I'm preparing to purchase another rifle. I'd like to use the rifle for varmints (coyote & maybe prairie dog), white tails, and antelope. I'd appreciate opinions as to which caliber would be the most versatile choice. Also I'll probably get a big controversy started, BUT...which rifle in your choice of caliber do you think is the best and why? At this point I'm leaning toward a Ruger 77 or the new Hawkeye. I have two excellent Rugers and not afraid of them. Opinions would be welcome. Thanks.

Either cartridge is a fine one for your intended needs.

The old saw about ammo availability in a crunch would favor the .243 Win.

I personally like the .257 Bob as a very gentlemanly cartridge. Bullet selection is good and accuracy with the full range is usually very satisfactory.

If it's not a Swede, then I too, like the Rugers. Have yet to have a bad one. The new Hawkeye appears to be a real winner. If the vaults weren't overstuffed already, it would be a natural choice for the next acquisition..

I'm a hopeless quarterbore fan, so it'd be the Roberts for me, hands down. For the coyote to whitetail range of critters, there may be some cartridges almost as good, but none better.

Maybe a bit heavy. But what about the .260 Rem?

It depends on whether you are more of a varmint hunter or not. The Roberts is very versatile and although I've owned only the Ackley Imp version, the bullet selection for varmints is much more extensive for the 243. There is a wide selection of vmax type bullets from 55-87 gr. With the Roberts you only have the 75 gr for practical purposes but you can sail it around 3500 fps or a little more. Some use the 100 gr in the Roberts and 25/06 for varmints and deer. Personally I favor the 117 gr for deer. Although I'm a 25/06 fan, if I could only have one rifle to do everything well up to deer, it would be the Roberts and then I'd think strongly about the Improved version as its pretty close to the 25/06. If you're more of a deer hunter (this depends on the size of the deer....big northern deer require more punch than a 120 lb TX whitetail) then the 260 or 6.5 swede would be good choices. I think next on my list though is the 6.5/284.

You didn't say what calibers you have, If you're already covered on the deer side, I think the 243 or even the 22/250 would be good choices.

Thanks for all the replies so far. One of the rifles I've been considering is the Savage Weather Warrior model 16FHSAK which comes with the AccuTrigger and adjustable muzzle brake. I can only get it in .243 is the only downside. I'm somewhat sensitive to recoil and thought the muzzle brake might be a good option. Any thoughts on this particular rifle. Thanks.

i have zero experiance and or knowledge with the 257 roberts. however i have experiance with a .243 in a ruger m77 mark II and can share that with you. i got the gun in a trade it was a all weather version and the guy said it was a typical 1 1/2" group rifle. well it was until i swapped out the plastic stock and it now shoots most everything under an inch and some stuff half of that. all factory box lunches as i don't reload yet. as far as deer i have dropped a few with it and have had good results. just a few weeks ago i finaly got to try out the new federal fussions on deer and was very pleased and impressed with the performance. i had a large 2-3 yr old doe not 40 ft from me. i puposely put the bullet into the top of the shoulder square into the joint. deer was slightly quartering towards me, put a golf ball size hole as it passed thru the shoulder and exited quarter size hole on the way out through the ribs just behind the far shoulder. no bullet blowup just complete pass through. i will use these from now on for deer. the 55 gr b.t. shoot scarey accurate out of it as well and make a fine yote pill. obviously you have a better deer bullet selection with the .257 but i don't know if the deer would know the diferance. i don't see where you can go wrong with either.

I use a rem 700 243 for varmits, deer, woodchucks. I've used primarily 100 grain remington ammo in it. And for deer 250 yards and closer, I couldn't be happier. With that combo, I very rairly have to use my tracking skills cause they never moved. For varmits I've tried some 55 gr bt, they were explosive. I cant say anything bad about the .257 bob, but I can't say anyhting good either cause I hae zero experience with them. On paper they look good though. If I was buying another 243 I'd check the rate of twist first, some friends can't shoot the 100 gr bullets out of theirs, and that my deer bullet and cause I don't like changing my scope all the time, my do all load. Recoil has been mild with my 243, I don't see the need for a break.

All in all both are good choices, I'm sure the deer will not be able to tell the difference

What would be the best rate of twist for the .243?

You're going to want something on the order of 1 in 10 twist to handle 100 grain bullets. I can't remember if my CZ 550 Full Stock is 1:10 or 1:9 but it handles all bullet weights nicely. Here's what mine looks like now that I have refinished the stock. You might consider this model gun if you go the 243 route. It is quite accurate. I had it scoped for a while but it's much handier and better balanced with open sights.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/Refinidhedstock1.jpg

I am a .257 Roberts fan. However, I don't dispute the opinions and experiences of the .243 shooters. However, with my .257 Roberts I can hunt deer with 100 grain bullets, or if the terrain (woods) means that I need a good guaranteed blood trail, I can go to 115-120 grain bullets. And I can shoot 75 grain HP for varmints. While not as light as the .243 55 grain bullets, they are nothing to sneeze at in velocity, recoil and accuracy department.
I find my .257 Roberts more versatile than my .243.

i'm a quarterbore nut too. that being said i'd lean towards the roberts. it's heavier bullets will carry better out at 300 yds and farther. just the same if you don't reload the .243 would certainly have the advantage of having just about everything under the sun available pretty much any place you'd look for ammo.
i like the look and feel of the new hawkeye too. they have one at the gun shop in dickinson in 25/06... nice, very nice!! the new stock profile is great and i like the matte finish with the walnut stock.

I'll vote for the .257 Roberts also... I've only shot one, a Remington 722, but bigger is better... I own 2 .25/06s one Ruger M77 MKII and one M77, both shoot very well, the older one likes 100 grain bullets the best, the new one will shoot anything.

Done most of what you want with the .257 Roberts.

75gr. Sierra HPs will dis-assemble prairie dogs, no problem, and shred jackrabbits too.

100gr. Rem bulk-pack Cor-Lokts and 100gr. Nosler Solid Base (old production) will do in deer, hogs, javelina, and most likely anything else I'll ever run across in Texas.

Killed a lot of deer and my biggest pig with one. Never gonna be a wrong choice with a Roberts!!!!

Good luck

My first thought was what will your main use be? If varmints, I would lean toward the .243 (I have owned 4 rifles in that caliber), if you lean more toward deer, the .257 would seem to be the better choice due to the heavier bullets available. But then, you mentioned that you don't handload yet, which I then heartily recommend the .243 just because you have such a far superior selection of ammo available. On Midway's website, they only list 8 loads available for the 257 Roberts. For the .243, they list 42 loads. The Roberts bullet weights are 100, 115, 117 and 120 gr. The .243 lists 55, 58, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95 and 100 gr with many variations of each. Handloading gives you even more options with the .243 vs the .257. And if you are recoil sensitive enough to consider a muzzle brake on a .243, then, you probably should stay with a 6mm.

Thanks for all the replies to my question. Seems like most folks favor the Roberts. My heart is with the Roberts as I'd just plain like to have one in that caliber, BUT...

A good friend of mine who hunts a lot highly recommends that I stay with a .243 due to choice of factory ammor plus choice and availability of reloading components. ( I do reload) He also highly recommends going with a stainless rifle with synthetic stock. My firearms dealer loves the Roberts, but remommends the .243 in stainless with synthetic stock due to my hunting whitetail at home (SW MO) but also frequently going to the Oklahoma panhandle prairie doggin' and possibly to New Mexico, Wyoming, or Montana for antelope. He says the synthetic stock will not change due to weather changes, and the stainless/synthetic combo is just more durable.

As I said my heart goes with the Roberts, but maybe the smart play is to go with the stainless/synthetic .243 rifle. Any other thoughts? Thank you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/Refinidhedstock1.jpg
by the way that's a good looking hunk of dead tree you have hanging onto that action. a guy i use to hunt with had a sako set up the same way. his stock was done by Great American Gunstock Co. and it was a tack driving shoot'n rascal.

I have owned both .243 and .257 for varmits to deer both are on equal terms. In the end, if a handloader I would go with the .257 I shot bench rest with both cals and have to say I couldn't really say one or the other was more accurate. I would however lean towards the AI version. 1-12 twist would stabilize the 75-100gn bullets and a 1-10 for the heavier. 1-10 I had a little problem with bullets under 87gns but real well from 87 to 117gn BTs from sierra. For varmit to deer one bullet in the AI with a 1-12 twist of 100gn wgt would cover a lot of territory.

The .243 would have the edge for varmint shooting, whereas I would prefer the .257 for deer sized game. Also, reloading vs. factory is a major consideration. Is this intended as your 'one' rifle for the various types of hunting, or do you have another / other rifle(s) in other calibers as well?

You shoot antelope here or in wyoming with a .243 and your gonna be tracking for a while... A .257 or .260 is quick assurance that speed goat is going down...

Kermit,

With just about all rifles having a free-floated barrel today, does point of impact change enough due to weather to even notice with most rifles? I have a mannlicher-style stock on my "go to" gun and don't notice any difference in shooting from humid ND summer air, and the cold, dry air during November's deer season.
As for the Weather Warrior series....I think it is pretty darn SWEEEEET! The on/off muzzlebreak is ingenious! Don't really see the point of it on a .243 however.
If you are going to seriously get into prairie dogs, would it not be cheaper in the long run to buy another rifle for that? Seems like many the bullet manufacturers offer really good deals on bulk varmint bullets in .22 caliber. Add to that, the optics you want for prairie dogs probably won't be what you want for deer hunting.
If you reload, reloading components for the Roberts are easily found at larger shops and places like MidWayUSA, Natchez, etc.

Good Luck,

Jim

who is buying this rifle? you or your buddy? as for a lot of these synthetic stocks on factory guns they may not be affected by humidity but leave one in a hot vehicle or laying in the sun and they will warp.
buy what you want, concidering that you reload if you want the bob, buy the bob!

incidentally, a few weeks ago a guy tried to sell me a used rifle, only a year old with half a box of shells run thru it. it was a stainless rifle and had a rather large discolored splotch on the bbl where it had rusted and they did their best to clean it off.
stainless/synthetic is just another option for selling guns. i have hunted in rain and snow on many occasions over the years and don't have any rust or warped stock issues. it is just a way to sell more guns. buy what you want.

If you reload, don't be concerned with availability of factory ammo. Synthetic stock? No question, more weather resistant but for my money synthetic is cold and heartless as a witches' ***. I recently sold many, many rifles. synthetic makes for rifles that are excellent tools, not rifles that touch the soul. The only rifles I miss are the ones that had wooden stocks. Why? Wood has character and soul. All the other ones are kind of a blurr in my memory and unmissed. I own a Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts. It is the only rifle I kept out of 13, and it wasn't even close to the "best" rifle I had, or the most expensive. It was simply the rifle I could not part with. As for versatility, I think .257 has the edge there, too, in my book. Better on deer sized critters than the .243, and since you reload, you can get a round that's great with groundhogs, too.

I notice you say that your heart says go with the .257 Bob but your pal recommends synthetic .243. Hey, it's like Big Dan says, who's gonna live with this gun, you or your buddy? --

After much thought on the issue I've decided to go with my heart and buy the .257 Roberts. I've wanted one for a long time, and this is my chance to get one. I love to hunt prairie dogs and am well equipped for it already with an excellent .22, .17 HMR, .222, and .204. I'll probably use the Bob to zap a few prairie dogs, but it'll be more for coyotes, antelope, and deer. I think it'll make a terrific addition to my collection. :D

kermit, you are my man!!! there are a lot of good rifles and cartridges out there but i think that one of the better ones out there is the "bob". as for the .243, i'd take a standard .250 savage and still have a better round. sorry .243 guys, reality can be painful. the 6's were pushed on us in a marketing campaign much like the recent run of short magnums. sure they work, but, i have yet to speak to someone face to face that has been happy with the 243 @ 300 or more yards. in fact the cheapest man i know went to the 270 short mag because his 243 wouldn't "cut it " out yonder.
he still shoots a savage so it's not a complete victory, but it's a step in the right direction.

How about the 6mm Remington. It's one of my favorites.

Yeah, it's really too bad Remington messed up their marketing with the whole .244 slow twist thing because at the end of the day the 6mm Remington is actually a superior cartridge to the .243 Winchester.

After much thought on the issue I've decided to go with my heart and buy the .257 Roberts...

Since you've clarified that you have the varmint end of the spectrum covered so well already, the .257 is definitely the better choice. In fact maybe you should have been deciding between the .257 Roberts and the .25-06 rather than considering the .243 at all.

I'd thought about the .25-06. I'm somewhat sensitive to recoil and felt that the Roberts or the .243 might be better choices. I thought perhaps the .25-06 might have a little more recoil than I wanted. I think the Roberts will probably be the best choice for me, and I've always wanted a Bob. I've been interested in the Roberts for a long time. ;)

Hmmmm...now do you get it reamed out to .257Roberts AI???

Jim

I have had a Ruger Hawkeye in .257 Robts. since mid-September of this year. I had to do some hurry up load development in time to hunt it and look forward to really working out the kinks this winter. Nonetheless, I took one antelope and two WT does with my loads.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f211/dnaumann/2007HuntingPics/Hunting2007001.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f211/dnaumann/2007HuntingPics/MODeer07002.jpg

I now have a refurbished Weaver K3 on the rifle. This approximates the custom rifle that Jack O'Connor wrote so much about and which his wife and young sons used extensively all over North America and northern Mexico.

Colonel Townsend Whelen wrote,

"I think this is one of the very best cartridges made, particularly for the handloader, who desires a cartridge heavy enough for deer, sheep, goat and antelope, and at the same time it is excellent for varmint shooting." (Why Not Load Your Own? Fourth Edition, Revised, 1957, p. 168)

Now that's an endorsement worth listening to. Good luck with your project.