Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good 7x57 Mauser loads

In the 1983 catalog they list it as 1-8 1/4"

This thread has been around awhile:
I added a 700 Mountain rifle and it is one nice rifle to carry and shoot. I spent some time at the bench with the Classic and the Mountain rifles.

Classic loads:
139 Hornady, WLR primer, 50.9 grains IMR4350, .64 MOA
140 Partition, 9 1/2, 49.5 IMR4350, .74 MOA
120 TTSX, 9 1/2, 45.5 Varget, .75 MOA
140 Partition, 9 1/2, 48.5 Hunter, .8 MOA
Mountain Favorite load:
120 TTSX, 9 1/2, 45.5 Varget, .66 MOA

I’ve had a few sporterized Mausers I don’t have loads for those recorded but they liked long bullets set out long. I think that the most accurate bullet was SPEER Magtip likely with the military surplus 4831 or maybe H4831.

Looking at that Classic it appears that it has been on numerous hunts. The Mountain is just breaking in.

That 120 TTSX loads dropped four deer in a row straight down, 1 at 200 yards and 3 at 300 yards. The longer range ones were heart lung shots the 200 was running and was high in the shoulders. (I think that I have a problem with running targets I aim too high.)

It's 12.5 years later and I am about to start with a new No.1; same as in 2013, 160's and H4831(SC this time).

I have a Gentry Custom Mountain Rifle 7x57. Loaded up some 160gr Speer, RWS brass, Federal Gold Medal primer, and RL19. Been way too cold and nasty here to get to the range, but supposed to warm up some next week.

Im thinking about buying a rifle thats a 7x57. I have several other 7mm’s. A 284, 7 mags, 7mm-08, 7mm ultra mag. They are all accurate. I expect the 7x57 is too. I have 120 Barnes and 140 ballistic tips to try. Anyone have a favorite powder. I have imr 4350, H-4350, Varget, H 4895, H-380 I can try

i have a Featherweight 7x57 that loves H414/W760 with 120's & 140's... H4350 is a good choice for 140's & up IMO, less temp sensitive...

Pre-64 Model 70 in 7x57, best I could measure twist with tight patch, cleaning rod and marker measured somewhere around 8.75", anyway, it will stabilize the 1.465" 175gr Northfork just fine, three quarter to one inch groups at 100 through Unertl Hawk 4X scope.

175gr Northfork soft point
48gr either H or IMR-4350.
CCI-250
VEL 2700 fps
COL 3.100"

New, very old stock WW brass from ammo I pulled down.

Not a plains game animal in Africa, bull Moose, Elk or bear I wouldn't run those missiles through.

Yeah, I could see that being a dandy for about anything.

I use that same 48 grains with a 140 Sierra SBT in my 7x57 for an easy shooting deer load. Not sure where I came up with it, but it shoots real nice and was pretty easy. There is definitely more meat on the bone if you wanted more speed though.

My son’s 7x57 gets fed a steady diet of 150 Ballistic Tips and RL17. H or IMR 4350 would work about as well.

One downside of the 7x57 is the wide variety of chamber throat dimensions you can encounter.

This is accurate. Of my 7x57s I have measured, the newer M70s, as well as MRC, have .250" of freebore. My Zastava Mauser, as well as my M1909 (with an aftermarket barrel of unknown make) is a tad under .450". I have no way of measuring the diameter of the freebore, but I can't imagine it is as tight as you could get with a custom chamber (something else I need to have done one of these days). I haven't measured the freebore of Mule Deer's old Kilimanjaro, but I can tell you that a 175-gr RN Interlock won't chamber.

Let me say first, I am a 7x57 fan...but (there is always a disclaimer isn't there?), the 7x57 because of it's long history becomes a crapshoot if you are one of those individuals who demand extreme accuracy. In the very beginning we had the 1893...with Mauser's original chamber specs, then we had the Remington Rolling Blocks (by the millions)...1901, 1902 etc with a very different chamber dimension, Then came the CIP 7mm Mauser chamber, the .275 High Velocity (many mistakenly call it the Rigby, I don't care), then, no less than 2 SAAMI chamber dimensions with two different throat taper dimensions (do the math, it's leade length).
So the upshot, IMO, is you as the end user don't have a clue as to your chamber/leade dimensions. My hard won advice would be to forget all that schidt, fire form your brass...put in the bench time with load development...and when you find a reasonable !!!, level of accuracy, be happy. Let's be honest, the 7x57 never was nor ever will be a group bragging rights cartridge.
Take into account, I have never owned an American made SAAMI spec 7x57, so maybe there are some tackdrivers, but none of my Euro born rifles are turkey shoot winners. Dave Scovill of Wolfe Pub. about drove himself nuts fighting an early Ruger 77 in 7mm Mauser.

Agreed, I've had 95s, still got one, 98s, a Model 70 featherwt and a 700 Classic. They were fine to hunt with but none of mine were tackdrivers with either hand loads or factory ammo.

I have a 95, a vz24, a 98 model b, and a 98 on the way. Seat the bullets out as far as possible being sure they fit the magazine. It does not seem to make a lot of difference what weight. I've had best luck with 4350 and 4451. But it took a hell of a lot of testing to get them where I wanted. Best groups are 5 in one inch.

Two of my three rifles in 7x57 are quite consistent when it comes to decent groups. One usually runs at .75" or less and the other has made quite a few groups in the .50" or less range. The third is a Ruger #1A that I got into cheap because the guy that had it was IMHO expecting a bit too much regarding accuracy I got it to where average groups run at 1.25 to 1.50" and that's more than good for a hunt. One bullet that showed promise of better things to come uses the now very long gone 170 gr. Sierra round nose. I got lucky at a gun show and scored a couple of unopened boxes of those bullets Those, plus the partial box I already had will probably constitute a lifetime supply of those particular bullet.

I've been experimenting with using 7-08 data in a strong actioned rifle so it will be interesting if I can that bullet moving out somewhat faster than normal 7x57 velocity and maybe improve the accuracy of that Ruger #1. It'd be real nice if I can do a sneak on a deer or maybe and elk and make a clean shot using the #1 and that bullet.
PJ

True, but with modern rifles, you never hear any 7x57 handloader complain of poor accuracy, or not being able to obtain s decent load.

Dang right it would be, worst case run it into giant bone and have a bonded flat nose solid shank bullet on recovery, may have been Hagel where I read about that load back in the late 80's early 90's, he used a full 49gr IMR-4360 under 175gr NPT's or Grand Slams, I've used from 47 to 48grs, one of his mag articles caused me to buy a beautiful blonde stocked tang safety Ruger 77 in 338 WM, man that dude was gassing on those 250gr NPT's with IMR-4350!

Rifle shot like a damn varmint rig, should have kept it too.

AGW, my 09 DWM 98 Mauser custom in 7x57 is so accurate it's over at my gunsmiths right now getting outfitted with NECG wrap around front sight, barrel band sling swivel and Model 70 African rear sight, it's going to be an iron sighted stalking rifle, with 175gr Northforks at 2700 fps I see no issues this side of 200 yards in the game fields.

The little 1951 year model Winchester 70 7x57 will be my main hunting rifle, fixed 4X and 175's will get a whole lot done, it will find it's way to Africa for Safari as well.

I.am shooting 175 Paritions, best group under .3" at 2650fps and 145 Barnes LRX with same accuracy at 2850fps. Those 2.loads cover most of while I will need.
Mine is a Cabelas Supergrade from 2012.

Perfect^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I nearly bought one of those Supergrades 10 years ago, have three 7x57's on the place now, will never be without one.

I've found that my 7x57 Win M70 shoots better with powders faster than IMR/H 4350 with bullets 140-150gr. bullets. I have 1000's of Sierra GameKing and Winchester Power Point 150gr. bullets and IMR 4064, Reloder 15, VihtaVuori N540 perform fantastic with regards to velocity & accuracy. Load data (even max loads) in the popular manuals is so weak in my rifle's chamber and it shows on the chronograph. I used Quick Load to help develop loads in the 56.5-58K psi range and it turned out way better than when I was using the data from the usual suspects.