Ruger M77 .257 Roberts ammo

[TexasPatriot.308]

I have an older Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts, I have tried the newer Hornady 117 grain SSTs as the older Remington CoreLokts are impossible to find. I have tried over a box to these SSTs at 100 yards and they are all over the place on paper. Does anybody else have this problem? Do these rifles just shoot lights out with only the old Remington ammo? Just curious, or maybe something wrong with my scope.

 

[eastbank]

i shoot a remington 722 in 257 roberts and load 45grs 4831 with the 117 sst and it shoots into a inch at 100yrds. i am going to try the 90grs BTHP serria bullet at 3200 fps fpr a flatter shooting bullet. eastbank.

 

[Olympus]

Each rifle is different, so I'm not sure anyone is going to be able to definitively answer you question. You'll have to go on a quest and see if you can find alternative factory ammo online. Otherwise you'll have to start exploring handloading for your rifle.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Some .257 Rugers have longish throats. My M77 didn't care for that bullet either.
I've been loading/shooting the Roberts for 33yrs, so I have limited experience with the factory ammmo.

If you can find it, the 117gr Federal factory load with Sierra GameKing is typically accurate.
Handloaded over H4831, I get 2,800fps and sub-moa from my M98 Sporter, and 2moa from the Ruger.
The Ruger found a new home. First deer I killed last year was with with the M98 with the Hornady 100gr Flat-base soft point at 3,000fps over 45.0gr IMR4350. That made 110 with that rifle, most with various 100gr bullets.
You'll likely need to order your ammo on line to find something other than the so-called "wonder bullets" (i.e.: tipped bullets).
The Hornady 100 and 117gr Interloks are your best bet in a factory load.

 

[Still Shooting]

I have an older Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts, I have tried the newer Hornady 117 grain SSTs as the older Remington CoreLokts are impossible to find. I have tried over a box to these SSTs at 100 yards and they are all over the place on paper. Does anybody else have this problem? Do these rifles just shoot lights out with only the old Remington ammo? Just curious, or maybe something wrong with my scope.

I also have a Ruger 77 Mk I in .257 Bob - I tried factory stuff, but couldn't find a round that gave me the groups I wanted. I am now loading Nosler 115gr. Ballistic Tip bullets, in WW +P cases, and CCI 200 primers. With 36.2gr. of IMR 8208 XBR behind that bullet, my Roberts will print sub-moa groups on any day that I am up to it!

 

[Dr T]

Depending on the M77, it might just prefer lighter bullets. However, you will probably need to load your own. The M77 Lightweights tend to be touchy--but accurate when a load is tuned properly.

 

[stringnut]

My dads Ruger has a long throat . As has been mentioned that may be your issue. The 257 was originally for short actions and factory ammo can be pretty far off the lands. Since we have never fired any factory ammo in the old mans I can't be of any help with that. 100 gr Hornady spire points over 4064 work very well. I do have to load them well over listed oal.

 

[JackSprat]

I don't know what twist your 77 is,but I would guess it is a little slow for the SSTs..I bet just about any flat base stubbier bullet would do as well as the cor-loct..

 

[Dr T]

Unfortuneately, the .25 cal. 100 gr Hornady Spire Point Interlock is no longer in there catalog. Sometimes it is worthwhile to be a hoarder...I still have a box of the superb .243 85 gr. Nosler Solid Base (best 6 mm deer bullet I have ever used...)

 

[Sunray]

Midway shows Remington as being on 'No Backorder'. Means they aren't loading it. However, Graf's is showing it as 'In Stock'(must be old stock) at $34.99 per 20.
Anyway, as mentioned, if you're not reloading you have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best. The price of said ammo means nothing.

 

[Cemetery21]

I don't have a Ruger, but I shot some of the Hornady 117 SSTs last weekend. I bought them for the brass. They went into an inch with 2 of 3 holes touching in a Shaw barreled short action Savage. They printed 1" lower and 3/4" to the right of my normal handloads.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I have an older Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts, I have tried the newer Hornady 117 grain SSTs as the older Remington CoreLokts are impossible to find. I have tried over a box to these SSTs at 100 yards and they are all over the place on paper. Does anybody else have this problem? Do these rifles just shoot lights out with only the old Remington ammo? Just curious, or maybe something wrong with my scope.

Try "Cheaper than Dirt" on line. They have 117 gr Core-Lokts advertised !
Good luck!

 

[Dr T]

so does ammotogo.com--right now (3 boxes and they are a bit pricy)

 

[Silent Sam]

Some misconceptions and wrong assumptions posted here. Production rifles, with few exceptions, are not built to shoot a specific load from a specific manufacturer. Just because your rifle likes a particular load doesn't mean all from that manufacturer will shoot that load well, or vice versa. The Roberts was not designed to fit in a "short" action as that standard did not exist when it was developed. It IS factory loaded to fit the modern short action length because some manufacturers have chambered the the 257 in short actions. Your Ruger is a "long" or "standard" action length made to accommodate 30-06 length cartridges which is longer than the cartridge design requires. The long throat explanation is conventional wisdom that often doesn't hold true. Your rifle with the load it likes is likely an example of this. The twist rate of your barrel is not the issue either. It is almost certainly 1 in 10 and that is sufficient to stabilize conventional hunting bullets up to 120 grains. Regardless, you cannot alter the throat or twist rate without changing the barrel. Even if you did that would in no way guarantee that it would shoot any particular load well, factory or otherwise. The standard factory loadings are seriously underloaded and even the the +P loads are not loaded to full potential. You must choose from a very limited range of factory offerings that are not optimal for the cartridge potential in your rifle (or any available production rifle) in almost any respect. You can either find and purchase the load you know works for you in sufficient quantity to last as long as you need it to or keep trying the available loads that have an appropriate bullet for your purposes and hope to get lucky.If you don't reload you are at a serious disadvantage with the 257 Roberts and you will never experience it's true potential.

 

[eastbank]

the 6.5,s get all the press, but the .257 roberts seems to be the red headed stepchild in the shooting world today. in the real hunting world you have to go up in bullet weight to see much difference between the 6.5 bullets and the .257 bullets and the 257 roberts is under loaded due to older rifles, in a strong actioned rifle the .257 roberts can be reloaded to a higher volicity. like a 90gr HPBT at 3300 fps and a 100gr bullet at 3100 fps and a 117gr bullet BTSP at 3000 fps. i load 3-4 grs H4831 and imr 4350 more than most loading books (worked up 1/3 of a grain at a time) in a older remington 722. i also own and shoot .260 rem and 6.5x55 swede rifles and have shot deer with all three calibers deader than a door nail out to just short of 300 yrds. if you hunt deer size animals with a .257 roberts you don,t have to hang your head in shame. eastbank.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Fine looking 722

 

[eastbank]

i thought you might like to see my 722 remington in .308, it is super shooter. it shoots three shot 1-1.5" groups at 200yrds with its favorite reloads. eastbank.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

That .308 722 is another good looking 722!

I was at a gun auction in PA last week and bid on one in .257 Roberts. It went for $750 with an inexpensive Bushnell scope and aftermarket stock. I wasn't the high bidder.

 

[Silent Sam]

the 257 roberts is under loaded due to older rifles,

That also is a commonly held idea. The problem with it is the 257 was never chambered in "weak" rifles. So that explanation doesn't really hold water. Could some wing nut chamber it in a weak action on his own? Yes, but the same could be said about any 55 - 65K psi cartridges.

 

[eastbank]

i wondered about that my self as i know of no weak factory actions made. maybe the factory made under powered ammo thinking about rifles made on small ring mausers(93-95-95). i do know that i would not fire the loads i load for my rem 722 in any of the small ring mausers, unless it was a 98 style. the only factory 257 roberts ammo i have seen here is a 120gr bullet at 2645fps, i load a 117 hornady btsp at a honest 3000 fps with no signs of high pressure and cases are easly sized. here,s my rem 722 in .222 rem. it shoots hornady 50gr v-max at 3200 fps into 1/2 three shot groups at 200yrds eastbank.