My first BG rifle (1985) was a 7 X 57 that I bought from a friend for $250, including a huge 4 X 12 Redfield scope, the same price he'd paid at a West Palm Beach pawn shop. I didn't know anything about it. I was planning to give deer hunting a try, and $250 was as cheap an outfit as I could get. What I really wanted was a Ruger M77 in .270, which I later purchased and used for years. One day I noticed the 7 X 57 sitting in the corner. By this time the internet had come along, so just for the heck of it I typed in the name stamped on the barrel: "W. H. Sukalle", and got the shock of the year to learn that for $250 I had purchased a custom rifle built on a 1949 FN action. I immediately re-scoped the rifle with a Leupold VX II, and now use it as my main rifle. I killed my biggest-ever whitetail with it a couple of years ago and absolutely love it. I may re-stock it with a McMillan, but it shoots great as is. Lightweight, low recoil, and plenty of power. I don't handload, but a good friend does. I run 140 grain Nosler Ballistic tips at 2,900 FPS. Sorry I don't know the rest of the details, but the gun is absolute poison on Georgia whitetails. Nobody around here has ever heard of the caliber, so I just say I'm using a 7MM and leave it at that. It gets old trying to explain what a 7 X 57 is, so I don't try anymore.
