What to do with my .257 Roberts

[6mm Remington]

Pre 64 Model 70 in great condition - WOW!

257 Roberts is a fantastic cartridge for coyotes, deer, antelope, black bears, Bighorn sheep, etc. I'd shoot the ammo that you have and see how it works. If you don't reload, you should get into it. It's a lot of fun and working up a load for your special rifle is the way to go. A 110 grain Nosler Accubond would be a superb bullet for anything you are going to hunt with it.

I would give the rifle a good cleaning before I shot it or used it. That's a real treasure that begs to be hunted with. Use it and love it.

 

[RockAndSage]

This gun doesn't deserve to sit in a safe forever, but maybe it doesn't need upgraded and taken out west either. I may just keep it original and use it in the box blind for whitetails.

Every statement in this quote is a true and good thought, man. No good reason to keep it in the safe, it'd be great on whitetails, and seriously - it's absolutely fine for anything "out West", as-is, as long as that scope can hold zero. And chances are, it may very well be more rugged than a lot of the thin, lightweight aluminum-tubed scopes today. Guys slay mule deer and elk every day during season with bows, muzzleloaders, and iron-sighted centerfires. You've got a great gun.

Your mentioning of box-blind whitetail brought an idea to mind, especially going forward generationally - what about making it part of some sort of family tradition, where you or one of your kids gets the honor of taking a whitetail with it, once a year or something?

BTW, I'll second others' notes on at least cleaning the barrel - I've personally seen dust and patina occlude bores over a couple of decades with rifles just sitting there in smaller calibers. Being in a safe makes it far less problematic, but an easy thing to check for.

 

[43.6N]

Just a thought, @D.Blake you dont happen to live in an iron sight only season location do ya?

If the scope ends up having any mechanical issues, stowing it away to protect it, and shooting the irons would be most excellent

 

[SDHNTR]

Thank you all for the feedback! I had a feeling this would happen... now the guilt of breaking up an original gun is setting in. The scope is very small and the clarity is average at best. But it is very cool.

In my limited knowledge and research on the .257, it is always regarded as a flat shooting rifle capable or effective ranges out to 400 yards. I feel like that old scope is limiting this gun's potential.

This gun doesn't deserve to sit in a safe forever, but maybe it doesn't need upgraded and taken out west either. I may just keep it original and use it in the box blind for whitetails.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't even shot it yet, and after talking to my Dad he cant recall it ever even being shot at all! So I should probably get it on the range with the current scope and see how she does as is!

You may find this helpful:

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[MtnW]

Classic rifle and caliber. I would try the ammo , probably just fine as long as it wasn’t stored in a garage with Nebraska summers. A Schmidt Bender 6X is what I ran on a similar rifle. You have a gem!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

257 Roberts is a cool round. A few years ago I got a Kimber Hunter 257r off a used rack in Anchorage for 500 dollars. I still have not shot it but it’s on my list of things to get going.

 

[jzeblaz]

My hunting partner and his father both were big fans of the Bob. I've reloaded for his Sako for a number of years and it has always turned in remarkable accuracy and lethal performance on game with a 3-9x. Lots of antelope, deer and pigs. Enjoy the heck out of it and report back.

 

[ktm450]

I have a Remington Classic CL in .257 Robert’s. It shoots tiny groups and I have shot (and quickly dropped) big MT Deer with both 100 Nosler BT and 115 Nosler BT at max loads from 100-300 yards.

I use Swarovski Z3 with the radicle tree. Love the rifle, cartridge, and nostalgia. I have lots of “dial” scopes, but they just don’t seem right on these guns.