need some input

[tas6691]

I have a Remington 700BDL left handed 30-06 I am going to send off and have re barreled to 257Roberts. I plan to shoot mostly 115/117 grain Hornady or Nosler bullets with some 100 grain for good measure. Will be used for Georgia white tails and some coyote hunting. Here are my questions:
1- what twist rate would be best for heavier (117) bullets?

2-I am leaning towards 22" barrel...any real benefit to a 24"?

Anything I am not thinking of?? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanx, Adam

[robl]

I'd go with the 22" just for handiness. I have a 22" Mountian Rifle in 25-06 ...5 or 6 Idaho whitetails didn't seem to notice the shorter barrel:-) I had a 24" 25-06 it went down the road.

[nolongcolt]

I have a Ruger No.1 in .257 with I assume the 1-10 twist which is standard. It shoots Sierra 117's really well. I had a Remington 700 classic before and it liked 115 Nosler BallisticTips and Partitions of 115 grs. The Classic had a 1-10 24" barrel and the No. 1 is 22". Depends on preference. If you want to shoot heavier bullets up to 120 and have a choice of twists, I would go with 1-9 as I believe its always better to go quicker than slower for a wide range of bullets. I know that PacNor makes a 1-9 .257 barrel but not sure who else might.

[Lee Martin]

My vote is for 22", 1:9 twist.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[Bile]

Apr 27, 2012 7:34:34 GMT -5 tas6691 said:

1- what twist rate would be best for heavier (117) bullets?

2-I am leaning towards 22" barrel...any real benefit to a 24"?

1. 1:9 twist rate. 2. No advantage at all. Go with the handy 22" barrel. I suggest a medium-sporter contour barrel. It's light enough to carry, but heavy enough to steady and not over heat. Get a good recessed crown, and make sure the chamber reamer is new or near new and the chamber is cut to just accomadate factory loads but retains little room for case growth. Limit freebore to no more than is necessary for the longest bullet you plan to use and have them polish the chamber for easy load/unload and maximum case life. By all means, begin with a quality barrel.

I assume you know you will need to do some work on your magazine system to ensure reliable feeding, etc. So I won't get into that. Have fun.

[tas6691]

OK, thats exactly the feedback I wanted. 1 IN 9, and 22" it is. I am getting the standard Remington sporter profile so I shouldnt have to do any stock mods. I have a write up on the magazine work I will need to do so I'm OK there. This will fill my want for a sporter length 257Roberts and allow me to keep this lefty 700 BDL that I have no use for in 30-06....although I did take a nice buck with it this past season. I just own enough 30-06's already.

Thanx guys!
Adam

[oldschool]

Apr 27, 2012 7:34:34 GMT -5 tas6691 said:

I have a Remington 700BDL left handed 30-06 I am going to send off and have re barreled to 257Roberts. I plan to shoot mostly 115/117 grain Hornady or Nosler bullets with some 100 grain for good measure. Will be used for Georgia white tails and some coyote hunting. Here are my questions:
1- what twist rate would be best for heavier (117) bullets?

2-I am leaning towards 22" barrel...any real benefit to a 24"?

Anything I am not thinking of?? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanx, Adam

I shoot an older Ruger M77 Ultralite in .257Rob. I believe it has a 1-10" twist & seems to shoot 100gr & 120gr bullets just fine. Although I haven't yet found a GA, AL, or MS deer that needed more than a 100gr Nosler Partition. Shoots pretty flat out of that 20" bbl.

At one time, I thought about having it rechambered to .257AI, but that would have simply allowed me to push 120gr bullets at the same speed as the 100gr (and burn more powder), so I backed off of that idea.

One advantage you'll have in that long action is the ability to seat your bullets out a bit farther. I was fortunate that my UL magazine allows me to seat a bit over 3" OAL, which gets the bullet a bit closer to the bbl lands.

It's a grand old cartridge and I think you'll really enjoy it!