Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Do all red pad 7x57 #1a's have long chamber throats?

Found a nice red pad #1a at the LGS in 7x57. Always wanted a 1a and it has some figure in the wood. $1100.00 is not a great deal, but would not have to mess with shipping and gunbroker, so I might jump on it.

But,
Just wondering if all the 7x57's had long throats or if is an old wives tale.
Shooting 160's is probably where I would start, but I do like shooting the light Triple Shocks, and would like to shoot some 120 v-max or something for groundhogs and crows for fun.

I don't know if they ALL do, but the one red-pad 7x57 I owned had a very long throat--which was also apparently large in diameter, as the rifle wouldn't shoot any bullets that weren't seated very close to the lands.
But it would shoot lead-cored spitzers from 160 grains up very well, at least after I had a barrel-tension screw installed on the forend hanger.

Mine sure did. I still have a couple of rounds I loaded for it somewhere and the bullets are really "out there".

It never put 3 shots in anything resembling a group. One or two would be one place and the other one or two way out somewhere else. This was long before I ever heard of the Hicks thingy, and floating the barrel and even shooting with the forend removed made no difference. Now that I'm a little more experienced, I would try some more stuff to fix it, but it went down the road about 40 years ago.

Ok then,
At that price I think I'll hold off on the impulse buy. I almost bought it, I'm glad I thought it over first.
Is there a serial number when they chambered the 7x57 shorter?

I'm also in the long throat 7x57 red pad 1A club. I've not shot anything lighter than 160s, which shoot acceptably seated way out. Usually it puts 2 close and the 3rd starts climbing, typical of needing forend work. FWIW, I paid $900 for mine (used) just under 3 years ago...

I don't know if this helps or hurts, but I have a black pad 7x57 no 1 and it has a very long throat. Having said that, I shoot 140 grain Sierra pro hunters seated out a little and it is the most accurate no 1 I have ever seen. Go figure!

By the time the black-pad No. 1's appeared, Ruger was using their own barrels, which were more consistent than the former barrels from another supplier. Also, they started using reamers with tighter (if not shorter) throats, which tend to keep bullets in alignment after they leave the case.

They did eventually start using shorter throats in 7x57's, but I'm not sure exactly when. I had a 7x57 Ruger 77 Mark II for a while, and the throat was considerably shorter than in my red-pad No. 1!

I have one of the Boddington 7x57s, and can load 120's to the lands without issue. Very accurate.

Hope that helps and good luck!

AJD

Mine has a very long throat but it shoots well, kinda of a long throat Imp. 7 X 57 takes more powder to reach same velocity. But its accurate. It and my LH Zastava 7 X 57 have about the same throat so both shoot the same load.

Quite a few years back now I bought a Ruger #1A in 7x57. Gun shot patterns and not groups. I couldn't even seat 175 gr. round nose to where they touched the lands,. I had my gunsmith do a chamber cast and the throat was over 2" long. Way out of spec. I sent the gun back to Ruger and it'll put 175 gr. bullets, either round nose or spitzer into .75" and 140 gr. Ballistic Tips right at one inch. I haaaaaave a few #1's and the 7x57 is my favorite. I might be convinced to sell the others but that 7x57 stays.
Paul B.

So the upshot is,
It sounds like, if I find one at a reasonable price, give it a shot and see what happens.


Has anyone tried the monometals (Barnes, GMX, etc) in the long throated 7x57s? They generally are longer and the ones I've shot in the 223 like a little jump to the lands.

Or is it too much jump even for them?

For me, it would come down to how pretty it is. Asssuming you hunt in PA, pinpoint accuracy ain't that big a deal. The one I had was plenty accurate enough for any hunting shot I've ever taken. If little groups are your thing, that's another story.

M77s and number Ones had long throats at least until thru the late 1970s.

Don't know when they changed it,but by the time the Mark II M77s came out,it was fixed.

My red pad 1A shot nice groups 5" high and 1/2 wide. After I freefloated the forend it shoots nice round 1" groups with factory Privi 175 semi spitzers.

Not a varmint rifle so I could care less about light bullets.

A 175 TSX can be pushed to 2500 in a No. 1 and they need flying room before the leade. Would kill anything here in "The Equality State".