I just wanted to take a little informal poll. For many years, I hunted deer with a 7Mag. My parter used a 25-06. Several years ago, I traded off my 7Mag on a nice, light and handy Ruger .257 Roberts. I shoot 100 grain Barnes TSX bullets and it seems to work really well on whitetails without all the weight and muzzle blast of my 7Mag. I was just wondering, how many other guys out there still use the little .257 Roberts as their primary whitetail cartridge?

I have 3 .257 Bobs. I shoot them for 3 reasons:
1) They are accurate...tack drivers each one!
2) Low recoil and lower noise.
3) They are deadly on all game I shoot.

Love the caliber and love to shoot it in all 3 rifles.

While I have several .257's, I find myself shooting a 6.5x55 for much the same reasons.

I graduated down to the Roberts 30 years ago after discovering that deer don't need to be magnumized to be harvested. I built a featherweight on a 09 Argentine and it has been my go-to whitetail rifle ever since.

Since 1979 the Roberts has been my whitetail/coyote cartridge . For larger critters I use a 35 whelen, ( since 1982 I believe). I've found that for my hunting needs these two are adequate.

I have used the .257 Roberts and .250 Savage almost exclusively the last several years. Shot a buck last year to blood a new 7-08 but it and the .270 have been relegated to bigger than deer status for a while. Since years and health have made the mountains steeper and steeper, that may be a long while.

i have shot a few deer with my 257 bob win featherweight.
i don't get any penetration and have had two take shoulder shots and get up and leave the area.
i'll stick to my 7 mauser for now, untill i can find a bullet that works on a 300 lb deer in the 25 cals.

Lamar - what bullets are/did you use?

I've had good success with my Roberts on deer. I'm not sure of the weight of each on the hoof but only one was not the result expected. It was from a 100gr Nosler BT. It worked, one shot, but was lost in the shattered neck.

I've tried 100gr X, 115gr NP's, 117gr Hornady, 120gr Hornady & Sierr HP's, and thought they all worked well. In fact, I see no reason why they wouldn't work on much bigger animals given favorable circumstances.

Another Roberts thread.

I find the 257 Bob fills the need of a being accurate and not a lot of recoil. Lots of bullets available.

The rifles I owned have been fed a steady diet of Nosler Partitions and now Accubonds. I've never recovered a bullet from any Texas White-tailed Deer or Feral Hog that's been shot with Nosler.

i was using the hornady 120's they are supposed to be the toughest 25 cal bullet hornady makes.
i did take one buck with my 25-06 using the sierra 100 gr bullet but i had to shoot him in the liver and then a heart shot when he stopped and turned. [at 3-k fps]
i did get the first buck that took the 120 from the roberts [at 2750 fps] i caught him as he was going into the pines and put a second 120 through his ribs and into his lungs.
the second one took the shot and dropped ,rolled over got up and cut through the trees.
he was long gone before i could get around the beaver pond and i never found a spot of blood form any of the deer.

i have been debating the nosler accubond or the ttsx for my 25's.
i just want them to act like my 7 mausers with 140's do, i don't think that's too much.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
I had to shoot him in the liver...
i did get the first buck that took the 120 from the roberts [at 2750 fps] i caught him as he was going into the pines and put a second 120 through his ribs and into his lungs.
the second one took the shot and dropped ,rolled over got up and cut through the trees.

Sounds like shot placement issues to me.

This past week I know of a couple deer that fell to my 243.

Also, know of a young 9 year old that took two deer to a 257 Roberts.

Finally, a young 9 year old lady taking a doe with a 223 and a 55 gr TSX at over 100 yards.

All shots thru the lungs and the farthest any ran was about 30 yards.

I've got a buddy that consistently kills elk with his little 257 Roberts, but he uses proper shot placement as did the young kids above!

Shot placement. It's always about shot placement...

My first buck ate a 117gr. SGK just behind the right shoulder, exiting just behind the left. It blew a 3" hole on the off-side, blasting a six foot fan-spray of blood and a massive blood trail. Heart, lungs, it was soup in the chest.

That doe still ran 40 yards.

I shot a 200+ # pig right behind the ear. The pig died instantly.

The Bob did it's job perfectly in both cases. That round had leveled four pigs to date - each shot in the head. Four deer are dead to heart-lungs.

Arguably, my .375 H&H killed them quicker...

For a number of years I used a Ruger tang safe, .257R on Mule deer. Never had a problem. Took one large doe with an 87grain FP loaded to 25-35 velocity. Head on, middle of the throat into the chest. went straight down. roger

Most of my hunting the last few years has been with the 257R. I've used 115 Ballistic Tips and 120 Interlock Hps. This year, I have it loaded with 120 Partitions. I have other rifles but I always seem to take the Roberts hunting.

well maybe i can get these wolf spooked deer/elk to learn to just stand broadside, while i slide my rifle out the window of my blind after i build it on the top of a 9,000 foot public land mountain.

since i doubt that will happen, i will continue to take the [one and only for the year] shot that's presented.
if the 25 won't penetrate through 2' of deer to the vitals then it won't make the cut.

I have a Rem M700 Classic in 257 Roberts that is my pet rifle. I load 100 grain Nosler Balistic Tips. Has worked like a charm on whitetail and pronghorn.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
well maybe i can get these wolf spooked deer/elk to learn to just stand broadside, while i slide my rifle out the window of my blind after i build it on the top of a 9,000 foot public land mountain.

since i doubt that will happen, i will continue to take the [one and only for the year] shot that's presented.
if the 25 won't penetrate through 2' of deer to the vitals then it won't make the cut.

Lamar I know you are being caustic about this but not sure why.
For me the 257 Roberts is working fantastic. This years large mature Mule Deer Buck I shot at 321 yards with my 257 and a 117 Sierra Gameking. Bullet entered in the armpit as he stepped forward and stopped, the bullet opened the heart like a flower in bloom and travelled back to the second to last rib on the off side and exited the body, more than 20" penetration. 2 years ago large Mule Deer Buck shot was 200 yards, entered behind shoulder and exited middle of his neck, more than 24" penetration.
I've also killed a mess of Antelope with the same bullet and it works like a dream only one Antelope required a second shot the Mulies fell so fast they were just gone. Never recovered a bullet.
My 9 year old son just killed 2 Whitetails last week with his 257 shooting 100 grain Sierra's both complete pass throughs. I for one am very happy with my 257 Roberts and will not hesitate to shoot elk with it.
I think the key thing you are missing Lamar is that you have to shoot them in the vitals for the bullet to be effective, try that next time.

i am just trying to figure out why i am not getting any penetration.
maybe i just got a bad batch of bullets??
shot placement isn't the problem,i have to take what they give me.
the liver wasn't a pulled shot, it was deliberatly taken down a 35* mountain side [as the deer walked into the trees] aiming into the lungs.
i could/can see finding the bullet under the hide on the far side of a deer that's understandable with a 120 gr bullet.
but i am finding nothing, except some gooshy ribs with some broken blood vessels after skinning [on the entrance side] and have no blood trail of any kind to follow if necessary.

Must have been hard skinning him alive. Seriously, I'm curious what bullet you were using that didn't give you the penetration you expected.

Lamar the shot you described is a killing shot for sure as long as your bullet is up to it. I can't speak for any other bullet for the 257 other than what I've used. I've been told by many what a worthless bullet the Sierra is but I've never seen even a hint of a problem and it is precisely accurate in my rifle.
Don't give up on the 257 Roberts it is a real killer.

The Bob is a great calibre for lighter shooters.

Unfortunately, it looks like Winchester can't quite fit it in the magazine well of a Model 70 Compact Featherweight. So for a small rifle in the Compact Featherweight one must choose the 243 or 7-08. All three, 243, 257Bob, 7-08 are great calibres. AT least the standard Featherweight, 22" barrel is back in production again in "the Bob".

quote:

Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
The Bob is a great calibre for lighter shooters..

Tanzan I'm not sure what you mean by this statement?
I am completely capable of shooting larger rifles if thats what you are getting at.
I just happen to think the Roberts is the right tool for the job, I'm not going to use a 10 pound sledge hammer to drive 16 penny nails a 28 ounce hammer seems to work just fine.

the hornady 120 specifically.
hornady say's it's the toughest 25 cal bullet they make.
i'm glad i didn't try one on an elk in the 25-06.
i'm really thinking the ttsx is next on the list to try.

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:

quote:

Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
The Bob is a great calibre for lighter shooters..

Tanzan I'm not sure what you mean by this statement?
I am completely capable of shooting larger rifles if thats what you are getting at.
I just happen to think the Roberts is the right tool for the job, I'm not going to use a 10 pound sledge hammer to drive 16 penny nails a 28 ounce hammer seems to work just fine.

I'm not sure what my sentence means, taken literally, either. There was quite a bit left unsaid.

I was thinking about the M70 Featherweight Compact with its 13.0" pull and 6.5 lb weight with a 20" barrel that is ideal for smaller framed shooters. If the Bob could be made for them in a rifle that fit them they would have a deadly little machine. But alas, it is only available in the standard M70 Featherweight.

We have just gotten a M70 243Win Featherweight Compact for those in the family who need a short length of pull. After listening to the muzzleblast of the 20" barrel I think that I would more readily approve of a standard 22" Featherweight. If a short pull is needed, then the stock should be cut back.

And in Featherweight a "Bob" is available for all shooters and is a great calibre for all shooters.

Would I recommend the 257 Bob for African plains game for smaller framed hunters? Not as a first choice or second choice. For a smaller frame or younger hunter I might suggest a 7-08 M70 or a 338 Ruger Compact Magnum. But if someone had a 257 or 243 I would encourage them to use it responsibly and hunt well.