I once owned a .257 Roberts rifle.
I bought a 7mm Mexican Mauser from the Sears Employees store back in the 1960's when they were dirt cheap. As it turned out 7mm Mauser surplus ammo was dirt cheap as well and we shot that fine old rifle almost every day. Over the years our rapid rate of fire plus poor barrel care lead to the demise of that old rifle's accuracy. I knew a man in a nearby town that did gunsmithing work so I took it to him to fix. We ended up putting a new barrel on it, chambering it in .257 Roberts, drilling and tapping for scope mounts, rebluing and restocking it with a medium grade of walnut. Back then all this was around $150.00! That does not sound like much but back then it took a lot of hot days in a tobacco field to make that kind of money.
I saved my money and when I got the rifle out of his shop he threw in a set of dies, a Weaver 4X scope, and some Weaver rings. I learned to reload for that .257 rifle using an old Lee press and resized 7mm Mauser brass. Many a deer, crow, groundhog, and even a few feral hogs fell to that fine old rifle.
In the mid 1980's I purchased a Remington 788 in 6mm Rem and semi retired the Mauser prefering to use it as a back up rifle.
I went on a deer hunt to West Virgina a few years latter with some friends. I took both rifles. The third day we were there someone broke into the cabin we we staying in as well as our vehicle. Long story short, my rifle, our coolers, sleeping bags and lanterns were stolen as well as two large deer that were hanging in an out building. I hope the SOB that has my rifle now enjoys it, I certainly did.
