Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7x57 and Barnes bullets

160 gr Nosler Partitions have shot well on paper and big game in at least three 7x57s. Some time ago I experimented with 140 gr TSX in the rifles. Although I liked the velocity, accuracy was not there so I went back to NPs.

The 7x57 continues to have the reputation of poor accuracy due to long throats and in many cases will shoot only one or two particular loads well.

Have Barnes bullets improved accuracy in your 7x57s?

Roundoak,
Long throats is a misconception..The most accurate 7x57s I have ever shot are the Mod. 21 and 22 Brnos and they have an extremely long throat in that I can seat a 175 gr. Nosler or Hornady half way to the cannalure and get great MOA accuracy, then turn around and shoot the 130 gr. Speer ( a favorite deer bullet of mine ) with the same accuracy..and I am convienced, based on the large number of Brno 21s and 22s I have had over the years, that all the brnos will do just that. I have never seen a Brno M-21 or 22 that would not shoot great groups.

As a result of my many years of hunting and building rifles I have adopted the Brno specs in all my custom 7x57s using long boxes and very long throats, and accuracy has been great..

I suspect the lack of accuracy in most 7x57 is bad barrels and the throat and the jump to the lands is bad press without substance, thats been repeated way too many times..I use Lothar Walthar barrels in all my custom rifles and they all shoot well.

My using loads are huge doses of H-414 with any bullet and I load way over max with that long throat and magazine as the long throat is, in effect, the same as a 7x57 Imp..I get 3200 FPS with the 130 gr. and 2916 FPS with a 160 gr. Nosler and 2700 with a 175 with all of the guns set up like this. These are 10 round chronographed with the high and low taken out for the average..pressures are mild in that I get 14 to 15 loadings with them.

I won't list the powder charge as I would be concerned that someone would use it in a standard chamber or in a Mod 95 or 96 Mauser for instance, but its considerably over book max for a 7x57...

I have had good accuracy with the 140 and 160 gr. Barnes bullets but I am not sold on monolithics as a rule, the GS Customs bullets being the exception as they have performed admirable in all my 7x57s as has the Noslers and Woodleighs. I also use the Speers and ocassionally the Sierras for deer and they work well, especially the 130 gr. Speer.

I hope this helps your endeavor to get accuracy out of the 7x57 and pick up some velocity if you so desire.

Ray - Any idea how the chambers on the CZ 550 in 7x57 compare with the Brno chambers? Also, I walked out of a pawn shop this morning with a really niceJC Higgins/FN 270. I have every intention of rebarreling it in 7x57. What do I need to know about having it chambered to get maximum utility and accuracy like you're describing in this thread?
Thanks, Dave

I've had very good results with the Partitions in my 7x57 and have stayed with them. I'd be interested to know if the Barnes has much more to offer.

You better shoot it with that 270 barrel on it before you change over to 7 X 57.

You think? Are they that good?

Ray,

It appears I have been looking at the wrong components to achieve a reasonable balance of accuracy and velocity in the 7x57s. I do not have Brno rifles with Walther barrels, rather a Buhmiller barrel on a pre-64 M70, McGowen barrel on a VZ24 and a Ruger barrel on a M77. These rifles have all been particular what loads work well. What two rifles have in common is a preference for a 160 gr Nosler Partition. The other, VZ24, shoots respectable groups with the 160gr NP, however a 145gr Speer Hot-Cor SP shoots sub-MOA, but only if the bullet is seated with a Lee Crimp Die.

In all three rifles the magazine box dictates COAL, so when I learned that the Barnes TSX bullets are longer than most bullets of equal weight, I thought, Hey, maybe I can seat the TSX's closer to the lands to defeat the bullet jump to the lands in the long throats and still get the loaded ammo to work in the magazine box.

After talking to Barnes technical support my original thoughts may not prove out as I was advised the TSX like a good bullet jump, .50-.70 and some rifles more than that.

So started the thread to learn what others are experiencing with Barnes TSX's in the 7x57.

Roundoak,

You might send a PM to Ingwe, I believe his preferred load for 7x57 uses a 160 Barnes.

Rightamundo!!! 160 gr TSX in front of 50 gr. H4831sc...and yes, it DID improve accuracy!!

Ingwe

A 140gn TSX will drill a red stag or full grown stallion when loaded to 2900fps with consistency, meaning I have never recovered one.

The interesting thing is we are conditioned to think that heavier bullets with higher SD offer superior penetration and yet on these same animals, I have recovered 3 Failsafe 160gn bullets with front petals sheared off. The X's kept going no matter what they hit even though 20 grains lighter.

This is one reason I disregard SD with expanding bullets. I can accept the "theory" with solids but not with expanding bullets. I believe comparing C&C bullets to homogenous of equal weight is foolish. Many of us can accept that but there are still non believers when SD gets floated in the argument.

Having said all that, I see no need for bullets heavier than 140 grains in these smaller 7mm cases when using Barnes bullets. I woudl load a heavier bullet if C&C or bonded core depending on the live weight of the animals hunted.

JW

I wish the 140 TSX or TTSX would shoot in my own 7x57, which has a "short" throat, just long enough seat most spitzers out to 3.1" OAL or so. But it sprays both of them.

The 160 TSX's shoot very well in it, but I have not been impressed with how quickly they kill when started at 2700 or so. They penetrate and expand, but just don't put animals down like bullets in the 140-grain class. Or at least that is my experience.

In the 160-grain class, in fact, I much prefer the 156 Norma Oryx in the 7x57, because it makes a bigger hole and still penetrates very deeply. Oh, and it is among the most accurate bullets in my rifle.

Mel Forbes intro to the 284 Win in Nosler #6 states that many of his customers have found a 140gr @ 2900 to work quite well. You appear to have the same experience, just a different 'engine'.

Ingwe,

Do you believe the design of the bullet was the main reason you saw improved accuracy?

Do you believe the length (1.405) allowed you to get closer to the lands for improved accuracy?

Or do you believe the rifle simply preferred the bullet?

Please excuse so many questions. It is just that my only experience with the TSX was a 140gr in three rifles and using H4350, H4831sc and H414 I could not get the accuracy of a 160 gr Nosler Partition. I am just dipping a toe into the Barnes water and want to learn from those that have experience with the TSX in the 7x57 before I start buying a bunch of the bullets.

God knows I love Barnes bullets but I run the same bullet (Norma Oryx) as JB in my 7x57

Yep, that, and the design...the rifle never liked ANY other 160-162 grainer, so I shot 175 Gr nosler PTs out of it...MOA....The Barnes instantly shrunk that to .75 or better, and will penetrate as well, or better than the 175s NPTs...
Bear in mind I reserve the 7x57 for the larger game I am apt to shoot...

Ingwe

Ingwe, what is the COAL with the 160gr Barnes?

Thanks, Wayne

Funny, this is the very first time i have ever heard of the 7x57's reputation of poor accuracy. Now that I know that, maybe I should sell all my 7x57s.

NOT!

When I go to the woods with any one of my "inaccurate" rifles chambered to 7x57, brown, 4-legged animals are in serious peril.

They do tend to mysteriously fall over don't they?

With this new-found knowledge, I can now rule-out the idea that "my 7x57s are good hunting rifles" as a cause of this phenomenon.

I am always in the market for 7x57s should you decide to sell.