Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer - 7x57 question

Brad,

I agree completely about the .308. In fact, on every practical point it is probably a better choice than the 7x57, while doing the same things. But certain aspects of shooting lie outside the realm of practicality....

The 308 is argueably the better choice in every area but style points. The 7x57 is hard to beat for tradition's sake given it's history as a sporting round.


So I am at the crossroads,I have decided to build a custom full stock hunting rifle because I bought a nice full stock english walnut blank. I haven't decided for sure on the donor action because it depends upon the cartridge.


At the top of the short list are 7x57 and 308. The 308 will fit in a 2.8 inch short action of which there are many.The 7x57 really cries out for a 'long' short action of about 3.1 inches like a Montana or NULA neither of which are avaiable on every bush.

Decisions,decisions......


Britt

Britt:

Full length stock = 7mm.

Don't make easy stuff hard . . . .

BMT

And then we get back to the old argument of which caliber is the best. Hard choice to make as I like the 7-08 when useing light bullets but the 308 for heavier stuff. Good thing that most of us do not have to stop at one caliber! Long live the gun makers!

While the 308 works in short actions I don't realy like short actions. It's nice to have a little more breathing room as to seating bullets. In my opinion the only real bonus in using the 308 is the wide availability of brass of all flavers. Plus being a 30 caliber you have access to bullets designed for low to medium speeds designed for the 30-30 and the 30 carbine for playing and plinking.

I agree. That's why I have both!
The .308 in a Mnt Guide SS for a bad weather do-it-all and a blued / walnut Mnt rifle in 7X57 for a little more "pretty weather" hunting.

7x57!.....

-

Brad

7x57--- This cartridge with a full Mannlicher style stock, cries
for a 98 Mauser action.

I have four 7x57s -- three Ruger #1s and a custom Model 70 XTR FTW. Two are rare #1s, a 1B and a 1AB that I have not had time to even fire yet. The RSI and the Model 70 both shoot nicely but at different ends of the scale. The RSI prefers heavier bullets -- mainly 175s -- and the XTR is twisted for 140 gr bullets which it shoots into very tight groups.

Whenever I fully retire, I plan to wring out all of them at the range in an intensive way. I've got some Norma brass and some Norma and Lapua rounds to play with alongside the normal commercial fare. And lots of 7mm bullets in different weights and styles. I am realy interested in how the 120 Nosler BTs do on game.

Then there are the 7mm-08s to play with. The 1B SS/laminate shoots great already and the rare 7mm-08 1A is yet to be tested.

1B

"But certain aspects of shooting lie outside the realm of practicality...."

John, you said a mouthful there!

It's best to follow your bliss and not your brains... in the end the outcome is usually more satisfactory and long lasting.

Speaking of... I'm a complete sucker for Mannlicher stocked rifles some of the guys here are touting. I've only had the Ruger 77 version, a 250 Savage, 7x57 and 308.

I wish I had all three back and especially the 7x57!

That cartridge in a FL stock just go together.

Gee, I wonder why...?

I shoot a ruger #1 A in 7X57. Its a dandy little rifle.
It has a VX2 2x7 leupold on it. I carried it deer hunting last year for 4 days. never saw a buck. Got one a day later with my .270.
My Ruger shoots both a 140 grain t-shock and 140 grain B-tip, well under MOA. I shoot 50 grains of H-414, and it gives me a little over 2900.
I JUST BOUGHT ANOTHER 7X57. This one a 1936 small ring mexican 98. I will see how it does.
With heavier bullets I,ve had great luck with RL-19 over the years with A CZ I used to have, and the Ruger...tj3006
...tj3006

I currently have 2 7x57's 1 is a m700classic in a Borden Rimrock stock the other a FN/SAKO m98 action in a Brown precision stock. My favorite bullet is the Hornady 154gr Round Nose with 48gr of h4350 it's a really quick killer. I agree on using the old fasion cup bullets, they work great on deer & hogs under 2,700 fps.

Between those two I would let the rifle pick the cartridge.

You and only one other mentioned the 7mm-08 so far but it has not been discussed yet. I consider it a viable competitor to the 7-57. If factory load popularity is a factor then the 308 has those beat what with its wide range of ammo out there.

However the 308's have that slow 1-12" twist. What with wind drift being so important to longer ranges the 7mm bullets do have an advantage with the smaller rounds.

Since we can load them down but not up above maximum consider that a 8400 Montana in 7mm WSM weighs less, by quite a bit, than the old M70 Featherweight or even a 20.5" barreled 21h. They don't come close however to passing the ugly test.

As I try to choose an rifle/action on which to build a 7x57, it would be nice to have a list of which company's short actions will accomodate the 3.1" mag length needed,

So far I have ruled out the short 77Mkll, the M7 and 700.
The short NULA and MRC will work.

Can anyone add to either list? CZ? M70?

SOS

The number of actions made to fit the 3.1 lenght precisly is fairly small.


There are some vintage mausers that are the correct lenght,the mexican mauser is about right.

There are also plenty of 3.3 inch actions which are pretty close,the Ruger regular long action is not a bad choice, also many Mausers both commercial and military feature 3.3 inch magazines.

Another good approach would be one of the Husquavarna actions which although 30-06 length are very light and trim.

Yet another option that would work is`to take a model 70 action originally chambered for a WSM round,you can then have the bolt face and feed rails modified to feed the 7x57.The model 70 WSM action has a 3.1 inch magazine.

It takes bit of doing to come up with the correct size and length action for the 7x57,most of them have been built on actions that are 06 length thru the years.

Brit

Not a great deal of difference between the two,both are excellent rounds,7mm-08 was born as a factory round in 1980,the 7x57mm mauser was born in the tail end of the 1800s,lots of nostalgia and history come with this one,matter of fact the 7x57 is the cartridge that sent the USA to the drawing board to come up with what we know today as the 30-06.............

Savage99 said, "However the 308's have that slow 1-12" twist."

Sad to say, that is not entirely correct. The Colt, J.C. Higgins 51-L, Mannlicher Schoenaur, Marlin, Musketeer, Remington 722,740,742,780,700,40XB,788,600,660, Schultz & Larsen and Ruger M77 all have a 1 in 10 inch twist.

Te browning, FN, H&R, 300,308, Husqvarna, Mossberg 800, Savage 99, 110, 2400, SAKO, Stevens 110, Winchester 70,88,100, 670,770 all have a 1 in 12 inch twist.

Data from page 421 of the Speer reloading manual #10.

As long as we're discussing the .308, where's the problem with a 1 in 12" twist? Why is it too slow? I can push 220 gr. bullets (Sierra Pro-Hunter round nose) at 2300 FPS from a Winchester M70 and get sub-MOA groups at 100 yards. Seems to me it does quite well with a 1 in 12" twist. It should do just as well in a 1 in 10" twist as far as that goes. So much for the .308 not being capable of using heavy bullets in the 200 and 220 gr. class.
The reason you won't see factory ammo with 200 and 220 gr. bullets is because they do not move out fast enough to satisfy the general shooting public. After all, if it don't move out at 3000 FPS, it's bounce off the hide of a chipmunk, right?
Try working up from two grains below a max load of 44.0 gr. of W-760 and see what the results are rather than believing what you see in the gun rags.
FWIW, shortly after the 30-06 and 30-03 came out with 220 gr. bullet loads, people at that time felt the 30-40 Krag at 2000 FPS was a better elk rifle than the 30-06. The bullets of the time period didn't hold up well at 30-06 velocities. I see no reason why a careful stalker could not get close enough to an elk and use a 220 gr. bullet at 2200 to 2300 FPS and achieve success.
By the same token, there's no reason to not use a 175 gr. RN in the 7x57 at 2300 FPS on that same elk. I haven't seen any elk wearing kevlar lately. Just get close enough and put the bullet in the right place.
Paul B.

The mexican mauser I just bought is about perfect for the round. I can't seat the bullets out real far but I think long enough to add a little more oomph.
My#1 has a long throat and I can seta bullets way out there.
I would have gone shooting with it today but its wet cold and nasty in oregon today. But fear not the sun should make it anual apearence about augest.
...tj3006

I own 2 7x57s. A Mark X Mauser action with a laminated Mannlicher stock, 20" bbl and Leupold 2x7 compact. The other is a 700 Mtn. rifle, wood-blue with a 3x9 Leupold. In both of these, for Missouri whitetails, 139gr. Hornandys have did all I could ask of them. Finding myself in middle-age, having put on a few pounds, I will reach for the Mtn rifle more and more, but IMO what else could you ask for really.

I am enjoying seeing how many fans of the 7X57 there are.
If you toss in its offspring rounds it beacomes even more of a great round.
My favorite round for game through deer is the .257-R, and the 6MM Rem is one I have allways been wanting to play with, Almost no one in the US uses a 6.5X57 but I have a real prety custom on a yugo mauser that I have never hunted with. But I know damn well it would work just great.
And one day, I will buy an old 8mm military mauser and do it into a 20 inch manlicher.
I am a very proud american, but I love the european rifles and the rounds built for them.
...tj3006