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One more for the best seven.



Although the 7mm Rem. Mag. ties for first.

The 7 x 57 is one of the classic cartridges and is quite effective. If one likes the classics such as 30-06, 404 Jeffrey, 375 H&H, 300 H&H and others it should be in the gun cabinet. Its both a matter of needs and wants

I killed my first 4 lion as a 14 year old with a 7x57, My first elephant a few years later and alot of Eland (farm rations) inbetween. Confidence is the key. If you know something will work you worry less and shoot straighter. After that first Elephant I got an issue 9,3x62 and later my own. Likewise, it Always worked.

On the Buffalo culls every buff I hit needed no follow up.

Is their some 'magic' about the 7x57? Not really. Later I killed elephant and Buffalo with my Issue F.N. FAL (7,62 Nato). Where you noticed the difference was using 150grn bullets in the .308 vs the 173grn in the 7x57. Before bonded bullets, SD was critical even on soft Points. It is the same argument many use when comparing a .308 with 150grn Bullts vs a 30-06 with 180grn.

I Always had a Magazine full of ammo loaded with Hornady 220grn FMJ's and a mag loaded with Norma Plastic Point, an a few Woodleigh 200grn Softs in my pack.

No Elephant needed a second shot, the Woodleighs killed Buffalo just fine and the Plastic Point wouldn't exit on a human sized animal - ensuring no civilians were killed by shoot throughs. As an added advantage they wouldn't Bounce arround inside a Cave. If you Knew there were live bad things inside then the standard NATO ball was just the job with richochets everywhere, but when you had to creap in, you did't want to get hit my one of your own bullets bouncing back.

But back to the 7mm- one lioness out of that first pride I took out hit me at full charge- broke six ribs and sevear neck damage. My dad used an 8x57 with 227grn Softs and he never had bullet failure on lion ( we both had Kynock ammo).

When I was 40 I realised I hadn't fired the 7x57 in over twenty years and it Went as a birthday present.

For what I mostly hunt these Days my 9,3 is perhaps overkill and the 7x57 would be ideal...but I ain't going to change- I know that 9,3 too well.

Ganyana,
Do you still reside in Zim most of the time?

I know little about the caliber, but the fact he hasn't seen one from a client (especially from an American) doesn't surprise me much. In 24 years of guiding, I can't recall seeing more than one or two ever brought by clients, and I certainly don't own one.

Sounds like it worked great for her though?!?!? But I'm not surprised after hunting with her last fall.

Hi Lane

Not much. Always home for Christmas and all around Africa for work but seldom Zimbabwe. My Father left the ranch to one of my nephews and I am too old to be trying to buy quota off other operators or working as a freelance PH. The good outfits have their regulars so folk like me get on the 'b' list- the hard hunts in areas with Little game and the operator has offered the client a discount...and if there is no blood on the ground and Trophy in the salt by the end of the hunt the tip isn't going to be good - And I reconed about half my income came from the tips. A 100 Days of 'b' grade hunts a year - which many of my friends are on - I and I recon several of them are much better PH's than I - wouldn't pay high school fees for one kid let alone University and high school.

10 years ago, motormechanics were trying their hand at becomming PH's...now they are going back. When the economy was in freefall there were few better paid jobs than PH, now the economy has stabilised and real World economics taken hold, Zimbabwe is a very expensive country to live in.

The only hunts I have done in the last 4 years have been to Clean up a few cock ups my Nephew has made. He's Learning and won't need me, even in the background in a couple of years.

My first "real" rifle was a surplus M93 Mauser. Using corelokt 175 grain ammo I got my first deer, elk and a bunch of other stuff with it.

Does it do anthing better then what a .308 or similiar cartridge can do? Probably not, but then they can't do anything a 7X57 won't do either. It was just a cartridge that treated me well through the years.