Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles The perfect 7x57 load?

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Bugger

40 grains of 3031.... pick a bullet from 130 to 175 grains....

most accurate in my Ruger 77 Mk 2, in 7mm Mauser....

I use 120gr NBTs with Varget in mine for a deer load.

My suggestion for the best load for your 7X57 would be the load that shoots best in your rifle,

from experience, 140 gr Nosler partition, 48grs Re 19, deadly.

I've owned a 7x57 Classic 700 since they were introduced. I pulled that rifle out of the safe and pulled the loads off the shelf:

7 x57, Remington 700 Classic, 120 grain Sierra, WLR, 48 grains IMR4320 - I think I loaded these for coyotes???
7 x57, Remington 700 Classic, 175 grain Cast w/GC, WLR, 25 grains H4895 - I cast these bullets
7 x57, Remington 700 Classic, 139 Hornady Interlock, WLR, 50.9 grains, IMR4350 -

I loaded these a long time ago and alas have lost any documentation on these loads. I used the 139 grain interlocks on pronghorn, and they worked very well. The only note I have is "Accurate" on the side of the box with the 139 grain load.

According to the manuals the 139 grain load may be a grain over(???), but the primers were rounded and I had not written a notation such as "warm" or "hot". I believe I'll take these out to the range and document. I will load some Big Game powder, WW cases, 9 1/2 primers and 140 grain partitions, before I go to the range.

If those partitions shoot well, I suspect that that may likely be the "best" load for the 7x57. But there's no hair on those 139 grain Interlocks for deer. They may work well on elk or moose, IDK. But I'd prefer partitions for bigger animals.

The partition shot 1/2 MOA then 1 1/2MOA after the barrel was hot at 2,908 fps - the load was 48.5 grains Hunter, 9 1/2 primers & 140 grain partitions.
The interlock 2,829 FPS and clearly there was something wrong as the group was about 3.5” or more. I’m thinking that the bullets and brass may have fused somewhat. I’ll bump the bullets and try later. These loads were loaded when the 7x57 Classic was introduced.

The cast bullets were also loaded back then. Another disappointment. Some bullet holes were touching and some holes were oblong and 6” away - this at 30 yards.

50.9 grs IMR4350 is about a grain over in what manuals? Thanks.

They were no thot in my Classsic.

I tried H-414, I4350, and a few more powders with 139 BTSP. Then I tried 3031, thought it was too fast, but it works in 4 rifles.

I load lighter in the 2 mil. mausers 37gr. The Doug barreled Argy and the M70 FW like it too.

That same load works well in my WW XTR M-70 Featherweight with either 140 Partitions or 140 Ballistic Tips. And both work well on deer & hogs.

What manuals?

I rarely go over any loads I see in manuals. I looked up a 1967 Hornady Manual, which showed 50.9 grains of 4350 as maximum. (IMR4350 was the only 4350 then.)

Nosler manual #2 shows 49 grains of IMR 4350 as maximum for their 140 grain bullets.

Ken Waters in his 7mm(update) January 1982 shows 50 grains as maximum with 145 grain SPEER bullets and 48 grains of 4350 with 140 grain Nosler in his Sept 67 review of the 7x57 (All Nosler bullets then might have been Partitions and again 4350 was IMR4350)

The 48th edition of the Lyman manual shows 48 grains of IMR4350 as a compressed load.

SPEER #13 shows 49 grains of IMR4350 as compressed with their 145 grain bullet.

The Big Book of Gun Gack shows 50 grains of IMR4350 with the 140 grain Nosler Partition, 51 grains of IMR4350 with 140 gran Nosler Solid Base

The 45th Edition of the Lyman manual shows 48 grains of IMR4350 as compressed with the 139 grain Hornady bullet.

The 1971 Sierra manual shows 48.2 grains maximum with their 140 grain bullet

7th edition of the Hornady manual shows 45.9 grains as maximum for IMR4350 and their 139 grain bullet.

Of course they used cases made by various case manufacturer's with various capacities.

When I loaded this ammo I suspect that I stopped at 50.9 grains as shown in the 1967 Hornady Manual, I loaded these quite a while ago* and I'm just guessing. I used WW cases BTW.

* I believe I bought this rifle in 1981 and likely these were loaded back then for a Pronghorn hunt.

Topic started back in 09.

Has anyone used 120 TTSX bullets on whitetail? I see that in Gack III, John got very good accuracy with 46 grains of Varget and at almost 3,000 fps.

I just picked up a couple boxes of 120 TTSX's and am considering them for whitetail this fall.

accuracy and vellocity?

40 grains of 3031.....

bullet weights from 120s to 175 grains....

Large rifle primer....

My nephew had killed a couple mule deer does with that bullet in a 7mm-08. The first one died quickly. The second one he shot at about 100 yards and it made a death dash so we had to look for it. When we gutted that one the top of the heart and aorta was blown apart. Guess it held its breath and ran not knowing it was dead.

My guess would be the heart had just pushed a fresh supply of blood to the brain just before your bullet hit. That would mean the body had just received a fresh supply of oxygenated blood allowing the deer to make its escape attempt. Got that from a doctor I ran into on a deer hunt and during the conversation he explained the process to me. If you shot would have hit while the heart was filled with blood, odds are it would have dropped on the spot or would have staggered a bit, then fallen down.
PJ

You might try the 145 gn LRX with Staball 6.5. Start low and work up to 2900 fps. Magnum primers not necessary.

Not TTSXs, but I use a similar load of Varget with 120gr NBTs with very good accuracy