"but am also tending to become more practical as I get older, having wrestled with lots of panache."

Whoa, there John. We can't be facing up to that. What is this world coming to????

But, I am a 7x57 owner just because one became available.
I bought and dialed in a load in a 7-08 for my nephew.
That 7-08 chambering is the second best thing to happen with the 308 case.
A lot of bang for the buck.
Just my opinion though.

My R#1 in 7x57 really likes the old Nosler 150 gr Solid base bullets.

You gotta shoot em to know, so get to loading and shooting.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".