I finally got my newly aquired 257 ruger RL (tang safety) to shoot today. After trying about 15 different combinations over several weeks I finally had success with 47gr of IMR 4350 with the 110gr accubond. They shoot right at an inch and 2980 fps. ALL my other loads would do no better than 2-3 inches. I tried some factory Hornady light mags and they shot an honest 4" group.
I had heard these rifles were finicky and was getting worried I had a dud. This rifle will be my deer rifle for this season.

I also shot my new winchester PF .270 Walmart special. I got it the spring for $225 at Walmart. It shot a 1" group with the first load ever shot in it. Looks like money well spent.

bama7x57

Ruger will rebarrel these rifles at little or no cost if you send it in with a 4" target. A 257 that will not shoot 1" groups is no fun. I have never seen a 257 roberts that won't shoot a sierra 117 flat base.

Bama
IMR 4064 has been working real well for my ( my wifes ) Ultra Light Ruger 257 Roberts.
That powder with 90 and 100 grain bullets is shooting outstanding groups down to .5" for the 100 grain Sierra's.
Good luck with yours they are truly outstanding little rifles. My wifes is shooting this way with no modifications whatsoever, bone stock.

My 257 Roberts Handi SS shoots under a 1/2" with Speer 100gr Hotcore. Used it last year for the first time and toke 5 deer and a moose with on shot each.

Two powders work about equal well with that bullet that is, IMR4350 old supply and N150.

The bullet has good penetration and stays together quite well. Most all bullets on deer exited.

How I ever got along without a Roberts escapes me. With 100 grain bullets it kills deer like the proverbial hammer of Thor. Few cartridges posess power beyond their paper ballistics, but the Roberts does!

I have not tried any sierra bullets yet. I have been a fan of speer hotcores for years and really wanted to use those. I have a Winchester featherweight 257 that loves the speer HC 120's. I have always had good performance with the Speers. I bought 5 boxes of the 120's since the Winchester liked them so well.
The Ruger Ultralight was a different story, It seemed to not like anything I tried~I used IMR 4064,IMR 4350 and H-414 with speer 100 and 120 Hot cores. I bought the 100's specifically to try in this gun.
I also have one in a Remington classic that I have not worked with yet. It has the 24" barrel

bama7x57

Bama,
I seated the 110 AB out a little further in my 700 Classic and the groups closed up from 1 moa to one little hole. I seated them out from 2.819 to 2.935, which put it into the rifling, and the difference was dramatic. The load was 43.6 grains of H4350 @ 2800 fps.

Perry

If deer hunting and black bear is your game, then you be handicaping the 257 Roberts with bullets heavier than 100 gr. But that is just my opinion.

One of the best 25cal game bullets is the 100gr TSX, alas that bullet does not like my 257 Roberts rifle.

In my 25-06 and the 25Hunter the 100gr TSX bullet is deadly.
The 25 Hunter has about the same power as the Roberts. 100gr bullet at 3150ft 24" barrels.

quote:

ZERMEL: If deer hunting and black bear is your game, then you be handicaping the 257 Roberts with bullets heavier than 100 gr. But that is just my opinion.

ZERMEL, could you explain your reasoning, please? The first high power rifle I ever shot was a 257 Roberts with a 100g bullet, so I am attached to the load, but others have had fine success with 110 - 117g bullets for decades. Thanks.

Jaywalker

I have had 8 257 roberts(currently have 3) none have liked the Speer 120 h/c bullet but my 250 savage loves them. The 257 are loaded at 2,800 fps while the savage is at 2,550 fps. I use a 257 roberts at ranges between 50 & 200 yds so I use 120 partations at 2,800 fps. A regular cup bullet works fine on deer but I usually kill a few 200# hogs each year.When hodget bought imr i swithced to h4350 from imr 14350 without any significant change.

quote:

Originally posted by perry:
Bama,
I seated the 110 AB out a little further in my 700 Classic and the groups closed up from 1 moa to one little hole. I seated them out from 2.819 to 2.935, which put it into the rifling, and the difference was dramatic. The load was 43.6 grains of H4350 @ 2800 fps.

Perry

Glad to hear the 700 classic will accept longer than 2.8" COL. My winchester featherweight is a long action but is throated for 2.8" COL max. My load with the ruger has a COL of 2.975"

Would like to hear other loads using the NAB.

I always thought the 120 grain bullet was what set this cartridge apart from the various 6mm's. I was curios about the comment of handcapping myself with 120's

bama

Bama,
I use 39.0gr of IMR4064 with a 100gr TSX at 2800fps. I have yet to recover a bullet from 20-30 hogs and as many deer. It shoots one little hole at 100 yards and have shot out as far as 357 yards and still have yet to recover a bullet. I shot 6 hogs one evening in one stand over a 45 minute time span. 3 with the 110 NAB and 3 with the TSX. Each shot was set up as closley to the other for comparison sake and hands down you could see a difference in how the hogs reacted when shot with the TSX. They jerked more violently and either fell on the spot or ran half the distance. After that night I was sold and have not gone back to my NAB loads. The TSX are more expensive but at 100 shots a year I dont care. 4064 and H4350 worked the best in both bullets, I tried Varget but the groups were 1.5-2 inches. I had to seat the 4350 loads out into the rifling to get then to group at higher velocities. Anyway, thats what I have learned in the last year about my 257 Roberts.

Perry

quote:

Originally posted by tom ga hunter:

When hodget bought imr i swithced to h4350 from imr 14350 without any significant change.

Unless Hodgdon has changed the formula of H4350 since Hodgdon bought IMR, H4350 is not the same as IMR 4350. The H4350 of a few years ago was slower burning than IMR 4350, so max loads of H4350 could be a grain or so heavier than max loads of IMR 4350. (The two powders look significantly different too -- at least they did at that time.)

I was loading and shooting them today and there is a significant difference.

Perry

Jaywalker.

quote:

ZERMEL, could you explain your reasoning, please? The first high power rifle I ever shot was a 257 Roberts with a 100g bullet, so I am attached to the load, but others have had fine success with 110 - 117g bullets for decades. Thanks.

My reason is based on experience with the 100gr TSX bullet, it kills with devastating results. Like Perry above had the same results as I had.

The bullet has excellent ballistics being longer than a normal 100gr bullets it has a better ballistic coeff. Due to the grooves it attains higher velocities. It retains nearly all its weight if you can recover one. Besides all that, they are very accurate. If your gun likes them.

When the bullet expands the pedals do not break off. The pedals spin at a horrendous rotational velocity and create secondary damage by ejecting bone and muscle tissue like a fan blade would.

Talking to Barnes they told me that many people where wanting heavier TSX bullets. They recommended the 100gr as the best in 25 calibers. After using them I had to agree.

In my 25-06 Ruger#1 they are a regular speed demon at 3430 ft and touch things way out there. One thing about the TSX bullets they like speed. The more the better. The 115gr and 120gr TSX bullets in the 257 Roberts would need a faster twist than 1-10", me thinks?

Perry.
What are your findings on the IMR4350 and H4350. I have an old lot of IMR 4350 which is slower than a late lot H4350. These two powders are not the same nor are they supposed to be. I am just about out of the old IMR4350.

IMR powders are made in Canada they have been bought out by Hodgdon, but IMR powders are supposed to be made to the same specs as before. But then there is always a variation of lots. So a different pressure is not unusual from one lot to the other.

In the 24" Lilja 3 grove barrel I was testing 45.0gr of Imr &h 4350 gave less than a 50 fps difference which I don't see as significant. Maybe a lighted load would have.

They are similar powders, not replacement powders. I have talked with Hogdon and even though they own IMR they are not the same powder. According to Hodgdon H4350 is OK to use with IMR4350 data, the reverse is not true due to the slight burn rate difference. My rifles have preffered the H4350 flavor.

Love the 100 TSX in the bob though my powder is H414 and the velocity is more like 3100 and change from a 22" M77Mk2.

Zermel,
I have found the H4350 to burn much slower than the IMR4350. For instance, in my 700 Classic 7x57 at 46.0gr H4350 was 150-200 fps slower. In the 257 Roberts the difference was about the same with 43.0 gr of both. Both tubes are 22". With the H loads the bullets liked to be seated into the rifling at the higher velocities to be accurate. With the lighter bullets, 100grs and lower in 257, the 4064 just flat out shoots anything else in both my 700 Classic Roberts.

Perry.
Thanks for the input. Sorry but I had my powders ass backward my IMR4350 is faster than H435o. 46.5gr od IMR4350 gives me 3140ft in my 24" barrel.

I use the H414 in the 25 Hunter Rem 700 SA and 42.5gr will do 3150ft in a 24" barrel. I have never used 4064 in the 1/4 bore.

Perry
Thats good info on the 100 gr TSX. Looks like I need to give those a try. Sounds like you have plenty of hogs. Are you eating them all or just thinning the population? They sound like a hoot to hunt.

bama

They are a hoot! I eat quite a few, slow cooked over mesquite, but give lots away. There is an older hispanic man I know who lives on the southside of San Antonio who will take everyone we kill and does not care about size or if they are gutted. I guess we kill/hunt for fun but it also keeps the herds in check.

Perry

I have 2 .257 ronerts , and one is an RL Ruger. My little ruger used to shoot the 100 grain TSX over 46 grains of H-414 (the barnes manual goes to 46.5) And it would give me near MOA and 3100 FPS. for some reason, I can't get it to shoot worth a darn anymore. But I am getting .5 moa with a 120 grqin partition and 42 Grains IMRp4350...tj3006

How's the copper fouling Tom? They do seem to be very sensitive to copper fouling. The TSx is supposed to be a bunch better in this regard but I still find the fouling to be worse than a conventional bullet and that means scrubbing.