Author Topic: .257 Roberts Question (Read 697 times)

muzzleblast525 · « **on:** October 27, 2005, 05:37:56 PM »

Buddy wants me to reload some .257 Roberts for him, and brought me a cardboard box containing RCBS dies. On the box it reads, .257 R Improved, and says improved on the dies also. Is this Ackley Improved or what?

PaulS · « **Reply #1 on:** October 27, 2005, 08:17:59 PM »

Yep! you definately have a set of dies for 257 Roberts improved - I hope his is chabered that way :-D

PaulS

Cuz · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2005, 03:59:24 AM »

word of CAUTION. . .these dies are NOT for standard .257 Roberts.

if you are loading just a few, then I would purchase a Lee Loader for the .257 Rob. one load at a time but is an excellent way to load and for just a few the $20 or less is a very good investment. you will probably have to go to eBay to find one, but worth the effort. I believe that Lee has stopped production of the Lee Loader in .257 Rob.

you might be surprised but many bench match shooter use the Lee Loader for their rounds. one reason, same round each time out of the loader is just like the one before and the one that will follow. not so with some of the other automated types.

the .257 Rob is an excellent round, from groundhog to deer, but has been swallowed up by the BIG boys and their magnums. I still load and shoot my Rob on a regular basis. many good rounds have been killed by magnum mania.

Cuz

muzzleblast525 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2005, 07:22:22 AM »

I've been reloading for a couple of years ago, but just never ran into this problem. Thanks for all the input on the .257 Roberts....

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #4 on:** October 28, 2005, 11:26:32 PM »

you could probably use those dies to neck size your brass and shoot it in the same chamber that they were originaly shot in. If im not mistake all the lee loaders do is neck size anyway.

Lone Star · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2005, 05:29:19 AM »

Another CAUTION - there were at least two different .257 Roberts Improved cartridges, the Ackley and the RCBS - and they are not interchangeable. One major difference was the shoulder angle: 28 degress for the RCBS version and 40 for the Ackley. Check with RCBS to see which version the dies are - give them the part number on the box. As for the rifle, does he have any cases which he knows were fired in the rifle but not resized?

muzzleblast525 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2005, 07:36:49 PM »

FYI: I will not be reloading with these dies, as my friend has a .257 Roberts and these dies will not work......Thanks for all the feedback...

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2005, 05:13:03 PM »

As Lloyd suggested, those dies will work fine when used as necksizing dies. I had a .257 AI long before I had a Bob and did not bother to buy Bob dies until about the fourth firing of my cases.

With those markings, you have dies with the 28 degree shoulder. RCBS had its own .257 Improved with that shoulder and would have marked the 40 degree Ackley version differently. I ain't going out to the shop to look, but memory says that mine are marked .257 AI.

Cuz · « **Reply #8 on:** October 31, 2005, 04:35:45 AM »

Lloyd, you are correct. . .the Lee Loader only NECK sizes. the idea 'was' one gun, one reloader. is great to use at the range when working up a load for a particular weapon. back at the loading bench a standard press is used with the data 'collected' at the range. makes for a very grand day at the range that carries over to the bench.

lots of talk over the years about the Rob, but the 25-06 just about put the Rob into the closet. except for a few diehards like myself and others who still actively shoot the .257 Roberts. makes for a most excellent first weapon for a young shooter or a woman who might have trouble with one of the big boys. I know the others can be loaded 'down', but. . . .

Cuz