Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good 7x57 Loads?

I learned a lot from the 30/06 thread and thought we could do a similar thread for the 7x57.

Bread and butter for the 7x57 for all round hunting, a 140g bullet at apx 2700 to 2900 fps.

I you can afford them all the time the 140 NP will server you well for most anything you encounter.

i like the hornady 139gr bullet either flat base or boatail. with win 760 powder

Ed

My hunting load is 140 Nosler Partitions, with 47.0 gns of H-414 and Fed 210 primers. Shoots about 1/2" for 3 shots at 100 yards in several different 7x57's I load for.

The three 7x57s I currently load for shoot well with 160gr Nosler Partition over 48 to 49grs of H4350. CCI 200 primers. Velocity was around 2650 to 2670fps. A new batch of H4350 gives 2700fps in two of the rifles. I like the 160gr NP so well that when a local Sportsmen Warehouse closed their doors a couple of years ago I bought their entire stock.

A pleasant surprise for me while trying to reach 270 Win velocity with the Speer 130gr Hot-Cor Spitzer SPwas a TS Ruger 77 would group 3 shots just under .5 if the bullet was seated .70 inch off the lands.

Another surprise for me was how well the 115gr Speer HP performed in 2 of the rifles. 48 to 48.5 grs IMR4320 gives sub MOA accuracy at about 3100 fps.

The 140 grain Nosler Partition over RL19 or IMR4350 in either a Winchester of Remington case with a CCI 200 LR primer has worked well for me for years. The Winchester cases have slightly greater capacity, but both work well. I don't exceed Nosler's maximum charges.

I use 48grs. of H414, a CCI mag.primer, Remington cases and the 140gr. Nosler BT for about 2825fps. Good accuracy, no signs of excessive pressure and recoil and muzzle blast are not a problem.

i am loading 50 grains of h4350 under a 140 grain acubond in remington caes and igniting it with federal 210 large rifle primers.

I use the same load and primer, the bullet I shoot is a 139 grain Hornady SP for a chrony reading of 2830 fps. I bagged a nice blacktail last season at 125 yards with a complete pass through.

I won't tell you guys how much H414 I put in mine with 140's. I'll put it this way, it is long throated and 51.5 4350 with a 140 won't quite hit 2700 fps in my 7x57. In some rifles this load would do 2900 fps. This one will run right at 3000 fps with H414 at 65000 psi on a Pressure Trace.

Throat length varies so much in 7x57's (even in the same make of rifles, sometimes) that it's impossible to suggest a specific powder charge without it being too hot for some rifles and wimpy for others. Instead, what I usually started with is either IMR4350 or H4350, in what should be a very moderate load for any bullet, then increase the charge until the rifle is getting around 2850 with 140's, 2650 with 150's and 2500 with 175's. At that point it generally starts shooting well. In some rifles a little velocity is easily possible, but doesn't kill any better.

I have tried 760/H414 (they are the same powder) and often got very good accuracy--at a specific temperature. But then at a different temperature the accuracy went away, so now I mostoly use H4350.

These results are from loading around 12-15 different 7x57's.

My point exactly. It is nearly impossible to suggest a load as it will either be too hot or slow. My accuracy has always been consistent .6-.7 with H414, winter or summer, velocity may change, but temperature doesn't affect the groups with mine, and I shoot it a lot. All rifles behave differently.

You know I have that article on the 7x57 you wrote highlighting the caliber and the moose hunt. I have read it many times. It was the first time I saw someone set a powder limit by using the velocity as the determining factor. Now that is has come up again, I have a question.

Is this method valid for other cartridges? My suspicion is that this is only meant for a select few under loaded cartridges.
Otherwise this would make data from reloading manuals as "suggestions".

I am currently shooting a 160 gr Barnes TSX in front of 50 grains of H4831sc...it wayyyyyy overpenetrates the smaller stuff, but it'll kill anything and is scary accurate.

Ingwe