Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7x57 loads in a modern action

I've had one for a bit. A few years. But, I haven't started reloading for it yet. I've only loaded for my .280 so far.

It's a Win M70 xtr featherweight. Leupold vx2 2-7. 22" bbl, Timeny trigger

Any idea what the Winchester 145gr bullet is? That's the only load I've killed anything with in this gun. It was my longest shot at a deer actually. A bit over 100 yds, probably 125 or so. Shot was a bit 1/4'ing away. Hit the back of leg, heart, and exited above the knee on the off side. The deer died because of the hole in his heart, but the bulled didn't really expand much. Almost not at all.

You're gonna enjoy it TZone, it's a really fun and effective cartridge.

It a Powerpoint bullet. At least that's what it says on the box.
Paul B.

I guess I don't view it as disconnecting two plugs in a V-8 as much as I do not having to run with the accelerator on the floor all the time. It certainly can be appropriate; I'm not sure it's always necessary. Having the ability to do so, however, is certainly nice.

By the way, I wonder if the 145-gr Power Point might not be a Speer HotCor. Dunno, but unless Winchester is making it themselves I believe Speer is the only other source for 145-grain bullets.

Well...I know that's what it says. I have heard several say it's a Speer Hot Core. But I'm not sure.

Exactly what I've heard, but really don't know for sure. It shoots pretty good in the gun, I know that. Better than any other factory stuff anyway.

I shot a box and a 1/2 of Winchester 145gr to get some brass yesterday. I have enough to try a few loads right now.

I had 5 rounds loaded with Hornady 154gr RN bullet, and 44.5grs of IMR 4350 (0.5gr below max). It liked that load quite well. I'm going to play with that bullet and powder and see what I get. I'll try some 120gr NBT's as well with Varget.

For me, the 7x57 is easy to load and shoot and it does an excellent job on deer, antelope and elk.

I did plan on using a 140 grain bullet for deer and antelope and a 160 for elk. One year I forgot to bring the 160's for a Wyoming deer, antelope and elk hunt so I was stuck with the 140gr partition for elk. But it took down a bull elk at about 160 yards with a single shot. The bullet pierced both lungs and the elk dropped after moving about 30 yards.

It's generally pretty hard to find a hunter who has used the 7x57 and did not like it. But is does require that the ammo be hand loaded to get the maximum velocity from it.

God bless the 7x57!

Steve

I shot some more yesterday with Remington Core lokts in 140gr to get some brass. It liked them quite a bit. It liked them so much that I sighted it in at 100 with them.

I also shot at 300, which was the first time I've done that. It seemed to be about 12" low. Does that sound about right?

Here you go, Tom

JBM online Calcs

Does sighted in at 100 mean dead zero there? If so, then 12" drop at 300 yards is roughly 4 moa. That's shooting a bit flatter than plugging Remington's claimed mv into Hornady's online calculator indicates.

When you went to 300 how many shots did you fire? The more shots the merrier for establishing a good estimate of the group center and hence the real drop.

What Mathman said. Particularly if that was your first time at 300 and not just the first time for the rifle. The first time I sighted in a rifle at 300, my performance was pretty appalling. Distance (and fly-weight rifles) will reveal some shooting habits that aren't disclosed at 100 yards...:)

Yes. I should have clarified that. It's sighted it, to be dead on at 100 yards.

I don't see very well, so shooting that far isn't something I do often. I had the range to myself, so I tried it in case I was going to embarrass myself. I was using a Leupold VX-1 2-7, if that matters at all.

I shot two with this rifle. They both hit the bottom of the target, just punching the edge of the bottom of the paper.

It was my first time ever. Not just with this rifle. I also shot at that distance shortly after with my new M70 Extreme Weather in 30-06. That shot a bit flatter but not much. 3/4-1" maybe. I did site that dead on at 100 as well because it has a CDS Reticle in the VX-2 3-9 x 40.

It made 200 a lot easier. 200 was the furthest I've shot before yesterday. 100 seemed like a chip shot after that. I'll be doing more of it for sure!

7x is plenty for good shooting with a big game rifle at 300 yards. For range testing it really helps to make a target that is easy to line up with the reticle/magnification/distance combination in play.

With a correctly proportioned target I've shot well below moa at 300 yards with a scope whose actual magnification tops out at 3.9x. The little straight tube Leupold looks kind of funny sitting on a rifle sporting a 27" #7 contour barrel, but the combination does make a point at the range when I'm talking to folks who think you need 14x or more to take deer at 300 yards.

I don't need a big scope to take deer out that far. But it would be nice to see the squares on the target. I'll shoot some more out that far and work on it.