A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

I took some time this morning to stop by the gun club and try a few rounds with the 03A3.

I don't have much loaded for the .257 Roberts as far as jacketed bullets go. I have thousands of 70 and 90 gr. LRNGC bullets that my grandfather had made decades ago and I still haven't hardly made a dent in. A couple boxes of factory .257s came with the rifle, both were 117 gr JRN bullets and I had a box of 100 gr Sierras loaded over 35 gr IMR 3031 that I have for my Arisaka .257 Rbts sporter. The handloads turned out the best group of the morning, though I wasn't shooting all that well. The 100 yd bench is pretty much a wobbly picnic table with a hard plastic rest. i found some of my grandfather's data this afternoon and will load up some of those. He was into the .257 R and .250 Savage big time.
The 117 gr Remington loadings were pretty sedate and not the best bullet for this rifle. I've never had any luck with anything heavier than 100 gr. bullets in the Roberts.

Several of those flyers are my fault, It's going to take awhile to get used to that trigger. It's really light and zero take up.
it's going to be fun getting those groups down to the less than one inch groups at 100 yds that I know it's capable of. Plus, this thing is so heavy the recoil so light, I could shoot it all day. :D

Image
Image

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
User avatar
Grizz
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11808
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:15 pm

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by Grizz »

fine rifle and good shooting. very interesting to see the variations of the various loads. when you are doing this, do you find a load for the gun and settle on it?
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

Grizz wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:24 am fine rifle and good shooting. very interesting to see the variations of the various loads. when you are doing this, do you find a load for the gun and settle on it?
I will with this one, I like to have one designated load for my hunting rifles. I usually have the varmint rifles sighted in an inch high at 100 yds. Keeps things consistent in my little brain. This one caught me by surprise and a little short on supplies, but I have found a couple hundred 100 gr bullets at Grafs and have enough 86 gr. to give them a try. My grandfather's favorite for his Model 70 was a 100 gr. Sierra and IMR-4064. I have a couple pounds of that and plenty of 3031. Even found a load for Varget which has become a favorite of mine.

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
User avatar
Grizz
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11808
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:15 pm

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by Grizz »

i've never done the range work you are doing. closest i got and most interesting to me was my Remington 7mm Mag loads. i found 4 bullet weights to compare, stacked into the receiver, unknown range, paper target, 3 rounds in the black, and the heaviest round directly south more than an inch. this was repeatable, i think there is something inherent about 7 mm accuracy. my setup was a peep sight on the rear scope mount with the stock front bead. simple. it's fun to put those 4 rounds in the receiver. i didn't do any extreme range shooting, which should have disbursed the bullets somewhat. this was just a deer rifle, and ranges were not actually known. with the flat-shooting 7 the load itself wasn't particularly important. shooting deer standing up in a 14 foot skiff was consistently productive. fun times, but not a gun i wanted to meet Brer Bear with. those bullets were too frangible.
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

This is the part I really enjoy, finding the best load for something new. I have a few that will shoot a couple different bullet weights equally with just a slight difference in POI, like my grandfather's '03 sporter. No matter what it is, there's always a nice ragged hole on the target. then there's my .222 Sako, anything other than a 50 grain bullet the groups will go from less than an inch to 4-5" even with a 5 gr. difference.
Plus it's good mental and physical therapy for me. I can shut the worries out and get some exercise in the process. :D

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by GunnyMack »

Pretty rifle! Great group will soon come, im sure you'll find just the right load. My 257AI is very finicky, have yet to find a load it really likes. I haven't tried Varget, what is your recipe?
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

GunnyMack wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:38 pm Pretty rifle! Great group will soon come, im sure you'll find just the right load. My 257AI is very finicky, have yet to find a load it really likes. I haven't tried Varget, what is your recipe?
I got this one off the Hogdon site; 100 gr JSP, starting at 34 gr and a Max of 38 gr.

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by GunnyMack »

Thanks Jason, ill give it a try!
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

Let us know if you try it. I've been using Varget for several years now for several calibers and have had great accuracy with it. I'm going to try and get some loaded this weekend along with a small batch with IMR-4064. I wanted to get back out this week but too much to do.

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 8849
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: Sweetwater, TX

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Jason, what is the twist rate of that barrel? You should be able to find some fine loads with bullets heavier than 100 grains if it isn't too slow. I had an old Savage 99 in .250-3000 with the original 1:14 twist and of course it did not like anything heavier than 100 grains -- and wouldn't even shoot boat tails in that weight.
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9938
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by GunnyMack »

Doubt ill get around to it anytime soon. I've tried Varget in 308 and I wasn't all that impressed by it or was that Benchmark...?
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
3leggedturtle
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4145
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:34 am
Location: north of Palacios about 1400 miles

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 3leggedturtle »

Its still alot better than minute of deer! I have a few boxes of Hornady 87gr SPP if needed. Save 86gr FP's fir when you get a 25/20.
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
User avatar
2ndovc
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9302
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie

Re: A the range w/ the .257 Roberts.

Post by 2ndovc »

3leggedturtle wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 2:29 pm Its still alot better than minute of deer! I have a few boxes of Hornady 87gr SPP if needed. Save 86gr FP's fir when you get a 25/20.
Got the .25-20 thing covered. :wink:
Image

jb 8)
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"


" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Post Reply