I overlooked the 7x57

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98s1lightning

98s1lightning

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On a quest for a hunting rifle that kicks bit less than a 30-06, something of the 7mm variety; I completely overlooked the 7mm mauser (7x57).

I wanted to stay with the browning a bolt, I like the stainless models, tang safety, short throw bolt, quality. However I am a proud Ruger fan too, so a tang safety M77 might work.

I was thinking 280 rem, but I don't necessarily want a long action.

I feel 7mm 08 is on the small side.

I entertained the 284 win which is still an option in the A bolt but HIGHLY unlikely, they are super rare and ammo is almost nonexistent and brass hard to come by. I already deal with that with my 348 win, I don't really want another gun like that.

I just discover the 7x57 mauser cartridge. I also see ammo is abundant, and affordable! I also see you can push a 140 @ 2900 on the max side. Then I see you can get a tang safety Ruger 77 chambered in it, and its a "common" enough rifle that one could probably buy one in short time if they watched auctions enough.

I'm not sure if this caliber has the same OAL magazine issues when loading 150 to 165gr bullets.

7x57.... maybe my answer to a 7mm??
 
The 7x57 and the 7-08 are almost ballistic twins. So if the 7-08 seems small, you're really not getting anything by going to the 7x57. Most all commercial 7x57 ammo will actually be loaded a lot weaker for safety reasons because there are still older milsurp rifles that aren't as strong as modern commercial actions, so if you're strictly shooting commercial ammo, the 7-08 may actually have a slight edge over the 7x57.

And a Ruger 7x57 is actually a long action also. And older Rugers used a slower (I think) twist rate, so their guns don't typically shoot the lighter 7mm bullets very accurately. They do better with the heavier bullets. And I can tell you from the Ruger 7x57 that I have, that the throat is incredibly long! I'm a reloader so I like to seat my bullets out to 0.010 to 0.015 off the lands and it was very hard to do with a 140gr bullet. They just almost were not long enough to reach.
 
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The 7 Mauser is a mid-length cartridge, the M77 will be a long action. Very hard combination to beat though. Really nothing it will do the 7-08 won't, and unless you're reloading your own, the 7-08 may surpass the anemic factory 7x57 loads.
 
**** I thought it would be a short action.

I'm considering it as a reloaded cartridge, and it has more case powder capacity than the 08. Not by much but it all adds up.
 
98s1lightning said:
Your right I just looked at another it's definitely long action.
Click to expand...
Any of the mauser "intermediates" are a little long for the standard 2.8-9 short action rifles.

If you want more oomph than a 7-08 from a factory short your pretty much stuck with a .270, 7mm, or .30 short mag of some sort.

The savage boxes will go to 3"+/- (my .250s box takes 2.98 and the 6.5cm I just sold was 3.0 some odd). That's long enough for most bullets in a 7x57
 
Looks to me if I do anything and don't want to feel undergunned coming from the 30-06, I just trade my 06 into a 280 rem; I can get same model, everything the same but the caliber. Then I'll be shooting the 140-165 grain bullets more efficiently. I have no plans of ever shooting anything heavier than 165.
 
Sounds like a good plan, the 160 class from my 7mm rem mag have been my primary choice for hunting everything from goats to cows for the last 20 years or so.
I've got a pretty good spread of other cartridges, but that's been my "getter dun" choice.

The .280s only a slight step behind the 7mags with 160s, and right in the sweet spot to be able to use the lighter 140s more efficiently also.
 
Here is a really nice 7x57 rifle. A Remington Mountain rifle in the BDL set up. I know its a nice rifle because its mine. But it has come time for me to thin the collection. With the Neuropathy in my lower legs its getting harder to walk in the forest and woods without stumbling over unseen and unfelt roots and rocks under the leaf cover ground.

It weighs 6.25 pounds without the scope and shoots groups just over an inch at 100 yards. The biggest benefit of the 7x57 over the 7-08 is the 7x57 will shoot heavier bullets at higher speeds than the 7-08 can achieve. And heavier bullets are what made the reputation of the 7x57 round.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/792009466

Had to edit to add that this gun has the Remington standard 1/9 twist.
 
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Been shooting 7x57 mausers for over 20yrs, so I knew well enough it doesn't shoehorn into a short action.

The case capacity over a 7-08 is small, 59grn H2O vs. 56grn, but a guy can seat heavier bullets longer in the 7x57, assuming you have the proper throat and twist set up for them, and throw some extra speed on heavier bullets with the Mauser. The 280 and 284win pick up a LOT of case capacity over the Mauser, so in general, if you're going long action anyway, you're often better served by going with either of these options. Nothing wrong with the 7Maus, and as I stated in another recent thread, it's my favorite 7mm cartridge, but it does come with concessions.
 
Both 280 and 7x57 are releasing propositions if you want to get everything from it.
Even with 175 grain bullets and a compressed load of h1000, the 7x57 is comfortable to shoot from a bench.
If you are undergunned with any of the three, it's because it's in your going after things that eat you.
If that's the case, I recommend a tank. Bears don't eat tanks.

Meant reloading proposition.
 
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I just use IMR4350 and it gets the job done. I have two 7x57 rifles. The above mentioned Remington and a custom rifle built by my Grand father on a G33/40 action with a Douglas or P.O. Ackley barrel. Nobody can remember for sure but it has a 1/9 twist and is the most Neopolitan gun I have ever shot. It will shoot Speer 110 hollow points or Hornady 154gr bullets all in the same group at 100 yards. I have killed most of my deer with that gun.

The 7x57 is the reason I bought a Remington model 7. The older version with the walnut stock and 18.5" barrel. It just a shade lighter than the Mountain rifle and is a deer killing SOB. The 7mm is just a darn good caliber no matter what designation it comes in. But all calibers kill. Its really just the man holding the gun.
 
Elephants in Africa.

Didn't Mojo Bell poach/kill dozens of them (hit in the temple) with a typical European 7x57 rifle in the early 20th Century?

Iraqiveteran8888 on YouTube shoots the 7x57 round (surplus, or weak US ammo?) from a Spanish or Chilean Mauser, which seems to produce a fairly flat trajectory to approx. 400 yards.
 
Ignition Override said:
Elephants in Africa.

Didn't Mojo Bell poach/kill dozens of them (hit in the temple) with a typical European 7x57 rifle in the early 20th Century?

Iraqiveteran8888 on YouTube shoots the 7x57 round (surplus, or weak US ammo?) from a Spanish or Chilean Mauser, which seems to produce a fairly flat trajectory to approx. 400 yards.[/QUOT

he killed over 1000 with the 275 rigby
Click to expand...
 
Ignition Override said:
Elephants in Africa.

Didn't Mojo Bell poach/kill dozens of them (hit in the temple) with a typical European 7x57 rifle in the early 20th Century?

Iraqiveteran8888 on YouTube shoots the 7x57 round (surplus, or weak US ammo?) from a Spanish or Chilean Mauser, which seems to produce a fairly flat trajectory to approx. 400 yards.
Click to expand...
Killing elephants with 7x57 FMJ is like killing bear with a 22. There are numerous cases of it happening, but it's because it's what they had.
 
If I recall, Mr Bell used the 275 Rigby because it was relatively quiet, had modest recoil, and he could walk into a herd while the elephants were grazing and take very carefully aimed shots to the temple. That way he could harvest ivory from multiple animals per herd. For him, it was not a sporting proposition. That is not to say that it did not take a lot of nerve and a steady hand. It also probably had its moments of excitement.

The 7x57 has modest recoil muzzle blast, but I am not sure the same can be said for the 280 (needs more powder to push the bullet) and it certainly cannot be said of the 270 wsm which can be unpleasant to shoot.
 
Great caliber. Don't go light weight on bullet weight for hunting. Sectional density is a good thing. It did not earn its reputation with light bullets.
 
98s1lightning said:
Looks to me if I do anything and don't want to feel undergunned coming from the 30-06, I just trade my 06 into a 280 rem; I can get same model, everything the same but the caliber. Then I'll be shooting the 140-165 grain bullets more efficiently. I have no plans of ever shooting anything heavier than 165.
Click to expand...

What are you shooting that you’re worried about being under-gunned by going smaller than 30-06?
 
Just a couple towns over a 699 pound black bear was shot. Maine record. I would want to shoot him with enough gun if the opportunity arose.
 
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