Our first high-velocity .25-caliber rifle, Charles Newton's .250, was developed in 1912. It fired a 100-grain bullet at around 2,800 fps, an 87-grain bullet at 3,000.

Ned Roberts took the high-velocity notion further in the 1920s by necking the 7x57 Mauser case to fashion the .25 Roberts. It was a joint venture with A.O. Neidner and F.J. Sage. Neidner had already necked the .30-06 to form the .25 Neidner, forerunner of the .25-06. Roberts chose the 7x57 because it combined the lesser capacity of the Krag (more efficient for a .25) with a rimless head. Townsend Whelen advised a fifteen-degree shoulder. Roberts trimmed the brass 1/16 inch.

By 1930 Griffin & Howe had started making rifles for the .25 Roberts. Mr. Griffin convinced Roberts to dispense with the trimming. In 1934 Remington adopted the round as the .257 Roberts, acceding to Captain E.C. Crossman, who suggested a groove-diameter name to distinguish it from other 25s. Remington moved the shoulder forward and increased its angle to twenty degrees.

At the close of World War II, Jack O'Connor predicted the .257 would soon rank among the three most popular in bolt rifles. He was wrong. The Roberts slipped partly because its light bullets didn't shoot accurately enough for varmint hunters, and blunt big game bullets lost enthusiasm too quickly.

By the early 1950s, when Winchester-Western fielded an accurate 87-grain varmint bullet and Remington a 100-grain pointed Core-Lokt, the .243 Winchester was in the works. It would all but bury the Roberts.

Suitable Use

Captain Crossman referred to the Roberts as a "super 250." He preferred 100-grain bullets, thinking 87s too light for big game. The 117, he said, drove too deep and dropped too steeply. Whelen considered the cartridge adequate for deer, black bear and caribou. Jack O'Connor rated it high on his list of wind-bucking varmint rounds, and thought it superb for mule deer and bighorn sheep. Warren Page observed, as did others, that the .257 was too short to match the .25-06 ballistically but too long for short rifle actions.

Ballistics

These days, the .257 offers plenty of punch for big game. Federal pushes 120-grain Nosler Partitions to 2,780 fps, while Hornady lists a Light Magnum 117-grain SST at a scorching 2,940 fps.

No one loads a 100-grain bullet, which could be driven at 3,000 fps. Winchester starts its 117-grain Power-Point at 2,780, but its profile grabs air and leaks velocity fast. Ditto Remington's 117-grain Core-Lokt, which holds up a bit better but leaves the gate at a turtlish 2,650 fps.