I over think things and spend way too much time second guessing myself. I am having a tough time deciding on a bullet to use for this deer season in my Roberts. So I thought I would open it up to you guys that have been there done that.

A good problem that I have is that my rifle will shoot just about anything I run through it. I have had good luck with 117-gr. Sierra Gamekings, 100 & 115-gr. Nosler BT's, 100-gr. Nosler Partitions, 100 & 117-gr. Hornady Spirepoints. The groups have averaged consistently from 0.25" to 1.15". So, of the bullets I have listed above which would you choose? My shot opportunities, as with my folks, will average around 100 yds. but I have a few hunts planned that will give me opportunities out to 300 yds. I am sure that any of these bullets will do the job I want if a put the bullet where it needs to go. But I am skeptical of the BT's and Sierra's have a reputation as quick expanders. I was thinking the 100-gr. Partition or the Hornady spirepoint might be the best choice especially if a 200 yd. quartering away shot has to be taken.

Okay guy's, what say you???

Thanks.

C-ROY

C-ROY,
I shoot a Rem 700 Classic rechambered to 257 imp. for deer and antelope here in CO. I was shooting the 100gr. Nos. BT but decided to use a little more bullet because of the deer and have switched to the 117gr Hor. SST. In the standard Roberts I have loaded the 100 gr. Hor. SP with good results so that would be my first choice. Besides, you won't find a better company to deal with if you have a question. My opinion of the partition is that it will do the job, but there are cheaper bullets that will do the job just as well!
Just my thoughts,
Elk Country

100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip!!!

You can waste your time on others, but you can't find another with the accuracy and terminal performance they have!

I think I'll give the nod to Hornady. 100 gr Spire Pt. or even heavier if you like. Of all the bullet makers out there, Hornady have always been the most consistent for me. Noslers are good, but I think way over priced. IMHO

C-Roy: You're spending way too much time worrying over this matter. There's not a single bullet you've listed that won't do just fine for deer.

In the one gun I shoot Nosler Partitions for deer, I do so because they shoot best in this particular gun, not because they're needed.

All are excellent bullets. My suggestion would be to set up targets out to 300 yards, and the load which gives you the best accuracy at all yardages would be the one I'd pick.

Which will most likely be the Ballistic Tip.

My pick would be the Nosler Partition. I've seen alot of them used, in that class of cartriage, on game, much of it much bigger, and tougher, than deer.
I like an edge for those bad angle/bad hit situations. The Partition will penetrate better than all the others.
The 117-120 gr. bullets tend to be designed for the .25-06, so they tend to hold up well.
The Nosler Ballistic Tip has a bad habit of losing it's core, and not penetrating well, when it encounters anything. E

I like the Nosler Ballistic Tips either 100gr or 115 from my 257AI.

I would recommend the Nosler partitions. I really like the 115 gr. partition in my .25-06, but the 100 gr. partitions work well also. The conventional bullets are fine if you get a broadside shot in the lungs, but the partition is much better if you don't get a perfect angle. The difference in the cost of a box of partitions and a box of conventional bullets is probably insignificant compared to the other costs of hunting and I feel it is good insurance.

FWIW:

I've used the std. .257 on maybe 2 dz. deer, mostly in Ca. & Utah and never lost one.

The 100 gr. bullets seems to kill more quickly, (I've used the Nosler partition mostly, and a few Hornadys. Neither one usually exits. Never took a shot from a really bad angle, so I can't say how they would do there.

In the 120 range, I've used the 115 Nosler partition, 117 Sierra flat base, and 120 Speer hot core. Of these 3, the Speer and Nosler seem to punch through without as much expansion. They all died, just a bit more slowly. The Sierra seems to act more like the 100's (quick kills) except with more weight & penetration. They usually exited, but with a bigger hole than the others in the 120 range.

If I were to load a Roberts for deer right now, It'd be with that 117 Sierra flat base.

JimF

100 or 115 grain BT

No need to fool around with anything else

/ JOHAN

100 or 115 gr NBT! You won't be disappointed.

How does the 117 gr. Sierra Gamking compare with the 115 gr. Nosler BT? These 2 are by far the most accurate. If I had more time to do more load development before the season then I would work up a load with the 115 gr. Nosler Partition but the season starts Aug. 15th so time is running out and I already have good safe loads for the other 2 bullets mentioned. Thanks.

C-ROY

The 117 Sierra or the 115 Nosler are hard to beat!

StoneCreek is right: any of the bullets you mentioned will work just fine. SImply go with the load you have shot the most and are most comfortable using.

RE: Nosler Partition vs. Sierra Gameking

Would seem to be a mismatch in most eyes as the partition has such a great rep. However, IMHO the 117 Sierra is maybe a quicker killer when driven @ Roberts velocities, and when targeted at deer sized game. I shoot a 25-06 now and might select the partition or the Speer hot core for it, but for the Roberts, I'd go with the Sierra.

BTW I think you mentioned that you are using a short action rifle? The Sierra in flat base trim is fairly short and minimizes the bullet seating problems that (do) occur with the really long bullets like the 120 Btip for example.

Jim

I wanted to let everyone know that I have decided on a bullet for this deer season. I have decided on the 115 gr. Nosler BT's. After a few trips to the range with 5 different powder loadings of IMR 4350 there is no doubt the 115's are real shooters in my rifle. I got groups ranging from the .4's to the worst in the .8's. I plan to play with seating depths now to see if I can fine tune this load. Can't wait to see how they do on the deer here in the Carolinas.

C-ROY

The only thing that I shot with the Ruger 257 that I had (bigger than a j-rabbit)was a large (200lb) Spanish goat. The bullet was a Hor.flat base 100grSP at 2900fps. The goat was about 40yds away and down hill. I hit him behind the near shoulder and the bullet came out low on the far side. The hole going in was 25cal and the one going out was the size of my thumb. The goat took two steps and fell. Ps: Boy do they stink!

[ 07-16-2002, 06:57: Message edited by: Fat Albert ]

I've been shooting my Ruger .257 Roberts long action for a long time and killed an unknown # of deer, 5 elk,hundreds of other( missed some of these ) assorted mixed bags and have never had to shoot more than once.I am probally going to catch some flack for this but all I shoot is a 90 grain Sierra HBT gameking 42.9 grains of IMR 4064 seated to just touch the lands. This is a MAX load so you have to work up to it. I've made some 200+ shots and like I said I've never had to shoot twice. Whatever you use just use it alot I shoot about 500-1000 rounds a year so I'm sure the gun shoots where it's pointed any mistakes are on me.

Ahhh, the quarter bores! Haven't had a lot of experience with the .257 Roberts,
but it's little bit bigger brother, the 25-06.

Just to take a little potential flack off of ya, poleok, I shot a few mulies back in
the late '60's using Hornady 75gr HP's out of the 25-06 (3300fps). Not one
of them took more than a couple steps before dropping and one dropped dead
in its tracks.

With that in mind, C-Roy, go ahead and use the bullet you have the most
confidence in -- she'll put meat on the table for ya.

I posted under the .257 Roberts any good? thread. But a quick reply is easy.
This has been good advice so far! The Roberts works well! I tried Nos BT and X's and the BT shoots so well and worked well on deer. The X's don't shoot as well out of my rifle so I didn't buy any more of them. I shot one in the neck and it worked well ( of course) but now that I'm about out of 100gr. BT's I ordered 117gr Hornady SST's. I think they may be a great inbetween type from others experiences. This round even works with low pressure loads. The +P loads really make it shine!

Poleok,
You won't catch any flak from me over your choice. I have been shooting a 257 Ackley since the 70s and have used a bunch of Sierra 90gr HPBT and they kill like lightning. Excellent choice. So is the 100gr FB and they don't blow up like a lot of people think. Anyone that likes the high priced junk can feel free to use my share of them. Give me Sierra.

I like the 115 gr NBT. The 100 is great on coyotes and the like, but I have found that it opens much more violently than the 115 and thus tends to destroy more meat.

i now use the 120 gr partation exclusively on deer and it works really well.. i have shot a few deer with the hornady 120 gr hollow point and it waste a lot of meet..in the south where i hint the extra weight of a 120 gr bullet is a real advantage.