So excited to have acquired a new gun in the collection in a Remington 700 Classic .257 Roberts. Picked it up today in mint condition. Looks brand new. Never owned a .257 Roberts and I'm looking forward to doing some reloading for it. Should do dandy on these Texas Whitetail and hogs.
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Remington 700 Classic in .257 Roberts
- Thread starter Chaparral
- Start date
@Chaparral: Lucky you! I've always thought that the .257 Roberts was one of the best cartridges for north American hunting. I have two "bobs" and a couple of .243 win, but I'm fonder of the 25's. My dad made the subtle distinction this way: The 6mm's are varmint rifles that can be used for deer, and the .25's are deer rifles that can be used for varmints.
I'm glad you plan to handload, because the .257 needs that due to the under loaded factory rounds and the limited bullet selection. My Ruger 1-B with a 26 inch barrel and +P loads approaches .25-'06 velocities. If I remember correctly the Remington 700 classics had 24 inch barrels and that should help you a little with muzzle velocities.
Oh...and for a bit of meaningless trivia, your rifle is not chambered for the .257 Roberts, but instead it's chambered for the .257 Remington Roberts. Ned Roberts' original cartridge differed slightly from the commercialized version
I'm glad you plan to handload, because the .257 needs that due to the under loaded factory rounds and the limited bullet selection. My Ruger 1-B with a 26 inch barrel and +P loads approaches .25-'06 velocities. If I remember correctly the Remington 700 classics had 24 inch barrels and that should help you a little with muzzle velocities.
Oh...and for a bit of meaningless trivia, your rifle is not chambered for the .257 Roberts, but instead it's chambered for the .257 Remington Roberts. Ned Roberts' original cartridge differed slightly from the commercialized version
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
hammie, it's the same for Jerry Gebhart's 1930s Varminter and the Remington .22-250.
@flash-hole: I don't think the dies would be interchangeable. If I recall correctly, the original Roberts version had a different shoulder angle. This difference would only apply to the rifles from Ned Roberts or those from Griffin & Howe in the 1930's. I've never even seen pictures of those rifles, and so I think the chance of running into one are pretty small.
NW Texas & Edwards Plateau region. I usually hunt Whitetail and hogs. And I actually shot a free range Aoudad that was very close to the state record near the Palo Duro Canyon region. I have seen Aoudad numerous times. But I call in coyotes and bobcats too. And I have seen Pronghorn numerous times but have never hunted them. My go-to rifle has always been my Remington Sendero in 25-06. It is one of the first Senderos. That rifle loves to go hunting!Congrats. My 25 is a 25-06. Not too far removed from your Bob.
Where in TX do you hunt?
Thank you Hammie. Neat information.@Chaparral: Lucky you! I've always thought that the .257 Roberts was one of the best cartridges for north American hunting. I have two "bobs" and a couple of .243 win, but I'm fonder of the 25's. My dad made the subtle distinction this way: The 6mm's are varmint rifles that can be used for deer, and the .25's are deer rifles that can be used for varmints.
I'm glad you plan to handload, because the .257 needs that due to the under loaded factory rounds and the limited bullet selection. My Ruger 1-B with a 26 inch barrel and +P loads approaches .25-'06 velocities. If I remember correctly the Remington 700 classics had 24 inch barrels and that should help you a little with muzzle velocities.
Oh...and for a bit of meaningless trivia, your rifle is not chambered for the .257 Roberts, but instead it's chambered for the .257 Remington Roberts. Ned Roberts' original cartridge differed slightly from the commercialized version
thanks manI am envious! I have yet to own a 257 Roberts (I missed an opportunity on a ‘76 Ruger M77 at my LGS, still kicking myself!) But it’s on my top 5 calibers to acquire list! Congratulations!
Thanks, can't wait to shoot it. I went to a gun store and purchased a box of Hornady Superperfomance 117 gr SST & an old box of Western I think it's called in I want to say 87 gr maybe. We are being pounded by thunderstorms three day straight. Can't wait to get to the range. I ordered my dies and some brass.I have a pre-64 ( 1952 ) model 70 257 Roberts, you will be over joyed when you shoot it, you have a great gun in a great caliber !!
Will do!Congrats!! Let us know how it shoots and what you load in it!
Congrats on the new addition!
I'm shooting a Ruger M77 MKII in Uncle Bob.
I got 7X57 Mauser brass and necked it down. Cheap and easy to find.
I'm shooting 90 gr BlitzKings, 100,115 gr Ballistic Tips, and 115gr Berger VLD Hunting out of mine.
Wish the rifle was a little lighter, but sweet shooter out to 500 yards so far.
Yes, do yourself the favor and load to +P pressures. Hodgdon Hybrid 100V works great with 100-115gr pills.
I'm shooting a Ruger M77 MKII in Uncle Bob.
I got 7X57 Mauser brass and necked it down. Cheap and easy to find.
I'm shooting 90 gr BlitzKings, 100,115 gr Ballistic Tips, and 115gr Berger VLD Hunting out of mine.
Wish the rifle was a little lighter, but sweet shooter out to 500 yards so far.
Yes, do yourself the favor and load to +P pressures. Hodgdon Hybrid 100V works great with 100-115gr pills.
My .257 R isn't "pretty" but it's pretty handy. A "do-over" 98 Mauser that I acquired with a mis-cut 270 chamber and had re-barreled with an A&B 20" light weight carbine tube. It shoots 100 grain Sierra BTSP quite well and has put a bunch of deer in the freezer. It was my "meat deer" rifle for about a decade when I was feeding an extended family with venison.
My suggestion is don't try to make the little 257 R a 25/06. It will do a good job w/o hot rodding and will be more fun to shoot.
My suggestion is don't try to make the little 257 R a 25/06. It will do a good job w/o hot rodding and will be more fun to shoot.
J.G. Terry
New member
257 Roberts-a classic
At the time a rep from Hercules spoke to Ned about slope of the shoulder having to do with improved powder performance. When Remington standardized the caliber the shoulder angle deal was dropped. The shoulder angle is the same as 7mm Mauser. Remington was responsible for loading the cartridge down. The weak action theory is not correct. My Number One B does extremely well with 4350 and bullets one hundred grains and up. After shooting and loading for a Roberts some of these newer cartridges don't look so good. Hold onto that 700-as is. More than one pre-64 Model 70 was rechambered to 25-06. Not a wise thing to do in retrospect.
Opinion: Load Roberts as a Roberts. Don't chase 25-06.
At the time a rep from Hercules spoke to Ned about slope of the shoulder having to do with improved powder performance. When Remington standardized the caliber the shoulder angle deal was dropped. The shoulder angle is the same as 7mm Mauser. Remington was responsible for loading the cartridge down. The weak action theory is not correct. My Number One B does extremely well with 4350 and bullets one hundred grains and up. After shooting and loading for a Roberts some of these newer cartridges don't look so good. Hold onto that 700-as is. More than one pre-64 Model 70 was rechambered to 25-06. Not a wise thing to do in retrospect.
Opinion: Load Roberts as a Roberts. Don't chase 25-06.
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I have seen this recipe a lot! I will try it.my 257 Roberts really likes the Hornady 117gr SST 4350 powder !!