257 Roberts

Renowned gun writer, Ned H. Roberts, designed this wildcat cartridge in the 1920s. Remington introduced it as a commercial chambering in 1934. It is the 7x57mm Mauser necked down to 25-caliber. However, Remington altered the shoulder from 15-degrees to 20-degrees, which makes little practical difference.

Following standardization of the Roberts, it was considered one of the best all-around choices for hunting varmints, small game and big game species up to mule deer, sheep and goat. Many experts maintain that, properly loaded and in good hands, the Roberts is fully adequate for elk; however, for the general hunter and under most circumstances, such use is of questionable merit. Naturally, a 257 bullet placed into the ribs and which penetrates into the lungs will kill, very cleanly, even a moose. However, if the shot goes a bit too far forward, such light bullets are unlikely to penetrate through heavier bone and subsequently reach the "boiler room." For this reason, experienced expert shots consider the 257, and similar numbers, as best relegated to smaller species or for shots only at modest ranges on elk or similar animals.

Appearance of standardized, high-velocity 6mm chamberings, with flatter trajectories and useful for the same range of big game hunting, began to erode on 257 Roberts popularity in the mid-1950s. Subsequent to appearance of the 25-06, as a commercial chambering in 1969, Roberts popularity further dwindled. Only a few factory-made rifles are available in this chambering; recently, Ruger was the only manufacturer cataloging this number.

Original factory loads had a conservative working pressure, which limited ballistics. Handloaders have always loaded the Roberts to more realistic pressures and, recently, SAAMI has adopted a +P pressure standard (50,000 Psi) which is the limit for our data.