Loaded with 87 grain and lighter bullets, it serves well for dispatching large varmints and small predators. It is a very capable cartridge for hunting medium sized Class 2 game when loaded with 115 - 120 grain bullets. Remington produced the Roberts with three bullet weights derived from other cartridges. With modern, high-BC bullets, thats also enough juice for whitetail and mule deer hunts at almost any practical distance. fps and zero the rifle for 200 yards, bullet drop at 300 yards is only Free shipping for many products! 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. ), 100 yard KPS = 23.2 (Energy = 1771 ft. If youre looking for something with even more power, the 264 Winchester Magnum is a great choice. Niedner and L.C. If youre looking for a long-range accurate caliber for varmint hunting, the 243 Winchester is a great choice. If it is 1-12, then keep the bullet weight down to 87 grains. 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. handloaded for use in the field. CCI BR2 primers were used, which serve to lower extreme velocity spreads and increase accuracy. (20 inch bbl. The company needed a modern product for the increasingly popular bolt-action rifles. From the trajectory table, I recorded muzzle energy and energy at 100 yards and other relevant distances. Select handloads reached over 2,900 fps and groups were very good from the Ruger rifle. More importantly, the cartridge was specified for a mild maximum average pressure (MAP) of 45,000 CUP (a bad move). addition, Winchester and Hornady still turn out factory ammunition. 5.0. Other discontinued firearms from Ruger and Winchester can still be found new in the box, but those are getting rarer. The .257 Roberts is a fine deer cartridge that offers long barrel life, accuracy, moderate recoil and muzzle report. Both Jack These cartridges were highly touted by Warren Page, the Shooting Editor at Field & Stream magazine, and appeared to be ballistically superior to the .257 Roberts. Today, few 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. Since this was my first time out West for antelope, through a strange set of circumstances. " Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. Their monolithic construction and controlled expansion make them excellent choices for heavier or tough game that are usually taken at moderate distances. Barrel rifling diameter, from which calibers derive their designations, is 0.250 in or 6.35 mm. The rifle was a Winchester XTR Featherweight that became available lbs. This capability is important in ways I will demonstrate. ), 265 yard KPS = 15.9 (Energy = 1235 ft. See The G&S Online Rifle Cartridge Killing Power Formula: Implications and Applications and Determining the Effective Killing Range of Rifle Cartridges for fuller discussion of the killing power formula and effective killing range concepts. ), 200 yard KPS = 18.4 (Energy = 1360 ft. Winchester does not presently list Will have to check on twist. The .243 cartridge/load, being faster, must be better, right? Learn the difference between revolvers and semi-auto pistols and what makes them different. .257 Roberts Ballistics From the .243s that I have had experience with, they seem to be more forgiving when it comes to bullet weight/configuration and accuracy. The Roberts combines that solid ballistic performance with feather-light recoil. It is clear that the .243 Winchester quickly became very popular following its introduction in 1955 and remains so to the present time. It is also a popular choice for long-range target shooting. They are plenty good for what I need. Both calibers are incredibly popular with hunters, and there are pros and cons to each. For a performance comparison, lets put current .257 Roberts +P handloads next to its more modern challenger, the .25-06 Remington (1969). I may hold my nose and stick with the .243. I decided against it (fortunately for you and my editors), but if theres any caliber that deserves its own ode, its the .22 Long Rifle (LR). It remains a popular choice among hunters and shooters alike. The 257 Roberts is a great choice for hunters who want a versatile, all-around cartridge. However, the .243 Winchester cannot match the .257 Roberts as a big game cartridge, although the .243 is arguably a more efficient heavy varmint round. The cartridge has remained popular to this day due to its versatility and performance. 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. Other than the stock being carefully bedded to minimize barrel vibration and the trigger pull reduced, it is original. lbs. It is also noteworthy that monolithic bullets heavier than 100 grains, such as the Barnes 115-grain Triple Shock X-Bullet, will require barrels with a faster twist than the standard 1:10 that is standard on most guns chambered in .257. Basic components for the .257 Roberts are generally easy to find. It remains a popular choice among hunters and shooters alike. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. The point is that KPS and Effective Killing Range can be very useful tools for shooters who want to evaluate the killing performance of different cartridges and loads. Specifically, I hope that Henry Repeating Arms Co. (www.henryusa.com) will chamber their new Long Ranger lever action rifle in .257 Roberts. Benchmark and H-335 were neck and neck, with IMR-4895 following suit. There is no need to magnumize the Roberts, even when of Hercules Powder Company. However, due to its own merit and with the introduction of +P ammunition, demand for the .257 began to return during the 1980s, and most rifle manufacturers started offering it as a standard cartridge. 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. It is a shame that Remington did not specify the .257 Roberts for a MAP of 50,000 CUP in the first place. ), 275 yard KPS = 16.9 (Energy = 1292 ft. All I can say is that granting Bob +P status in 1974 was a great kindness. Energy increases were nothing to brag about. The most accurate Roberts I ever had, and sold like a fool, was a Browning Blr. lbs., MPBR = 300 yards (Zero at 255 yards). Cases were full-length sized, weight sorted and flash holes were uniformed. latter powder had not been used for quite a while, it was included. In August of 1964, Guns & Ammo published a cover story detailing what the magazines editors enthusiastically dubbed the worlds hottest .22! The wildcat cartridge could launch a 15-grain bullet an astounding 6585 feet-per-second (fps), over twice as fast as a .30-06 Springfield and six times as fast as a .22 LR. Thats a tough question to answer. : 2.535" Powder: 41.0 gr 43.7 gr Vel. Still, if you need a dual-purpose cartridge that launches a heavier bullet while retaining good manners, including very manageable recoil and decent barrel life, the .257 Roberts is still a runner in my book. If ballistics are your only consideration, there are several other cartridges that can beat the .257 Roberts in a foot race. Vintage RCBS dies and CCI BR-2 primers were used to develop load data. can help. The .250 Ackley Improved was developed by Parker Otto Ackley, P.O. Vortexs Ryan Muckenhirn explained that the .257 Roberts has suffered from the no-mans land that is quarter-bore cartridges. A friend of mine has had 3 different .257 Roberts, 2 standard and 1 Ackley version. However, the comparison is not quite that simple. The does a great job on deer - it holds together very well at the high velocities possible with the AI case and I have found it to be very accurate. I had one of the early 257 when Ruger brought them out. the time of this cartridges infancy, Dr. Mann conceded after much Pretty pathetic, but I traded it off when it would only do two inches with numerous bullets. Whenever any of these variables change, the KPS number changes proportionally. yards or less. Kimber offers their Hunter line chambered in .257 Roberts, and Ruger still makes their Model No. stock, a handy 22-inch barrel and fleur-de-lis checkering. lbs.). Have two in the house now. Subscribe and Read More Or Login Previous Article: .357 Remington Maximum Next Article: In The Black Around 1909 they completed the project with 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). Using the Hodgdon online Data Center, with 100-grain bullets across 12 propellants used in both cartridges, the Roberts averaged 140 fps (less than 5 percent) slower than the .25-06. Tht said, I've not seen any that shoot REALLY bad. (I adjusted this to a more normal 22 inch barrel length for a .243 hunting rifle. It appears that some rifles chambered in .257 Roberts can be very picky about bullet weight/configuration. It is truly a hunting rifle i.e. Swift Scirocco II, BC .384, MV 3120 f.p.s. Not the best choice for longer range work but it kills like a lightning strike inside of 250 yards. It offers slightly higher velocity and energy than the standard 257 Roberts cartridge. Winchester 760 and Hodgdon H-414 were on the list, and since the The commercialized version restored the 20-degree 45-minute shoulder angle of the parent 7mm Mauser case to be the cartridge we know today. At the Orvis flagship store in lbs. The Roberts experienced a unique transformation in 1974. As a matter of note, New factory rifle options are even more limited. The .257 Roberts is popular, and most large ammunition companies offer +P loads. # 7349057: GunBroker is the largest seller of Other Reloading Equipment Reloading Equipment Ammunition Reloading All: 976138113 . Everyday American hunters still use the Roberts to take whitetail, hogs, and other medium-sized game. The 243 Roberts is a great cartridge for deer hunting. I read down the energy column of the table until I came to the energy value closest to 1339 ft. lbs. ), BC .355; (SD x A) = (.242 x .0464) = .0112. 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