.257 Roberts vs .243 Winchester

[Wind Gypsy]

Cool find!

 

[Teeder]

My old Rem Mnt rifle loved 47.5grns of H-4350 with a Barnes 100grn TTSX.
Of a boatload of rifles I've had, that's one I regret letting go.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Well, I ended up going with a VERY nice Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts with the tang safety. It was made in 1981. Going to fit it with a vintage Leupold 2x7 Vari-X II.

Excited to learn about hand loading.

View attachment 62708

And now the journey begins. Plenty of decisions to make, which press, what dies, powder, primers etc. First things first though get yourself a good reloading manual. Two ways to go, manual from a bullet manufacturer or from a powder manufacturer. I have some from each. Once you get that manual skip the load data section and read the front half about the how's and why's of what you're going to be doing. Make sure you understand all of it before you think about throwing that first charge of powder. It'll be the safe way to start handloading and save you trouble later on. If I can be of any help ping me and I'll give all the advice I can.

 

[Angus 1895]

I am not trying to start a fight, but my uncle hunted for years for deer with a 257 roberts, but he frowned upon the 243.

I imagine the monolithic bullets weren’t around then.

Well done…….now you can say U shoot the Bob!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Gimme a cup and core over a mono in the smaller cartridges every time if a guy is worried about causing more tissue damage.

 

[Angus 1895]

I think he was concerned about recovery of the animal. He switched to a 270 later in his life.

I have only one time I hunted with a 243. Never used a Bob. So I have really no opinion.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

100 grains of lead squeezed into a .257” cylinder vs 100 grains of lead squeezed into a .243” cylinder, at similar enough velocities. With similar bullet construction nobody is going to be able to look at a wound and know which of the two cartridges was used. All things the same, the 243 is likely to penetrate a little deeper due to more sectional density and .257 likely to have a slightly wider wound cavity.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

And now the journey begins. Plenty of decisions to make, which press, what dies, powder, primers etc. First things first though get yourself a good reloading manual. Two ways to go, manual from a bullet manufacturer or from a powder manufacturer. I have some from each. Once you get that manual skip the load data section and read the front half about the how's and why's of what you're going to be doing. Make sure you understand all of it before you think about throwing that first charge of powder. It'll be the safe way to start handloading and save you trouble later on. If I can be of any help ping me and I'll give all the advice I can.

Thanks Jerry. You've been very encouraging. I appreciate your help.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I am not trying to start a fight, but my uncle hunted for years for deer with a 257 roberts, but he frowned upon the 243.

I imagine the monolithic bullets weren’t around then.

Well done…….now you can say U shoot the Bob!

Thanks angus!

When I was 18 and in the military back in the late 80's a civilian who was my boss used a .257 Roberts foe deer hunting in VA. Never heard of it? He swore by. I actually bought one in the early 90's when I got out and hunted with it for a few years in VT...then sold it and began using only Remington pumps as I got into tracking more. Recently I've been thinking about retirement and hunting other states I thought I'd pick up a bolt action again. Also wanted something for our growing coyote population here in NW Mass. Back then ammo was easy to find. 30 years later it seems to have all but evaporated.

 

[Teeder]

100 grains of lead squeezed into a .257” cylinder vs 100 grains of lead squeezed into a .243” cylinder, at similar enough velocities. With similar bullet construction nobody is going to be able to look at a wound and know which of the two cartridges was used. All things the same, the 243 is likely to penetrate a little deeper due to more sectional density and .257 likely to have a slightly wider wound cavity.

Agree.
It would have to be a hefty jump in size before anything was noticeable, IMO.
We all get favorites, some based on experiences and some just a gut feeling. Me, I absolutely know my 7mm-08's are far superior to anything else out there!

 

[bigboreblr]

I was on the old cabelas forum for years. There wasa guy on there who hunted everything everywhere. Anything he could reasonably shoot with his 257, that would be his go to gun.

 

[Booner21]

I have a 257 weatherby a little hotter than the Robert’s but I love that rifle. I haven’t shot a ton of animals but several deer have fallen to that rifle.


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[Angus 1895]

100 grains of lead squeezed into a .257” cylinder vs 100 grains of lead squeezed into a .243” cylinder, at similar enough velocities. With similar bullet construction nobody is going to be able to look at a wound and know which of the two cartridges was used. All things the same, the 243 is likely to penetrate a little deeper due to more sectional density and .257 likely to have a slightly wider wound cavity.

Is all that is offered in the 257 is 100 grains?

I think I remember trying a heavier bullet in a 250/3000……it tumbled due to the Savage 1899 s rifeling was fast enough.

It was a eye opener to me when a gun writer stated things changed for him when he realized there was no single caliber or action that was life changing.

I kind of look like it as debating chocolate vs vanilla, or apples vs oranges.

 

[Teeder]

Up to 120's from what I remember.

 

[sandbur]

Agree.
It would have to be a hefty jump in size before anything was noticeable, IMO.
We all get favorites, some based on experiences and some just a gut feeling. Me, I absolutely know my 7mm-08's are far superior to anything else out there!

7.08’s and 280 rule here.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Is all that is offered in the 257 is 100 grains?

Not sure on factory loadings. I just freshened up on my Roberts stuff and all the references I saw were 100 grain loads. I’m sure you can load them with the same 110-120 gr bullets that are common in 25-06 loads if they aren’t super slow twist rates. Those would probably be similar in velocity to a 100 gr 243 load at similar pressures too. Seems like factory ammo is probably loaded to lower pressures (54k psi max vs 60k SAAMI max in 243) though.

 

[Native Hunter]

A bullet I like in my 25-06 is the 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. I can get 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds with it and IMR 4350, and it has performed well on the deer I’ve shot with it. It should also be a good bullet for a 257 Roberts.

 

[Telemark]

I would try a box of Hornady ELD-X bullets. They make a 110 grain for the .257 Roberts. It is hands down the most accurate bullet I've ever shot, and in my short barrelled .308 it dropped some rather large red deer, one of which was a trophy stag over 400 lbs.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

If getting into handloading and scouring components - Vihtavouri N555, Hodgdon H4350, and Winchester Staball 6.5 are some powders that have been available recently that should do well in a 257 bob with 100-120 gr bullets. Also, you can use 257 +P data rather than standard 257 data when loading if you'd like. The difference is +p has a higher max pressure (58k PSI) that aligns with modern firearms. Most new cartridges (other than those designed for gas semis) introduced have max saami pressures above 60k PSI. I like @Native Hunter's recommendation on the 115 ballistic tip. I like ELDx too but the ballistic tips tend to have a little more balanced performance inside 2-300 yards. The ELDx at higher velocities are pretty violent.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Don't know what other calibers Natty has, but I'd look at those too before I picked a powder specifically for the .257. 4831 is a good powder and I'd probably look at the 4831SC if I was using a powder measure.