I am wondering what the recoil would be like from an 8# .257 Roberts with a muzzle brake and a 1.4" thick Kick-Eez pad. Does anyone here have any first hand experience with a braked Roberts? What was the recoil like?

I have a broken back and am piecing together and ultra-low recoil rifle that will reliably kill a 200# (empty) buck. Want at least a .25 caliber rifle

Thanks!

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I am wondering what the recoil would be like from an 8# .257 Roberts with a muzzle brake and a 1.4" thick Kick-Eez pad.

Ever own a Red Rider BB gun?

If you use a 6.5x55 w/ a limbsaver pad it gives a slight push. You should really look at a 9.3x57. It really has no recoil. Add a slip on limbsaver and it is about the same as a RR BB gun. The 286gr does a number on whitetail out to 150 yards. Check out http://www.allans-armory.com/aa.php
I use a Husqvarna M46a w/ irons for the woods here in NH. Great rifle!

I can relate as I had a double fusion a few years ago. I'm good to go now, but was not sure for a few years.

Stick to bullets lighter than 100 grains and you will be okay. Add a mercury recoil reducer and the rifle will be pleasant to shoot.

All kidding aside, I would think carrying around a #8 barreled rifle would be harder on your back than shooting a muzzle braked Roberts. You could always pick a 250 Savage instead and lighten up the rifle somewhat. Maybe choose a #5 contour 250 Savage instead. That way you would have a light kicking rifle that won't weigh so much when carrying it around.

Put the muzzle break on the 250-3000 duckboat suggests, with a max. of adequate slow burning* powder, a 120grain bullet and a deep throated rifle. *The more gas you generate the greater the effect of the muzzle break. It should be less recoil than a .223. A 6.5x55 I have with a small home grown break is like shooting a 22-250. Have a good recoil pad and a fairly tight sling. roger

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Originally posted by duckboat:
Stick to bullets lighter than 100 grains and you will be okay. Add a mercury recoil reducer and the rifle will be pleasant to shoot.

All kidding aside, I would think carrying around a #8 barreled rifle would be harder on your back than shooting a muzzle braked Roberts. You could always pick a 250 Savage instead and lighten up the rifle somewhat. Maybe choose a #5 contour 250 Savage instead. That way you would have a light kicking rifle that won't weigh so much when carrying it around.

Re Read he said 8# that is 8 pounds not barrel contour. I shoot a .257AI and although it is a bit more than 8 pounds it has very little felt recoil. I can't imagine a plain Roberts with a break would have much recoil at all.

pretty mild. I picked up a 308 model 7 that was ported earlier this year and the recoil was about like a 223. I hated the noise though and to me a 308 or 257 is plenty mild enough anyway so i had the ported part of the barrel cut off. Bottom line is if you cant handle the recoil of a 257 roberts in a 8lb gun you best give up hunting and find another hobby.

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Originally posted by Lloyd Smale:
pretty mild. I picked up a 308 model 7 that was ported earlier this year and the recoil was about like a 223. I hated the noise though and to me a 308 or 257 is plenty mild enough anyway so i had the ported part of the barrel cut off. Bottom line is if you cant handle the recoil of a 257 roberts in a 8lb gun you best give up hunting and find another hobby.

A bit harsh? What if someone told you if you can't handle the noise you should give up hunting and go find a new hobby?

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Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:

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Originally posted by Lloyd Smale:
pretty mild. I picked up a 308 model 7 that was ported earlier this year and the recoil was about like a 223. I hated the noise though and to me a 308 or 257 is plenty mild enough anyway so i had the ported part of the barrel cut off. Bottom line is if you cant handle the recoil of a 257 roberts in a 8lb gun you best give up hunting and find another hobby.

A bit harsh? What if someone told you if you can't handle the noise you should give up hunting and go find a new hobby?

I agree he has a health issue not just a sissy afraid of recoil.

What about a different aproach as ina 6.5 grendel. That will work out to a couple of hundred yards + and will not need a noisy muzle brake nor an overly heavy rifle to be effective for your needs.

There is a question in that if you have or have had a broken back what will your hunting style be. If you are hunting from a blind then all the concerns over weight are invalid but if you are walking for your hunt on broken ground, I would think that held more danger than the recoil of a couple of shots. Steping wrong may jolt your back more, and who will carry the deer out for you. Many questions come to mind.

Von Gruff.

I have a .257 barrel that I can use for a .257R, but not a .250-3000. It currently has an oversize .257 Roberts chamber, needs the threads cut off to get rid of most of it, and I would run out of barrel meat before the Savage would clean up the chamber, but the Roberts should just make it by a hair. I have an old G33/40 sporter with a .308 barrel on it and I can fit the hosed up barrel to it (but barrel is too hosed for a LR action). It already is drilled and tapped with a low safety on it. The stock is HUGE and I would trim it down to make it handle better in my little girly hands. The only thing I would need to buy is the very thick Kick-Eez pad and the muzzle brake. I will just paint the barrel, slop a few coats of finish on the reshaped stock , get my neighbor to sight it in for me, and call it good enough for this season.

Thinking I could watch my neighbor shoot the full Roberts loads and then load down to .250-3000 levels if I need even less recoil. With the brake and pad I think it will be OK for a couple of shots I may take with it during the season.

I too am a little worried about the 8# targeted weight. I have been hunting exclusively with my Alpine rifle for the past 2 years and am very spoiled by its 5# 11oz scoped-and-ready-to-go weight of the .270. I can lighten the .257 a little if I think the recoil will not be too bad. I have been running calculations to keep the recoil very low, so that is why I have been looking at the 8# weight. I can make it lighter if it does not kick too much-will just have to see how it turns out,

Funny you should post a link to Allan's Armory! I have been looking at that site plus Simpson Ltd. To see what SR/ST Mausers they have for sale. Right now I am looking for fast and cheap, so not wanting to buy anything at this time. Having the G33/40 rifle and new Kreiger barrel already, the brake and pad are my only costs. But I am thinking that next year after I am healed I may get Swedish Mauser and screw this barrel into it and stock it. I would then have a light rifle with minimal recoil for first time hunters. I could have them practice with the brake and then take it off when they were ready to hunt. I HATE brakes, but right now I need one, so that is all that matters for this season.

Also think I will stick with 100 and 110gr bullets, just to save a little recoil. Walking is such a cool thing to do and I want to be sure I am as easy on my spine as possible.

And yes, I do think it is ironic that I am building a cheap junker rifle on the G33/40 action with a Kreiger barrel!

Oh, the Grendel was the first thing that popped into my mind. If I had the pieces for one I probably would have gone that route. My neighbor will get the deer out of the woods. As to what the terrain will be, it will be dictated by how my recovery is going at that time. I can park my truck in my yard be able to sit in leather seats with a radio turned down low if things are really bad. Found 2 awesome spots in the swamp behind my house last year and want to go there if I am able.

It is really hard to determine what someone with an injury can and can't handle. I know when I had shoulder surgery I was shooting my AR15 long before my Dr thought I should be shooting. Once I had the go ahead I was fine with my .300 with the JP Recoil Eliminator brake on it. Some brakes are very effective and others are not. I hope you come up with something that works for you.

Marc, The Roberts is a pussycat very much like a 6 Rem (same case) or the 243 Win. Stick to the 110 Accubonds and IMR 4350, a brake and a pair of plugs or muffs. You are on the correct track.

I broke my back 3 summers ago and did the exact same build/find. M700 Classic in 257 Roberts. Loaded 100gr TSX's at 2800fps and the recoil, with no brake, was ZERO. I did put a 1" Pachmayer Decelerator. I don't know that a brake on that light a recoiling rifle would even be noticeable. Somewhere you will cross a line in physics where there isn't enough recoil to tell. You could also load the 85gr TSX and still have a real killer.
The best thing I did for shooting after the injury was shooting position. Sit way up right with lots of support for the rifle, both forearm and under the butt.

Perry

Why not just put a mercury recoil reducer and/or a muzzle brake on your Alpine 270? Load it up with the Barnes TTSX 110gr and I can't imagine you'll have much felt recoil to speak of.

Remember brakes work better when they're being "worked" harder. In other words, they don't reduce as much of the felt recoil with low pressure rounds vs higher pressure rounds. Just an example, it'll actually work better on a 25-06 then a 250 Savage, at SAAMI pressures. On a bigger scale, a 458 Lott will have more reduction then a 458 Win again, because of higher pressures. For every action there is an opposite reaction, so more action, more reaction!

In 1985,after having 3 lumbar fusions I couldn't walk very far.Something about having to learn how to walk again.
When deer season came around I hunted with my Rem m 700 in 270 win.That season I had the chance to shoot the largest typical rack that I had seen.When the shot came I never felt the recoil of the shot.
However when it came to trying to field dress that sucker I found that a back brace that went from my ass to my shoulders just wouldn't let me get low enough to get it done.
That is when it pays to have"GOOD FRIENDS and FAMILY".

I guess im a bit gruff and didnt really come across with my point in a politicaly correct way. My point was that in a 8lb gun a 257 roberts has no recoil and if an injury prevents you from being able to handle that you should be home healing up more or going to theropy to recover. If your that physicaly challanged even gutting or dragging an animal is going to be out of the question and if a 257 roberts is actually going to injure you theres a good chance about any caliber rifle good enough for deer hunting will do the same. Porting isnt going to help one iota. I may help a bit with muzzle flip in a light caliber like that but isnt going to make a pinch of differnce in recoil to your shoulder.

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Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:

quote:

Originally posted by Lloyd Smale:
pretty mild. I picked up a 308 model 7 that was ported earlier this year and the recoil was about like a 223. I hated the noise though and to me a 308 or 257 is plenty mild enough anyway so i had the ported part of the barrel cut off. Bottom line is if you cant handle the recoil of a 257 roberts in a 8lb gun you best give up hunting and find another hobby.

A bit harsh? What if someone told you if you can't handle the noise you should give up hunting and go find a new hobby?

Lots of good advice here. My recommendation would be to use the lighter bullets eg. 100 grain or less. I use a Ruger Ultralight which is less than 8#. I think you will have plenty of room to experiment without having to use a muzzle brake.
Peter.

I dated a girl back in college that hunted with a braked 257 Roberts. Her Dad had the brake installed when she was 12 and she just kept using it.

That darn thing kicked like a 223, but dang was it loud.

My 8 year old daughter has no trouble shooting a 7lb 25 Souper (basically the ballistic twin of the Roberts) with 80gr X bullets at about 3000fps.

Has the OP tried shooting the 8 lb 257 with 100 grain bullets? If you have a good recoil pad and don't hot rod your loads, it should be extremely mild recoil. I have a Kimber 257 that weighs about 6 lbs and it has very mild recoil.

Your back would have to be extremely bad not to be able to handle it. I like my hearing so I try to avoid brakes at all costs.

Scott-

I have never shoit a .257 before. After thinkingh a lot about it, including your post, i think i am going to barrel it up, put the 1.4" Kick-Eez pad and 1/14" Kick-Eez material on the comb of the stock. I will then watch my neighbor shoot the rifle.

I go back to the doctor about 2 weeks before season, so i will order the brake, but not install it until I hear what the doctor says. If it is dicey then I will install the brake, otherwise I can always return it.

I really hate brakes and will only use it if needed. But if that is what it takes for me to hunt, then I will do it

Sure do appreeciate all of the feedback

Consider the Remington reduced recoil loads in your 270. A friend has his 11 year old daughter shooting reduced loads with no apparent recoil felt.