7x57

I've got a couple 7x57 M70 with 22",
One of these rifles, was my back up culling rifle.(NZ)
I've taken a slew of game, deer, Thar, pigs, goats, cattle, etc,
My load is 48 gr Imr 4381, 162 gr A-max, (Eldx). loaded long, std LR primer and Win or Rem brass.
It's been a sterling performer out to around 500m,
 
Thank you once again Gentlemen. I'm sorta thinking this may just be a slow barrel. Can't really ask for any better accuracy, it shoots all kinds of stuff under an inch, just doesn't want to make them go any speed so I guess I will be useing it for what it was intended, a relatively short range carry rifle.
 
Thank you once again Gentlemen. I'm sorta thinking this may just be a slow barrel. Can't really ask for any better accuracy, it shoots all kinds of stuff under an inch, just doesn't want to make them go any speed so I guess I will be useing it for what it was intended, a relatively short range carry rifle.

What are you calling relatively short range?? Most people aren't capable of making a kill shot on a Deer out past 300 meters, from a rested position. Mostly because they aren't familiar with the trajectories of their loads.

Your rifle, at the speeds you indicate will be just fine out beyond that, once you get familiar with the trajectory.
 
what primers are you using, out of curiosity? Maybe you just have soft primer cups.

cci lr Found some W760 am going to give that a try. And the relatively close range I was talking out to about the 250 mark. If I was going to get the 2800- 2900 some speak of with hunting rifles I would be comfortable out 400- 450 with a little practice time.
 
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cci lr Found some W760 am going to give that a try. And the relatively close range I was talking out to about the 250 mark. If I was going to get the 2800- 2900 some speak of with hunting rifles I would be comfortable out 400- 450 with a little practice time.

Personally, out past 300 meters I start to lose confidence in my ability to judge bullet drop, without a rangefinder to verify the distance. That's my personal limitation of course.

With 200 yard zero, that 140 grain bullet is appx 2 inches high at 100 yards, appx 8 inches low at 300 yards and 30 inches low at 400 yard and you can add another 10 inches of drop at 450 yards. Any mistakes, your fault, weather, cold, heat shimmer, cross/quartering wind or rain distortion at those extended ranges takes a lot of time and practice, with lots of notes and a rangefinder to get it all right.

Some of the new range finding scopes, with the red dot for elevation hold help a lot but they don't make any account for the other issues.

Good for you if you can do it. Some people can.

Try some MAGNUM primers. W760 can be difficult to get consistent burn rates with, just like most Ball powders.
 
You get close to the same velocity boost between 7x57 and say 7 rem mag that you would from say 308 to 300wm.

Perhaps this cartridge kills, often with the same projectiles as good as the magnums.....because.....lower recoil helps accuracy and bullet placement. The lower speed hits better terminal performance for those bullets. People understand the limitation of the cartridge and bear down on shot placement. Just spit balling.
 
My hunting rifle for the past 10 years or so has been a nicely sporterized Brazilian M1908 Mauser in 7X57.

I've never been able to achieve the MV's that others claim, nor even what is published, and I dont mind. As long as it's accurate (it is), I understand its limitations and shoot it with confidence.
 
My current rifle shoots, 139gr HDY SP's with 46.3gr i4350 into tiny groups of around a half inch but quite slow at 2650fps.

The same bullet but with 47gr H414/W760 shoots at 2800fps, groups open up a bit to 1.25 inches.

Out to 300meters, I doubt I'd miss anything with a 1.25" group at 100m, I can't shoot that well under field conditions anyway.

At the same time, I doubt that the 150fps I'm slower with the 4350 load will bounce of deer or cause me to miss out to 300m.

What I'm saying is, don't worry about tiny groups or getting super fast loads, get a load that shoots good enough and go hunt.
 
Good results with Re22. 2575 fps mv with 175gr SBT Sierra GameKing using Nosler data (20" barrel).

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/7x57mm-mauser/
 
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