reloading 7x57mm Mauser

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Ryfleman

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Looking to expand recipe list for 7 x 57mm Mauser. I have Nosler Number Three, Hodgson magazine 2012, and Lyman 49th manuals.
CCI-200 primers
Winchester brass
140 grn. to 175 flat base bullet, mfg. to be determined
Mauser 98 - 24 in bbl.

Any pet loads, suggestions?

Ryfleman
 
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IMR 4350, IMR 4831, Reloder 17, Reloder 19, H4350, W760 are all great in the 7x57
I have a new 140 Accubond load with RL 17 in my 7x57 that graphs 2880 fps and shoots around ¾" or less regularly.
Start at 46 grains and work up carefully.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
Andy said:
It's tough to beat H4350 with the 140's and H4831 with the heavier bullets.
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X2, + W760 or H414. I'm hesitant to recommend specific loads because what's safe in my rifle might not be in yours. My particular rifle has a 1:10 twist and a fairly long throat which amounts to a good deal of freebore, so I'm able to load beyond book maximum. Velocities are approaching what you would expect from factory .270 ammo.
 
9.3mauser said:
X2, + W760 or H414. I'm hesitant to recommend specific loads because what's safe in my rifle might not be in yours. My particular rifle has a 1:10 twist and a fairly long throat which amounts to a good deal of freebore, so I'm able to load beyond book maximum. Velocities are approaching what you would expect from factory .270 ammo.
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The gun in 7X57 that I shoot the most is my hunting rig - a sportered M1908 Brazilian Mauser. It has a long throat, suited best to long RN bullets, so I use the Hornady 175gr RN at 3.150". This has the base of the bullet at the shoulder-neck juncture. Brass capacity can vary by 3 grs, with Winchester having the highest capacity, with only PRVI with a bit more (about one grain more). I have found recent Win 7X57 brass to be poor in quality (loose primer pockets with new brass), so I use PRVI 8X57 sized down. This allows max room for powder, so I can use 50+ grs of H4831, and more of slower powders like R22, H1000, etc. I have a thread in this forum about my results.
 
purple said:
I've done a lot of reloading for three 7x57s using 139/140/150gr bullets. Always had good results with IMR4350, IMR4320, W760, and H414. A 140gr bullet@ 2800fps is a great deer load.
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With a 140 Partition, 139 Interbond, 139 GMX or 140 TTSX, it also kills Moose quite nicely, thank you. :D
Regards, Eagleye
 
51gr of reloder 19 with the 140gr barnes TSX bullet groups a clover leaf with my hb custom 7x57. She's a little hard to carry, but shoots so well. FS
 
Andy said:
M1908 Brazilian Mauser, long throat, Hornady 175gr RN at 3.150". Base of bullet at the shoulder-neck juncture. Brass capacity can vary by 3 to 4 grs, with Winchester & PRVI having the highest capacity.
Recent Win 7x57 brass has been poor quality (loose primer pockets with new brass), so I use PRVI 8X57 sized down.

I have a thread in this forum about my results.
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What search term would I look under to find your thread?

Looks like I will be using Norma Berdan primed, once fired brass. These cases are supposedly full volume; and I have a source of Berdan primers. Hoping to try out this combination within a couple of weeks. Local weather has been extremelly humid and hot - sort of dicurages outdoor activities.
 
Ryfleman said:
What search term would I look under to find your thread?

Looks like I will be using Norma Berdan primed, once fired brass. These cases are supposedly full volume; and I have a source of Berdan primers. Hoping to try out this combination within a couple of weeks. Local weather has been extremelly humid and hot - sort of dicurages outdoor activities.
Click to expand...

Here it is: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=687427
 
As Andy implied, most military Mausers have a long throat to accommodate the 175-grain roundnose. This bullet should always work well in these rifles, even if velocities are not lightning fast by today's standards. These days, this is the only bullet I use in my Mauser (and I'm not particularly concerned about long range potential or velocity because I can use one of my hot-loaded .30-06s or .300 Win Mags if I need speed and power).

In my Brazilian 98 carbine, I push a stout charge of WC 852, which is similar or identical to the old H450, behind a 175 grain Hornady Roundnose, ignited by a magnum primer. This load really maximizes the power potential of this old cartridge and it breaks 2,400 feet per second out of my short barrel. I'm confident it would approach 2,550 out of a 24-inch barrel. You can't buy WC852 powder anymore, but it is in the same ballpark as H4831, Reloder 22, N560, etc. Your best option would be to try one of those powders with that bullet and do really well, in my opinion.

Another load that seems to work well is a 140-grain bullet pushed by a stout charge of IMR 4350. As others have said, this load is accurate and versatile. Ballistically, it seems similar to a .30-06 pushing a 165-grain bullet, which is near ideal, in my opinion.

These are classic loads, and there are many others for this cartridge.
 
I have to agree with most everyone else. I have tried both IMR 4350 and W760. I like 47 grains of IMR 4350 and the 140 grain Nosler Accubond but my gun is a modern action so work up your own load. I am also looking for something a little different.

I have found the RL powders to be temperature sensitive so I stopped using them but I am interested in IMR 4831 or H4831 ?
 
Here's a good article on the 7X57 from Handloader Magazine. They post extracts from each monthly edition, and happened to choose this article.

http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/hl252partial.pdf


"Serious" Reloaders should subscribe, as should less serious reloaders. Each edition has articles on powders and loads, and usually an article of general interest to reloaders. For example, the myth that "slow powders require long barrels" and associated with that, that "overbore cartridges require long barrels" was recently debunked (again). It will never die, but we can try.
 
My first rifle was a 7x57, and long ago my first moose was a cow running through the timber at about 165 yards. I was already a reloader and was using 175 grain hornady spitzers. Probably 2300 fps. I shot through one shoulder and broke a rib going out. Th moose flipped end over end and was dead as a stone when I got to it (in about 30 seconds I was excited). It was easy to shoot, and every moose I got with it were one shot moose. When I went to larger cartridges I started to need more shots. The modest cartridges do very well.
 
RE: reloading the 7x57mm Mauser

I hardly ever purchase Handloader or Rifle magazine anymore as I find them full of a lot
of half-truths and general poorly researched information and/or exaggeration. Read P.O. Ackley's books, and articales from Precision Shooting magazine to find more reliable information.

The 7 x 57 Mauser can be reloaded quite safely to modern pressures, say 52,000 psi, in strong actions such as later production Mauser 98's or Ruger single shots, or modern bolt-actions. Not sure if the Savage 99 will accept the 57 mm cartridge but the action handles the Winchester 284/Winchester 358, both high pressure cartriges.

Where one needs to tread carefully is with the older Mauser 98's manufactured prior to 1925or there abouts, these recievers were case hardened only, the core metal of the reciever being soft. The reciever will slowly take a permanent stretch if hot loads are used.

I do agree that many of the "modest" cartidges such as the 7x57, 8x57 and 303 British remain very effective killers. I suspect this may be due as much to older hunters using these rifles, getting close
and placing their shots, and using round nose bullets, as much as anything else.

Super magnums have two basic problems in my opinion: 1/ tough (to stand high rotational speeds of high velocity), spitzer bullets which tent to go through the animal without expanding. 2/ hunters believe the press that these cartriges will kill instantly no matter where they hit the animal, so they get lazy at placing their shot, or take the shot at ranges beyond their ability to reliably hit. Many hunters have serios problems hitting a pie plate at 150 yards, never mind the 300 yards plus that some magazine writers allude to.
 
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