New Model 70 7x57 need some recommendation!

[PHOENIX PHIL]

frog,

Pic is of 140gr North Fork Bonded Cores with 47.5gr of IMR4350. COAL set at 3.095", 0.03" longer than SAAMI. Norma Brass, CCI BR-2 primers. I didn't bring the chrony with me, but guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 2700fps. No pressure signs, will work up from here when I get to the range next time. But I think I can go from here. The younger son shot some similar "left over" rounds from previous range trip, shot to virtually same POI.

 

[frog stealer]

Phoenix, not bad. Assuming those are 1" squares, that looks like a really good group. What distance were these groups shot at? What rifle was this? And I'm assuming 75.5 gr. is a typo if this is your 7x57.

 

[sestoppelman]

Phoenix, not bad. Assuming those are 1" squares, that looks like a really good group. What distance were these groups shot at? What rifle was this? And I'm assuming 75.5 gr. is a typo if this is your 7x57.

Yeah, I didnt know you could get that much 4350 into that case!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Phoenix, not bad. Assuming those are 1" squares, that looks like a really good group. What distance were these groups shot at? What rifle was this? And I'm assuming 75.5 gr. is a typo if this is your 7x57.

Holy cow I must be tired, 47.5gr of IMR4350. 1" squares and distance was 100 yards. M70 FW that's gone through a little work... bedding, trigger.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Yeah, I didnt know you could get that much 4350 into that case!

Not sure you could get that much in a 7mm Mag. Cut me some slack gents, was up at 3:30am to take mom to the airport.

 

[frog stealer]

Haha, no problem Phoenix, nice shooting! Tough crowd here on a Sunday night...

 

[35bore]

Holy cow I must be tired, 47.5gr of IMR4350. 1" squares and distance was 100 yards. M70 FW that's gone through a little work... bedding, trigger.

You're going to try and convince this crowd you achieved that kind of accuracy, with a M70??? Come on Phil, no one's buying into that....

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

You're going to try and convince this crowd you achieved that kind of accuracy, with a M70??? Come on Phil, no one's buying into that....

And I think I can still do better.....:thumb:

 

[Velo Dog]

Hello Frogstealer,

A friend's wife shoots nothing but a Kimber bolt action / Zeiss 4x scope, in 7mm-08 (nearly identical down range ballistics to the 7x57), with handloaded 160 grain Oryx bullets.

So far, she has only hunted in Africa but, she has an impressive string of one shot bags with that bullet, including some larger species.

Seems like the velocity for her 160 gr load was around 2600 fps but I don't remember exactly.

Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Frog,

Well it's been more than 2 months since I last hit the range and I lost the spring. I made it there this weekend with the same 47.5gr of IMR4350 load behind a 140gr North Fork Bonded Core. The group opened up a bit to just over an inch. That's not altogether unexpected. I've found that IMR4350 gets a bit squirrely when the temp is 90 plus which it was by midmorning when I was there. Nice velocity averaging 2810fps +/- 5 or 6 fps. I may be getting a few extra fps due to the temp too.

So, I'm declaring load dev't for this rifles trip to Africa next year complete. This will be my then 12 year old son's rifle.

 

[bassasdaindia]

although I don't own a 7x57 ( and regret not owning one ) it is a great African caliber

good luck .

 

[Steve Steyr]

My Winchester Model 70 Lightweight loves PMC 175 grainers and S&B 173 grainers. PMC shoots .34" to .78", S&B shoots .66 to .89". Prvi and Winchester 175 grainers mostly shoot 1.2" to 1.6". No idea why the difference.
The M70 has a long throat so I can seat bullets farther out and gain a little case capacity. I haven't even measured the twist but assume it slow, hence the love of 175 grainers.
For reloading, I have a lot of 140 grainers in various brands and quite a lot of H-414 and WW-760. I have found in three 7x57's I have owned, there was always a narrow band of <1.0" accuracy with H-414/WW-760. With my Ruger 77, it was exactly 48 grains with either 140 grain Sierra Game Kings or 140 grain Nosler Partitions. Not 48.5 grains, not 47.5 grains, but 48 grains (2786 fps).
In recent testing with my Winchester Model 70 using H-414 and 140 grain Sierra Game Kings, I started at 48 grains and went up in .5 grain increments. 50 grains was the "sweet spot" and the five shot group at that level was .88" at 2920 fps. I ran out of ammo at that point but will load more at 50, 50.5, and 51 grains to verify the accuracy level. I have fired the rifle at 51 grains/H-414 over a chronograph and recorded 2993 fps so I will use that as max max. At that level there was no great case expansion, no sticky bolt lift, no expanded primer pockets, and the cases have been through several reloading since.
I have also had good luck with Norma 204 powder. In my W-W cases, there is no way to get in 51 grains of any of the 4350's under any of my 140 grain bullets without a lot of compression. However with slower burning N-204, with its small kernels and a very high specific density, 51 grains goes in easily and I have gone up to 53.5 grains for 2970 fps and groups of, more or less, 1.0".
A lot of folks have been touting Reloader 17, which is small grained and has a burning rate close to the 4350's, for their 7x57's. I have a pound but haven't had time to do any testing.
Hope this helps. As usual, this is a report of MY RIFLE ONLY and I make no recommendations that anyone else use these loads in their rifles.

 

[jeffpg]

I'll be going on a 2 week hunt in South Africa in early August and although I hope to have my bow sent there I also intend to shoot some plains game with the PH's 7x57. He is loading some 130 grain Peregrine bullets for it and we are hoping that they will group in his rifle. If they do and we get to test them, I will come back here to let ya know how they perform. I'm not intending to shoot anything very big with them, but ya never know what may happen.

I'll keep ya posted.

 

[vette447]

I have a really nice African style (nice wood, banded front sight, quarter rib w/ folding rear sight, detachable scope mount) custom 7x57 built on an Argentine Mauser action that I am planning to take to S African in October. The Species on the menu that this rifle would be used for would include Hyena, Gemsbok, Sable, and Nyala for the larger animals. Is the 7x57 enough for these sized animals? The only thing I have killed with this rifle so far is a nice whitetail deer (buck).

Also, I am not currently setup to handload. What is the best available hunting load in 7x57 Mauser (in the US)? I think I would most prefer Hornady 139 gr Superformance GMX but they are evidenly not loading that ammo at the current time. Is the SST Hornady bullet tough enough for these game animals? That is what I used on the Whitetail and it dropped in it's tracks but the bullet did come apart and did not go all the way through which has me concerned about durability in Africa antelope.

Thanks for any info. I am not trying to hijack the Win M70 FW thread (great rifles BTW) but I thought I would try posting here first since there seems to be more than a few 7x57 fans that have contributed here.

 

[frog stealer]

vette447,



No problem with hijacking this thread…it’s old, and needs some refreshing anyways! In response to your 7x57 being large enough, I offer the following based on my limited (but real) experience hunting in Africa:



I used my 7x57 with 140 gr. barnes TSX (available as a barnes factory load) for my impala, duiker, and kudu. The impala and duiker went right down at the shot, or travelled only a few yards. The kudu, which is similar in size (if not larger) than the species you are after, took three shots from my rifle, none of which were ideal, but all penetrated the animal broadside, and he went down within a few yards. All shots were from about 200 yards away.



That being said, my rifle prefers the heaviest of bullets when talking about accuracy, so the next hunting trip I take the 7x57 on, will probably be with the hornady 175 gr. RN.



I’ve uploaded pics of all the animals I took on my safari in May of this year if you care to take a look.



Hope this helps!

 

[vette447]

Thanks for letting me crash your thread.

Does anyone have any expereince hunting with the Sellier & Bellot 173 gr Soft Point Cutting Edge bullet? I was thinking about playing with some of this ammunition too. Seems like the heavier bullets are supposed to shine in the 7x57 from what I have read (depending on throat length).

 

[enysse]

Thanks for letting me crash your thread.

Does anyone have any expereince hunting with the Sellier & Bellot 173 gr Soft Point Cutting Edge bullet? I was thinking about playing with some of this ammunition too. Seems like the heavier bullets are supposed to shine in the 7x57 from what I have read (depending on throat length).

I have been wondering about their performance myself. I know they are cheap, but how do they perform?

 

[benchracer]

I haven't actually taken game with the 173 grain SPCE from S&B, but it has shot accurately in three different 7x57's that I have personally observed. A friend of mine took a very nice whitetail buck in the Kentucky woods using this load. No bullet was recovered, but the kill was clean with very little meat damage. Given its modest velocity, I would expect this bullet to perform very well. The only downside to it that I have seen is that it tends to fall out of the air after about 200 yards.

Where factory ammo for the mauser cartridges is concerned, I think it's best to avoid U.S. manufacturers. It is not easy to find, but I think it would be worth the effort to get your hands on the Norma 156 grain Oryx load. You may have to mail order it and pay a hazmat fee to get it, but I doubt you will find a better 7x57 factory load for hunting in Africa. For stateside use on whitetail, I don't think the 139 grain Prvi soft point load can be beat.

Really, though, the 7x57 is a handloader's cartridge. Ultimately, it does its best work with a good handload.

 

[matt85]

i used to have a Winchester M70 in 7x57 and my go-to load was a Hornady 175gr RNSP over 48.5gr of IMR 7828 with a light crimp. my brass was PPU brass and Federal 215 primers. this combination was easily sub MOA and served me very well while I owned that rifle. (disclaimer: this load was safe in my rifle, use at your own risk)

I still have a ton of reloading supplies for the 7x57 cartridge and you can contact me via private message if your interesting.

-matt

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Have used my FN 7x57 to shoot a number of plains game such as Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Kudu and most recently a massive 28 inch plus Waterbuck. All one shot kills.

My rifle likes heavy bullets and I shoot 175gr Hornady Interlock RN bullets at just over 2500 fps. This load is gentle on the shoulder and deadly at the distances one shoots at in the bush

You should be ok with a heavier projectile and of course correct shot placement