Best Factory Ammo for 7x57 Mauser?

[Fatback]

I have a new to me 7x57 Mauser headed my way. Certainly didn’t need a new rifle but when a good deal comes along, in such a classic catridge, well, I sometimes can’t help myself.

I’ve never owned a rifle chambered in 7x57 and have no experience with it. I am not a hand loader, so I will need to acquire some factory offerings. I will mainly use it on whitetail deer and pigs here at home for the immediate future but I’m hopefully to use it on PG in Africa at some point.

What does the AH brain trust suggest as a good factory loading to try?

Thanks

 

[Mauser3000]

Hendershots custom ammo has a load with a 175 grain interlock round nose that is hard to beat in the 7x57.

 

[Redfishga1]

Hendershot 140 gr Barnes ttsx. Dead right there.

 

[rookhawk]

Custom ammo above is great. The Federal and S&B ammo is unremarkable. Either hand load or hire a custom loader.

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

Mine shoots the Norma factory ammo real well.

 

[Old3Toe]

Mine shoots the Norma factory ammo real well.

I only load my own 7x57, but I suspect Norma Factory is the way.

 

[roverandbrew]

150 Grain Norma Whitetail is great for the price.

 

[PerH]

Geco have several good

Brenneke

Hornady also

Now as PPU have export stop for the time being , one good source for 7mm is not available.

 

[UKHunter]

I use S&B in mine and nothing I have shot has gone far, including fallow and red deer.

7 × 57 – TXRG (V342132) – 150 GRS – Sellier & Bellot

www.sellier-bellot.cz

 

[Sika98k]

European loaded ammunition explores the full potential of a 7x57. American loaded ammunition is rather anemic comparatively speaking.

 

[skydiver386]

Right now Midway has Norma Whitetail ammo at $27.74 a box. Great ammo for a good price, and somebody somewhere is going to want that brass.

PPU brass and loaded ammo is plentiful in my neck of the woods, but if what others have said is true, that may dry up.

If you can find it, the Hornandy 7mm 139gr GMX load might be a good one to try to see if your rifle likes it.

 

[375Fox]

I’m not sure why Norma ammo has been so cheap for last 2 years, but I’ve found it really accurate in all my rifles and consistent from year to year.

 

[mdwest]

I’m not sure why Norma ammo has been so cheap for last 2 years, but I’ve found it really accurate in all my rifles and consistent from year to year.

I don’t own a 7x57 any longer.. but have bought a good bit of norms for other calibers over the last few years…. Accurate in every rifle I’ve fed it to.. very affordable for the quality… and the brass is extremely good IMO…

I buy it for range fodder when I see it cheap.. and then reload it with Barnes bullets… typically I can get the loaded Norma ammo for just pennies more than what the brass alone would cost..

Norma whitetail 150gr 308 ammo is $22 a box right now at midway…

 

[375Fox]

I don’t own a 7x57 any longer.. but have bought a good bit of norms for other calibers over the last few years…. Accurate in every rifle I’ve fed it to.. very affordable for the quality… and the brass is extremely good IMO…

I buy it for range fodder when I see it cheap.. and then reload it with Barnes bullets… typically I can get the loaded Norma ammo for just Pennie’s more than what the brass alone would cost..

Norma whitetail 150gr 308 ammo is $22 a box right now at midway…

Not 7x57, but this is 4 shots from 3 different boxes of ammo I bought over 2 years from Midway and Raven Rocks when I saw on sale. I’m really impressed by the consistency with Norma (even though I wish they made tougher bonded bullets).

 

[MS 9x56]

I really love the SPCE bullet performance on game from Sellier &Bellot. It is plenty game accurate in my M98.

 

[PARA45]

So, what rifle did you get? I'm guessing it's a lefty.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

Try the Norma Whitetail ammo. It shoots great in all our guns and you can't buy the brass at the price of this ammo on sale. I have killed several pigs with this ammo and all bullets exited with the pig dropping immediately or within 20 yards.

With the exception of the Hornady GMX ammo, all Hornady ammo I have tried has been inconsistent with OK for hunting accuracy at best. I did a lot of doe culling using the 7x57 GMX ammo. All game died but they ran or just walked around as if they had not been hit. Fortunately, easy to find on the wheat field. All bullets just zipped right through.

All the Nosler ammo is very accurate but pricey.

Safe hunting

 

[Ralph E. Parker]

I own two 7x57's. one is Rigby HS .275 Rigby (throated for 140 grains). Second is custom Argentine Mauser I purchased here on AH. I do not load my own ammo. My objective is to always (hopefully) be able to purchase readily available ammo that works well. After experiencing with several makes/wgts., I've settled on the following:

Rigby HS: Hornady .275 Rigby SP 140 grain (hard to find and pricey); Federal Power Shok SP 140 grain; or S&B SP 140 grain in that order. Both Hornady and Fed PS are MOA or better. S&B is for sure acceptable but not quite as consistently accurate as the other two. And, the price is right on both Fed PS and S&B and pretty easy to find.

Argentine Mauser: Federal Power Shok 173 Grain SP all the way. Sub MOA (if I do my part).

These are the makes that work for MY rifles. In my experience, I've found that each rifle has it's own "soul", even among rifles of same make and model. And again, I qualify my remarks to the fact that the ammo I use is what's readily available both locally and by what can be readily shipped.
As suggested above, I'd procure as many different makes of ammo as you can find and do some experimenting. You'll enjoy it and it will build confidence in whatever choice you make.

 

[Dirtdart]

If you run across any old stock of PPU 158 grain GROM don't hesitate to try it.
It is a shame the ATF banned the importation of that line of ammunition.

 

[odonata]

My "7x57" is a Ruger No. 1 RSI chambered in 275 Rigby. When the Rigby-branded ammo (aka Hornady 140gr InterLock SP) wasn't available, I was plinking at the rifle range using affordable S&B 140gr soft points with good results.

A few people above mentioned the Norma 150gr Whitetail load. I've had really good results shooting their ammo out of my 6.5x55 and 30-06 (taking two deer with it last year) so I wouldn't hesitate to give their 7x57 a try based on my previous experiences with their products.