257 Roberts Report

[James B]

GOT MY FIRST DEER OF THE SEASON YESTERDAY. sECOND DAY OUT. I HAD A DOE TAG TO FILL FIRST AND CAME ON A BUNCH OF ABOUT 12 mule deer. They were about 250 yards out but I was able to get into better range at about 150 yards they got a little nervous so I took the shot. I was useing the 257 Roberts with 100 grain X bullets. In all years of hunting with many big rifles I hav e never seen a deer hit the ground as fast as that big mully doe did. I heard the bullet hit and she was on the ground before I could get back to the scope. She was walking slightly towad me and comming uphill. The bullet hit just in front of and just above the front shoulder and exited through the center of the spine. I deboned it and ground it up today with a couple big pork roasts. Didn' t loose a cup of meat. My wife and daughter are just about done vaccume packing it now. Saved a little of the best steak and burgered the rest. I have an any deer and an anterless muzzle loader tag yet. I have until Jan. 31 to hunt yet. Great days!!!

[Vapodog]

Thanks for the report on the " X" bullet. This helps to hear others experiences.

I' ve used a .257 Roberts for several years and maybe I' ll order some Barnes X- bullets for it.

I have some very old winchester silver tip 100 grain bullets for the Roberts and like them because they are slightly round nosed and don' t take up so much powder capacity in a short magazined rifle.

Thanks again.

[akbound]

JamesB,

Congrats on the kill! Sounds as though someone will be eating " well" shortly. I' ve never owned a .257 Roberts, (a situation I may have to remedy someday), but have wanted one ever since reading exploits of Jack and Eleanor. Quite a number of years ago I helped my mother pick out a Ruger Ultralight chambered for .250 Savage, (eventually it became mine), and it truly performed all out of proportion to its diminutive size. I can only imagine that the .257 Roberts would be more of the same!

The only X bullets I have had personal experience with were some 180 X' s I loaded for a friend and his .300 Winchester Magnum. I saw him shoot through a big bull caribou twice and kill three separate black bears with a single shot apiece. We never recovered a bullet, they were all through-and-through. Great bullets!

By the way, before I forget, best of luck with your other tags!

[ktscontender]

Excellent!
Just picked up a 257 Bob in a Win. featherwieght, deer season is over now but wait til next year!!

[James B]

I also have a 250 Savage. I load it about 100 fps behind the ROBERTS. bOTH HOWEVER WILL HANDLE THE SAME CHORES AND BOTH CAN BE LOADED TO 3000 FPS WITH 100 GRAIN BULLETS. tHE rOBERTS HAS A BIT OF AN EDGE WITH 115 AND 120 GRAIN BULLETS.

[akbound]

JamesB,

The Roberts would probably be a better cartridge for either " big bodied" bucks and certainly for anything heavier than deer. They are both great cartridges that somehow ended up under rated.

[James B]

They were over shadowed by the 6mm craze but to my way of thinking, they are far superior to the 6' s.

[akbound]

Hi James,

Yea, that would have been Warren Page and his 6' s. (There I go remembering all the " old time" writers again.)

[James B]

I tried my best to like the 6mm rifles. I had several 243 win. and 6mm Remington rifles. They are amound the best varmit rifles that I have used but I don' t like them for deer. Anything the 6mm' s will do, the 25' s will do better. I feel that thier knock down power verses recoil are the best in the field. When it comes to shooting deer there is just no comparing the 100 grain 243 to the 100 or 120 grain 25 caliber. I too grew up looking forward to the writings of O Conner, Page Whelen and in later years Carmicheal and Milek and was sad to see Milek pass away a few years ago. I have never been over influenced by thier articals but learned a lot and in a way hunted with them in places I could never even dream of going. I quess I am old enough now to learn something again. I used to know it all but I enjoy the little things in life more now.