I just ordered a set of dies for my 7x57. Any suggestions on what powders to start with? I plan on loading 139-150 cup/core bullets for deer. Thanks for any info.....

50 gr H4350, 139 Hornady SP. Of course you may finish there ....

....Fishster, As fexible a powder as you'll find for the old 7mm Mauser round would be Winchester 760 ball powder,or IMR 4350. Either of these powders will work fine with the bullet weights you've detailed. The 760 has a slight edge with the heavier 150gr weight bullets. With a 22" barrel length Hornady lists 48.5gr of 760 for 2700fps with the 139gr weight bullet,and 52.4gr of the same 760 powder for a maximum recomended load at 2900fps., 49.9gr of IMR4350 gives 2700fps,and 53gr IMR4350 2900fps maximum load...The 150 gr.bullet with 47.7gr of 760 will top 2600fps and 51.2 of 760 will max out at 2800fps(Hornady lists thes last loads for a 154gr bullet)...I've a friend who swears his Remington 700 mountain rifle in 7X57 pops a 162 gr weight bullet out at 3000fps with his worked up handloads,sounds plenty risky to me!..

I can run 3000 fps in my 7x57 AO, but could not before I reamed it out..Mine likes a 154 at 2950...

Forgot to add....Hodgdon and IMR powders are the most available locally.Also have one local source for Reloader powders. Was thinking maybe one of the 4350's, just have no experience loading this cartridge. Thanks for the help guys!

Do a search there have been a few posts before. I am using H4350 with 150-154 gr bullets. Just got the chrony so should have more usefull information soon.

From a lady friend that shoots a 7x57: 54grs of IMR4350, 139SP, WLR primer, Win brass, 2830fps in a 20" bbl Steyr.

56grs of Norma MRP, 160 Grand Slam, same primer and brass, 2790fps in same gun.

With those 2 loads she's taken scads of African plains game, WT Deer, Elk, Moose, Black Bear, Bison, etc...and with a FMJ load has taken Cape Buff, Rhino, and Hippo.

Another vote for 4350. 50.0grs of H4350 combined with a 145gr. Speer is the only thing my 7x57 really likes - so far...

52.5 gn of 760 behind the 140gn TSX for 2940fps with 22 inch barrel or 45gn 760 behind 175gn Woodleigh Weldcore for 2480fps. Call the taxiderminst before you go out to hunt.

AGW

My gun likes H4350 and 760. Altho some of the H4350 loads listed here are a bit hotter than I load.

My 7x57's all shoot H-414 best, with the same weight bullet you want to load.

Don

My commercial FN load is 48.5 H4350 with a 150PT @ 2720fps seated long for my long throated Mauser. It shoot one inch three shot groups with this load. Over 1550lbft at 300 and 1340 at 400. two inches high at 1200yds and dead on at 200yds. It'll do a little over 2800fps with 50gns, but why push it? capt david <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like one of the 4350's is good place to start......will have check on 760 availability. Appreciate all the info, should make for a great starting point.

All I shoot in my CZ 550 American in 7x57mm is 48.3 grains of H414 in back of a 162 grain Hornady SST, or a 160 grain Nosler Partition. The SST chronos out at 2,815 fps. My rifle has a 23.6 inch barrel and it must also have a tight chamber as well. I get about half inch and less groups with this load at 100 yards. The attachment shows a couple of the groups. This load is well over book max, but it shows absolutely no signs of high pressure. With the bullet going this fast I don't bother trying to develope a load for 140 and 150 grain class bullets and stick only with the SST and partition. Would like to test the TSX just for grins. The CZ has a very, very long throat in it. My SSTs have an overall length of 3.40 inches and they look funny as hell with the bullet seated so far out, but boy, do they shoot. I think with this load the full potential of the old 7x57mm Mauser has been reached. It is a wonderful old cartridge. It the cartridge I use for whitetail deer, mule deer, antelope, elk, wild pigs, coyotes without hesitation. Tom Purdom

Of course we have determined that 760 and H414 ARE interchangable ... right?

CaptDavid:

Looks like I am working my way toward the same load you are using. What overall cartridge length are you using for the Nosler PT's?

I started with the 154 gr Hornady SP's and have most of the loads ready to go. I stopped at 48 grs of H4350. Now all I need is some time to figure out my new chrony.

Scott

Right! they are one the the same powder sold under two different names. Because of different lot numbers maximum loads may vary slightly, so as always, back off and work up when changing lot numbers of the same powder.

Jim

I also like H4350. Another one that works very well for me is Reloader 19.

Did some shopping today....ended up with IMR-4350 powder, CCI 200 primers, and a box of Hornady 154 grain spire points. Already had about 50 Norma once-fired hulls. Hope I'm on the right track now....

what make and model rifle do you have in 7x57mm?

Is a Ruger 77R...tang-safety.

I'm glad to be of help. My OAL is 3.112. IIRC saami is 3.065, so I am longer. After measuring my throat(done by gunsmith) I found that I could go to 3.2something. I lengthened them some, and when Three groups in a row shot under an inch, I stopped looking. I don't weigh/seperate brass or bullets, so that is good enough for me. It is amazing that a FN Mauser commercial sporter with a 23.5" light barrel built in '52 can shoot so well. The only mods that I've done or float and trigger. BTW 150BTs don't shoot as well, or to the same POA. So maybe I just found 'that majic load.' But what, south of Canada won't it kill?

My load is this:
RP Brass
CCI 200 primers
48.5gns H4350
Caveats apply It's safe in my gun

My OAL is out there too. The OAL for the NP and Hornady SP are about the same so I am loading them with the same OAL. I spent too much money having Superior Ammunition load up some 160 gr TSX's for me. But they did shot 0.75 to 1.0 inch consistently. Hopefully my handloads will get me close to that. I have a Ruger Mk II that has had a trigger job, the tip bedded and the LOP stretched out to 14.25 inches.

Scott

[color:"brown"]I just bought (in August) a like-new Ruger #1 International (aka "RSI") in 7x57 from the original owner who's had it since 1981. He claimed it shot 3 inch groups at 400 yards. Initially, I thought that was just "talk", but now I'm beginning to believe him.

I intend to work up THE most ACCURATE load possible out of my little Mannlicher-style stocked single-shot, falling-block rifle. Since "accuracy" is my goal, I don't really care about velocity, but I've found that using the chronograph in working up loads offers advantages.

I've just begun testing various load components... 4 different bullets, 5 different primers and 5 different powders... and so far, I've found the "sweet spot" in the RSI's 20-inch barrel with H4350 is between 47.4 to 47.8 grains of powder with a Winchester Std. Large Rifle Primer and a 140 grain Sierra ProHunter, flat-based bullet in Remington cases fired off of a solid bench-rest.

The 47.6 grain load yielded a 3-shot group (all 3 shot interlocking in a triangle) of just .270 inches at 50 yards with the scope's parallax adjusted out. I got 2 shots going into just .176 inches. Muzzle velocity averaged 2578 fps.

I found that H4350 gave excellent accuracy throughout it's entire range of powder weights. A maximum load (50,000 CUP) yielded an interlocking 3-shot "string" of just .564 inches with 2 shots going into .109 inches. I didn't chronograph this load, but my best guess would be about 2750 fps out of my rifle's 20-inch barrel.

I still must test H4350's "sweet spot" loads with 4 other primers and 3 other bullets, but I'm already happy with the initial results achieved so far using the H4350 with Winchester primers & Sierra bullets in Remington cases.

Naturally, I realize a powder's "sweet spot" might change slightly with different bullets, different bearing surfaces, etc... but I've generally found once you find the "sweet spot" your rifle "likes", it varies only slightly from bullet to bullet and primer to primer... and the previous "sweet spot" is a good place to "start" with the next bullet and primer test.

I also bought a bottle of Winchester 760 "ball" powder, a pound of IMR4320 and I already have almost a whole pound of Hodgdon's Varget plus some IMR4064 to test with 4 different bullets and 5 different primers, but I must say that it's gonna be hard to beat the results using H4350, an "extreme" Hodgdon powder supposedly not "bothered" by air temperature change. This means hot or cold, the load's velocity doesn't vary all that much... and this means that the exterior ballistics don't vary much either.

I'll post the results here in this Forum as I get them... but with Winter coming on, it will be next Spring and early Summer before I do much more shooting. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.