It is my "classic" rifle- blued steel and walnut. I have not shot mine in some time, but there is an older guy that comes to the range where I shoot and he loves the .257 Bob. He has been retired for years and is in his mid-70s and full of gunlore. He talks about buying or trading for "this Mauser" or "that Springfield", reloading lead bullets for his rifles. At any rate, you don't have to have grey whiskers to love the .257. It still performs.
 
I just bought a couple hundred rounds of brass off of gunbroker. I looked at all the sites like midway, midsouth ect and it was out of stock everywhere. I dont know whats happening there. Ive never had problems in the past getting it.
 
Congrats on the great gin and caliber what model does Savage make in 257???? I have owned five Savages and have loved them all. Great shooters.
Click to expand...

It is the model 111. I guess the 257 Roberts chambering is a Cabela's exclusive.

It has a laminated stock. It is a nice looking firearm.

Really can't wait to fire it.
 
Lloyd Smale said:
I just bought a couple hundred rounds of brass off of gunbroker. I looked at all the sites like midway, midsouth ect and it was out of stock everywhere. I dont know whats happening there. Ive never had problems in the past getting it.
Yesterday 08:29 PM
Click to expand...

I think you will find like some other not so common rounds (like the 284win, 7x57mauser, 35rem, 307win ect) that it is seasonal (ie: not made year round) and is only made when they do a run once a year.
 
Before you order those dies from Lee direct, go to Grafs.com. They will have them cheaper and less expensive shipping.
While you're at it, order some Hornady 100gr Spt. Interloks, and Some 100gr Sierra ProHunters.
You will need some IMR4350, and Some Federal #210 primers.
One of the other of these two excellent bullets after breakin should give you sub-moa from your rifle. I use 45.0gr of IMR4350 as a "go to" load. It's always decently accurate. However my rifle prefers 48.5gr if H4831 for same velocity. IMR4831 at 48.0 gives same accuracy and velocity (2,950-3,050fps).
H414 and H380 are superb also, at Hodgdon's recommended max (non-+P) of 45.0 and 44.0gr respectively. (both are over 3,100fps from my gun.. and NOT maximum pressure; just max accurate!!).
For an inexpensive "plinking and small deer hunting, and Coyote load, the PrviPartisan bullets are inexpensive and adequately accurate (1.25-1.5moa). Also, watch www.midwayusa.com for "blem" bullet sales.... I got 600 of the Hornady 100gr Spt's a couple of years ago for ~8.00/100. Probably a lifetime of shooting for the .257"Bob" and .257Wby. Both will shoot them sub-MOA. The "Bob" at 3,000-3,100fps and the Wby at 3,500-3,600fps. But, the "Bob" does it with much less powder (45.0gr vs. 65.0gr of IMR4350) and weighs 3lbs less........ Out to 300yds, the deer can't tell the difference......!
 
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It is the model 111. I guess the 257 Roberts chambering is a Cabela's exclusive.

It has a laminated stock. It is a nice looking firearm.

Really can't wait to fire it.
Click to expand...


We can't wait to see it. Come on man, post some pics! lol
 
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