Home Forums Hunting & Shooting The Lefty Forum My Left hand Zastava Mauser 7X57 is for sale

On gunbroker. This one has had the clumsy factory stock extensively thinned and reworked, refinished and recheckered. Am seriously thinning the collection and paring it down to just a few calibers and chamberings so this one is on the block.




http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=422294729

Appears to have been very nicely done. Good luck with your sale !

Lotta rifle for that money.

Steve

Yes, they are. This one is a real good shooter as well. I wish they were in as much demand as LH Model 70 Winchesters, but, oh well...

I have held the rifle, and think the modification to the stock is a real improvement. The wood is better than on any of my Zastavas; none of the ones I got would have been worth the investment. Speaking honestly, I would have taken off even more wood, but it is way better than it was. The checkering is very functional--my guess is that is about 18 lpi.

You have a very good eye. I just compared it under a magnifying glass with a stock this same fellow did that I know to be 20 lpi and the diamonds on the Zastava are a teensy bit bigger so 18 lpi should be just right.

Jim,


Did you ever shoot the rifle?

Doc

Yes, a bit over 400 rounds through the bore from counting the empties multiplied by the number of times they were fired.

It's a very good shooter, these Zastava Mausers have proven to be very accurate. Not going to stretch credulity with claims of 1/2" all day long but it will keep 5 shots under MOA without any trouble.

Well done on the sale of your rifle. It is great when you get two guys fighting over it.

Boy, no kidding. That exceeded my expectations by a good bit. I guess clean living and being kind to widows and orphans does pay off...

congrats........sweet stick but way above my southpaw budget

Well done. A very nice rifle and you helped it with your photos. God job and congrats on a good sale.

Jim,
I'm the guy who bought your rifle. I've wanted one since reading a Gun Digest article in 1967.
Just started loading for it, with 145 Speers and 4350. 1 1/2" at 100 yds. Any insight you are willing to impart regarding loads that have worked for you?
Thanks

Boy, you're in luck - I had dumped all of my notes in the recycling bin but forgot to set it out this week, so I went and dug them out.

The rifle has a long throat, trying to seat to the lands leaves most of the bullet outside the case. So instead I just seated them all one caliber deep, i.e. case length + bullet length - .284 = OAL. Here are the best loads for accuracy with the three bullets I tried.

Hornady 139 BTSP, 47.0 H4350, avg. 2734 fps.

Hornady 139 SP (flat base):
47.0 H4350 2751 fps (best accuracy)
48.0 H4350 2806 fps
48.5 H4350 2828 fps

Sierra 120 Spitzer (seated .250" deep) again, that magic 47.0 H4350 for 2725 fps.

Overall the Sierra 120 outshot the two Hornady bullets but just by a smidge.

I've loaded up to 49 grains H4350 with both of the 139 grainers for about 2850ish fps, but as the above shows best accuracy was at about 47 grains. Didn't do a lot of load workup for this, just started with H4350 and the recommended charges in John Barsness' "Loads That Work", found the loads it liked and then went and shot it.

Hope that helps some.

Jim,
This will be a great help. I was stating with 4350 as this seems to be a good performing 7x57 propellent for lots of people for lots of years. I have measured the twist and it appears to be 8.5" and I was figuring it to be a factor against lighter bullets. Your results indicate otherwise. I just loaded some old 154 Hornady roundnoses but think I will pull them and re-do.
You have saved me a lot of time and effort.
Thanks again,
Chris