If you were going to have a .257 Roberts built to shoot both the 100 gr. spitzer and 117 roundnose, what twist rate would be best?

Telly

I am probably way out of my league, but I would opt for 1in9.

Just my thoughts

1 in 10 works well in my Bobs for both the 100 gr. and 110 accubonds.

ddj

1 in 9 will allow on a whim to shoot upto 120 if ya gotta grab a box off the shelf. I have one that is 1 in 12 and it keyholes anything heavier than 90gr. I have since had a 257 barrel made up with 1 in 9 and it is fantastic!

Andy B

I've used 10" on all my 250-3000s and bobs and never had a problem, even with 120s. In fact, I prefer to use the heavier bullets...

9" will work fine too, but it's not necessary.

I would not go any slower than 10.
I have 2 Roberts and a Roberts improved.
Get a decnt barrel with a 1 in 10 or faster twist and you will have a great rifle.
One witch kills deer inside about 350 yards as good as anything else will.
My pet load is a 100 grain tsx over 46 grains of H-414.
In my finiky little 6 lb ruger it gives me 3125 and about .75. But my heavier custom springfield shoots anything real well.
I shot a 125 lb (roughly) mule deer with that load a few years back an it really did a job on him.
...tj3006

1 in 9!! I have 1 in 10 and have trouble with 120 Hornady and other 120's.
I had an old Savage 99 250/3000 with, believe it or not, 1 and 14!! It would not shoot anything!!!
One in ten works good with 100gr. in the Roberts, but 1 in 9 will let you see full potential with heavier bullets.

Some rifles don't do well with the 1:10. Since you can have your choice, get the 1:9. Insurance that you will be able to shoot whatever bullet you want at your velocity. There's no reason not to.

My Bob (Rem M7MS) runs 1-10 twist and shoots 117gr. SGK's into 1/2" groups at 100 yards. 1-10 works fine for me.

I always used 1:10 in 257 Roberts and Ackley Improved. I was never a fan of 120's in a Roberts anyway. My favorite was always IMR 4064 or 4350 and 100 gn Nosler Ballistic Tips. I hate a 1:12 in a Roberts; a total waste!

I've loaded for 3 different 1-10 Roberts barrels and couldn't get any of them to shoot 110 or heavier into groups I could live with. 100s though perked easily and have given me pass throughs on every deer I've tried them on.

quote:

Originally posted by ole_270:
I've loaded for 3 different 1-10 Roberts barrels and couldn't get any of them to shoot 110 or heavier into groups I could live with. 100s though perked easily and have given me pass throughs on every deer I've tried them on.

Can't say for you, but when I changed to IMR 4350 & H4350 my groups shrank and I now have 5 different loads that shoot into 1/2" groups. Powder maybe?

H4350 is my main powder in the Bob. I've also tried RL-15, Hunter, H4831SC, and RL-22 with the heavier bullets. I've started another round of chasing a load with the 110AB, but the wind lately has kept me from shooting much. Had one respectable group with a much shorter OAL, but haven't been able to confirm with more groups. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend.

rnovi I'm with you on the IMR-4350!
My .257 Rob shoots 117 grain Sierra's into tiny groups with that powder ( 3 shots overlapping ). I believe my Pac - Nor barrel is a 1 in 9 twist.
In my girlfriends Ruger Ultra light it shoots the 100 grain Sierra's best with IMR-4064 and we haven't tried 117's in hers. I think the Rugers are 1 in 10 twist.
I love those .257's!

quote:

.257 Roberts twist

I'd be building on a 1-10"....I've owned three of them all with 1-10" and had no complaints at all.

If the 1-9" is available and you use it you will not be disappointed either...

Krieger only offers 10" twist 25 caliber barrels according to their website. So they can't be causing too many problems...

I have four Bob's all with 1-10 twist barrels.
All are accurate, but I don't shoot any bullets heavier than 100 grains out of them. A Bob with a 100 grain Nosler Partition is about as good as it gets...

quote:

Originally posted by Telly:
If you were going to have a .257 Roberts built to shoot both the 100 gr. spitzer and 117 roundnose, what twist rate would be best?

Telly

1/9" might be better if you ever want to shoot 117-120-grain spitzers. But 1/10" would be OK for 117 RN's.

Seems to me that if you generally shoot 100 gr bullets in the Bob, then you might as well shoot a 243.

For me, the main reason for having a 257 Roberts is to do something the 243 won't do, namely use a little heavier bullet, especially 110gr+, but the 120 gr bullets seem especially good for this purpose.

However, I think the 100gr Barnes would be great, and the 110 gr accubond would work well with a 10" twist. So, those are the bullets I'm going to try in my Ruger, since it has 10" twist.

But, I'm gonna order a 1 in 9" twist barrel for my next Mauser project.

It's been an informative discussion.
KB

I had my AI done with a Douglas premium 1-9". Had to wait a while for it. I only wanted to shoot the 115 to 120 gr bullets from it. Depending on what barrel maker you go with, the 1-9" is not as easy to get. I think 1-10" would be fine for the 100 gr bullets.

Shilen makes 1 in 9. They are not the most expensive barrel out there, but they work great. I opted for select match contour #7 I think. I am thinking about loading up some GSC HVs and see how I like them.

Andy B

OK, maybe this question is a diversion from the main topic, but the discussion has gone its course anyway. Why use a heavy contour for a hunting rifle? I'm not being negative, I am asking a real question. I have been in a discussion/argument with a friend about this, and I simply don't know the answer for sure. I try to be open minded about this, and I admit that I have never had a rifle with a barrel heavier than #5 contour, and that was a bigger bore.

I know about the heating up thing, but I'm talking about a hunting rifle which will be carried often, and sometimes used for stand hunting, where weight doesn't really matter. Honestly I have been able to get the accuracy I need from the sporter weight barrels, but I have often wondered about the heavier weight barrels, but not so much as to cause me to invest in one.

I was talking with a friend today about a AR 15 that his son bought for him. I doubt he would have bought one himself. He said he was amazed at the accuracy. Less than 1" groups at 100 yards, with a short barrel. I know this is amazing because I know the guy has blurred vision since he had the detached retna in his shooting eye. So I know for sure that ou don't need a heavy barrel to get hunting accuracy. So again I ask - why?

KB

quote:

Why use a heavy contour for a hunting rifle?

IMO there is no reason for this at all.....

Heavy contours are for target rifles to be shot from a bench!

I had a featherweight profile put on my Roberts AI. My other big game rifles are all sporter weight bbls. I do have a couple of "bench" guns with heavy bbls, but I don't hunt with them, just shoot prarie dogs, which is not the same thing as hunting.

I agree, heavy barrels for real hunting rifles are stupid. They look cool, but for a rifle that's carried for days and shot, maybe once (if you're lucky), there's absolutely NO point to it. Just bragging rights, or youthful exuberance.

Of course, for the boys who never get off their ATV's, the heavy barrels probably aren't noticed much.

Kabluewy,

I was mistaken. The contour is a #4. Much lighter than #7. Don't know why I had #7 in mind. I can't imagine carrying the weight of a #7.

Andy B

I can't see a reason to put a heavy barrel on hunting rifle either, but if it is a dual purpose hunting and varmint rifle it makes some sence.
The barrel on my Ruger .257 Bob is only about .55 at the muzzle and for 3 shots, with loads it likes it is deadly accurate.
never took more than 3 shots at an animal that I can recall.
seen others do it, never done it myself...tj3006

A number 4 contour is getting heavy, especially with a small hole through the middle. I am just building up a 257 Roberts Ackley Improved and it has a fairly heavy sporter contour barrel. It is about a 3 or 3-1/2 contour barrel by P.O. Ackley. A friend had a very light, #1 Herter's (actually Bonner) NOS barrel that I was going to put on my little Oberndorf clone and make a superlight handy 20" short rifle in regular 257 Roberts. I am glad that I put the longer heavier barrel on. It points so much better offhand. That is one practical advantage of a little bit heavier barrel. The smaller the bore the heavier the barrel will be is a key point. A #4 30-06 is probably lighter than a #2 257 Roberts.