Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Muledeer-7x57 velocities

Hi reflex,

Here is my experience, FWIW. I currently have three 7x57s, all Rugers, one pre-MkII tanger, one MkII, and one #1A. I can pour a lot more powder in the tanger than the MkII. I assume there are differences in the throats, but I have not done any chamber casts. They both shoot well enough so I don't fret it. In fact, the MkII shoots unbelieveably well. The tanger will easily handle the max loads listed in Speer manual #13 and then some, whereas the same loads in the MkII are over max. The #1A seems to be somewhere in between.

I don't know what you gained by this post, but there it is.

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I can get a lot closer to 280 velocities than that in my 7x57s. If one wants 250 fips more than one can get from a modern 7x57, I think one should step up to a 7 mag. Theres not a lot of difference in potential between a 7x57 and a 280 - some, but not a lot - not enough to see a big difference in the field.

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I load the 140 gr. ballistic tip to 2800 in my M70 Featherweight. I use W-760, Remington brass and Winchester WLR primers. I have loaded that bullet to 2880 FPS but it was about 105 degrees that day and bolt lift was a bit sticky. Not much, but just enough to notice. That's faste niugh for any hunting I'll do with that rifle.
Paul B.

Interesting approach...
Did Al Siegrist do the work for you?
Stop by sometime and I'll show you some really NEAT old Rem 722's I've policed up lately. All are accurate.

Don

Red,

I'm continually happy with the excellent accuracy out of my MkII in 257 Roberts.

Don

Don
The slophole was done by some hack on the PA/NY border
The cast chop rechamber was done by Bruce at Flint-&-Frizzen in Clarkston. He had to remove the inch, just to clean up the throat area.
Bruce has been my "go-to" smith for 30+ years. Since I moved "up north" Al is my backup gunny, in case of emergencies.
Both of them apprenticed under Bob Snapp, so you know that both of them know what their doing (and they respect each others work)

DMB,

I've owned and shot a lot of Rugers. Only one of them didn't shoot somewhere between excellent and friggin' fantastic. The one that didn't shoot well was a Mini-30, and that was probably because I was loading 0.308" bullets in it.

To be honest, I really don't know what level of accuracy my MkII 7x57 is capable of because I always just shoot it from my hands, not tucked into bags and a benchrest. I know it shoots where I point it.

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What is the love affair of trying to turn 7mm Mausers into 7 Rem Mags?

I just don't get it...

in 7mm, I have both the 7 x 57 and the 7 Rem Mag... I hunt with the 7 x 57s, and I have the 7 Rem Mag, because it was a Savage 116 with a price that was too good to pass up on at the time...

Seafire, I don't think it is so much a case of trying to make a 7x57 Mauser into a 7MM Rem. Mag., but just more a case of bringing the 7x57 into the modern era. Don't get me wrong, the 7x57 does a darn good job as is. However, current factory and most load data are geared to rifles from another century. Those loads are, to me anyway, the equivialent of buying a brand new Corvette shutting down two or four cylinders for whatever silly reoson one might do so. I feel the same way about the 30-06 and .35 Whelen, both of which are also underloaded by the factories. I once had the chance to buy a nearly mint 1895 Winchester that had been rebored to the .35 Whelen. I certainly would not have wanted to use my current handloads for the Whelen in that old rifle, nor would I feel safe in some of the 1903 Springfields I've seen that were converted. However, I do feel that my FN mauser (J.C.Higgins M50) that was made into a 7x57 as well as my Ruger #1 and Winchester M70 Featherweight are more that capable of handling somewhat more powerful loads than are found in the manuals ans in factory ammo.
Maybe the engine analogy wasn't the best I could think of. Think of a young person with the genetics of being a great athlete. he works out and trains and reaches his full potential. Consider that same person, but who does not train and is still a fairly decent athlete, but never reaches his full potential. The 7x57, and the 30-06 and .35 Whelen are all athletes like number two.
I would not feel handicapped hunting with a 7x57 and factory ammo. I would feel better equipped if I was hunting my somewhat more powerful handloads.
Paul B.

It didn't/dosn's sound (to me anyway) like the OP is trying to turn 1 of his 7x57's into a Magnum, but is wanting to bring it up to NORMAL 7x57 velocities, just like his others produce.

If your 7Mag was only producing 7x57 Mauser velocities, and you were wondering how to correct it, how would you feel about being accused of trying to turn it into a 7mm Ultra?

Just read a posting over on AR where Bob Snapp is accepting some Martini work. I had thought that he stopped doing custom work.

When I asked Bob if he would work on my Ruger #3, he said he would rather not, and that Martini work is his preferred type of work. Then he handed me his personal 257 Roberts on a Cadet action. I had trouble not drooling all over it. That was right after he showed me the ACGG guild rifle for that year - a spiffy Dakota model 10 with lots of pretty bells and whistles added. That was two years ago IIRC.

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Using the Corvette analogy to the 7x57 is probably valid but begs the question. Why the REASON. I have a Mustang and have owned MANY fast sportscars over the years but on none of these have I EVER driven to the redline. The speed limit has always been adequate for me. Different strokes.

The throat is not over diameter. Rather this chamber is cut like a Weatherby. Freebore almost like it was done on purpose. Just to make sure everyone knows I am not trying to turn it into a 7mag. I have plenty of screemers for that task. Book loads in this rifle are way to slow. I finally did get some loads with RL19 sending 139 BTSPs out at 2669fps. I can live with that and its shooting them into little bitty groups. If someone at some time did take a throating reamer to it they may have been seating 175gr RN bullets out as far as the magazine box would allow. The rifle is great other than low velocities and I doubt I will do the barrel. Matt layed claim to it after shooting his second buck with it when he was still in high school. He took his first 8pt with it. I am planning on working with H4350 some more to see what happens. reflex264

Reflex stay w/that RL19 and keep adding powder till you get to 2800fps.It's really pretty easy and not dangerous in a modern gun. powdr

For the record, I used a pressure trace on mine, as does Denton, and our results seem about the same. I have shot several thousand of these, and you will also find 2850-2900 fps loads for the 7-08, so not much reason to assume pressure would be any higher in a 7x57 with some freebore.

I suppose I could come up with some witticism like, "Because I can." but that wouldn't answer the question "Why?" I too have owned a few speedy vehicles during my mispent youth and like you usually stayed within the speed limit. However, there have been times when that excess power came in handy, like getting out of the way of some idiot that failed to yeild or some old geezer crawling along on a mountain road at 25 MPH when the speed limit was 45 MPH.
I think the added power over factory 7x57 Mauser rounds is a necessity as while most of the time, my shots on deer will come at reasonable ranges. However, situations do arise where a longer shot must be taken to bring an animal that has been wounded and is getting away. The longest shot I ever had to make on a deer was 427 paces. My hunting partner shot a deer way too far back and I was the only one in the clear to take the shot. The rifle that time just happened be a .308, but that fact is irrelevant. The power isn't needed for the ordinary, however for the out of the ordinary situtations, it can come in might handy.
Paul B.

Ask and you shall receive on the Ask the Gunwriters Forum. What the [bleep] are we still talking about?


Travis

If you hold that a modern 7x57 in good condition ought to be run at 51 KPSI, then you ought to do the same for your 270 or 30-06.

Add powder like MD said. Take it to 2800...then you're near enough max.