Down at the club I was having a conversation with a "Book Smart" reloader. I mentioned that my one deer rifle is a 7x57 Mauser Remington 700. The response was "weak", "can do better than that.
The thing is I'm not using a book load. I'm not using a load that some developer might think could get dropped into a rolling block. I'm using 47.2 grains of R17 with a Federal 205 and 154 grain Hornady Interlock bullets. I'm running right at 2800fps with no stress on the rifle or brass. Formally I had used IMR 4350 that I built up in the same way. That nips the heels of a 280. Only one of the 11 deer I killed with that rifle went over 50 yards and that was because I hit him a bit too far back (back of one lung angled through the center of the opposite). Angles through the chest and through the shoulder I never recovered a single bullet. One, face on shot, I recovered from the front of the hip muscles. That retained 138 grains.
The difference is in reading and understanding. Knowing rifle strength, case capacity and what many people disregard, case design.I use Winchester brass and I dissected a 280 case and a 7x57 case. I found no difference in the case head of the 7x57 and the 280, but then again I didn't think I would.
Now tell me, what in the eastern United States that would not kill cleanly. Hell, I'd shoot an elk with that load.
You might inform him that Kilimanjaro Bell (aka, W. D. M. Bell) killed over 800 elephants with Mauser 7x57mm (aka, 275 Rigby) rifle and military sold, round nose 173 grain ammo. Not bad for an inadequate round.
