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.
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I think you might be able to go a bit higher than that. I read on another site where a fellow ran the 150 gr. Nosler Partition to 2900 FPS using RL17. I PM'ed him asking for details and he said he was using Winchester brass and primer and loaded 49.0 gr. RL17. His rifle was a Winchester M70 Featherweight. I worked up to 48.5 gr. Remington brass and WLR primer and got 2847 FPS with an ES of 39 FPS. Of the three shots, two were literally in the same hole and number three in perfect alignment with the other two but .50" above the group. Brass life has been good and after 6 reloadings primer pockets were still tight. Case head and pressure ring measurements were within tolerances. Primers flattened but still have rounded outside edges.
FWIW, I also tried working up to that level in a custom Mauser with a very tight chamber. That rifle shows high pressures signs even on the weak factory ammo. Measurements are on the tight side but within SAAMI tolerances. That rifle is driving me sane. It is very accurate though.
I still haven't tried working up with RL17 in a Ruger #1A due to time constraints and now it may be some time before I can go that route. A vehicle crash has me fairly well messed up for a while with a fractured sternum, and yes, 27 days after the accident it still hurts like hell in two ways. One is the pain from the injury which is taking its damned sweet time going away and two, the only thing the doc will allow me to shoot in a .22 LR.
So far tough, I really do like the results I've gotten from RL17 in the 7x57 and it shows a lot of promise for the 30-06 as well.
Paul B.
