Can I use +P ammo in my 1955 Model 722 .257 Roberts?

[Wulfman]

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Advice needed...

Over the weekend, I went hunting for some ammo for the upcoming deer season for my Model 722 .257 Roberts. I think its a 1955 (perhaps someone can correct me) from looking up the serial info (354,xxx with the code AB5) using RSA's very informative main website.

I quickly found out that it was close to impossible to find any in the bricks and mortar (inc. local gun shops, big box and chain outdoor stores) as well as the online shops - no matter the brand or grain size. Fortunately, I found a place that had four boxes in stock (Winchester Super-X Power Point 117gr) over the weekend, so I bought them all.

What I didn't realize when until I got home was that they have a +P designation.

When my grandfather died 15 years ago he left a large stash of non +P ammo so I've never had to buy ammo for the rifle until now and am confused by the +P.

1. Are these +P's OK/safe to shoot in my older Model 722 or should I return them?
2. If not OK to use with my rifle, do manufacturers make non +P .257 Roberts loads now or do I have to get them made by a handloader?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Absolutely!
The older Model 722 is just a "pre-Model 700" and is very strong.
I have two 722s in .257 Roberts (among others) of approximately the same vintage (one made in '54 and the other in '55) and like them very much. I've had both of them for 20 - 26 years
On the other hand, I load all of my own ammo and am partial to the 100 gr. bullets for them (they offer a little more velocity). I bought bulk brass from Midway years ago (when it was still "cheap"). So, I'd advise keeping/saving all the brass you fire through it and think about taking up reloading. If properly loaded, the brass can be reused/reloaded many, many times. The .257 doesn't have a huge appetite for powder and is pretty affordable to shoot. If you look into the equipment made by Lee, it can still be cost effective. I suspect you could have acquired all the equipment and components for close to what you spent for those four boxes of loaded ammo. And, if you're going to keep shooting it, reloading makes sense.

Enjoy your .257.......it's a great cartridge.


Den

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[Wulfman]

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Den,

Thanks for all the good info. Very helpful and reassuring.

I asked a similar question to Winchester via their ammo cust service email this morning when I was waiting on someone replying to my post and they wrote back:

"We currently do not manufacture 257 Roberts, only the +P variant. Only use ammunition that exactly matches the markings on your gun's barrel."

I replied to them saying that my rifle was made before the +P designation came out so it wouldn't have a +P on it. They replied:

"257 Roberts +P can not be used in guns that are chambered for .257 Roberts due to the higher pressure levels of the +P."

Any thoughts on that?

I guess the whole issue is moot as you indicate a modern +P in my 1955 rifle would be fine.

I know +P stands for "higher pressure" than a standard .257 Roberts round, but I wonder how much. 5%, 10%? Perhaps no one makes non +P any more. As I've been working through my grandfathers old supply (some of them must have been 25+ years old with the crazy pricetags on the boxes), I hadn't run into the +P question until now. I wonder if anyone does make non +P in that caliber.

I'll make sure to save all my brass from here on in as it really makes sense to learn how to reload if this ammo is going to continue to be as hard to come by once I use up these 4 boxes.

Any thoughts you or anyone else have on my situation would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear others experience with using +P in their mid-1950's Model 722's.

Here's a link I found which may shed a little light on your question.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.257_Roberts

And, within that, there's this statement:

"One of the common improvements is called the .257 Roberts(+P) which has a SAAMI maximum pressure limit of 58,000 PSI compared to the 54,000 PSI listed for the standard .257 Roberts.[7]"

My personal opinion to Winchester's remark is "nonsense". The manufacturers seriously underloaded that cartridge for decades. It could be because of the many rifles which were re-barreled or re-chambered for it. Some of them were old military rifles and may have had weaker actions. But, for modern rifles, the factory ammo falls short of its full capabilities.

From what I've read, the main difference in the +P ammo is that the cases are thicker, to handle slightly higher pressures.

The Remington 722s will handle much higher pressures than what factory .257 +P ammo will generate.


Den

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[LeftyDon]

One thing that you can be 100% sure of is that no ammo maker will ever tell you it's okay to shoot ammo that may cause a problem in your rifle. Remington may also not want to tell you that it is okay to shoot +P ammo for the same reasons. Lawyers and law suits. It is up to you (and your gunsmith) to determine if the rifle is in good enough shape to shoot +p ammo. With some research you can find what other calibers were loaded into the 722 action (other than 257 Roberts) and look in a reloading book to see if any of them are loaded to or greater than the SAAMI pressures that the +P loads are rated for, that will suggest that the pressures are okay for your gun. But then again, that's just my $0.02 and not a blessing of shooting any ammo that the gun wasn't rated for if it isn't in great shape. <G>