Her husband developed the following loads for her:
For Deer/Antelope: 139 Hornady SP/ 54gr IMR 4350/ Win Brass/ Win Primer (2838fps)
For Elk, Moose, Bear, Lion: 160 Grand Slam/ 56grs Norma MRP/ Win Brass/ Win Primer (2797fps)
For Buffalo, Rhino, Hippo: 173 FMJ/ 51.5gr IMR 4831/ Win Brass/ Win Primer (2610 fps)
All of these loads are over maximum in all my Ruger 7x57s.
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I have tried the first load with the 139 grain Hornady in a couple of 7x57s,worked fine for me. One of them was a custom Mauser that I sold to Jim Parsons,the husband of the lady who killed all those critters with her 7x57.
The thought that it would be unsafe in the super tough Ruger 77s with their long throats and safe in a Mauser 98 with a shorter throat doesn't add up to me. Have you actually tried working up to this load? I bet you can safely get there. It is actually listed(I think) in the old second edition Hornady manual where it was tested in their Ruger M77.
The 7x57 is a lttle like the 45-70 in that published data varies a great deal in pressures and velocity. You have to look to older sources like the second edition Hornady to get loads that give top velocity in stong actions like the Ruger,many modern manuals ARE VERY CONSERVATIVE becase of antique actions like the old Remington rolling block which were chambered in 7x57 before 1900.
Britt
