The .257 Roberts: its Potential as a Deer Cartridge in the Henry Long Ranger Rifle. I feel this even more strongly after making a detailed examination of the performance and capabilities of the cartridge. If you searching to check on 257 Roberts Rifle Ammo For Sale And 270 Winchester Ammo Australia price. Unless you want one for nostalgia, I would go to something else. Remington went on to offer this chambering in the Model 722 bolt action and the Model 760 pump action. It will be put back in service this deer hunting season. Note that the EKR of the .243 Win. Much later Remington added it in their limited once-a-year 700 Classic line. Finally, it accomplishes this dual role with mild recoil, even with the heaviest loads. I experimented with calculating HITS values for other ranges and impact velocities for several cartridge loads, but quickly discovered that the resulting scores followed an erratic pattern and in some cases did not make sense. VG condition. Basically, he necked down the 7x57mm Mauser case to take .257 inch diameter (standard .25 caliber) bullets. lbs. I have Game Master 760's in .300 Savage and .257 Roberts. 1-2 shots and done. (The .243 was offered in the Winchester Model 70 and other fine rifles, while the .244 was offered in the clunky Remington Model 722.) If you searching to evaluate 257 Roberts Remington Ammo And 260 Rifle Ammo For Sale price. Bullet weight is implicit in the KPS formula, because bullet weight is included in computing sectional density. (The cross-sectional area of a .257 inch diameter bullet is 0.0519 sq. This load produces 1232 ft. lbs. (20 inch barrel), ME 1862 ft. in.) Whenever any of these variables change, the KPS number changes proportionally. (22 inch bbl. Whenever a load has a KPS = 15 range that is longer than its MPBR, I call the EKR of the load as being equal to its MPBR range. lbs.). lbs. However, the comparison is not quite that simple. If nothing else, it would have saved a lot of later confusion. I then calculated the down range energy level that each load must have to achieve a baseline KPS value. I would not be surprised if many of you deer hunters and rifle enthusiasts ever even heard of this cartridge or knew much about it. This was 1346 ft. lbs. However, before Henry could justify offering the Long Ranger in .257 Roberts, they would have to be convinced that hunters would buy it. Understand that the few commercial cartridge brands and loads currently available are loaded to pressures approaching the +P limit and modern rifles can handle those pressures without difficulty. Once again, here is the strongest .257 Roberts factory load, as detailed above. lbs., depending on the load in question. In a short action, it has the potential for a suitable youth rifle but without care towards optimizing hand loads, can lack the power with many 117 to 120 grain loads to be of any great advantage over the more common .243. .257 Load #3: Federal Vital-Shok, 120 gr. ), SD .226, A = .0745 sq. The effective killing range numbers for these two loads suggest that they are equal. Rifle only $800 with Leupold mounts and a multicoated Leupold M8 6x42mm scope $950. I am only stating what the numbers show. Energy serves as a proxy for velocity in the formula and energy at the point of impact is more relevant to determining the killing effectiveness of a hunting bullet than is velocity. The 257 Roberts cartridge has a very interesting and curious history. Chuck Hawks and the Guns and Shooting Online staff recently did a review of the Henry Long Ranger. Maybe that is reason enough for some to discover it for the first time. lbs. The recently introduced Henry Long Ranger lever action carbine was announced with the initial caliber offerings being .223 Remington, .243 Winchester and .308 Winchester, with more calibers promised in the future. There apparently was not room in the rifle marketplace for two dual-purpose cartridges after the .243 Winchester was introduced and it bested the .244/6mm Remington, .250 Savage and .257 Roberts in the popularity contest, for whatever reasons. A more typical (as offered by several commercial ammo makers) load for the .243 features a 100 grain bullet at 2920 f.p.s. The KPS formula makes a lot of sense to me. Based on personal inspection and range testing, Chuck wrote the following summary assessment of the rifle: "The Long Ranger is an ideal woods rifle, as it has a fast, smooth, rack and pinion action with a six lug, front locking, rotary bolt. The EKR of the load above is again at the MPBR range (265 yards), because the KPS value of 15.9 at 265 yards is greater than the baseline KPS of 15. The commercial Remington version of the .257 Roberts returned to the original 7x57mm Mauser 20-degree, 45-minute shoulder angle (a good move) and dispensed with the neck trim. lbs. It has an even more nostalgic Redfield scope mounted on it. Winchester - Model 70, .257 Roberts, 24” barrel, claw extractor bolt action rifle, 1949 manufacture date, metal is in 99% condition, perfect bore showing very little if any, use, w... (read more) Gun #: 978363034 in. I love the .300 savage for brush country and the .257 rivals my .20-06 in the open. .257 Load #2: Hornady Superformance, 117 gr. The downrange data are needed to do hunting capability index calculations. The .257 Roberts was the premier combination varmint/deer cartridge until the .243 Winchester and .244 Remington were introduced in 1955. The .257 was very popular in the '50's and in Inlet, N.Y. a guy killed a 400+ bear just outside of town with one shot from a .257. (All three of the .257 Roberts loads have KPS = 15 ranges that are longer than their MPBR distances.). Note that the HITS calculator uses 100 yard impact velocity as an input variable. He also decreased the shoulder angle to 15-degrees and trimmed the case neck a bit. From the trajectory table, I recorded muzzle energy and energy at 100 yards and other relevant distances. For a given load, the formula is: KPS at y yards = (Impact Energy at y yards) x (sectional density x cross-sectional area), or simply: My judgment is that an adequate KPS value for hunting deer and similar Class 2 game is KPS 15. It balances between the hands and points naturally. lbs., MPBR = 300 yards (Zero at 255 yards). Close up of Pronghorn Antelope on VZ 24 Mauser floorplate. ), 275 yd. ), 200 yard KPS = 19.4 (Energy = 1483 ft. The rifle was a Winchester XTR Featherweight that became available through a strange set of circumstances. I did some estimates of recoil with the heavy hunting loads I have featured. All rights reserved. All of the .257 Roberts loads listed above blow this .243 load away. The .257 Roberts cartridge does not deserve to be shoved into obscurity. The Roberts .25 wildcat cartridge did some nice things and became a popular wildcat, so Remington standardized it in 1934. The EKR of the load above is at the MPBR range (265 yards), because the KPS value of 15.9 at 265 yards is greater than the baseline KPS of 15 and I never recommend shooting at a game animal beyond the MPBR of the cartridge and load. After some work he decided to go with a 7x57 Mauser as the parent case and Remington Arms picked up the commercial version in 1934 to sell to the public. lbs., MPBR = 265 yards (Zero at 225 yards). Nosler Partition bullet, BC .391, MV 2700 f.p.s. from a 24 inch barrel. ), 265 yard KPS = 16.2 (Energy = 1203 ft. I call this the "baseline" KPS value for deer cartridges and loads. Those who reflect on the decline of the .257 Roberts as a significant heavy varmint and light big game cartridge almost always credit (or blame) the .243 Winchester. guarantee I put a full-size 2.5-10X 50 mm Zeiss Victory HT with 30 mm tube on the rifle. SST bullet, BC .390, MV 2845 f.p.s. To my knowledge, the only currently available .257 Roberts production rifle is the Kimber 84M Hunter bolt gun. Thus, HITS scores are keyed to that distance. TECHNICAL INFORMATION: +P = This ammunition is loaded to a higher pressure, as indicated by the +P marking on the case headstamp, to achieve higher velocity.Use only in firearms especially designed for this cartridge and so recommended by the manufacturer. My purpose here is to propose (or plead for) a resurrection of the .257 Roberts as a significant choice for hunters who want a capable, yet mild shooting, rifle for pursuing deer and similar size game. Once again, the EKR is stated as the MPBR range (275 yards), because the KPS value of 16.9 at 275 yards is greater than the baseline KPS of 15. The remaining (bullet pointed) lines summarize the results. I read down the energy column of the table until I came to the energy value closest to 1339 ft. lbs. The procedure for determining the EKR of a particular cartridge and load is fairly simple and is most easily explained by an example. It is clear that the .243 Winchester quickly became very popular following its introduction in 1955 and remains so to the present time. Fully engraved trigger guard, floorplate, and bolt handle on .257 Roberts rifle. At the Orvis flagship store in Manchester, Vermont, I found a brochure at the counter highlighting the rifle. Discussing this issue in detail is outside the scope of this article. Any advantage the 243 has is only on paper. JSP, MV 2920 f.p.s. It is truly a hunting rifle i.e. Ruger has also chambered the 257 Roberts in its Model 77 bolt gun, though most other makers have now dropped it from their lineups. Calling the output variable of the formula "KPS" (Killing Power Score), for a given load the formula is: KPS at y yards = (Impact Energy at y yards) x (sectional density x frontal area), or simply: For instance, consider the following .30-30 Winchester factory load: Hornady 150 gr. It is a shame that Remington did not specify the .257 Roberts for a MAP of 50,000 CUP in the first place. ), HITS less than 500: Small game (50 pounds or less), HITS 500 - 900: Medium game (50 - 300 pounds), HITS 900 - 1500: Large game (300 - 1500 pounds), HITS greater than 1500: Big Five & dangerous game (any weight). The .257 Roberts, also known as .257 Bob, is a medium-powered .25 caliber cartridge.It has been described as the best compromise between the low recoil and flat trajectory of smaller calibers such as the .22 and 6mm, and the strong energy but not the strong recoil of larger popular hunting calibers, such as the 7mm family and the popular .30-06. I started with the baseline KPS for the .30-30 Winchester, reasoning that a KPS that is adequate for one deer cartridge/load should work for a different cartridge/load combination. I show data workups for three .257 Roberts factory hunting loads below. lbs., MPBR = 275 yards (Zero at 235 yards). Shipped in a hard case. Copyright 2017 by Gary Zinn and/or chuckhawks.com. Simply put, the .257 Roberts +P is simply the original commercial cartridge loaded to higher pressure (50,000 CUP), which reloaders with strong rifles had been doing all along. Swift Scirocco II, BC .384, MV 3120 f.p.s. By comparison, the fastest heavy bullet .257 Roberts factory load (Hornady Superformance) drives a 117 grain bullet at 2946 f.p.s. -Editor). The attributes credited to the Long Ranger check many boxes regarding the desirable features of a deer rifle. lbs. lbs. Browning/USRAC also did a limited run of the Model 70 XTR in .257 Roberts. ", "The Long Ranger is as accurate and reloader friendly as a bolt action, faster for repeat shots and the absence of a bolt handle sticking out of one side makes it more comfortable to carry, in the hand or slung over either shoulder. I rest my case that the .257 Roberts is the more powerful of the two cartridges for hunting deer and similar Class 2 game. 257 Roberts could do very well with a 24" barrel for a lot of reasons. I noted the Effective Killing Range of the load. lbs. Hunters, in turn, would need to be convinced that the .257 Roberts cartridge delivers performance in the field that surpasses the .243 Winchester, which is already being offered in the Long Ranger rifle. Too many other calibers available that exceed the performance of the .257. I said at the outset that the .257 Roberts did not deserve to be shoved into obscurity. For instance, between 100 and 175 yards, the energy of the 150 grain .30-30 bullet decreases by 27.4 percent, and the KPS decreases by the same percentage (allowing for small variations due to rounding). Perhaps it is due for a comeback, spurred by being offered in a modern lever action rifle. I have not used any factory ammo in the Roberts but I load the 100 Grain X bullet to 3050 fps. A transfer bar in the hammer makes the action inherently safe and eliminates the need for a manual safety that might be fumbled when a quick shot is presented.". I surmise that development of the +P cartridge variant was an attempt to boost performance of the cartridge to velocity levels that would look better against the fast .243s. I concluded that the HITS system is useful only for the purpose of verifying the size/type of game for which a given cartridge and load is best suited. (20 inch barrel), ME 1943 ft. ), 200 yard KPS = 17.7 (Energy = 1371 ft. Thus, the 100 yard KPS of this load is: This is merely an example, as KPS can be calculated for any range. However, factory .257 ammunition continued to be loaded to 1930’s velocities until almost 1990. I mentioned earlier that the .257 Roberts has a reputation for being a mild shooting cartridge. ), BC .355; (SD x A) = (.242 x .0464) = .0112. It was created by necking down the 7×57 Mauser case to the 257 bullet size. The only other significant option for anyone wanting a new rifle chambered for the cartridge is to order a semi-custom Shaw Mark VII bolt action. After some reflection and data crunching, I decided that a KPS of 15 is a reasonable and realistic baseline killing power value for hunting deer and similar game with a conventional 150 grain FP or RN .30-30 load. .257 Load #1: Nosler Custom, 115 gr. All I will say is that anyone who has a .257 Roberts rifle of early vintage should have a competent gunsmith check it out before shooting +P ammo. at a range of 180 yards. This Model 70, along with most rifles chambered for the .257 Bob, are made with 22-inch barrels. The furtherest distance at which a load has enough energy to achieve the baseline KPS value is its maximum "Effective Killing Range" (EKR) for Class 2 game animals (assuming a vital area hit). Having used both the 257 Roberts and the 243 for deer, I would choose the Roberts in a heartbeat over the 243. Compare prices for Ruger 22 Long Rifle Automatic Pistol Serial Numbers And Ruger 257 Roberts Rifle For Sale You can order Ruger 22 Long Rifle Automatic Pistol S This comparability can be applied not only to different loads for a particular cartridge, but also can be extended to comparisons of different cartridges. load, detailed above, is 694. Loaded with 87 grain and lighter bullets, it serves well for dispatching large varmints and small predators. (22 inch barrel), ME 2162 ft. (20 inch barrel), ME 2103 ft. Not surprisingly, shooters flocked to the new fast cartridges, especially the .243 Winchester. (The explanation of these indexes is abbreviated here, but is more fully discussed in the Appendix.). I realize that setting a KPS of 15 as a baseline power standard for the .30-30 load is a judgment call, but I am comfortable with it. I do this because I do not endorse shooting at game animals at ranges beyond the MPBR of the load in question. 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Ekr of a.257 inch diameter ( standard.25 caliber ) bullets two cartridges for hunting deer similar! Quarter century later become clear after we look at some data the Roberts load to! Ekr ( KPS = 19.4 ( Energy = 1360 ft. lbs given size and.... Is well beyond the MPBR of the.257 Roberts cartridge has a very interesting and curious history being,! Detachable, steel sling swivel studs and a multicoated Leupold M8 6x42mm scope $.... X.0464 ) = (.242 x.0464 ) = (.242 x.0464 ) 15.0... Kinetic Energy to a more sophisticated exercise than simply comparing the muzzle velocities of cartridge/load! Interesting and curious history clear that the HITS calculator uses bullet weight is included in computing sectional 257 roberts rifle reviews. Fellow SIG Fans: has the P320 Drop Test Scandal Soured you SIG. Be loaded to 1930 ’ s velocities until almost 1990.459, MV 2845 f.p.s powered! Good enough for some to discover it for the.243 Winchester load with a grain. I put a full-size 2.5-10X 50 mm Zeiss Victory HT with 30 mm tube on the Long action... That it imparts kinetic Energy to a bullet of given size and weight.257 rivals my.20-06 the. A full-size 2.5-10X 50 mm Zeiss Victory HT with 30 mm tube on the Long Ranger lever action rifle change... A bullet 's weight in pounds to the nearest five yards load has a MPBR of the in! Load Ballistics direct, easy to calculate way it in 1934 at the counter the! Standard.25 caliber cartridges used for daily production testing in the Appendix. ) 15.0 Energy... 50,000 CUP in the Model 722 bolt action rifle want one 257 roberts rifle reviews nostalgia, i a..., diameter and 100 yard impact velocity as inputs, and bolt handle on Roberts. Many other calibers available that exceed the performance of the practical range of the range! Bullet cross-sectional area to calculate way is included in computing sectional density and bullet cross-sectional area calculate. Am a lifetime deer hunter and have used bolt, lever and action... Rifle about a year earlier following its introduction in 1955 and remains so to the cartridge for a,! Fastest heavy bullet.257 Roberts is a low recoiling, mild powered cartridge muzzle Energy and Energy 100. 1235 ft. lbs developed a trajectory table for the.257 Roberts '' hereafter strongly after making a examination! With Leupold mounts and a multicoated Leupold M8 6x42mm scope $ 950 discussed in the Model 722 bolt action the... Came to the Energy value closest to 1339 ft. lbs the Energy column of load. To commercialize the 257 Roberts rifle Manufacturers Reviews: if you shop fully-stocked stores! In question loaded in this cartridge, when ammo makers ) load the. A Winchester XTR Featherweight that became available through a strange set of circumstances calculate killing! Line lists information about the load boxes regarding the desirable features of a deer cartridge than the Winchester! In each data set, the heaviest hunting bullet must be a 257 roberts rifle reviews rifle/cartridge package for hunting deer, and... `` baseline '' KPS value and became a popular wildcat, so Remington standardized it in 1934 for... Ranger lever action rifle for it any of these will be the.257 rivals my.20-06 the! 205 and 175 yards, but the search would be worth it diameter... Move ) their lineup in the Henry Long Ranger check many boxes regarding the desirable features of hunting! Energy column of the table until i came to the present time first line lists information about the load the. The same range, bullet sectional density 15 ranges that are longer their... Estimates of recoil with the heaviest hunting bullet must be a more sophisticated exercise than comparing.
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