257 Roberts revisited

[Aberhan]

I sincerely believe the 257 Roberts is a classic cartridge that deserves a better fate than the dust bin of history. As such here is what I have done to restore this cartridge to everything that I believe Ned Roberts intended it to be. The cartridge on the right is the standard factory offering. The one one the left is one of my 120 grain handloads for my chamber with added freebore. You can see the advantages of case capacity and seating the bullet closer to the lands. I can actually move this out a few thou more even.

 

[Aberhan]

The original 257 Roberts was loaded as I recall to a very anemic 48,000 lbs. pressure. The newer SAAMI specifications has raised this to 58,000 in the designated +P loads. Still shy of the 60,000 - 65,000 for comparable centre fire rifle cartridges.

 

[JD338]

Love the 257 Roberts. I have a Remington 700 Classic chambered in the 257 Bob and settled on the Nosler 115 gr BT. It’s a little hammer on WT deer.

JD338

 

[PJGunner]

Interesting. I have two rifles chambered to the .257 Roberts. The Ruger #1 B came with several boxes of the now long gone Norma 100 gr. load which shoots less than MOA in the Ruger. The other rifle is a Winchester M70 Featherweight that has a long action but the magazine is blocked for the shorter cartridge, So far, I haven't been able to get that rifle to group worth a damn.
When I bought the Ruger, it came with six boxes of that Norma ammo. I've only run some from one box and I have 6 rounds left from that box. I'm thinking of running two 3 shot groups with that six rounds over the chronograph and on paper at the same time. If it groups well, I'll see if I can duplicate the load and also try it in the Ruger. I also have a supply of the Hornady 117 gr. round nose bullets that I have yet to try. Maybe they'll work and as oth rifles are modern and strog, maybe get a bt more zip than from factory.
PJ

 

[Hunter26]

My favorite cartridge and like JD338, my first was in a Rem 700 Classic. Still have the rifle but added an Encore pistol barrel in the same caliber. 100gr Partitions and 110gr Accubonds are my favorite. Wish one of the premium brass makers would do a run of Roberts brass.

 

[Slimfinn]

The neighbor gifted my wife his, it is a Browning BBR, We've shot it a couple times but nothing serious, I have some nosler partitions, both 115 and 129, that have a short ogive that were made for the roberts that i need to develop a load for

 

[Aberhan]

Nice, there is no loading data for bullets above 120 grain for the 257 Roberts. But now there are 25 caliber bullets available in 128, 129, 134 and 135 grains, possibly more that I’m not aware of. I had a fast twist barrel put on my recently built 257, specifically to try the longer heavier bullets. I have some 128 grain ELD-X loaded up that I haven’t tried yet. I extrapolated load data from the 25 Creedmoor which has close to the same case capacity, although rated for higher pressures. I’m using 39.0 grains of IMR 4831 and going up the ladder in increments of 39.0, 39.2, 39.4 and 39.6 . I don’t anticipate any problems and if I don’t see pressure signs I will keep going up in increments of .20. I am looking for the best accuracy not necessarily the most velocity. I have found in my experience the most accurate loads are rarely the hottest. I believe the 257 Roberts can hold its own against any contender of the .257 calibers. Including the 25 Creedmoor but I will know soon enough. As a hunting rifle the 257 Roberts has already proven itself, I’m hoping it will do the same as a target rifle. I have achieved groups of 2 1/2 inch at 320 yards which is more important to me than 1 inch at 100 yards. Incidentally this is with a Vortex Diamondback 3-9 tactical not an expensive target scope. Not that I’m trying to dump on the 25 Creedmoor, I think it’s a fine cartridge. But I would rather try to breathe new life into an old classic, time tested cartridge. Enjoy yours, they are hard to find. As an afterthought I don’t really want to compare it to other 25’s but rather the 243 Winchester which almost single handedly contributed to the demise of the “Bob”.

 

[frankm]

The 257 on a long action and a quick twist barrel eould open lots of eyes… right with a 25 Creedmoor and nipping on a 25-06 !!

 

[Aberhan]

Interesting. I have two rifles chambered to the .257 Roberts. The Ruger #1 B came with several boxes of the now long gone Norma 100 gr. load which shoots less than MOA in the Ruger. The other rifle is a Winchester M70 Featherweight that has a long action but the magazine is blocked for the shorter cartridge, So far, I haven't been able to get that rifle to group worth a damn.
When I bought the Ruger, it came with six boxes of that Norma ammo. I've only run some from one box and I have 6 rounds left from that box. I'm thinking of running two 3 shot groups with that six rounds over the chronograph and on paper at the same time. If it groups well, I'll see if I can duplicate the load and also try it in the Ruger. I also have a supply of the Hornady 117 gr. round nose bullets that I have yet to try. Maybe they'll work and as oth rifles are modern and strog, maybe get a bt more zip than from factory.
PJ

I have used IMR 4831 with good success pushing the 117 grain bullets. I settled on 42 grains as the most accurate although I did experiment with different increments up to 43.0 grains.

The 257 on a long action and a quick twist barrel eould open lots of eyes… right with a 25 Creedmoor and nipping on a 25-06 !!

I have done some testing just today with Hornady 128 grain ELD-X and IMR 4831. I started with 39.0 grains and worked up to 39.6 they all shot reasonably accurate with the best group using 39.4 grains. No alarming pressure signs, unfortunately I don’t have a chronograph to measure velocity. I’m sure I could safely push the limits higher but I am more interested in accuracy than velocity. I noticed there was very little difference in point of impact between the 128 and 120 grains. With the 120’s I use 42 grains of IMR 4831.