7x57 Ammunition

[Donnachaidh]

I have a 7x57 which I am considering taking as a backup rifle on a plains game hunt in Namibia. It's twist rate means that it is more accurate with lighter bullets (I'm currently using Federal Powershock 140 grain) rather than anything heavier (including Norma Oryx 156 grain).
I would like to get some custom loads, probably with Barnes TTSX, but any recommendations on bullet weight would be appreciated.

 

[Red Leg]

156 gr Oryx is a superb bullet. Have you actually tried it in your rifle? My Rigby .275 is MOA to sub MOA with 140 - 170 gr bullets. I also have a petit custom 7x57, and it handles 140 - 156 gr loads with equal accuracy.

 

[browningbbr]

I suggest the Barnes 140gn TSX. My wife uses this bullet in her 7mm and it has performed very well on warthog, springbok and pronghorn. I recovered the bullet from the pronghorn (Texas heart shot) and it weighed back at 140gn after cleaning.

 

[Donnachaidh]

My rifle has a 1 in 10 twist, and Norma Oryx wouldn't group anything like as well as the Federal's when I tried a box at the range.

 

[ChrisG]

My rifle has a 1 in 10 twist, and Norma Oryx wouldn't group anything like as well as the Federal's when I tried a box at the range.

I would say anything 120 grain and up... a 140 grain TTSX is going to be just as long as a 156 grain onyx if not longer. 1-10" twist should stabilize the trap. You're right though, a Mauser built for long bullets would be a 1-9" or less. Military Mauser's were optimized for 175 grain and had a 1-8.66" twist.

 

[mdwest]

You're right though, a Mauser built for long bullets would be a 1-9" or less. Military Mauser's were optimized for 175 grain and had a 1-8.66" twist.

Im building a 7x57 currently, using a small ring mauser action and a 1:9.5" twist green mountain barrel..

I've had good success loading 150gr tsx for my 7mm WSM.. and am hopeful that the 7x57 will like the 150gr barnes too (it would keep things simple)..

If the 150's dont work out my next plan was to try the 175's and see how they shoot.. although I think they might be a bit long in a tsx for the 1:9.5 twist..

 

[ChrisG]

Im building a 7x57 currently, using a small ring mauser action and a 1:9.5" twist green mountain barrel..

I've had good success loading 150gr tsx for my 7mm WSM.. and am hopeful that the 7x57 will like the 150gr barnes too (it would keep things simple)..

If the 150's dont work out my next plan was to try the 175's and see how they shoot.. although I think they might be a bit long in a tsx for the 1:9.5 twist..

The only way to really find out is to try it!!... and then tell us about your results!

 

[BenKK]

We killed a couple dozen buffalo plus boars, wild dogs and feral donkeys all with 175 grain Woodleigh PPSNs.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

My son has a 7x57. I loaded him 140gr North Fork bonded cores. His most impressive shot was on a quartering frontal shot. Bullet went thru the thick part of the left shoulder, passed across the top of the heart severing all of the blood vessels and came to rest at the back of the right shoulder. Bullet was a perfect mushroom and maybe lost 0.5gr of weight.

Zebra dropped at the shot and would never have moved if it wasn't for the JRT that was on back sided almost immediately. The stallion got up and went 20 yards and dropped dead.

Not bad performance for the little 7. He also knocked down a very nice nyala bull with that rifle.

 

[Aaron N]

What factory loads are you guys shooting? I can’t find any oxyx offerings north of the 49th.
I’m leaning towards S&B 173gr or federal 175gr.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

My 7x57mm (a Churchill Gunmakers Model Deluxe built on a Yugoslavian military surplus Mauser 98 action) has a long throat and stabilizes the 160-175Gr bullets very well.

I formerly used to employ the now discontinued Winchester Super x 175Gr cup & core soft nosed factory loads, which achieved 2440fps over the chronograph. The Royal Bengal tiger, the impala and the wildebeest pictured above, were each taken with a single single shot by using this ammunition. The impala folded within a few seconds, but the wildebeest and the tiger needed to be followed up for a while (three hours in the case of the tiger) although they were both found dead. This ammunition is capable of breaking the scapula of a wildebeest and a large male tiger, before mushrooming perfectly inside one of the lungs. But the ammunition is capable of neither penetrating into the heart, nor reaching the other lung (as necessary for a double lung shot) of either of the aforementioned game (when broadside shots are taken). But they worked well for Axis deer, waterbuck, zebra, impala, sable, whitetail, mule deer, red deer, roe deer, muntjac and hog deer.

I currently use 175Gr Nosler Partitions factory loaded by Sellier & Bellot to achieve 2408fps. Among other game, they were used to take a magnificent pair of gemsbok. Both were one shot affairs to the heart-lung region.

 

[sestoppelman]

I have a 7x57 which I am considering taking as a backup rifle on a plains game hunt in Namibia. It's twist rate means that it is more accurate with lighter bullets (I'm currently using Federal Powershock 140 grain) rather than anything heavier (including Norma Oryx 156 grain).
I would like to get some custom loads, probably with Barnes TTSX, but any recommendations on bullet weight would be appreciated.

What rifle do you have that has a 1-10 twist? Most are 9 or less.

 

[mdwest]

Green Mountain made a barrel that midway sold for a few years, short chambered 7x57 for small ring mausers, that was 1:9.5” twist…

Not sure about a 1:10…

 

[TroyF]

How's the new s&b 7x57 I never minded the ammo but the brass does not fit a normal shellholder so I don't use it. I like the ppu for the brass and tho the load is slow out to 250 if fine for deer. Believe the s&b ammo is loaded a bit hotter, I may try some since there's a bunch local and I'm about out of lrp to reload. My current batch of brass is about do to be replaced.

 

[igotit]

In my two 7x57 I use mostly my reloads. But of all the factory options I would use, depending on the game to be hunted, first: RWS 173 H-Mantle or Norma Orix 156 grs, and for general practice and also very good for hunting the Winchester Power Points 145 grs. Very accurate and a very good bullet also!