Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Forty Years with the Little 7mm

I understand the attraction. Had a 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible when I was in the USAF. Navy blue, white top, 6.5liter engine, Muncie transmission, Hurst shifter, hood mounted tach. Could get scratch in 3rd gear. Loved that car but wouldn't trade any of my current vehicles for it.

Good one elk.

Seven Deadly Millimeters - Ron Spomer

7mm Mauser - Smallbore Blockbuster - Ross Seyfried

The Welterweight Rifle with the Heavyweight Punch - John Jobson

Big Punch in Little Case - Jack O'Connor

Along with the .257 Roberts and 6.5x55, the old 7x57 is one of my all time favourites. I have one in a Ruger No.1A and after playing with a few new rifles and cartridges this is one rifle I keep coming back to. I would of loved one of the Ruger bolt rifles from a few years ago with the blued bolt handle and black fore end but we didn't get any out here. I have a real soft spot for the older cartridges that just seem to work with no real fuss.

Having grown up reading the writings of JOC, along with others such as Jobson, who sang the praises of the 7X57, I eventually had to have one myself. I ended up with a Model 70 Lightweight, and have had it for well over 20 years. By far and away, the biggest percentage of my deer have been killed with cartridges in the 6.5 to 7 mm range. That includes the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5X55 Swede, 270 Winchester, 7X57, and the 7-08. I've killed at least twice as many with the 270 than all the others combined, and consider it to be best deer killing cartridge I've ever used.

If one is to believe everyone they read, they might end up believing that certain cartridges are "magical", in their performance. I think that's what we've been led to believe about the 7X57, as well as several others. I've read all the books that Karamojo Bell wrote, and we all have heard the story about all the elephants he killed with the 7X57, and how "magical" it seemed to be. However, Bell also killed a slew of elephants with other cartridges also, and often commented as to how it was the reliability of the excellent German made ammunition that led him to use the 7X57 so much.

The 7X57 is a good cartridge, otherwise it wouldn't still be around after over a 125 years. But, to be honest, it's not any better than any others in it's range. It's still hanging around, mostly I believe, on the account of all the nostalgia connected to it. There's nothing wrong with that either, as I like the idea of using a cartridge with all that history behind. Use it, and be happy with it, as I have done myself.

Apart from nostalgia the cartridge length which lends itself to a standard length action coupled with reasonable recoil are about the only reasons I can think for owning one...or picking one up cheap.

Interesting how every time the 7x57 comes up the thread just runs on and on and on.

I just found an old thread that contains the Jobson article, as well as another by O'Connor. I hadn't read the Jobson article before this. I got a kick out of him just barely disguising his shot over Elmer Keith's bow. Evidently Jobson was more of a fan of Eleanor O'Connor than he was of Elmer Keith.

Good stuff!

My 7x57 is a Liberty edition 1A with beautiful wood....
Shoots well if hang a 150 BT way out there with an over book charge of H4350 (IIRC). Good speed (2800 IIRC) and 3/4” groups.

I should drag it back out......

Maybe John Jobson saw through all the bragging and chest thumping from Elmer, and saw what really mattered.

It is simply because it is the Consummate, Ultimate Cartridge....

7X57 Mauser References

2019 - Handloader #320, June, The Modern 7x57, John Barsness

2017 - American Rifleman, October, A Tale of Two Sevens, Craig Boddington

2015 - Guns Magazine, May, The Magnificent 7x57 Mauser, John Barsness

2015 - Sporting Shooter Magazine, Handloading the 7x57 Mauser, Nick Harvey

2014 - Rifle Magazine #273, March, Ruger 7x57mm Mauser, Dave Scovill

2014 - Handloader #289, April, 7x57 Mauser Part II, Gil Sengel

2012 - African Expedition, Mauser's 7mm, Koos Barnard

2012 - Guns and Hunting - Two Decades of Thoughts on Guns and Calibers, A Tale of Two Sevens (Chapter 1). The 7x57 mm Mauser (Chapter 17). Finn Aagaard

2012 - Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, 7X57mm Mauser, Dave Scovill

Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, Contemporaries of the 7x57, Mike Venturino

Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, The 7mm Comes Full Circle, John Haviland

Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, Seven Deadly Millimeters, Ron Spomer

Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, The Legacy of the 7x57, John Barsness

Rifle Magazine, Fall 2012 Special Edition, The Commercial Sevens, Mike Venturino

2010 – New Zealand Guns and Hunting, #119, July/August, The 7X57 Stalking Rifle, Garry Keown

2010 – New Zealand Guns and Hunting, #118, May/June, The 7X57 – the 7mm Mauser and the 275 Rigby,
Garry Keown

2009 – American Rifleman, November, A Perfectly Delightful Cartridge – 7x57 mm Mauser, Jim Wilson

2008 – Handloader, #252, April/May, 7x57 Mauser - The “First” 7mm, John Haviland

2007 – Handloader, #246, April/May, 7x57mm Mauser – The Original 7mm, John Barsness

2004 – Handloader, #231, October/November, 7x57mm Mauser – Accolades from an admirer, Steve Gash

2001 – Handloader, #211, June/July, 7x57mm Mauser – The grand, old 7mm, Stan Trzonec

2000 – Handloader, #206, August/September, 7mm’s – The all-American standard, John Barsness

1999 – American Rifleman, February, 7x57mm Mauser in Modern Rifles, Edward A. Matunas

1995 – Handloader, February 1995, Modern Powders in the 7x57, Ken Waters

1992 – Game Loads And Practical Ballistics For the American Hunter, (see index), Bob Hagel

1991-Guns and Ammo, 1991, 7mm Mauser…Smallbore Blockbuster!, Ross Seyfried

1991 – Rifle, #137, September/October, The 7mm Mauser, Ludwig Olson

1990-American Rifleman, April, 1990, John Rigby & Co., Finn Aagaard

1989 – Nosler Reloading Manual, The 7x57 Mauser, Finn Aagaard

1986-American Rifleman, Nov. 1986, The 7x57 Mauser, Finn Aagaard

1986-Guns, July, 1986, Know Your Hunting Cartridges: The 7mm Mauser, Ed Matunas

1984 – Outdoor Life, March, The 7x57 Mauser, Jim Carmichael

1983 – Handloader, #102, March/April, light hunting bullets in the 7x57mm, Mike Venturino

1982 – Rifle, #83, September/October, Model 70 Featherweight – 7x57mm, Bob Hagel

1982 – Handloader #95, January/February, still popular…7mm Mauser, Ken Waters

1977 – Handloader, #66, March/ April, Super velocities in ONE 7x57, Dennis Hall

1974 – Gun Digest, #28, Forty Years with the Little 7mm, Jack O’Connor

1973 - Gun Digest, 27th Anniversary Edition, The Beautiful Blazers all but Forgotten ! Bob Bell

1976 – Guns & Ammo, November 1976, 7x57 Mauser, Les Bowman

1973 – Sports Afield, August, The Welterweight Rifle With The Heavyweight Punch, John Jobson

1973 – Rifle, #27, May/June, Ruger 77 7x57---, Bob Hagel

1970 – The Hunting Rifle, Big Punch in Little Case, Jack O’Connor

1968 – Handloader, # 16, November/December, Cartridge of the Month, 7mm Mauser, (Staff)

1968 – Handloader, September, The 7x57 Mauser, Ken Waters

1967- Gun Digest 1967, The Mysterious Seven, Robert Sherwood

1964 – The Rifle Book, The All-Around Rifle (7x57), Jack O’Connor

1948 – Outdoor Life, October, Arms and Ammunition – The 7mm is great stuff for most big game. Jack O’Connor

I believe you posted either this list, or one like it, before as I've used it to dig up a bunch of these articles. Thanks for posting it.

What, a 7mm Mauser thread and no pictures?

My (circa 1984) Ruger M77.



Eleanore O'Connor 7x57



Eleanore O'Connor 7x57 and 30-06

My custom 7x57



My Winchester M 70 7x57 Featherweight. Not the XTR but the South Carolina one (I think).

Does a 275Rigby count?

Fleur-de-lis puts into Jack O'Connor class.

7x57 was not Bells most reliable killer
M98 was not his most reliable rifle, nor
was his M98 7mm his personal favorite.

Bell put his success with small bores
down to understanding anatomy and
proper shot placement, yet writers since
have spun up and perpetuated the 'magic'.

The often mentioned 'punching above weight'
is hype, for on the pragmatic real world level
Bell simply found through experience that
.256 bore, .275 bore, .303 Cal, killed just as
effectively with correct shot placement... (ie;)
In scientific empirical evidence terms,. Smaller
bores to the brain/heart was proven suffiicient
despite all the marketing hype from companies
trying to push their proprietary large bores.

Those who get sold on gun Co. hype about large
bores and muzzle energies, might then imagine
smaller bores having some magical mysterious
punch above their weight ability.

Sober rational minds would say they
just plain work when applied correctly.

Oh sure, some people just prefer their calibers in inches.

Ken:

Definitely SC - the 7x57 was produced before assembly was moved to Portugal. Nice custom, by the way.

M1909 7x57, Burris 4x Signature (USA), 22" Douglas Air Gauge No 1, no idea what flavor of walnut but looks like you could dip a spoon it it and eat it.