Shot out barrel

[Stumps13]

How does one determine if a barrel has been shot out? I can not get my 257 Roberts to shoot a Hornady (117 gr) factory load worth a hill of beans. Yet my reloads of 117 round nose I can get into a 2" inch group on the bull at 100yards. I am thinking that the barrel is fine and it will not shoot the Hornady for anything.
TNX
Stumps

 

[mattsbox99]

You would need to inspect the throat and check it for wear to determine if its been shot out. Generally if you can see rifling all the way down the bore with a light you are okay.

Even a shot out barrel will shoot fine for a long time, it just won't shoot bug holes at long range anymore. After seeing so many 'shot out' old Winchesters shoot decently I believe barrel erosion isn't that big of a factor in a hunting rifle anyway.

 

[Quattroclick]

I've got a Remington Mountain Rifle in 257 Roberts. It doesn't shoot the Hornady Light Magnum ammo worth a darn. It shoots Remington round nose in to impressively small groups. I think the round nose doesn't have as much jump to the rifling. The short action sometimes doesn't have enough room in the magazine to seat spitzer bullets as far out as they should be. I don't know if the Rugers suffer from this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[joker12]

Unless you have put several thousand rounds through this rifle I doubt that the barrel is shot out. The 117 gr hornady bullet is a boattail bullet. Several of my rifles will not shoot anything with a boattail very well. The hornady round nose is a flat base bullet, which my rifles all prefer. I think your problem isn't the bullet nose, but rather the bullet base. Try a spitzer with a flat base and you may be pleased.

 

[VA Shooter]

My 257 roberts does not like the Hornady ammo either

 

[Stumps13]

Thanks guys. This ammo came with the gun so I think I will pull the bullets and start anew.
STumps

 

[29aholic]

You may also want to give a good scrubbing with a copper solvent like Sweets 762. A friend years ago thought he had a shot out rifle until I convinced him to clean it with Sweets. It went back to 1/2" groups.

 

[Silent Sam]

I've got a Remington Mountain Rifle in 257 Roberts. It doesn't shoot the Hornady Light Magnum ammo worth a darn. It shoots Remington round nose in to impressively small groups. I think the round nose doesn't have as much jump to the rifling. The short action sometimes doesn't have enough room in the magazine to seat spitzer bullets as far out as they should be. I don't know if the Rugers suffer from this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I would be :wink: . Ruger 257s are long action.

 

[Stumps13]

Just to let you all know today I shot my reloads of 34.5 Varget with the 117gr RN and BTSP and at 100 yards they grouped at 1 1/2 to 2". So it must be what ever Hornady is pushing the 117gr with that this gun just does not like.
TNX again

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Clean it, clean it again, then clean it again. I would be surprised if you really shot out the barrel of a 257 Roberts. Not impossible, just improbable. Probably you have some copper buildup.

Now I will say I have a 25/06 that does not like heavy bullets but shoots light ones great so it is possible that it just does not like the heavies.

 

[Geo]

Well, you have run up against the classic .257 Roberts problem: the barrel twist is sufficient for the shorter 117 RN bullet, but not quite tight enough for a longer, pointed bullet. This has been going on for 40 years that I know of.

You can rebarrel the rifle with a tighter twist, find a shorter pointed bullet that will stabilize (good luck), or simply shoot RN bullets when shooting bullets that heavy.

I had a friend that had an older Remington with this same problem and he eventually simply shot slightly lighter bullets than 117 grain; they worked fine.

 

[Silent Sam]

1 in 10 twist will stabilize 117gr and 120gr bullets for that matter. Try a different bullet. The recommendation to try a flat base bullet is a good one. If you are planning to use it for whitetails you would arguably be better off with a 100gr bullet anyway.

 

[FergusonTO35]

What twist does Ruger use on their .257's and how long are the barrels? I ordered a 26" tube with 1:10 for my Howa 1500 rebarrel from E.R. Shaw.

 

[rangerbob]

I think most manufacturers use the 1-10 twist for the 257. I would try a 100 grain bullet such as Hornady's spire point or Sierra's pro hunter. I've seen M700's shoot nickel size groups with the Hornady's and 4350. I believe it's a matter of twist and bullet design that we're dealing with. Most 250 savage barrels are 1-14 twist and won't stablize anything heavier than a 100 grain bullet. Bob!

 

[Silent Sam]

"What twist does Ruger use on their .257's and how long are the barrels?"

Ruger uses 1 in 10. Barrel length depends on the model. I think all models currently cataloged now are 22". Some rifles just don't like some bullets. That doesn't mean that they are not stabilized or the twist is wrong for the caliber / bullet. The traditional "issue" with the Roberts is that it was throated for the 117gr roundnose bullet and you couldn't get near the lands using a spitzer bullet and still cycle through a short action magazine. I don't know how Ruger is throating their barrels but magazine length isn't a limiting factor with a Ruger.

 

[Coyote Hunter]

My 1989 Ruger M77 .257 Roberts loves the following bullet/powder combos with CCI 200 primers and WW +P brass:

75g V-MAX / H4895
100g TTSX / H4350
110g AccuBond / H4350
115g TSX / H4831SC or H4350
120g A-Frame / H4831SC

The A-Frame is what I carry when the Roberts is performing backup/deer duty during elk season. 2947fps.

 

[martyj]

As far as testing for a burned out barrel take a new bullet and see how far it will go down the barrel before it stops.
Don't pound it in there just slide it down followed by a cleaning rod.
If its burned out it will go past the chamber quite a ways and this is usually caused by shooting them till they are to hot to touch.

 

[Chief 101]

My m77 is finicky with bullet length. Loading 120gr spitzers out near touching the lands and it turns into a target rifle...jus' sayin