Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7x57 vs 7mm-08 Craig Boddington

One more odd thing about Boddington...I seem to remember him writing one time about how elk and mule deer live in vastly different habitats and how he had never been successful on a combo hunt...

That struck me as very strange and did doubt his experiences. I see elk and mule deer within a few hundred yards of each other almost daily. Today, yesterday and last Saturday were no exceptions.

"Cartridges We Can Live Without" by C.B, RifleShooter Jan 2009.

" Folks, it’s time to cull the herd.....

One of my personal favorite cartridges is the great old 7×57 Mauser, but I give it thumbs down as an American commercial cartridge.
My reasoning is much the same. The 7mm-08 duplicates its performance, but is generally more accurate and can be housed in a
true short action. The factories load the 7mm-08 to its full potential, while American 7×57 loads have always been extremely mild,
again because of the concern about hundred-year-old rifles. I won’t give up my own 7×57–but I sure as heck don’t shoot American
factory loads through it!"

Kind of odd CB had a Kurz small ring mauser hacked to accomodate 7x57, when in his own words 7mm08 is
better fit in a short action, would offer more accuracy and the option of more potent variety of factory loads.

He has always been a dink shooter...

It must be a lot of pressure to write meaningful articles about meaningless topics.

16Bore you are spot on!
These types of articles on recycled topics have really lost my interest. Might be why my magazine subscriptions have dwindled. Not much in the lower forty-eight I wouldn't tackle with my 7/08 or 308, but hey I don't read these articles so I might be missing something important!

Next thing you know he'll compare a 270 to a 30-06. Wonder if anyone has done that one?

... 270 for the "Win" ... Just saying ...

We have 7x64 you have 6,9mm version called .270Win. I would think .270Winchester would be preferable to both 7x57 and 7-08 because you can get ammo at place called Walmart which I was told at some locations is open around the clock.

I'll take it.

My first rifle was a 7mm RM. When I started adding to the collection twenty year later a 7mm-08 was always near the top of the wish list. (A 7x57 would have been equally acceptable, depending on the platform.)

Somehow the 7mm-08 never percolated to the top of the list. Now I have a lightweight .280 Rem and the chances of getting a 7mm-08 (or 7x57) are greater than zero - but not by much.

Correct, .270Win ammo is generally available most places in U.S. that sell ammo. Maybe six months ago, there was a thread "Which cartridge have you used to kill the most game?" Not surprisingly, out of more than 200 responses, the 30-06 was number one at 23% of responses. Number two was .270Win with 17% of responses. All other chamberings were single digit percentages.

Germane to this discussion, while the 7mm-08 came in fourth place overall (5% of responses), the 7x57 did manage to place in the "Top Ten" by virtue of a 5 way tie for 9th place (2% of responses)

Edit: I have to admit that the .275 Rigby Ruger M77 that I just picked up, even with thin hard rubber recoil pad, has less felt recoil than my first custom rifle chambered 7mm-08. My first custom was built on a LH SA M700 action with #2 barrel and McM M7 stock with 1" Decelerator recoil pad. Stock ergos? Weight? Whatever, It had just as much felt recoil as a .308 or .30-06, to me... Eventually rebarreled to .243Win.

I have a 7-08 and a 7X57, along with a bunch of other cartridges. I have killed more deer with my 270 than with all the others combined. I have often asked myself why I want to use something else, when the 270 works just as good, and in most cases better.

Same here. Monkied with a pile of rifles and schit and have taken more game with a hand me down 270 and Corlokts. Back to the start too...

I have tried hard to like the 7x57, but have found it difficult. On the other hand, I have owned five 7mm-08s with perfect satisfaction. I still have my first, a Remington Model Seven with 18-1/2" barrel, which I bought new in 1991. I currently have another, a Nosler Model 48 with 24" barrel. Both shoot sub-MOA and have mild recoil. I am also a fan of the 270. My current 270 is an FN Mauser with a custom Shilen barrel. It is also very accurate. However, it kicks noticeably more than the 7mm-08s, which is an issue for me at age 71 and on blood thinners.

I love my 7x57 but I think it's at least as much because of the platform it's on. Now that I fond a few load it likes, It' more fun.

Nothing wrong with "back to the start" rifles. I find myself using my old 30-06 more than anything else lately as well...

While I am not a big fan of Boddington, I figure any man who takes the trouble to build a custom rifle in 7x57 and admits to liking the cartridge can't be all bad.

Paul B.

I'll keep my Mauser and reload for it,but I guess for the folks that don't reload buy the 7-08

In Zimbabwe, the .270 is not "legal" for hunting anything but the smaller critters. The minimum legal caliber, for "big game", according to their game regulations, is 7mm, with certain minimum energy requirements. DG has another set of requirements, with a minimum bore diameter of 9.3mm, with certain minimum energy requirements.

We all know that there is no discernible difference in terminal effects between a bore diameter of .277 and .284 and in certain instances, a .270 may well outperform a 7mm, but technically speaking, those are the laws.

All writers repeat themselves because the older they get, the more their readership changes and what is old news to the Dino readers is fresh and new to others.
The challenge comes in repackaging the same information topped up with anything learned since the last review.

John