Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why No Love For The 7 Mauser?

Maybe the 7x57 is difficult for some to love because is so perfect. That is how I feel about it anyway. I spent the past 2 weeks hunting in my home state with one or another of my 7x57s in-hand. This year I'm shooting 154gr Hornady Spire Point Interlocks over 44gr of H4350. None of my remaining 7x57s are particularly long-throated, having sold the last one, a pre-warning Ruger M77R, so I now load all my 7x57 ammo to shoot in all my rifles. One could load them hotter, but I see no point. This weekend I took an average whitetail doe at 240 yards, and a buck at about 150. Both bullets left an exit of about 1 inch diameter or so (hard to measure precisely). The longest shot entered in front of the left shoulder and exited just behind the opposite shoulder. The other shot entered tight in the crease on the left side and exited through the right shoulder. Both deer made it about 50 yards before tipping over. I don't need, nor want, more power or performance than that, and the recoil is actually a pleasant little bump, just enough. The balance of accuracy, flat trajectory, and terminal performance is just right in my book. It helps to have "sorted" through many, MANY rifles through the years to find just the right combination. I have other rifles, and I like them, but none are more "perfect."

By the way, one thing the 7x57 can do that the 7-08 can't, in my experience, is shoot accurately with the long 175gr bullets. I like 175gr Hornady Spire Point Interlocks, and I have yet to find a 7-08 that shoots them accurately. ALL my current 7x57s shoot them perfectly, that is well under an inch at a hundred yards.

I can't possibly imagine anyone wanting to shot 175's in either cartridge............unless it's the last rifle on earth, the only bullets available for it & they're going to take it Brown Bear hunting.

I'm sure a few will disagree...............

MM

Good choice on that Hornady 154 grain bullet. I use it in one of my 7x57's for Mule deer in the western states because the rifle favors it over others. I have taken a couple of Elk and a Moose with it, too. I load it with 4 more grains of H4350 than you do, but that is neither here nor there.

Congrats on the doe and buck.

Mine took 2 deer this season, one by me the other by my 15 year old neighbor boy. Lots of love here ! I've been shooting the 7x57 in the same Ruger 1A for about 25 years or so.

It does tend to over-penetrate though, on deer, especially with 150 grain Partition bullets. I've only ever recovered on bullet, that from a doe shot end to end (front to back at about 200 yards...

By Gad I'm going to get out my copy of the Rudraprayag Leopard and my (almost) Rigby and go sit in the kids playhouse over a tied up mouse!-Muddy

I shot 175s exclusively for years through mine. NPTs....you know our deer season runs concurrently with elk and where I hunt there are both, plus the rifle made three trips to Africa, where again you don't know how big of a critter you'll be seeing or shooting. The 175s were skookum Shot everything from jackals up to zebra, kudus,. and elk.

Ing. Did you use the semi-ptd. (not the screw turned ones) ones or the newer spitzer style and if you used both could you tell any difference?-Muddy

Ingwe,

What game have you taken with your 7X57 that you could not have done as well with a 150 ballistic tip?

Let me ask the true 7x57 afficienados what may be a dumb question but I ask in all seriousness. Using one load per caliber, 165 gr., the .308, 180 in the 06 and 200 gr. in the .300 magnum. I have three 7x57s I'm playing with. I have the load for the Ruger #1A with the 170 gr. Sierra, more a nostalgic thing than anything else. It just goes to the range as the ranch I hunt does not allow single shot rifles.
I have a goodly supply of 150 gr. Nosler Partitions and 165 gr. Speer Grand Slams so my question is this, if you had to choose one of the other for all your 7x57 hunting for the rest of your life, which would you choose. I primarily hunt for cow elk with shots to about 350 yards. I have H4350, H4831 and Re17.
I am open to suggestions for other powders, if I can find them.
Paul B.

I would use the 150 Partitions and H4350. Have had excellent luck with that bullet and powder, and would happily use the combination on anything in North America except brown bear. Also any plains game in Africa except (maybe) eland.

Spitzers

Zebra comes to mind instantly, as does gemsbok. Kudu might be ok with the 150 NBT, as they are 'soft'. Elk too would probably be ok...but I REALLY prefer the 175 on them.
I never shot an eland with that rifle, but would, with a 175.


I just loaded up and used the 150 NBTs for an Axis hunt this year. They seemed just fine for that, and penetration was complete.

Well, a NBT isn't a Partition, but the 160 Partition would do equally as well on any non-dangerous game, in fact it's been known to kill a few elk & African species.

The point is that there are many better choices today than a 7x57 if one feels the need for a 175 gr bullet..........didn't say it wouldn't work, just wondered why someone would purposely choose it given other options.

But I do understand nostalgia, just not high on my list for decision making.

MM

Agreed on the better mousetrap, but I do tend to wax nostalgic ...hell I went on one safari ( actually with JB..) with an iron sighted 7x57 and an iron sighted .303 British!

They worked, and it was fun!


My looneyism takes many directions, depending on the day...

Nothing wrong with that as long as you recognize it for what it is & live within any constraints that it might impose.

Lots of dead critters with 7x57 & 303's with bullets nowhere as good as we have today.

MM

I use 140 and 160 gr AB's the ones I own.

The .270 Winchester is 6.9mm with ammo available at Walmart and new factory mass produced rifles are actually chambered for that round.

SCORE!

[quote=roundoak]Bob, a lot of good things have been said about the 7x57, however not poetically.

What got me interested in the 7x57 was Jack O'Conner's book THE RIFLE BOOK (1964)and the chapter THE ALL-AROUND RIFLE.

When Jack's book THE HUNTING RIFLE (1970)came out I already had a couple 7x57s. The chapter "Big Punch in a Little Case... was 9 pages of music to my ears and reafirmed my choice of cartridges.

John Jobson came out with an article in Sports Afield (1973) called THE WELTERWEIGHT RIFLE WITH THE HEAVYTWEIGHT PUNCH and with that title I immediately thought there was going to be some plagiarism of O'Connor, but no.

When O'Connor came out with FORTY YEARS WITH THE LITTLE 7MM, published in Gun Digest (#28 1974) I was working with 3 different 7mms. Once again it was great to see affirmation of your cartridge selection.

Then there is this. WOW!

Eleanor O'Connor's 7x57



Seems I remember reading that Eleanor's 7x57 was reblued 3 times. Much good use out of that rifle.....:)

You 7x57 guys are too funny!