I've sighted the Dakota Model 10 in using two different bullets. First used some factory rounds left over from last year. Remington core-lokt 117 gr. Shot them ok at 100 yds, but not great, 1 1/4 inch. Cleaned barrel with J&B and dried well, then ran some Montana bore conditioner through it a few times and dried. Shot a fouling shot with one of the CLs, and shot for a group with 110 gr. Nosler Accubonds. These are the Nosler Custom factory loads, and they're leaving the muzzle at 3000 fps. Shot two, three shot groups. Best one was 2 3/4 inch. Called Dakota a bit worried, and got what I think is some good info.

Question is, do any of you have trouble with Accubonds in lighter calibers at fairly zippy speeds?

What premium bullets are you getting the best accuracy with? Are any of you shooting the 100 gr. tipped triple shocks. What about cup and core bullets? Any of them shooting really well?
Partitions, A-Frames etc.

Please include powder your liking the best.

Thanks Much

I have not hunted with them yet but My 257 shoots the 100 gn TSX's and TTSX's quite well with IMR4350. My rifle seems partial to 100 gn bullets. I have been using the Nosler BT mostly but have had good results with Sierra Game King and the Swift Scirocco.

I've never really pushed too hard for velocity on my Roberts.

Mine liked IMR-4350 the best but I heard it was temp sensitive so I switched to H-4350 which was very good. I've also tried Hybrid 100V which worked about as good as H-435) but I hear it can produce a little more speed if that is what you want.

Mine shoots 100 NBTs, 100 TSX, 110 Accubonds, 115 NBTs and 120 Interlock HPs MOA with H-4350. The only bullet that it didn't like was 120 Grand Slams. I picked up some 120 Hot Cors from a Midway closeout recently that I'm going to start playing with after deer season.

I would get some H-4350 powder and start working with whatever premium bullets you want to use.

My 257 likes:

1) 44.4 grains of IMR 4350

2) Hornaday cases

3) Barnes TTSX - 100 grains

4) Federal 210 Gold Medal Match primers

5) OAL 2.783

It refused to shoot 100 grain Partitions - I tried multiple loads with 4 - 5 kinds of powder. Just wouldn't work.

The 100 TTSX went through about 3' of whitetail last year. I had a 1/4ing shot - entered left front shoulder - exited right in front of the right hind leg.

Glad to hear about the TTSX. I bought a box of 100gr. and will load them up when I get back to Alabama in a few weeks. From the general consensus I would say that H 4350, IMR 4350, IMR 4138, RL 22, and Ramshot-Hunter are the ones most likely to shoot good. I'm looking forward to the RS-Hunter. A few friends in Montana are have great results with it.

There's no doubt that my rifle doesn't like 110 Accubonds loaded to factory specs. Gonna try Fed. Vital Shocks / 120 gr. N Partitions @ 2780 fps. Don't have reloading stuff with me, so factory loads are all that available at the time. We'll see if this one has a taste for the Partitions!

Thanks

I had no problems with the 110 AB at 3,000 ft secs in my .257 Ackley version...

For my daughters 257 Roberts, I load 110 grain Accubonds over 37 grains of Norma 203B (that's RL-15). 2812 FPS She has had outstanding results with the Accubonds. A pig, Axis doe and Black Buck all DRT. The rifle had an A&B barrel and just piled the bullets almost on top of each other at 100 yards.

There are many powders to choose from but one that seems to work well and gets overlooked is IMR 3031.

One of my favorite powders is RL22 for 115gr bullets or heavier. I have been using H4831sc quite a bit as well. Nate

IMR-4831 is a great powder for the .257 and when I had an A-bolt short action in the Roberts, I used a 100 grain semi pointed Winchester silvertip as it was shorter and worked nicely in that gun. Everything I shot at died....nuff said!

I now have a .257 Rob in a M-70 and it's not restricted in length so much and I'm now shooting the Hornady 120 HP.

Swift, Hornady, and Nosler all make a premium bullet for the Roberts but as much as I like the premiums, it's hard to beat the old 120 HP!

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
IMR-4831 is a great powder for the .257 and when I had an A-bolt short action in the Roberts, I used a 100 grain semi pointed Winchester silvertip as it was shorter and worked nicely in that gun. Everything I shot at died....nuff said!

I now have a .257 Rob in a M-70 and it's not restricted in length so much and I'm now shooting the Hornady 120 HP.

Swift, Hornady, and Nosler all make a premium bullet for the Roberts but as much as I like the premiums, it's hard to beat the old 120 HP!

Vapo,

You shoot any critters with the Hornady HP? I ask because mine is currently sighted in with that bullet. I plan on using my 338 Federal and 257R for hunting this year.

I shoot a 100 grain Barnes TSX and 46.5 grains of Ramshot HUNTER. That works pretty well in my Ruger.

quote:

You shoot any critters with the Hornady HP?

Only deer so far.....maybe 6-7 deer but it works quite well.

I normally shoot Sierra 100 gr ProHunters in my 25/06, with groups right around 1 ". I bought a box of the 110 Accubonds and as I recall three shot group was 0.75", XMR4350 powder. Not bad. I'd have to do more testing before I'd switch though.

quote:

Originally posted by scottfromdallas:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
IMR-4831 is a great powder for the .257 and when I had an A-bolt short action in the Roberts, I used a 100 grain semi pointed Winchester silvertip as it was shorter and worked nicely in that gun. Everything I shot at died....nuff said!

I now have a .257 Rob in a M-70 and it's not restricted in length so much and I'm now shooting the Hornady 120 HP.

Swift, Hornady, and Nosler all make a premium bullet for the Roberts but as much as I like the premiums, it's hard to beat the old 120 HP!

Vapo,

You shoot any critters with the Hornady HP? I ask because mine is currently sighted in with that bullet. I plan on using my 338 Federal and 257R for hunting this year.

Hey Scott, see you've mentioned the .338 Fed. as one of your go to guns this year. I have been thinking hard on converting a couple, or at least one of my .300 WSMs to a nice .338 Fed.

Are you getting along good with it? Seems like a great little cartridge, but awfully close to the 30-06. Is gaining the short action, and decreasing rifle weight significant? How's it shooting, and how comfortable is it to shoot.

Wondering how it would compare to a .300 WSM if you went to Africa to hunt plains game, and for elk here at home. I'm liking what i've heard so far.

I'm not sure what kind of excuses that Dakota felt it had to make for the performance of its rifle with one particular factory load, but in truth, no excuses are necessary.

Some rifles (well-made ones which are potentially very accurate) simply don't like some bullets and some loads (even well-made and potentially accurate ones.) That's why we HANDLOAD for our rifles if we wish to maximize their potential.

When I owned a .257 Roberts I used exclusively Surplus 4831 in it with a variety of bullets ranging from 90 grains to 117 grains. Velocites well above those of "factory loads" were easy to achieve at sustainable pressures. Accuracy was excellent with a variety of bullets -- and as with most rifles, mediocre with a few.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I'm not sure what kind of excuses that Dakota felt it had to make for the performance of its rifle with one particular factory load, but in truth, no excuses are necessary.

Some rifles (well-made ones which are potentially very accurate) simply don't like some bullets and some loads (even well-made and potentially accurate ones.) That's why we HANDLOAD for our rifles if we wish to maximize their potential.

When I owned a .257 Roberts I used exclusively Surplus 4831 in it with a variety of bullets ranging from 90 grains to 117 grains. Velocites well above those of "factory loads" were easy to achieve at sustainable pressures. Accuracy was excellent with a variety of bullets -- and as with most rifles, mediocre with a few.

I agree with you, and the answer from Dakota was not an excuse at all. They simply told me that the particular bullet I was shooting in a factory load had not gotten rave reviews for 100 yd groups in that barrel. He also told me of several, (some of the same brand) that they had gotten great comments about. I was just trying to get all the info. I could to speed up the load workup process, and to choose a factory load to shoot until I get home to my reloading bench.

The Fed. Premiums 120gr. partitians are working good enough until I can work up some handloads.

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by tc98:

quote:

Originally posted by scottfromdallas:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
IMR-4831 is a great powder for the .257 and when I had an A-bolt short action in the Roberts, I used a 100 grain semi pointed Winchester silvertip as it was shorter and worked nicely in that gun. Everything I shot at died....nuff said!

I now have a .257 Rob in a M-70 and it's not restricted in length so much and I'm now shooting the Hornady 120 HP.

Swift, Hornady, and Nosler all make a premium bullet for the Roberts but as much as I like the premiums, it's hard to beat the old 120 HP!

Vapo,

You shoot any critters with the Hornady HP? I ask because mine is currently sighted in with that bullet. I plan on using my 338 Federal and 257R for hunting this year.

Hey Scott, see you've mentioned the .338 Fed. as one of your go to guns this year. I have been thinking hard on converting a couple, or at least one of my .300 WSMs to a nice .338 Fed.

Are you getting along good with it? Seems like a great little cartridge, but awfully close to the 30-06. Is gaining the short action, and decreasing rifle weight significant? How's it shooting, and how comfortable is it to shoot.

Wondering how it would compare to a .300 WSM if you went to Africa to hunt plains game, and for elk here at home. I'm liking what i've heard so far.

I really like it. Rifle weight is similar to a 308 win. I really don't think it kicks any harder. I never have any issues shooting it from the bench. I can get about 2650 from 200-210 bullets and about 2800 from 180/185 bullets. I've pretty much settled on 180/200 Ballistic Tips and 200 Hot Cors. Really no need for premiums at those velocities, plus the 338 Ballistic Tips are built tough anyway. 2/3rds of their weight is in the jacket. They have extremely thick shanks.

I'm taking mine with me opening day next Saturday. As far as Africa, send a PM to RobertD. He took his 338 Federal to Africa this summer and was shooting 210 TTSX. I keep waiting for him to post about it. He said it worked awesome. He and I were sharing load data prior to him leaving for Africa.

One of our AR smiths built me a 257 on an 09 Arge that I bought from him. I settled on H4350 w/ 100g NP. Worked up the loads on my chrono. 46.5g clocks 2990 fps and shoots less than an inch. Hope this helps.

44.0 H4350, 117 SGK is my go-to load.

Have had success on mule deer using the .257 with loaded down 87 grain FN bullets ( 25-35 velocity) to super charged 120 grain bullets. Never found a need for premium bullets with this cartridge. roger

I use a healthy dose of H414 (i can't remember the weight off hand) and a 117 SGK out of my Ruger #1...shoots way under 1" routinely.

you weren't by chance shooting your Dakota off a bipod were you? Just curious, as my #1 does not like a bipod

I've just started shooting my 257 - a seven year project, its based on a VZ-33 action (same as a g33-40) with a very slim Lothar walthar barrel. Currently its shooting 100 gn Hornardy interlocks with 46 gns of surplus H-4831 very nicely.

As soon as I come accross a packet of 110 gn Interbonds I'm going to try and migrate it to those.

My Bob didn't care for any of the 100-110 gr bullets though the 100 TTSX and Hunter faired well. It did like both the 115 BT and 120 PT with either of the 4831's.

Alan

I have not shot the Roberts in a number of years but I have been shooting the 250-3000 for about 65 years or more..

I have found the 100 and 117 gr. corelokts and 100 ge. Silvertips in factory loads work very well on deer and elk on broadside shots.

The accubonds and Balistic tips work great on deer and antelope..

Most bullets today if you shoot them at under 3000 FPS work to perfection, thus the wonderful reputation of the 250 Savages killing power on big game, the bullets integrity is not threatened and they always work..

I have a friend that ropes with me and he shoots the 117 gr. Corelokts at 2800 FPS, and sometimes the 100 gr. Corelokts on elk, deer and bear. I load them for him and he has used them for many years in an old Rem 722, its his only rifle. He mostly uses the factory iron sights, but sometimes he uses a old 2.5X Leupold on it. That rifle will drive tacs. He has killed many elk with that rifle. If its cold and snow on the ground he uses the irons because the scope fogs..I offered him a new scope but he isn't interested, sees no need..

The old 257 Roberts has been doing that for many folks for many years. I think every cowboy in Wyoming has one, then when they grow up the get a 25-06!

My 257 digests 110 gr AccuBonds beautifully. I couldn't get any Partitions as that is what I had it built to shoot so i took the Accubonds to break in the barrel which is a Lilja 3 groove 22" fairly heavy profile barrel. After 20 rounds of cleaning between each round I shot for group. The first 5 shot group was just under 3/8". The load was 38 grs of IMR 4350 which is the powder I use for mostly everything. I don't have a chrono and my Nosler manual doesn't show the 110 Accubond. I figure it's at least 2700/2800fps. The rifle is a custom Model 70 classic action. It's good enough for me.