I have used a 257Rob as my primary deer rifle for over 30 years. It was my first rifle besides my 22LR. However, over the years the availability of ammo has become unreliable to say the least. Some years I have not been able to find a source online that wasn't back ordered. BPS hasn't had it when I've looked and when I've been able to find it any store it would be a different maker from one year to the next.
Because of this I've come to appreciate how different brands can shoot. I have almost always used 117gr. I have noticed that the P+ rounds shoot really poorly in the rifle.
This is primarily a deer rifle, range time is practice for hunting. My comfort zone is 200yds.
My budget for the rifle is $700-1000. I don't want to upgrade much if anything.
I am not interested in reloading.
As much as I hate to part with it I think I might just have to. I have a 243 and 30-06. I don't think I want to fill the gap with a 270.
Would the 6.5CM be a comparable replacement as far as recoil, performance, etc?

Yes, a Creedmoor will be very similar unless you stretch it out, in which case it will surpass the .257.

However, Grab-A-Gun has the Remington 117gr in stock. If you have some brass, you could get Chad to load for you. I wouldn't give up on a gun you don't put that many rounds through.

https://grabagun.com/rem-257rob-117gr-sp-cl-20-200.html

You might what to get into reloading if you have the time. Very satisfying..

^^This

And, you could just rebarrel the rifle you have, instead of a whole new rifle. You can get a world class barrel. And have it machined to fit for about $700 total.

I don't have any experience with the roberts, however, I really like my 6.5. Low recoil, accurate, good performance on live targets so far.

My Ruger UL in 257 Roberts hates the Superperformance load from Hornady but it is a tackdriver with the reloads it likes. What model rifle do you have?

www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com...-action-rifle-with-flat-dark-earth-stock


I bought this awhile back. With 140 grain Hornady loads it shoots right at .6 moa at 100 yds. Have been working too many hours to have had the time to stretch it out, But I am absolutely pleased with this rifle.

I have a Ruger M77 HawkeyeII. I too have tried the Hornady SST P+ (all I could find at the time) and it does not like them either.
I have found some Rem Core Lokt in stock at Academy online and bought four boxes this season and it’s a world of difference. But at $30 a box that seems spendy and I don’t know how long that will last. Maybe until the next American hating President gets elected, which may not be long.

Sell it and shoot the 243... or the '06.

If shooting non +P ammo in the Roberts the 243 may out do it anyway.

My personal opinion I have no lost love for the Roberts. It is old hard to find ammo and components for compared to many other just as capable rounds, it isn't big it isn't little and it doesn't have a great bc. There are many calibers in my opinion that do everything it does and more. If its not special to you and you don't reload it is a caliber I wouldn't own. I do reload and its a caliber I wouldn't own.

That said if you like it, it will probably put deer on the ground with the best of them, all the numbers on paper don't mean much, but I wont go through trouble expense and time to keep one that on paper is worse.

If you have access to the internet, you can get any ammo you want made and sent to your door. Even obscure rounds you never heard of can be fed by custom ammo loaders. Get a load done up and order enough to last. It's just not an issue unless you make it one by not taking advantage of the resource you have at your fingertips.

To answer the original question, if you liked ~120gr bullets, 25-06 or .260 would probably be where to look, but 6.5CM is close enough.

I have hunted with the 257 roberts for over forty years, ever since I bought a Winchester model 70 feather weight chambered in the 257. As long as you can find the Remington 117 ammo at $30 I would hang on to that old deer rifle. There’s a reason the old 257 has been around over 85 years it just does a great job bring down deer.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I guess as I read these responses I know I'm not going to part with the gun. There's too much sentimental value in it for me. My dad, who was not an outdoorsman, did the research the old fashioned way and bought it for me when I was 13. We went deer hunting twice. Never saw a deer, but nearly froze both times. I've never slept in a more primitive shack before or since. I'm going to keep it. The 243 I mentioned, is my son's. He shot his first deer with it this weekend. So while it's in my house and under my control, it's his gun. It is a Savage by the way and shoots great, but most Savages are not aesthetically what I'm interested in for this gun.

The recommendations on using custom loaders from the interwebs, is not something I'd thought of before. As stated, I am not interested in reloading. I don't doubt that it's very satisfying and a way around this particular problem. I don't have the room for it, nor do I have the time to ever become a student of reloading. Maybe in another season of my life.

Aside from the ammo availability issue, this gun/round has been lights out for me. I wouldn't say it's a pleasure to shoot though. It's a little punchy for the caliber. I do wonder how it compares to the 25-06? Thats something I've considered. I think my focus on the 6.5CM is all the print it seems to get these days.

You clearly need to keep the 257R for nostalgia and buy you a new 6.5 Creedmoor. It's time to add a new rifle. 6.5 Creemoor will likely kick a little more but a new rifle will likely have a much softer pad than a 30 year old rifle.

If you love the rifle but want a caliber with more readily available ammo, do what Fireman suggested. Have a new barrel put on it. The 260 and 6.5 CM are similar to the 257 Roberts in the range of 100 gr to 120 gr bullets, though with a bit more MV. And you can go with higher weight bullets in the 250 and 6.5CM, if you wish.

You will make a big mistake to ever get rid of the Roberts. If you want something new, get a Savage Axis 6.5 Creedmoor at Academy, complete with scope for $300.
The recoil is comparable with the Roberts and you will be shooting a heavier bullet (143 gr. vs 118 gr. in Roberts).
The Creedmoor is the "flavor of the year" and IMO will be around for a long time. It is considerably better than the 243 and delivers terriffic accuracy at long distances.
You will not have any trouble finding Creedmoor ammo.

25-06 has more recoil.

+1 on what Scott From Dallas said...I ran a M70 XTR 257Rbt's for over 20 years and killed lots of critters with it even though it was a little challenged for DRT's by shots over 250/300 yards. MY PB shot with it was 444 yards though and did not give me a DRT shot on a 100+lb Pronghorn at that distance in WW 100gr Silvertips, that have been discontinued for 25/30 years.

IMO a 6.5 anything from a 6.5x55, 260 ...to the current Sweetheart 6.5 Creeedmore is a substantially better option than a 257Rbt's, even over the semi-discontinued, 3rd - 4th tier producution level 25'06's. If you are determined to stay in the "medium" lengh 7x57/257Rbts cartridge length performance range I'd go to a 7'08 or 308 instead of the 6.5CM.as a doall go anywhere cartrdge for everything from Elk/Black Bear down.

FWIW while the 6.5x55 has been a successful stand alone round since 1894, the 260 is a 308 family cartridge and there will be reloadable brass for it available until past the next millenium, but the CM family brass configuration IMO will become the next 308 - 30'06 kind of generaric design that spawned several "new" cartridges starting in 1925 with the advent of the 270WCF's commercial success....and after 50+ years of satisfaction with a 270 I'm toying with just that choice in 7-08 or 308 for a single cartridge, or a 308 & 6.5 Swede or CM (instead of a 22-250/243) for a pair to wind up my hunting history with the further past 70 I get.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

If you want less recoil you want a heavier barrel and a suppressor. If you want to make recoil less unpleasant, a better fitting stock and a modern recoil pad will moderate the effects of recoil. If the stock doesn't fit you, has a lot of drop for use with iron sights, etc. it will seem to kick harder than it really does. A classic example is the ol' lever action 30/30 with plastic but plate. That sucker hurts, even though the round doesn't produce a lot of recoil.

It is interesting that there are more loads available in the lighter bullet weights for .260, 6.5x55 and 7mm08 than 6.5CM. 6.5CM powder capacity is where you want it, though, and the twist rates seem OK for the lighter bullets. So, I'd say you're on the right track even though ammo choices are slightly limited.

I'm a big fan of the .257 Roberts. My dad gave me one as my first centerfire rifle many years ago and I've used one ever since. It's pretty much a handload-only round as factory ammo is scarce to non-existent. I've found brass hard to come by at times.

I'd talk to Chad at Dallas Reloads. He has a load using 117 gr SSTs. I've been using 117 gr SSTs on deer and hogs for years. They just plain work.

It's really not hard to find ammo for the 257:

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/257-roberts

Out do it in what way? Typically the +p stuff is only 100 fps faster. and there is no 117 grain factory ammo out there for the 243. It is sad the state of factory ammo for the Roberts but loaded properly the 243 sucks hind tit to the Roberts. I consider the Roberts more on a par with the Creedmoor than the 243.

In the primary purpose of hunting I believe bullet construction and energy are more important than BC, yeah I still want as high of a BC possible but want the selected bullet to perform on game. The .257 just doesn't have very good BC or not as good as the .243 but that doesn't mean its not a good choice. Take your gun to a good smith and have the action trued and rebarrel it any cartridge your action will except. If you want to stay with .257 Roberts I'm sure the smith can load for you or know someone that can, I recommend having someone load for the particular gun, some handloaders will have on the shelf match ammo that may or may not shoot in your gun, every chamber is unique and needs to be addressed individually for the best accuracy, I would have the handloader match the ammo to the gun.

Your 30-06 is a solid cartridge and ammo is available everywhere if you want to go that route.

Actually the 117 grain .257 bullets match that of the hunting weight 100 grain bullets for the 243 and you can push them to within 100 fps of the 243 max velocity with the 100 grain bullet. The added bonus is almost 20% more mass at impact. My Roberts will do better than that but it is a long action letting me seat the bullets far enough out that they don't intrude too much on powder space. However 2700 fps is all most of us need deer hunting. Right now it would be easy to stock up on the 117 gr. Remington factory load and I would do it if I didn't reload. Check out ammoseek and there are several places selling it presently.