New here, but here's my "line up"...

[257 Ackley]

Tom -
my go-to bullet for the 257 calibers is the 110 AB. Both in the Ackley and standard bob, as well as my 25-06. There have been several one shot kills on deer that do not travel far after having leak holes on both sides. I have yet to recover an AB from anything I have shot.

 

[tddeangelo]

Tom -
my go-to bullet for the 257 calibers is the 110 AB. Both in the Ackley and standard bob, as well as my 25-06. There have been several one shot kills on deer that do not travel far after having leak holes on both sides. I have yet to recover an AB from anything I have shot.

That's my thought process......I don't have any doubt that the round can do the job, I just distrust the light bullets from previous experience. A bullet that will bore through and come on out the far side gives me lots more confidence in a dead, recoverable animal than one that comes apart at an unpredictable depth into the animal.

Gotta get a set of dies, have a good supply of brass, and I'll start putting some loads together.

 

[SJB358]

Tom, what are you waiting for! I think you are going to love having that 257 at the range to shoot along with your 300WSM. Should make for pleasant bench time. Scotty

 

[tddeangelo]

Tom, what are you waiting for! I think you are going to love having that 257 at the range to shoot along with your 300WSM. Should make for pleasant bench time. Scotty

That dang swimming pool installation is eating funds up like rabbit in a carrot patch. A buddy of mine has some 257 RCBS dies that I might borrow. Gonna order up some AB's for the 257 and 300 on the free shipping offer, I think. I already have IMR4350, and might get some H4831 or H4831SC to try David's loads for the 300.

Thinking 110gr AB's for the Bob and 180 or 200gr AB's for the 300.

 

[SJB358]

That dang swimming pool installation is eating funds up like rabbit in a carrot patch. A buddy of mine has some 257 RCBS dies that I might borrow. Gonna order up some AB's for the 257 and 300 on the free shipping offer, I think. I already have IMR4350, and might get some H4831 or H4831SC to try David's loads for the 300.

Thinking 110gr AB's for the Bob and 180 or 200gr AB's for the 300.

I think you will be really happy with both of those bullets. I imagine your IMR4350 would work just fine for both cartridges. Might wanna just try it out before you go further. No sense is spending more, if 4350 covers them. It seems like an excellent powder for both. I would ask Mike to run a QL for both cartridges and bullets you wanna shoot. Should give you a decent idea of speeds and such. It is excellent data for the handloader. Thank God Mike keeps his QL up to date for us!!! It really does save alot of guess work in the reloading process. Scotty

 

[tddeangelo]

That dang swimming pool installation is eating funds up like rabbit in a carrot patch. A buddy of mine has some 257 RCBS dies that I might borrow. Gonna order up some AB's for the 257 and 300 on the free shipping offer, I think. I already have IMR4350, and might get some H4831 or H4831SC to try David's loads for the 300.

Thinking 110gr AB's for the Bob and 180 or 200gr AB's for the 300.

I think you will be really happy with both of those bullets. I imagine your IMR4350 would work just fine for both cartridges. Might wanna just try it out before you go further. No sense is spending more, if 4350 covers them. It seems like an excellent powder for both. I would ask Mike to run a QL for both cartridges and bullets you wanna shoot. Should give you a decent idea of speeds and such. It is excellent data for the handloader. Thank God Mike keeps his QL up to date for us!!! It really does save alot of guess work in the reloading process. Scotty

I've heard about QuickLoad, but what exactly does it do?

 

[SJB358]

It will predict muzzle velocity, load density, burn times and a bunch of other things. Gives you good powders to start with and how well different powders will work for a certain bullet. If you give your case capacity in grains of water you will get very accurate data. Dr Mike is very helpful in these regards. He does more loading than most of us and can give some great starter loads that will usually be right on point. Scotty

 

[tddeangelo]

It will predict muzzle velocity, load density, burn times and a bunch of other things. Gives you good powders to start with and how well different powders will work for a certain bullet. If you give your case capacity in grains of water you will get very accurate data. Dr Mike is very helpful in these regards. He does more loading than most of us and can give some great starter loads that will usually be right on point. Scotty

Paging DrMike....

 

[DrMike]

This will explain the system pretty thoroughly, plus give you opportunity to download a demo. The cost is very reasonable.

http://www.neconos.com/details3.htm

 

[JD338]

tddeangelo

Glad you are here Tom!

That is a nice collection you have. That 257 Roberts is a sweet heart if a rifle. What loads are you running through her?
Let us know if you need some Bob loads. They are usually shooters and the 257 Bob will kill deer like lighting.

JD338

Currently shooting a very quickly dwindling batch of Hornady Light Mag ammo with 117gr SST bullets. Was thinking of moving to a 110gr AB or IB for handloads.

I shot a deer with the SST Light Mag loads, and my dad shot two. The SST did a decent job.

I will add for perspective, though, that my father and I have had rocky experiences with the .257 and the 6mm Remington. I shot my first deer with a Remington 700 Classic in 257 Roberts, and my dad no longer owns that gun because of the poor performance of the 257 that we saw. Dad lost a beautiful buck because a well-placed round didn't perform (deer was found nearly a mile away in a lake with one lung punctured).

We were shooting Sierra GameKings,and they penetrated poorly, killed poorly, and left poor blood trails.

Now, I'm ready to give the 257 a real good try again, but bear in mind it's got some work ahead to really earn my trust fully again. I want it to work as well as I read about it working, but I need to see it for myself before it's "true" to me again, if that makes sense.

I shoot a M700 Classic 257 Roberts and Nosler bullets perform very well for me. I shot these coyotes this past winter.
110 gr AB

100 gr BT

Both loads shoot to the same POI at 100 yds.

JD338

 

[TRIC]

TD, don't discount the 257 Bob based on poor bullet choice. I load H4350 behind the 115 PT. Excellent performance and accuracy...

 

[tddeangelo]

TD, don't discount the 257 Bob based on poor bullet choice. I load H4350 behind the 115 PT. Excellent performance and accuracy...

I'm certainly not discounting it, but I've seen it at its worst, so I need to see it at its best before I'm fully trusting of it again. Just human nature......once you've been burned, you want to be sure before you trust it again.

In theory, all the accounts of its performance make tons of sense. I just need to see it for myself to start truly believing/trusting in the round again. If I didn't like or want it, I'd not have the rifle. My dad doesn't want it for those reasons (and a few others that are not related to the caliber at all), which is why he gave it to me. I want to see it perform like everyone says it will, I am sure it can, but I just have to experience it myself, that's all.

 

[6mm Remington]

Tom the guys are right. That 257 Roberts is a fantastic cartridge that kills a lot better than it should. I should know as I shoot it's little brother! Their bullet selection is great too. ANY of the Partitions from 100-120 grs., the 110 gr. AccuBond, or the 100 gr. E-tip will work so nicely. Out of all of those listed I would think that the 110 gr. AccuBond would be just about perfect for everything you would want to hunt with it.

I have never shot anything but 100 gr. Partitions in my 6mm Remington and it has never let me down on ANYTHING! I even shot one spike bull elk at 30 yards in heavy timber. Hit him in the center of his right shoulder and the Partition exited out his chest just in front of his left shoulder. He barely staggered about 4 steps and stopped. He was DRT but I didn't want him going anyplace as elk are unbelievable on what they can do, so I put one more at the base of his ear. Everyone's probably sick of this picture too, but my boy shot his cow at 350 yards with a 90 gr. E-tip in his 6mm. Directly behind the right shoulder and it exited out the center of her left shoulder! She went maybe 25-30 yards and dropped.
90 gr. E-tip

100 gr. Partition 350 yards (antelope buck)

25-06 120 gr. Partition 30 yards

25-06 120 gr. Partition 250 yards

I do have to say that I do not have a Bob but I'm just right on either side of it and it's a great round. If I had one I would be singing its praises like these guys here are doing and rightly so.
That is one VERY NICE RIFLE!

 

[6mm Remington]

Try this again. 25-06 120 gr. Partition on a cow elk at 250 yards. One shot. In the left side and exited the right side. Went 40 yards.

 

[tddeangelo]

I know, I know.....I will be "a believer" at some point....just give me time!

I can tell you I wish had the Ruger No1 in 6mm my dad used to have. That thing shot like nobody's business and looked good doing it! After a GameKing went to pieces an inch into a deer's shoulder after I made a 300 yard sitting (no rest) shot to connect, we were a little bit put off on it. My dad shot a buck with his 700 Classic in 257 Robts 4 times....yes, 4....and it went 200 yards. One round in the hind quarters (it had been running flat out), another at about elbow level on the front leg, but two solidly in the shoulder region. Only one penetrated through to the lungs.

The next year, he lost a beauty of a 9pt to a buck that only gave him one shot and the bullet blew apart before doing more than a bit of damage to one lung. The deer was found by a friend of ours who was a game warden at the time.....and it was close to a mile away floating in a lake. Then he shot one the next day through the heart and looked for hours to find it because there was no blood trail. At that point, he ditched the 257, and the following year after he did that, I had the incident with the 6mm Rem and that was all it took for him to ditch that one, too.

He couldn't get Partitions to shoot better than about 2" in his 700, so he never used them to hunt. The Sierra GK's shot great, but the results weren't stunning. I was young enough at the time that I don't know the particulars of what/how he loaded the Partitions. I did shoot my first deer with his 700 Classic....shot a doe on a dead run at 80 yards, high shoulder hit, DRT.

 

[SJB358]

Great pictures again David. I am never tired of seeing trophies like those.

Tom, I think you will come into the 257 fine. I would be leery also if I had experienced that kind of failure. Again, if there is a question about bullet integrity, nothing like setting up some water filled milk jugs and letting it show you. I know it isn't hide nor bone, but it will give you a decent idea, especially if you smash them at 25 yards or so. That will be the toughest the bullet should ever encounter. If it is going to be flaky, I would bet it would show up there.

On another note, I have a bunch of 115gr-120gr PT's I am not going to be using for awhile. Send me an address and I will send them to you for testing. Scotty

 

[tddeangelo]

Great pictures again David. I am never tired of seeing trophies like those.

Tom, I think you will come into the 257 fine. I would be leery also if I had experienced that kind of failure. Again, if there is a question about bullet integrity, nothing like setting up some water filled milk jugs and letting it show you. I know it isn't hide nor bone, but it will give you a decent idea, especially if you smash them at 25 yards or so. That will be the toughest the bullet should ever encounter. If it is going to be flaky, I would bet it would show up there.

On another note, I have a bunch of 115gr-120gr PT's I am not going to be using for awhile. Send me an address and I will send them to you for testing. Scotty

Aren't you needing those for a new 25-06?

I appreciate the offer, Scotty. Let me try some AB's first, and if for some reason I can't get 'em to shoot, I'll let you know.

 

[DrMike]

Bullet construction is vital to clean kills on game. Unfortunately, there is no one bullet that will do it all. At lower velocities, some bullets fail to expand, though they penetrate into tomorrow. At higher velocities, some bullets are quite frangible, failing to reach the vitals. When everything is considered, I still consider that the Partition design is one of the best all around bullets provided to the conscientious hunter today. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it is significant to note the manufacturers that now have a bullet with a monolithic rear or with a mandrel to separate the rear from the front or that use a denser material on the rear portion of the bullet.

I am currently working on a rifle that has lower velocities. The cartridge will be used on sitka deer, black bear and moose. It shoots one particular monolithic bullet quite accurately. However, I cautioned the owner that under the conditions of his hunt, he may see wounded game as velocities are marginal (in my estimate) for expansion. When he asked what I might recommend, I didn't hesitate to recommend that he look at either the AccuBond or the Partition, and indicated that I leaned toward the Partition in his instance. It didn't take much work to convince him as he has used Partitions in a similar cartridge for a number of years, with an excellent record on the game he intended to hunt. I am so pleased that we have this option today.

 

[SJB358]

I really like the PT's. Never had an issue getting hunting grade accuracy from just about any rifle and the exact reason Mike stated, they will expand violently, but also remain at least half intact in order to penetrate. Plus, they sit right in the middle of even todays hotshot bullets for BC. It seems like a win/win to me. Scotty

 

[SJB358]

Great pictures again David. I am never tired of seeing trophies like those.

Tom, I think you will come into the 257 fine. I would be leery also if I had experienced that kind of failure. Again, if there is a question about bullet integrity, nothing like setting up some water filled milk jugs and letting it show you. I know it isn't hide nor bone, but it will give you a decent idea, especially if you smash them at 25 yards or so. That will be the toughest the bullet should ever encounter. If it is going to be flaky, I would bet it would show up there.

On another note, I have a bunch of 115gr-120gr PT's I am not going to be using for awhile. Send me an address and I will send them to you for testing. Scotty

Aren't you needing those for a new 25-06?

I appreciate the offer, Scotty. Let me try some AB's first, and if for some reason I can't get 'em to shoot, I'll let you know.

Well, I don't currently have a 25-06 and don't plan on getting one for awhile. I do want one, but with my current safe, I am in no lack of rifles to hunt/work with. I bought the PT's when I bought the 25-06 the first time around. Loved the cartridge, hated the rifle. I will get another, just not a priority right this second. When I can put some eyeballs on the new M70's Sporters, that may change. Scotty