The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers Feasability of a 22" barreled 257 Roberts Ack ImprovedGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
I have fireformed 257 Imp brass and dies on hand. I have a great (cheap) offer for a brand new 22" Wilson #2 contour barrel. Is it pretty much a waste to improve it or does anyone have a 22" improved Roberts? I may just sell all the brass and dies and go straight up 257 Roberts on this. The powder choices will be IMR 4350 or IMR 4064 and others very similar to IMR 4064 such as Varget or RL-15. I am seriously considering switching all of my 4064 and Varget loads to RL-15 (after working them up of course). RL-15 seems more consistant day to day and definitely meters better than the other two. There isn't much difference between the three as far as accuracy/velocity/etc. IMR 4064 used to be always available and it was my first powder for rifle years ago. PA Bear Hunter, NRA Benefactor | ||
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I have a 22", and a 23" 257AI. They have been fun and I still use them probably more than any others. But the truth is they are probably on 50-75fps faster than a regular Bob loaed to the same pressure. Today, I'd probably stick with the standard cartridge. | |||
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In my 257 AI i have good sucess with H-414 and 100 gr. bullets for deer and RL-15 for anything smaller.Good Luck | |||
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The 257Roberts is a classic! Mine likes Varget and 100gr Sierra SBT. IMHO the gain in a 22" AI seems hardly worth the effort. I'm not bashing the AI's I own one, however it has a longer tube. GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!! IF YOU'RE GONNA GET OLD,YOU BETTER BE TOUGH!! GETTIN' OLD AIN'T FOR SISSIES!! | |||
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Good move for sure!! I once had a 20" .257 Bob that fired 100 grain deer killers at 3,100 FPS and it was still able to go some more.....but it was good enough for me then so I quit adding fuel to the fire! You'll have a very fine rifle in a standard 22" Roberts! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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it can be done, if for the only reason taht you want an AI round, but to really see some appreciable gain, you should be using a 24" or even a 26" tube. especialy so with the .25 bore. the heavy end of the bullet spectrum needs slow powder and a long barrel to see all that the improved version can do. most guys that have an improved bob on a shorter tube started out with a standard chamber and had it re-chambered to improved looking for that majical gain in velocity, but never found it. i think that might be why some guys scoff at the Ackley rounds. another reason is that not all barrel makers offer the .25 bore in a longer than 24" tube. look for a maker that offers a 26" barrel in .25 bore, you might pay a bit more for the tube, but it will be from a better barrelmaker( because he knows it needs more barrel) and you will see the benefits of building an improved cartridge, so the cost will be justified. | |||
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I'm going to have to disagree. I checked a Hornady manual. The max load for a 257AI with a 117gr bullet is 48gr of H4831. The max load for the same powder and bullet for the standard Bob is 46gr. I don't think you need 2 or 4 more inches of barrel to burn 2 more grains of powder. | |||
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| One of Us |
I have four rifles chambered for the 257 Roberts; three on short actions, and a Ruger 77 with its long action. I have no real big desire to have a 257AI, so my rifles will stay as is. I do have a 250 Savage AI, and that is a wonderful chambering, and it gets the same kind of velocities the standard 257 Roberts delivers. FWIW, Don | |||
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Airgun, I have a Rem. M7MS in .257 Bob. Chrono'ed, I get 2750fps with a 117 gr. SGK and 3000fps with the 100gr. SGK. Neither load indicates any pressure issues. The bigger difference between the Bob and the AI is that the Bob is typically produced at much lower pressures due to the older Mauser actions out there. The AI is typically loaded to higher pressures designed for more modern rifles. So when you look at AI data, it's entirely possible that you are looking at data simply loaded to significantly higher pressures. The normal Bob, when loaded to similar pressures (in an appropriate firearm) is close enough, IMO, not to justify the AI conversion. More importantly, it's important to note that the Bob isn't a 25-06. Sure, you can drive the AI almost up to 25-06 levels...but why? Might as well buy a 25-06 instead. Final note, check out this months Handloader magazine - they've got a nice article on loading the Bob to modern pressures. It's worth a read. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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the manuals all download the bob, just as they do the 7x57 because of the old guns that might be out there and with the bob the pld remingtons didn't have enough mag length to stick the bullet out where it should be. that's why they came out with he +P loads and the warning to use them only in good modern guns. they shouldn't be used in a short action either for that same matter. when you have enough mag length to seat the bullet out further they really wake up and a longer barrel with the heavier bullets is justified. | |||
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Go with the .257 Improved. The Improved version helps to elminate case stretch and will be just fine in your 22" efficeny wise. | |||
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Well she is now sporting a 22" Wilson in 257 Roberts. Now do I keep the Improved cases and dies for a later project or just sell/trade them off! PA Bear Hunter, NRA Benefactor | |||
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I [personally] see no reason to go to a Ackley IMP but that is just me! I built a 257 Rob on an old 722 action back in the 70s and killed everything Hawai`i had to offer. My hunting partner on Molokai got it and is still killing everything with it. I would do like Vapodog! Use the 100 gr deer killing bullets and be HAPPY~ Aloha, Mark When the fear of death is no longer a concern----the Rules of War change!! | |||
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AFTER READING YOUR INFO,4064 HAS BEEN ON MY BENCH FOR OVER 30 YEARS. I HAVE FOUND IT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTANT POWDERS I HAVE USED CONSIDERING THAT IT IS USED IN A CALIBER THAT CAN UTILIZE THE GIVEN BURN RATE FOR THIS POWDER.THE 6MM,243,260 AND EVEN THE OLD 06 IF LIGHTER BULLETS ARE USED. GRANTED THE CHOICES OF POWDER TODAY IS OVERWHELMING.AS FAR AS YOUR 22 INCH BARREL IS CONCERNED,SOME OF MY BEST SHOOTING RIFLES HAD 22 INCHERS, BUT, THE WHOLE IDEA OF AI IS TO WRING OUT A LITTLE MORE FROM A STANDARD ROUND. YOUR 22 INCHER IS A LITTLE SHORT TO WRING OUT THE MOST OF THIS CALIBER. | |||
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I built my .257AI with a 26 inch tube. I won't say I am not happy as I am still experimenting but I would not do it again. I would just build a .257 Roberts. Don Nelson Sw. PA. | |||
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My AI shot acceptable groups with 110gr Accubonds, using reloader 19.It killed a whitey buck and a mule buck for the fellow I lent it to. Some folks thought I might get better performance from RL 22 which I bought a can of but have yet to try. FS | |||
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Merlinron: If you think that a 257AI needs a 26" barrel then a 257Weatherby needs a 36" barrel? | |||
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Ditto. Same here. I have no intentions of ever going with a 257 Roberts AI. But, your mileage may vary. You may want an improved Bob. The straight 257 is just one awesome chambering.. So, I'm not interested in fixing something that works perfectly. Don | |||
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Since you already have the AI brass and dies, I'd chamber the barrel in AI. Who cares if 22" doesn't give you quite the performance a 24" barrel would, if you can get the 22" barrel at a great price. It might not be the most optimal setup, but you might as well play the cards you have. Heck, there are thousands and thousands of 270 Winchesters out there that do perfectly fine with 22" barrels. Your 257 AI should do fine too. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers Feasability of a 22" barreled 257 Roberts Ack Improved
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