Anyone accomplished this sucessfully? Regularly?

Perry

Perry,

Well I do have a Roberts, but the largest animal I've shot with is was a nice mule deer. I shot it with a 120 gr partition. It ran about 20 yards and crumpled. I doubt that helps you. I just have "better" tools to use on elk, so I haven't tried the Roberts. My favorite is my 338 Win Mag. If you shoot heavy for caliber bullets, say 117-120 grs, and stay out of the shoulders, it would probably work O.K.. With a good broadside "double lung" shot, they'd go down, I'm sure. Personally, if you could use a bigger caliber, I would recommend it, but if that's all you got, that's what you got. Try to keep it close range and stay out of the shoulder area, try to get an angle into the heart lung area from behind a shoulder or a straight on frontal shot. Be prepared to shoot more than once.

Heck, someone will say they've shot elk with 22's...

Atkinson, Sr. killed elk by the dozen with a .250-3000. I doubt many of us have his skills or opportunities, though.

Elk are kinda scarce in Virginia although a few wander across the border from Tennessee and are classed as very large deer for license purposes. If one wandered by me while I was hunting deer with my Bob, I'd shoot him with a fair degree of confidence, but I sure would not pick that rifle to go hunting elk on purpose as long as I owned something heavier.

Yeah, I had a buddy from Jayton, Texas who always used a 257 Roberts for Elk. Got an Elk every year also. He was also one of the finest marksman I had ever seen. so I guess that would be the only caveat.

I am another who says, use it if its all you have , but if you have anything bigger , use it instead.
I shot a small mule deer with my Roberts last year , I hit him with a 100 grain barnes tripple shock at 102 yards.
I could not belive the wound channel.
I am confident that a similar shot would have droped an elk. Not quite as fast mabye but the entrance wound was as big as a quarter and the exit wound was as big as my fist, Of corse every thing in beetween was mush ! After seeing what the Little barnes did to that deer , I considerd using my .270 with a 130 grain tsx elk hunting, but I have to many better choices...tj3006

My brother has taken a few with his .257 Roberts as well as a .243, he normally shoots a 30/06 or 300 WSM and occasionally his .338 on elk. The difference is the shots you'll take with the bigger ones are not the same shots you'll take with the Roberts or .243 and an experienced hand knows the limitation of what rifle he is carrying.
A good bullet for the smaller rifles is critical and so is the placement of the shot, but let it be known that there is not an elk that walks this earth that could take a double lung hit or a shot to the heart from a Roberts and get away. You just need to have the good judgement to pass on some opportunities until the right "shot" happens, no different than hunting deer with a 22/250 in my opinion.
It can be done but not recommended for the majority of hunters. Most people encounter elk infrequently enough to try to turn an elk sighting into a shooting opportunity and in those cases you need the benefit of a deep penetrating larger caliber rifle to take advantage of those situations. If you hunt a ranch or an area where you can pick and choose from multiple chances on elk then pick the light weapon if you desire.

It's not hard to get to the heart and/or lungs of a elk with a broadside or full frontal shot. A .257 Roberts in the heart/lungs will have about the same effect as any other centerfire caliber. The only reservation about the smaller caliber is getting it there when you may be presented with a shot that requires it to penetrate the shoulder or paunch first.

Excellent info guys. I had imagined it would be as yall have said but was curious of the real world senerios. I am not going elk hunting per say but the ranch I hunt on in Tx has its own herd that needs thinning and the elk are not on a schedule, never saw ne last year. I usually carry my 257 with 100gr TSXs. If the opportunity arises the shot taken is either a head or neck anyway, hate to waste ANY of that great meat.

Perry

My wife has killed to gemsbok with a .257 Roberts, one recently with 100 grain TSXs. It works, but it is a bit small in my opinion. If I were out stalking the Texas brush looking for a whitetail with my Bob and came upon an elk, I'd readily shoot it with the .257. It's not like he'll hang around while you go fetch something bigger. Put that TSX through his vitals and he'll die.

I know a preacher in north Idaho who took 9 elk (mixture of cows & bulls) in 9 years with 9 shots using a .243 Win. He got within 100 yards and did not fire until he got just the right shot. He's not much of a shooter, (or a preacher), but he's one good hunter! It's not so much the cartridge, but the one who fires it...most of the time.
257 Bob for elk? I wouldn't..but it is certainly doable. Advisable? Only to those who know themselves well and hold both the hunt and the quarry in high regard.

John Barsness has killed a bunch of them, does, with the .257 Bob or so he says in print. I tend to agree it'd work, mine .257 is certainly hell on whitetails and mulies, never had a bullet recovered, even the 100 Hornady interlocs. I'd not take one as a primary Elk rifle at all. The caveats of heavy 117/120 grainers and excellent shot placement apply, I'd keep it under 200 yards too.

The Other day they had a thread on here about Elk and 25 06. Lots of people myself included thought that a 25-06 wasn't really the gun of choice. Having said that a .257 Roberts is far short of a 25 06.

I know plenty of people who have take elk with smaller calibers, but none with the .257 Roberts. I will agree that it can be done there just are better calibers to do it with.

Personally, I have never killed and elk. The advice from the experienced elk hunters on this post reflect my personal opinion. Given a choice likewise, I would never shoot a man with a 9mm handgun even if it does have more magazine capacity than the "starts with a 4" calibers.

I have shot elk with 130 Gr bullets from a 270 Winchester, 165 Gr bullets with a 308 Norma Mag, and 225 Gr bullets from a 340 Weatherby. I have also shot mule deer with a 117 Gr bullet from the 257 Bob but would never take a Bob rifle elk hunting.

I killed mine two years ago with a Sukalle Borchardt in 25-35 Improved and a partition bullet.
about 200yds, put a hole going in and broke a rib...did the same thing on its way out the other side. He went nearly ten feet before assuming ambient temperature. Put a decent soft point bullet just behind the crease about halfway up, and nothing that walks the face of this earth can survive five mnutes. I have killed twenty-seven Elk in Idaho since 1978, and a good lung shot is the key along with a partition or equivalent slug.

Rich

I agree with JAY JOHNSON above and with people like Elmer Keith that all say use bigger bullets. Large game animals deserve a quick dispatch. Most people I know that hunt elk feel that even a 30-06 is a bit on the small side.

Bigdog2

My Uncle used to use a 30 06 he's the one that really taught me to hunt. He was very successful. But he always stocked in close. I can't remember him ever taking a shot over 150 feet. I loaded for him it was always IMR 4350 and 180 Gr Sierra's. Never had one of his Elk get away.

The only other smaller gun I saw used with great success was a .270 with 150 bullets. Mr. Petterson and older gentleman. A very good shooter as well.

Hunting in Western Washington in the days when the State hadn't screwed up the hunting yet.

A 257 Roberts on Elk? Isn,t that a bit small? Don,t you guys have a minimum caliber on Elk - if so I would have thought it would be a bit bigger than a 257!

States each have thier own regulations, most have the .243 as minimum.

Most people establish minimums on thier own.

I think an acomplished rifleman could take elk with one consitantly. I think a novice can get lucky. But recommending one to somebody would require a lot of getting to know thier abilities first. Nate

Last week when it was time to take a sheep for the freezer,one of my own on my own land, I took the 22lr for a walk.
Two nice looking animals were found sheltering under a tree. Taking time to get close by walking behind a hill which hid me from their sight. I got to 20 yards away. The larger of the two was taken with an off-hand shot to the back of the head. The ram died instantly. It rolled dawn a small bank and came to rest on a track.
A quick cut to the throat had it bled out. The easy bit was going for the tractor and carrying the animal home.
Whilst I would never use a 22lr when out deer stalking, I wish I could take the tractor with me.

The Roberts should easily take an Elk with good bullet placement.

The Roberts, handloaded isn't all that much less powerful than a .25-06 inside 250 yards, and a .257 bullet is a .257 bullet launched from a 57mm or the -06 case. My friends all call my .257 Bob "popflop" because the little guy goes pop and the deer flop. An important point is SD. and 110/115/120 .257" bullets have SD's in the .230-.260 range like 140-150 ..284's or 130-140 .277's, 165 .308's, 180 .323's and 200/210 .338's. The SD as we know is the ratio of weight to frontal area and gives us an idea of penetration potential. Bullet construction is another consideration, range another, shot placement and angle yet another. There are better choices and worse ones. Simple selection based only on bore diameter is folly regardless of the target. I tire of the small bores can do nothing worthwhile attitude and the smallbores can do anything attitude. Then I don't think the .375 H&H is the all around rifle or that a .22-250 is suitable for deer, call me crazy.

I once had a very good friend that sadly passed away about 35 years ago who due to a serious car accident could no longer shoot most cartridges. His 30-06, which he gave me, was way too hard kicking for him to shoot anymore. He ended up building a .257 Roberts on a Mexican Mauser action that ended up being his all round rifle.
Every year, he would leave his home in Nevada, go to Idaho and shoot an elk. He hunted for meat so horn size meant nothing to him, Even so, he did bring home some nice 6x6 racks. He'd also get his deer in Nevada. Jerry was a hunter that could stalk up to just about anything without being spotted. His favorite shot was just behind the ear. For Jerry, the .257 Bob was perfect.
Paul B.

I killed a cow elk with an AI (does that count?)
115 grain Partition in the neck. Straight down....DRT as you fellers like to say. I much prefer the 338 WM and a 225 Partition for elk but, the 257 will do it.

Although I have no experience with the 257 Roberts, I have taken a couple of moose with the 250-3000 Savage. They were short distance shots and I took the time to pick my shot and place it exactly.I know it can be done and I won't bash anyone for doing it, now I choose to use something a little bigger in caliber.My Remington 700 in 7x57 Mauser is seeing a lot of field time nowadays.!!My Remington 600 in .222 that I acquired recently is getting the trail time for varmints, and if I see a deer I can always pick my shot and bring home the venison.

For what it's worth, in the 1950's the .257 used to be a favorite caliber in the west.

I know of one person who shot more elk than most of us will ever see with a .243

Elk don't have Kevlar armor, thousands were killed with the 30-30, 32, 35 etc. Those old guys used what they had, didn't go out and buy the latest magnum whatever.

quote:

Elk don't have Kevlar armor, thousands were killed with the 30-30, 32, 35 etc. Those old guys used what they had, didn't go out and buy the latest magnum whatever.

wyo. ART...

Don't tell the magnum crowd on here that.... you won't be very popular....but I sure agree with ya!

cheers
seafire