Cartridge Comparison: 257 Roberts

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Who is Ron Spomer
For 44 years I’ve had the good fortune to photograph and write about my passion – the outdoor life. Wild creatures and wild places have always stirred me – from the first flushing pheasant that frightened me out of my socks in grandpa’s cornfield to the last whitetail that dismissed me with a wag of its tail. In my attempts to connect with this natural wonder, to become an integral part of our ecosystem and capture a bit of its mystery, I’ve photographed, hiked, hunted, birded, and fished across much of this planet. I've seen the beauty that everyone should see, survived adventures that everyone should experience. I may not have climbed the highest mountains, canoed the wildest rivers, caught the largest fish or shot the biggest bucks, but I’ve tried. Perhaps you have, too. And that’s the essential thing. Being out there, an active participant in our outdoor world.

Produced by: @red11media

Disclaimer
All loading, handloading, gunsmithing, shooting and associated activities and demonstrations depicted in our videos are conducted by trained, certified, professional gun handlers, instructors, and shooters for instructional and entertainment purposes only with emphasis on safety and responsible gun handling. Always check at least 3 industry handloading manuals for handloading data, 2 or 3 online ballistic calculators for ballistic data. Do not modify any cartridge or firearm beyond what the manufacturer recommends. Do not attempt to duplicate, mimic, or replicate anything you see in our videos. Firearms, ammunition, and constituent parts can be extremely dangerous if not used safely.

[alexrobbins]

My favorite rifle of all time. Been using my grandpas old remington 722 .257 roberts for deer love it to death.

[Kmecha]

6.5x55 swede, handloaded with good brass. Diamond in the rough

[jasonf.]

One of my gun buying regrets is not buying a Winchester M70 Featherweight in .257 Roberts when that chambering was offered. One of these days I may pick up a new Featherweight and have it rebarreled to that chambering.

[taggartlawfirm]

My first “grown up” deer rifle as opposed to my 30-30 was a Remington Model 30 in 257 Roberts that I have to this day, 50 years later.

[uralbob]

I’d love to have a .257 Roberts! It’s a grand old cartridge.

[FredHenry]

I own a Ruger M77 Mark 2 in .257 Roberts. It is a wonderful rifle.

[randlerichardson]

I have a Savage model 111 chambered in 25-06. I’ve taken everything from ground hogs to wild hogs with it and in between with it. I started with solid base Nosler Ballistic Tips 85gr being the first weight and I moved up to 100gr Nosler solid base ballistic tips. I used the 85gr to take hogs out for a long time.

[randalbigirvirvin]

After watching the full video, it appears that the 6mm is superior across the board. I have all three of these and really like them all. I also have the 25-06 and absolutely love it. Great comparison.

[nickgironda]

Ron, for a hunting caliber, is it wrong or simplistic to treat accuracy as the foremost consideration? The most powerful projectile out of the most expensive gun is worthless if it misses entirely or worse wounds the animal. 🤔

[JB-mors]

I only have a .308. It’s a Steyr Pro Hunter but all of these videos confuses me more on what to get.

[timjohnson]

Ron usually hits the mark, but on this one I don't think he has firsthand knowledge of handloading each of these cartridges.
He used almost full house .243 and 6mm data. That Roberts data is WAY underloaded. He used 2800fps with a .453 G1 for a 115gr Nosler.

Last Friday I was out testing with my Roberts and I'm using a 117gr Cayuga, which is .555 G1 and I have it going 3206fps. That puts it in an entirely different class ABOVE the 2 6mm"s and closer to 25-06 and 270 territory.
And I'm not knocking the .243. I love the .243 and will defend it fiercely, I own 2 of them and have loaded and fired over 3, 000 rounds for them since 1998. I know exactly what a .243 can do. While it is an excellent cartridge, it can't hang with the 257 Roberts.

And the 6mm Rem is the same as the Roberts, with a smaller bullet. When BOTH are loaded to full potential, the bigger bore diameter will have more energy/performance.

[chriscosby]

257 Roberts is a great cartridge, but with the lack of any new rifles -- I don't see getting into the cartridge.

[bobdixon]

I was offered a Mauser Sporter in 257 Roberts that I shot a 3/4" group with, but didn't like the price.

[paulmarkwell]

Somebody once told me them is mountain calibers for shooting up hill flat trajectory so you want have to much rise

[johnnash]

I understand the .257 niche cult, but imho, it's too close to .243 and .264 calibers with greater selection to have its own place in the mainstream, which is why it's a niche, to a lesser extent selection wise, the .277 is another "Tweener"; but I get their historic value, I'm in the AI niche, to each their own. How about a .297 caliber?

[bkauffman]

So the 257 shoiting a 117 compared to the 243 and 6mm with 20 grain lighter bullets/ smaller diameter, hangs right there with them. That tells me the 257 is superior over the others

[Dirtytoothbrush]

A mountain lion gets hunted by this gun