Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Let's talk 7X57 - just got one today!

Now that is funny!

Nah, got that figured out!
Hey, I shoot a .280 so I can't be too bad off!

The first factory load I would try is the Sellier & Bellot.

Nice rifle. My cousin has the same one and I've seen it in action pulling the rug out from under a bull caribou and bull moose. The rifle shoots little groups with just about anything he feeds it.

WFR:You are more than welcome. Many of the factory loadings are loaded down to compensate for the older military rifles. Hornady has a lite mag loading with is supposed to scoot along at 2,800 or so in the 139 grain offering. If you are trying to build up brass, then I would recommend buying in bulk. I buy Remington basically because it is not too expensive, though the price of brass and other reloading components seems to have hiked considerably in the past couple of years. What you want to try to avoid is mixing brass, say Remington and Winchester, or Hornady and Remington. Different makes have different inside diameters and when put together will react differently in some rifles. To avoid any confusion, just start with a 100 piece bag of brass. I buy my reloading stuff from Graf & Sons in Mexico, Mo., and Midway, in Columbia, Mo., primarily because I used to live in Mexico when I was a newspaper reporter there. As far as dies, I use the Forster Ultra Bench Rest two die set. I have used Hornady dies, Lee dies, RCBS dies, but I like the Forster dies. The seating die has a seating depth guide which makes changing the seating depth as easy as turning a wheel. These will set you back about $80-$85 for the set. There are better dies out there and the prices reflect it too. It sounds like your reloading kit is as good as you will need. Make sure to get at least three reloading manuals. I like Hornady, Lyman and Nosler. I have others too, such as Speer, Lee and even a book by P.O. Ackley with tons of reloading stuff in it, but a lot of that is really hot. You might also get a good dial caliper and a micrometer. Lastly, to really open your eyes at your actual velocities, you might consider getting a refurbished shooting chrony chronograph. These units are about half of the cost of a new one and generally go for about $65. That chrony deal should be down the road a bit until you are completely comfortable with reloading. Well, I'm certain others will have additional comments on equipment such as better brass and the like. I hope this helps ... Tom Purdom

My favorite 7x57 load with my Ruger RSI (Ruger #1 International) with it's full-length Mannlicher-style stock is 50.0 grains of H4350, a 140 grain Nosler Partition Bullet and a standard Winchester large rifle primer with the bullet seated out to a maximum overall length (case & bullet) of 3.065 inches which is the standard overall length for this cartridge.

The combination should give you 2800+ fps using a 140 grain Nosler Partition and excellent accuracy (an inch or less 3-shot groups at 100 yards)... and would be a DEADLY combination on any non-dangerous game in the world with proper bullet placement.

With a Sectional Density of .238 assuring deep penetration (especially with the Nosler Partition) and an excellent Ballistic Coefficient of .434, this load seems to be "THE" perfect hunting load for my Ruger RSI... and should yield excellent results in your Ruger 77, Mark II as well.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I have had great results with my 7x57 using 140 grain Nosler Partitions and RL19 powder. The 7x57 is one of my favorite whitetail cartridges and the Model 77 is a fine rifle. I think you did real well! Every hunter ought to have at least one good 7x57.

We have a pre-warning 77 from about 1974 (I think) and it has a fairly long throat. Factory Hornady 139 gr loads don't shoot very well and neither do handloaded short bullets we have tried like the 120 gr Sierra (or surprisingly the 120 gr TSX). BUT the 140 gr Accubond with 50 gr H4350 loaded within about .015 of the lands shoots 2 1/2" at 200 yds and flattens deer.

Agree. My two boys started out the Deer hunting careers with 7x57's, and still use them. Other than me fooling around with the heavy Barnes bullets in 7mm, we've been locked into the 140 grain NP's. That bullet is just great. I'm seriously looking into getting another 7x57 in a Ruger Model 77. I've got three Model 77's now, and all shoot far better than I could have hoped for. And, I do like the lines and overall looks of that rifle.