My wife and I have a guided Mule Deer hunt coming up in November, and some question has been raised about the suitability of using the .257 Robert's.

Lora has been using the gun for close to 20 years now and had good success on white tails and feral hogs.

My next step up for her is either a .300 Weatherby or .35 Whelen.

I am interested in opinions.

She will be using 115 grain Barnes TSX handloads most likely.

I am going to try and get her to go for a shoulder shot, to try and break the animal down in front, and then finish it off.

Opinions/advice appreciated.

Fear not. During the 70s and 80s my .257 served me well on mule deer. My 6.5 Carcano did great and it is much less cartridge than the .257. roger

I've been using a .257 Roberts for several years....among other cartridges, and don't find it lacking on deer size targets. Using a good bullet will get you all the penetration you'll need.

An old hunting buddy from the 50's got a 257 Roberts in a 722 back then.

He was hunting with us out of my 'camp' in VT then.

A older looking hunter came by him as he was sitting in the woods.

The guy asked what was the cartridge and when he heard 257 he went on a rant on how it's marginal and so forth.

He goes down the hill and a buck comes walking by my buddy. He shoots the buck and starts gutting it out.

The old timer comes back up the hill and sees the buck and guts spilling out.

He walks away looking sick.

I trust the opinion of the person that runs the hunting operation as to what he has experienced, but I also trust Lora's abilities with her rifle and my handloads.

It is a 2 x 1 guided hunt, so we will both be there in the stand together, so I will be able to back her up if necessary, but I feel the Robert's will be more than enough if she places the bullet correctly.

Many thanks for the input Gentlemen.

Crazyhorse your wife's .257 Roberts will be more than enough for the mule deer. Out to 300 yards with even a 100 grain cup and core bullet placed in the boiler room, it will be meat in the freezer. I have but a Sierra Game King 100 grain bullet into many a pigs shoulder and dropped them in its tracks. That shield is lot more tuffer than any sissy mule deer.

She seems confident with that rifle and I wouldn't hesitate one bit. Enjoy the hunt together and give us a successful report when you get back.

her only problem is hitting right--the 257 w/ barnes 115 is more than enough for Mulies--most of my hunting buddies in New Mexico and Montana where I grew up were hugh 25-06 fans--and there isn't spit difference

Harold, Sean, Many Thanks for the comments. I am confident in her abilities to place the shot where it needs to go, and have a lot of faith in the Barnes bullets.

Being a guide myself I can understand the guides concerns. While I personally prefer larger calibers, I prefer that my clients show up with a rifle they have confidence in using.

Lora has been using this gun and these loads for several years and I feel everything will be fine.

quote:

"In spite of what some members of this site choose to BELIEVE, None of our opinions are any more important than Dog Shit"!

Oh! That's nice. roger

No, it is truthful.

Each of us has our own opinions on any/all subjects, sometime those opinions match but more often, especially on internet forums they don't.

Besides it is just a signature line, and anyone bothered by a signature line may be taking themselves and life too seriously.

The topic is using a .257 Robert's on Mule deer, and everyone has been Thanked for their comments.

My buddies wife used my 257 bob to harvest a huge Alberta Mule buck. One shot with a factory 117gr bullet and 75 yards later it was all over. That deer was a 300 lb monster

Thanks for the comment.

Let's see; thousands of muley bucks are killed every year by bowhunters. They take a broadside shot low thru the lungs, and the deer dies as it bleeds out...

What was the original question?

Tell her to sight the Roberts dead-on at 200yds, and show us the pictures of the monster she kills.

Well, I'm sure the .257 Roberts is adequate for coyotes, much less real game...

Seriously, a good 100 gr. bullet at 2900-3100 fps or a good 120 gr. bullet ~200 fps slower will kill any mule deer in the world with decent shot placement. At these reasonable velocities, the cup and core bullets work fine. I use the 100 gr. Nosler BT, but the 110 gr. Accubond, 100 gr. Nosler Partition, or 115-120 Partition (or their equivalents) all are plenty good. Just look at how many deer have been killed by the .243.

Clarence

Rich, ClaMar, Many Thanks for the input, hopefully she will get a chance at a buck. I have watched her make some good shots with that rifle so I was pretty sure it was going to be okay but it never hurts to hear others experiences.

I have killed several Mule Deer Bucks with my .257 Roberts shooting 117 Sierra's all one shot kills and no bullets recovered, they passed on thru. All dropped where they stood from 200 to 326 yards.
All of my kills were driven into and through the heart / lungs. I wouldn't change strategies to try to shoot shoulders, any animal double lunged or heart shot is not going far no matter what caliber did it.
With the same load and rifle I've killed half a dozen antelope as well with the same results taking the same shots.
Use a rifle you have confidence in and put the bullet where it is supposed to be and you will have dead Bucks, don't change your strategy!
My rifle is dead on at 235 yards which is about 2.5" high at 100 yards. For me this is very effective out to 400 yards (holding over ). I have benches at my range for 100, 235, 300 and 400 yards.
The last Buck my oldest son killed was with his .243 and 90 grain Speer Deep Shocks, perfect heart shot and that 4x4 piled up right there at the shot.
Good Luck!

Here are a couple that have fallen to the wimpy .257 Roberts....


This one took one bullet from a .243

I don't believe anyone could argue with or sneeze at success like that.

Thanks for the comments.

I want to go hunting with Snellstrom!

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
My wife and I have a guided Mule Deer hunt coming up in November, and some question has been raised about the suitability of using the .257 Robert's.

Lora has been using the gun for close to 20 years now and had good success on white tails and feral hogs. . . .

I suspect after the hunt, those questions — by whoever posed them — will have been answered to his satisfaction.

From what you say, Lora knows her stuff . . . so I wish her the best of luck in getting a chance at a monster buck! I'll put my money on her dropping him!

The .257 Roberts is fine, but its harder to get enthusiastic about the TSX. If you're going to use them, through the shoulders is the way to go.

quote:

If you're going to use them, through the shoulders is the way to go.

Thanks to all of you for your comments, and for Gogleg, Yes, with either a Barnes "X" or TSX, thru the shoulders to break the animal down in front for a finisher.

If she werev using the 117 grain Round nose Remington Core-Locts, then I would be comfortable with a heart/lung shot due to past experience on white tails.

The TSX or Barnes Flat Base will do a better job in my opinion at breaking bones. The Core-Locts expand better on soft tissue.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

quote:

If you're going to use them, through the shoulders is the way to go.

Thanks to all of you for your comments, and for Gogleg, Yes, with either a Barnes "X" or TSX, thru the shoulders to break the animal down in front for a finisher.

If she werev using the 117 grain Round nose Remington Core-Locts, then I would be comfortable with a heart/lung shot due to past experience on white tails.

The TSX or Barnes Flat Base will do a better job in my opinion at breaking bones. The Core-Locts expand better on soft tissue.

I'm curious — why not just cover both bases and use a Nosler partition or Swift A-Frame?

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I want to go hunting with Snellstrom!

I've helped personally pack out 2 of the 3 bucks posted above. Here is Snell's favorite saying, "He's just over the next hill." which typically means about 6-7 more times you're going to hear that while heading in with the pack frame.

Another mule deer shot with a whimpy, girl's gun!

quote:

I'm curious — why not just cover both bases and use a Nosler partition or Swift A-Frame?

Because I like the performance I have been getting out of Barnes bullets for the past almost 20 years, why should I change from something that works for me?

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

quote:

I'm curious — why not just cover both bases and use a Nosler partition or Swift A-Frame?

Because I like the performance I have been getting out of Barnes bullets for the past almost 20 years, why should I change from something that works for me?

I agree, I've been using Barnes almost exclusively in most of my rifles. This coming from a guy who was a die hard Nosler Partition person but made the switch and haven't looked back.

I am a firm follower of the old, "Dance With Who Brung Ya", hunting school.

Barnes bullets have been doing the job for me and Lora both since 1996, I see no reason to jump ship now.

Sounds to me like you already knew the answer and were thinking out loud. I love my 257 Roberts. I've had good luck with the 115 NBT and the 120 Interlock HP. I'll add my dog poop opinion to the pile and say everything will be fine. Lora being familiar and confident in the gun is more important than any "potential" killing power advantage of 300 Weatherby on a deer. Dead is dead and 257 Roberts with a TSX should kill any mule deer on earth. Good luck on the hunt and don't forget to post pics!

If you can find them, the 100 grain TTSX (tipped) you may find perform even better from your Bob. They open quicker and maybe a little more reliably than the TSX. You will still crush any deers shoulders, and your trajectory will be noticeably better. That extra 15 grains of copper eats up a lot of powder space. Just my observations. As to the original question, of course - it's a great choice. Even a 375 isn't enough gun if you shoot em in the chewed grass.

Thank You Gentlemen. I am pretty confident about Lora's abilities with the rifle and the performance of the bullets. I was basically just curious if anyone felt the .257 Robert's was underpowered for Mule Deer.

One must be very ashamed of the .257 and the rifle that shoots it as there is no rifle in any one of the pictures.

A hunting picture with out the fire arm used is mostly worthless.

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:
Here are a couple that have fallen to the wimpy .257 Roberts....


This one took one bullet from a .243

I prefer the Barnes as long as I still have velocity available within its target range. If there's a shot opportunity where I might drop below the needed velocity the Partition gets the nod.

The 257 is certainly a fine choice for mule deer.

quote:

p dog shooter
One must be very ashamed of the .257 and the rifle that shoots it as there is no rifle in any one of the pictures.A hunting picture with out the fire arm used is mostly worthless.

I rarely have the firearm in the picture, do you think I found these deer dead in the woods and the rifle somehow proves I shot them??

When I lived in NW Colorado in the late 60s and early 70s, my hunting partner had no trouble killing his mule deer and elk every year with his .257 Roberts.

Here in Montana, I have another friend that does all of his deer and elk hunting with his .25-06. I did a couple of hunts with him, and saw first hand how well his .25-06 worked on elk.

Since about 1980, my .257 Improved has been my favorite rifle for deer and antelope. I also used it to make one shot kills on several bighorn rams, a Dall ram, a mountain caribou, and one of the largest 6x6 bull elk that I have shot.

The three bullets that I have hunted with in that rifle are the 120 grain Hornady HP, 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tim, and mostly the 117 grain Sierra Gameking spitzer.

The velocity of these bullets has been in the 2800-2900 fps range.

All of my sheep, the caribou and elk were killed with the 117 gr Sierra bullets. All but one of the animals that I've shot with my .257 AI were shot at less than 300 yards.

Crazy, if your wife can put any of these .25 caliber bullets (or a 115 gr TSX) from her .257 Roberts into the crease tight behind any mule deer's shoulder, you'll be enjoying venison fillets that evening.

quote:

I rarely have the firearm in the picture, do you think I found these deer dead in the woods and the rifle somehow proves I shot them??

I find hunting pictures that show the weapon used to be more interesting,

Great cartridge.
Great bullet too ! I shot a mulie at 120 yards with a 100 grain barnes triple shock over H 414 , i got 3100 and it was a very clean kill !...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
My wife and I have a guided Mule Deer hunt coming up in November, and some question has been raised about the suitability of using the .257 Robert's.

Lora has been using the gun for close to 20 years now and had good success on white tails and feral hogs.

My next step up for her is either a .300 Weatherby or .35 Whelen.

I am interested in opinions.

She will be using 115 grain Barnes TSX handloads most likely.

I am going to try and get her to go for a shoulder shot, to try and break the animal down in front, and then finish it off.

Opinions/advice appreciated.

I use both my 257AI and 25-06 with 115gr Partitions, ANY deer, including Elk, will fall to this combination if placed correctly. Mostly, I hunt fallow deer with these rifles, but they have also been used for Sambar deer, which stags run about the same weight as an Elk cow, the 115gr Partition gets the job done.
I don't think you'll have any trouble taking a mule deer with the 257Bob.

Cheers.

My wife has successfully killed antelope, mule deer, black bear, and oryx with her .257 Roberts, most with a 100 grain Barnes TSX. I would have no hesitation using or recommending its use on mule deer. Have Lora go for it!

Many Thanks everyone for your input. Hopefully we will be fortunate and Lora will get the chance for a shot, and I believe she will do just fine.