Humble Beginnings?

The History Channel states, “the Roaring Twenties were a period of rapid economic growth and social change.” Another source claims, “The 1920s was a decade of…profound cultural conflicts. For many Americans, the growth of cities, the rise of a consumer culture, the upsurge of mass entertainment, and the so-called “revolution in morals and manners” represented liberation from the restrictions of the country’s Victorian past.” – https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=13&smtid=1

The “Roaring Twenties” did bring change to a lot of areas in American society and the world. The changes it brought to the firearms industry and shooting sports is still visible today when one peruses the ammo boxes, powders kegs, and bullet selections in their beloved outdoor shooting and firearms retail warehouse.

The Preacher once said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Setting aside the economic and social similarities of this present decade to 100 years ago I can attest that even in the shooting world today’s cartridge development break throughs are not that different from developments of 100 years ago. There truly is nothing absolutely new, under the son.

Experimentation

Taking one of the first, if not the first rimless case design for use of smokeless powder, Ned Roberts necked it down to create a .257 caliber cartridge. The 257 Roberts is simple a necked down 7×57 Mauser (or 275 Rigby if you’re nostalgic). Although the commercial “Quarter Bob” introduced by Remington in 1934 is slightly different than just necking down a 7×57 case. Yet, still choosing to honor the contribution of the man the 257 Remington “Roberts” was legitimized.

Much experimentation was being conducted around this time of which many names are familiar, similarly anyone of the individuals involved can be credited with the development of any number of the cartridges invented during this period. A. O Neidner, F. W. Mann. Harvey Donaldson, F. W. Sage, Ned Roberts, Colonel Whelen, Griffin & Howe, Charles Newton all were involved in the development of each others’ cartridges and firearms thus you can’t have one favorite without tippin’ your hat to the others. As a modern day “rifle looney” I find I owe much to these original “rifle loonies” of a by-gone era.

When it comes to the world of the .25 caliber you can figure it like this; Newton with is 250/3000 Savage created the “chocolate chip cookie.” Roberts came along with his .257 and made the cookie bigger. Neidner said, “Now, that is a great tasting food morsel, but if you add chopped walnuts…” BAM, 25-06! They’re all chefs cooking in the same kitchen with the same ingredients. Even Roy Weatherby who showed up late, yet like an episode of “Crime Scene Kitchen” was able to take the ingredients and make a “chocolate chip and chopped walnut” cookie the size of a frisbee with his 257 Weatherby Magnum.

The question with any and all cartridges, including modern barnburners by Nosler and Hornady and Remington is…how big do you want your cookie and do you like walnuts?

Shooting the “Quarter Bob”

Sporting a 21″ A & B barrel on a Mauser VZ-24 action, an ultra sporterized military stock my Roberts is a very handy 6 1/2 pound rifle with a fixed 4X scope attached. I soon discovered a quiet and effective woods load to be a 100 grain hard cast spitzer type bullet (Lyman #257418) driven to about 1800 fps. This projectile was instant death to California deer in the high sierras as well as the coastal ranges and valleys. Pushing an 87 grain Hornady SP around 2800 fps with a 200 yard zero was just the medicine for those longer shots out to 300 yards when needed.

Upon relocating to Wyoming I stepped the 87 grain load up a bit and it became my coyote load as well as 75 grain hollow points. Nosler Partitions and Ballistic Tips of the 100-115 grain varieties became my primary projectiles for Antelope and Mule deer. Around this same time I discovered a “better choice” for-me cartridge and “Bob” became the wife’s hunting rifle.

First Fruits

The wife never hunted with me in California due to her working during the week. I typically had the time to hunt after college classes during the week, when the woods had less people. On weekends the people traffic in the woods was more numerous so we did other family things, typically drives up or down the coast in Humboldt county.

When we moved to Wyoming I took her hunting for the first time. She passed her hunter safety and we purchased Antelope and Mule deer left over tags that first year. Her first Lope took a few shots but she got her done. After that there was no stopping her. Antelope season saw the freezer fill up fast and finally deer season arrived.

By now the wife was becoming an old pro with “Bob” and when it came time for her first deer she was a master. I got home a little early from work and we grabbed the rifle, the ammo and jumped in the truck. We headed to a piece of state land that was pretty heavily hunted during the early days of season but there were always a few does to be found. We slow rolled through a gate off the county road and putted up the bottom of the draw.

After a couple 100 yards or so we saw a doe standing in the bottom. I stopped, shut the truck off and told her, “There ya go.” The sun hung low in the sky and was casting shadows from the high portions of the bank along the bottom and the deer was just in one of the shadows. It took a few seconds to find her target through the optic but when she did the “Roberts” barked and the doe went down.

At the report of the rifle, two heads popped up out of the tall sage to see what the commotion was.

My wife exclaimed, “I missed!”

I said, “No, you got her.”

“No, it’s still standing there,” she says.

“That’s a different one,” I said

“Well where did she go?” my wife asked.

“Down!” I said

The bullet caught her dead center in the throat patch and severed the spinal column, she dropped so fast I nearly missed it when I blinked at the shot. The Roberts was credited with numerous other Antelope, deer and coyotes over the years, and currently I do not have an active 257 Roberts in my arsenal. That fact will more than likely change this summer but none the less.

Always a Favorite

One thing highly criticized about the Roberts (and 7×57 family cartridges) is the necessity of a long action. In a short action the bullets must be seated deep to accommodate magazine length. Personally I’ve never found longer bolt travel to be disadvantageous in any way whatsoever. The added weight (talking ounces) of a long action can be mitigated with stock and barrel selection or optic choice. The one thing I do find that makes a difference in speed and handling is the bolt throw, 60 vs. 90 degrees.

Personally I prefer a long action with these medium sized cartridges because one can seat the bullet farther out, thus essentially increasing powder capacity for a potential velocity increase. With the anemic factory ammunition available and the lawyer approved load-data in modern manuals the 257 Roberts (like the 6mm Rem and 7×57) is really handicapped in my opinion.

There are some who are pushing the limits of the “Roberts” class of cartridge. Richard Mann is one of the first I’ve heard of to experiment with the 25/6.5 Creedmoor (https://empty-cases.com/blog/the-257-wildcat-or-somethingoranother/). Jeff Wood aka coldboremiracle is another individual who loves a fine Quarter-bores (https://coldboremiracle.com/2018/10/04/operation-quarter-lord-the-25-creedmoor/).

Thus far I’ve listed several specifically themed “favorites” so what could possibly be left? As I stated earlier, there are as many favorites as there are cartridges. That being said the 257 Roberts is my favorite deer hunting cartridge. The case capacity is spacious enough to give heavy for caliber projectiles enough velocity to maintain a competitively flat trajectory out to 500 yards. With the added bullet weight energy exceeds that of the 6’s and with “low drag,” high BC projectiles, bullet strikes at extreme ranges are more easily discernable for follow-ups.