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+ P Ammo Question

Posted on 12/26/24 at 10:34 am
Posted by Bayou Ken
Member since Sep 2018
163 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 10:34 am
I have a mid 1990's Browning Micro Medallion chambered in .257 Roberts.
Ammunition choices have become very limited and the ballistics on this ammo is definitely lacking. Can I shoot + P ammunition or will the increased pressures potentially damage my gun? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by texag7
College Station
Member since Apr 2014
40356 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 10:50 am to
Someone more informed can chime in…but I’ve never heard of +P rifle ammo. Only pistol calibers
Posted by X123F45
Member since Apr 2015
29388 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 11:29 am to
Two things:

3000+ fps is never ballistically lacking.

The hornady ammo you are looking at is fine. Near as I can tell they aren't even running much hotter. Just loading the cartridge maxed out BEFORE it becomes an issue.

I'm really curious if it has the FN bolt design in it.

Posted by LoneStarTiger
Lone Star State
Member since Aug 2004
16394 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 11:34 am to
with a pretty modern gun in good condition you should not have any issues. The "+P" status started in the 70's so I would imagine most, if not all .257 Bob rifles made since then are safe to use with it.

Posted by boudinman
Member since Nov 2019
6101 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 11:34 am to
I would call Browning for an answer. Give them the model number and serial number of your older firearm.

Browning Customer Service
One Browning Place
Morgan, UT 84050
800-333-3288
This post was edited on 12/26/24 at 11:39 am
Posted by TheDrunkenTigah
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2011
18109 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 1:37 pm to
No one is going to be able to tell you for a fact if it will or won’t be an issue for your gun if it doesn’t have +P stamped on the barrel.

That said, +P designates that it’s no more than 10% over SAAMI max and that is a relatively low number on .257 Roberts due to the actions it could have been loaded into. If your rifle was offered in 270 win, that configuration could handle 65,000 psi. You’ll have to draw your own conclusions from there.
Posted by Hogbit
Benton, AR
Member since Aug 2019
3091 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 1:58 pm to
quote:

I’ve never heard of +P rifle ammo.

Me either
Posted by Bayou Ken
Member since Sep 2018
163 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 2:39 pm to
Thanks for the responses. I'll try to get an answer from Browning and go from there. I'll let everyone know what I find out.
Posted by TheDrunkenTigah
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2011
18109 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 2:48 pm to
In the very specific case of .257 Roberts it’s to overcome the very low design pressure that was specified for it back in the day because people converted a lot of guns from WWII. For rifles in general it’s the very niche practice of having a long throat cut into the rifling to increase max case length and jam more powder into it.
Posted by pdubya76
Sw Ms
Member since Mar 2012
6445 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 2:50 pm to
I shoot the +p Hornady Superformance SSt in my Robert’s . It’s a Ruger M77 built in 1982 according to the serial number. I’ve had no issues .
I bought the ammo so I could keep the brass for reloading but it shoots great in my rifle.
This post was edited on 12/26/24 at 2:54 pm
Posted by ReadyPlayer1
Clown World
Member since Oct 2020
1083 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 3:05 pm to
quote:

+P stamped on the barrel.


Yes should be stamped on your barrel if not your taking a risk.

They also have +p+ that is even more over powered.

If it's not stamped on the barrel I wouldn't use it and don't see the need for it also.
Posted by upgrade
Member since Jul 2011
14579 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 6:34 pm to
I am absolutely not telling to use that ammo.

But I will say that I would feel comfortable using it.
Posted by Ncook
Member since Feb 2019
719 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 8:36 pm to
Me either !!!

Hornady Superformance ????

Hotter rifle ammo by 150 fps or so, in memory serves me
Posted by Ncook
Member since Feb 2019
719 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 8:42 pm to
I know on a couple of .35 Whelen rifles the Hornady Superformance primers were flattened
Posted by Bayou Ken
Member since Sep 2018
163 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 8:56 pm to
The + P ammo I was going to choose from included :
* Nosler Trophy Grade + P 110 gn Accu Bond
* Doubletap + P 110 gn Nosler Accubond
* Hornady Superformance + P 117 gn SST

I went ahead and ordered 1 box of each of the following to be safe for now:
* HSM Game King 117 gn Sierra Spritzer Boat Tails
* Norma American PH 100 gn SP

We'll see which ammo groups the best.
Posted by pdubya76
Sw Ms
Member since Mar 2012
6445 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 9:13 pm to
Can’t go wrong with any of those. I have some of the 110 accubonds to be loaded soon.
Posted by Hogbit
Benton, AR
Member since Aug 2019
3091 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 9:49 pm to
You do realize you will never notice the difference of only 150fps....right?
Posted by Bayou Ken
Member since Sep 2018
163 posts
Posted on 12/26/24 at 10:18 pm to
You are probably correct. 3 shot groupings and bullet type are probably more important than velocity.
Posted by Bayou Ken
Member since Sep 2018
163 posts
Posted on 12/27/24 at 11:07 am to
So, the tech at Browning couldn't tell me that I can shoot the + P ammo in my .257 Roberts but he didn't say I couldn't. When I asked him what the PSI allowance for an A-Bolt is, His answer was that that was proprietary company information and he couldn't disclose that psi information.
From what I can gather, most modern rifles can handled pressures between 60,000 and 65,000 PSI depending on the cartridge.
For my gun, the + P ammo pressure hits 58,000 psi compared to 54,000 psi for the non + P rounds.
I haven't made a decision on which way I'm going to go but I wanted to share what I found out. I might have to start reloading if I can't get regular factory loads.
Posted by TheDrunkenTigah
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2011
18109 posts
Posted on 12/27/24 at 11:28 am to
quote:

You do realize you will never notice the difference of only 150fps....right?


Do you realize he will notice the difference when he can’t shoot the rifle because standard pressure ammo is hard to find for this cartridge?
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