Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Loads for 7x57

Hi guys, I'm new here and looking for a good load for my Winchester Featherweight in 7x57. I am currently using 50.0 gr H4831SC behind a Sierra 140 gr spbt in Remington cases and cci 200 primers. 2640 fps. Shoots good. Killed a Wyoming speed goat this fall with it. But I'm not satisfied. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to magnimize it, I like the historical mildness of it and if I wanted a 280 or a 7 mag I'd of bought one. I guess what I'm looking for is a classic load for it. Like the 60.0 4831 130 gr bullet of a 270 that Jack O'Oonnor liked and works so well. Does anyone know what his wife Elinore used in her 7x57? A classic load for a classic cartridge? Thanks. Mark

I shoot a 140 Nosler Partition with CCI 200 primer and 51.0 gr of I-4831, at 2893 fps. Win 70XTR Featgherweight (early-mid 90s?). Not a "classic: load, but it's worked well on Balck bear, deer and caribou.

I think a classic load would involve a 175 gr round nose.

While I have not chronographed it, last weekend I used mine to take a pretty good sized oryx with the 140 gr Accubond behind 48 grs of H4350 in Winchester brass. Very accurate so I am done with this combo.

Thanks guys, it seems the 140s are popular, I load them in my wife's 7mm-08. If a classic load used a 175 grainer I may have to pass. I'm also practical. Maybe someone can open my eyes to them.

I've been using the Partition/I-4831 load for about 15 years, so it's "classic" for me!!!

O'Connor's classic load for the 7X57 reads thus:

"Probably the best all-purpose, big game load for the 7X57 is the 154-grain Hornady or 160-grain Speer, Sierra, or Nosler bullet with 52 grains of No. 4831 in Western cases." The Hunting Rifle, page 94.

His other load from the same page in the book is the 140-grain bullet behind 45 grains of No. 4320.

Be advised that the 4831 that Jack O'Connor used was the surplus version and it is supposed to be a little slower than the currently manufactured powders labeled 4831. So start lower and work up according to your own rifle.

ckw, thanks, that was what I was looking for.

In "The Hunting Rifle" Jack stated: " Probably the best all-purpose, big game load is the 154 Hornady or 160 grain Speeer, Sierra, or Nosler with 52 grains of No.4831."

My rifles like:
49 grains of IMR-4350 with Nosler 150s or Hornday 154s for a little over 2700 fps.
Or:
44 grains of IMR-4320 with Nosler 140 or Sierra 140 flat base bullets.
And:
51 grains of MR-3100 with 139 grain Hornadys is a fantastic low pressure load developing 2526 fps.

I run the 160gn Woodleigh over 46gn H4350 with WLR in Graff cases for 2700fps.

Von Gruff.

You guys have given me some great ideas. Thanks a bunch.

One thing I never understood about American loadings of the 7x57 - the very widespread use of 140 grain bullets. The cartridge was originally designed to use 175 grain RN slug, and works well with 10 gram ( 154grain) or 160 grains, but the 140's seem too light for optimum fit with the long throat and fast twist of this cartridge. Jack O'connor even commented about premature throat wear of his 7x57's when shooting light bullets. All 5 of my 7x57's all shoot best with heavier bullets. I have settled on 160's and H4350 for my rifles with no worries.

48.5 grains H4350 behind a Hornady 162 grain bullet, 3.190" COL, Rem brass, CCI 200 primer, 24" barrel, 2732 FPS at a measured 54 KPSI.

Substitute 51 grains RL19 for 2762 FPS and measured 56.1 KPSI.

Substitute 52.5 grains RL22, 3.290" COL and a 160 Nosler AccuBond for 2736 FPS and measured 55.5 KPSI.

Results in your rifle will surely be different from my rifle. Use as reference info only.

I have been very happy with the 140gr Accubond and 50.0gr's of H4350. Been a great combo now.

castnblast:

My 7x57 was built new in 1984 from a Sako action and a Douglas barrel, so it does not have as long a throat as the ones found on "the [European] continent".

The 140-160 all shot well for me, and the 140 is attractive for deer...maybe due to the speed ? But, for the 140 grains and 150, IMR 4064 worked pretty well - I killed a deer at 400 yards with the 160.

The 140s and 160s I shot were Nosler Partitions. The 175 I never loaded, but it is no slouch.

The classic 170-175 grain loads are quite useable at the vast majority of typical distances and targets. Practice and familiarity goes far......pun intended. (And, of course, you could also run an Interlock or Partion spitzer if you wish.)

Mine don't have long throats either.

I'm inclined to agree with you. However, these days speed apparently rules.
Another thing about American loadings. They're underpowered because liability lawyers are afarid some of those 1893 and 1895 Mausers will cime unglued if they load the 7x57 to it's full potential.
Currently, I have three rifles chambered in 7x57 and I've started to really experiment with them along two levels. One with loads like the originals and two seeing just what the cartridge truly is capable of producing. Naturally, it was the latter I did first. My Winchester M70 Featherweight will push a 140 gr. ballistic Tip to 2800 FPS with a near max load of W760. One grain more does 2880 FPS but bolt lift is a bit sticky. My Ruger #1A likes that load and it's decently accurate in both rifles. When it comes to my custom FN Mauser, that load will lock up the bolt good and solid yet show absolutely no pressure signs in the other rifles.
Some factory ammo is drasticly underloaded. Federal 175 gr. RN factory ammo struggles to reach 2000 FPS in two rifles but make 2050 FPS in the Mauser.
I loaded some 175 gr. Hornady RN's to 2400 FPS in the Winchester and Ruger and when I shot them in the Mauser velocity jumped to 2510 FPS. methinks it's the match grade barrel and chambering that causes that gain in pressure, thus the higher velocity. I have another custom Mauser in .308 Win. with match grade barrel and chambering that does the same thing. My gunsmith is very anal about the quality of his work. I'm gonna keep him.
I haven't chronographed what the Winchester 145 gr. Powerpoint ammo does but they advertise something around 2600 FPS and maybe that ain't so bad.
Obe of my favorite rifles is a Ruger M77 RSI, the one with the full Mannlicher stock and 18.5" barrel. That rifle os a one trick pony and will only shoot the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core over a stiff load of W760. It will not shoot anything else as every other load, powder and bullets has made shotgun patterns. That bullet only does 2550 FPS, but that was more than enough to take down a nice Kaibab Mule Deer with one shot at 250 yards laser measured. The deer was facing me and the bullet hit just below the neck and stopped against a back leg with enough force to break that leg. Can't ask for any more penetration than that. So maybe a 150 to maybe 160 gr. 7MM bullet at 2600 FPS, give or take a few FPS might be a pretty potent package after all.
You know, the 7x57 made it's reputation using a 175 gr. round nose bullet at roughly 2300 FPS. With today's modern powders, it shouldn't be any problem for that bullet to do 2500 FPS plus in perfect safety. When I think of how many long range shots I've had to take out here in the wide open spaces of the American west, a whole two deer to be honest, I really see no need for some hard kicking rip snorting magnum. FWIW, probably the average distance I've shot deer since 1949 has been right at 100 yards or maybe a bit less. Hell, half the fun is sneaking up and seeing how close I can get.
Paul B.

I had a M70 Featherweight and the lighter weight bullets it shot well, were the 145gr Speer GS (old version). Powder was 4350.

I think the more longer, the better when it comes to the M70's though. Long throat on mine.

Travis

Denton, thanks for posting such useful information for those that load 7X57s.

I believe that the 140 Gn bullet was the Traditional load for the 275 Rigby HV (7x57), I ve got mine going at 2805 fps ish, from a 22", 1:9 twist barrel, using H414 according to Nosler Book 6, with Fed GM210M primers out of RWS brass.

I think that the original Mauser load was 175 Gns round nose or FMJ .... Whatever, it killed the Gordons at Spion Kop to the satisfaction of the Boers, and Elephant to the satisfaction to WDM Bell. I also heard that the Mexicans used it some effect ? .... not being smart, but it is a very good effective calibre; I reckon that Mr Mauser got it about right all those years ago.

Great info. Just loaded up some 140gr BT's and RL19 for the M70 FWT 7x57. Looking forward to seeing what the little 7 can do. It is going to be my son's rifle once load work is done, but what a nice case to load for with the long neck. First time loading for a 7x57, so it was a pretty cool experience. Scotty

"I reckon that Mr Mauser got it about right all those years ago."

I think you're right.

Beretzs. About the only thing you might have to look out for is those 7x57 cases tend to stretch. I load for three 7x57 rifles and I have to check case length just about every time I resize I notice that Ken Waters in one of his Pet Loads articles on the 7x57 commented on case stretching as well. other than that, it's one of my favorite rounds to play with.
Paul B.

PJ,

The case stretching may well be caused by overly large chambers. Varying chamber dimensions in some rifles can cause that.

On the other hand, mine(3 of them, a NULA, and 2 Ruger #1's), do not have the problem.

Steve

You're lucky. You might be right regarding most factory chambers but my FN Mauser custom was barreled and chambered to match grade standards by a very anal gunsmith. The guy is one hell of a perfectionist and the three barrel jobs he's done for my are all sub-MOA accurate. Even that tight chambered Mauser will strch cases although not quite as fast as the M70 Featherweight and Ruger #1A.
Paul B.

I haven't played with the heavier 7mm bullets. My Ruger standard MkII likes the "Barsness load" of H4350 and Hornady 139 grain SPBT. 50 grains of H4350 is pushing 2960 fps out of my barrel in very nice sub 3/4 inch groups. I stopped with that. Deer and hogs have been the only game taken with this load. I have not recovered a bullet yet, but I haven't taken any quartering too shots with it.

I bought some 160's and 175's to play with but our local range was shut down for safety reasons in August so never got to work them out. Will get on it again this spring.

Hi E_b

Me too use 154 to 175 grs bullets in my two 7x57s. I load for this cartridge since 1972...I prefer the 7x57 in a good Mauser 98 and a European type barrel than any 7x64 !! Having had a nice 7x64 for many years...
With 160 grs bullets I use 4350 (any), R19 and R22. By the way, the Alliant R series the only powders we have here right now. But anyway this two have been, for me, the best powders for 160/175 grs bullets. In my rifles, Mausers, I can reach around 2750 f/s with 160 grs and 2650 with 175 grs bullets without ANY signs of dangerous pressure and very good case life, 7 reloads at least.

Good luck

PH

In three different 7x57s I have run the gamut of bullet weights and in this small sample three bullets stand out with good accuracy and velocity. 115 grain Speer Hollow Point, 154 grain Interlock and 160 grain Nosler Partition.

115 grain Speer 48-48.5 grains IMR 4320 3100 fps

154 grain Interlock 48-49 grains H4350 2800 fps

160 grain Nosler PT 47-48 grains H4350 2650 fps

For what ever reason I could not get the 140 grain TTSX to group until recently I tried IMR 4320. For those that want to sling a Barnes bullet try 44 grains IMR4320 for about 2860 fps.

I'm using 48gr of H4831 and the 154 Hornady bullet. Don't know how fast, but it kills good as far as i wish to shoot. I have used this load in several rifles for over 35 years and it always groups very well and kills double dead.

I started loading the 7x57 back in 1972 when Ruger made their first run of M77's in that caliber. At the time, reloading components were sometimes hard to get and 7x57 cases were particularly tough to come by. I reformed a bunch of .30-06 brass in a RCBS trim die,annealed and inside reamed the necks. At the time, I was into using only one load in each of the rifles I had on hand. I found that 139/140 grain bullets over 48 grains of H414 worked well in the reformed cartridges, even reformed military as well as the few commercial 7x57 cases I could get my hands on.It was my standard load for years.You can put in a couple more grains of powder for a bit more velocity, but the case life with that load was phenominal.

That is great intel guys, thanks for all the load data. I have a batch of 140 BT's loaded with RL19 right now. Going to break the barrel in with them. After that, I have 140 ET's, 140 BT's, 160 PT and AB's and 175 PT. I also have a bunch of 145 Grand Slams and 145 Speer BT's. Seems like I am in the right area for powder, but I will mess with it a little as time goes on. My main objective is to get a good working load for my son, as it is his rifle.

175 Speer Grand slams, IMR-4350, w/ a CCI-250 in RP cases have been real sweet in my old '09 argie.

Gunner

I also run a 120gn GS Custom over 51gn BL-C2, Fed LRM primer, Graff (fitted) brass for 3235fps and excellent accuracy.

Von Gruff.