YOU used to be able to start a campfire argument about whether the .257 Roberts or the .25-06 Remington was best, but today too few hunters know enough about the two rounds to make it an interesting debate. Things would have been totally different back in the days before World War II, when these .25s saw widespread use here and in North America. It is a wonder they are still around when you see how many competing cartridges have been introduced in recent years.
They have a lot in common. They were developed in about 1920, specifically for use on varmints, and both were handicapped by being underloaded due to the lack of suitable propellants. Today’s powders and bullets, though, give them an entirely new level of performance.
.257 Roberts
The brainchild of Ned Roberts and a coterie of US woodchuck hunters, the .257 was the 7x57 case necked to .25, just as the 6mm Remington case is the .257 necked down to 6mm.
Right from the day of its inception the .257 laboured under a handicap. When it was hatched the newest Du Pont powder was IMR 3031, which was
