Ok, I put a minty red pad #1A chambered in 7x57 on hold this morning. While I'd rather have it in a RSI, this little 1A felt good. Decent wood and an older Balvar 2.56x scope (Baush & Lomb ?) $735 and it's mine. hate to let it get away but also not something I am really filling a void with.

If you like the concept of the #1, I think you may really appreciate the Mauser round in the A version. I have several 1s and the 45-70 "S" version and the "A" versions are my favorites. I've got both a 270 which my son shoots, and it's in better shape than my x57, but I simply like the little 7. It's fun to shoot, fun to carry, and fun to hunt with. I would not let it go unless you've got a friend you really treasure who wants it also.

Have 6 or 7 #1's currently so yeah, I like the concept. I prefer the A's and S's myself also.

Big punch, little case. Perfectly balanced cartridge that seems to do more than it should be able to.

Buy it. I'd love to have a 7x57 #1A myself, with both a .270 and a 30-06 in that model already, I'm clearly sold on the rifle. My 7x57 is a bolt gun.

Work up loads, spend a season hunting with it... We won't need to sell you on it... It will sell itself...

It is the smallest lightest recoiling rifle that I would shoot and elephant with..Those long 175 gr. solids at 2600 FPS with a good handload have a ton of penetration, and that is what made the 7x57 famous. I have seen an elephant killed with a 7x57 with a heart shot and a 175 gr. Woodleigh solid, it ran 100 or so yards and tipped over dead, bled like a stuck hog, I have never seen that much blood and the results were reminesent of the kills I have seen with a .416, 375 or 470 N.E. I am sold on the caliber, but the 30-06 is just as good or better.

However, if one needs to be convenced then probably a good idea to just pass on it....

I haven't killed any elephant with the 7x57 (or anything with solids), but have used it on springbok and pronghorn out to around 375 yards and it worked fine. Have also used it on bigger game including impala, warthog, bighorn sheep, mule deer, wildebeest, elk, kudu and moose out to 250 yards, and have yet to experience any problem--other than a couple caused by operator error.

Bullets used have included everything from cup-and-cores to Nosler Partitions to bonded cores to TSX's. All the animals died within at most 100 yards of being hit, and 90% went 50 yards or less.

Its the ultimate, consummate cartridge.....duh.....









Ingwe

Like Ray said, if it's not something you want, you ought pass. Leave it for someone who would appreciate it.

The cartridge has been around since 1892 and Ruger has offered it in the No. 1 since 1977 or so. Why does anyone need to "sell" you on anything? Do you lack the confidence to make your own choices?

Bricktop did kill an Elk last year with his #1-A in 7X57. A 175 gr round nose bullet did the deed.

Doc

I have 22 Ruger #1 rifles in various configurations ranging from .22 Hornet to .416 Rigby. Should I decide to sell off most of the herd, my #1A in 7x57 would be the only one considered "Not for sale!" Nuff said?
Paul B.

W.D.M. Bell
Mouse

Well, to those that gave helpful responses, I thank you. This isn't a cartridge I've have experience with and while I love the platform, I guess I simply needed that extra nudge.
To the rest... It's terrible to wish bad upon another but I still don't let it keep me up at night.

No one wishes bad upon you, you're just a knucklehead who can't make a decision without consulting strangers on the internet.

Now, if I could only ignore (block from view) that mack-nasty avatar...

The 7x57, along with the 6.5x55, are cartridges that by their existence prove beyond doubt that newer is not necessarily better. It's almost as if the designer knew not only what he was doing at the time, but what wonderful propellants and projectiles would be available beyond his lifetime. Smooth feeding, easy on brass and shoulders, bore diameter that is sufficiently supported by your basic soft point bullet, plus the vicarious link to history thru the use of a 100+ yr old round. It is a proven standard, an often copied blueprint, a routine success. Good grief, I believe I just defined "fun".

What's up? You two pickle lickers taking a break from your "pride parade?"

Bingo!!

I do not have 1A in 7x57, but darned if that ain't a sexy little thing!

I can speak to the balvar. it is Baush & Lomb I have owned three, and they are good glass, but as they were made in the late 60's thrut he early 70's, many lack the coatings that are prevalent n the later scopes. Perhaps you have a later model with internal adjustments - THOSE are fine glass indeed!

Well, weather it matters to some "pickle lickin" jackass or not, I went ahead and put the gun on lay-a-way since I wouldn't make it to the shop for a while. The scope will come off is for no other reason than it's a glossy finish I just don't care for. Maybe it's my stroked ego that it offends, not sure, but the scope's coming off. Probably add a Burris atop it instead.
Again, to those helpful - THANX! And again, to those others...well, nevermind.

I agree. Let's not talk about anything. Don't you just love those forums where no one talks about anything.

Hmmm, let's see, "Oh there's an interesting looking thread."

"Woops. Last post July 13..............2009."

Perhaps I'm a "pickle licker" too????

Now go find an older M8 4x28 long tube and you'll have the perfect outfit.

I DO like that idea!

Well, I'm a bit late to add my nudge, so I'll just say that I'm heading home with a freezer full of antelope meat provided by just such a rifle as you've purchased. Mine does wear an M8 6x36 though.

You'll like it a lot.

I read the ignorant, insecure nonsense you post and I've just got to wonder how socially inept you really are. Instead of asking substantive questions like what reloading tips you'd need to know, what the availability of components or loaded ammo is, what the accuracy reputation for this chambering has been in the No. 1 or a WHOLE myriad of useful and objective data, you ask for complete internet strangers to "sell" you on the 7x57mm.

You're either capable of making decisions for yourself or you're not. And right now it's looking like you're not.

Are you into Judy Garland and guys in tight leather pants?

BlkHawk73, don't think the 7x57 needs selling to those who understand it ... or to those who need to be sold. As any other cartridge if you use it well, you'll sell yourself on it.

Seemed to kill as well for Eleanor O'Connor as it did for the Spaniards on San Juan Hill and the Boers. Still seems to do so, as JB points out. The more things change they more they stay the same.

Unless it's a a J. Rigby 275 in a bolt, it's hard to get more classical than a Ruger No. 1 in 7x57.

Get a 280.

I like cases with long necks. My experiences with the "dreaded donut" in the .308 back in my HP silhouette days were more than enough to convince me that I didn't want bullet heels extending down below the neck into the shoulder area.

Paul

While I don't totally disagree with Wildcatter264, I'd suggest we should add it's hard to get more classical than a Ruger No. 1 RSI (Mannlicher-style stock) with a Kepplinger Single Set Trigger in 7x57R.

Now... THERE'S a true "classic"!~!~!


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

What's to "sell" Rebed the foreend and you will have a sub MOA rifle that's hotter than a 7mm08, light, fast handling and has class beyond belief.

My first centerfire was a pre 64 Win 70 in 30-06, on which I really learned to shoot and reload. Dad won it for me in a sales contest and it was a nice high school graduation present that summer of '63.

In my later years I have learned to appreciate the 6.5x55 Swedes, having collected a few and lucked into a nice little Ruger red pad 1-A in 7x57 that needed quite a bit of refinishing on the wood. It turned out to have very good wood under a totally clouded ruined factory finish. While not my most accurate rifle it is surely one of the nicest sporters to shoot I have. Another nice mild round is a 9.3x57 in a pretty Husqvarna M46 sporter.

Everything you said about those old Mauser cartridges is so true!