Not bad for a German in 1888

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.92x57mm_Mauser

I like the caliber myself...but like to use the
8x64S instead.

My vote for the best medium bore ever is the original-7x57.IMO the best ever period!!!!

No, but it was a world beater in its day. I might pop a deer again sometime with my old one.

No...the .308 Winchester is!

It's not bad but I put the 9.3X62, 30-06 and .308 ahead of it.

If it isn't, it has got to be runner up. Considering that it came about when gas lighting was still popular, newfangled gunpowder was vied with suspicion and bullets still wore a round nose, the fact that it's still here speaks volumes. Almost all of its successors borrowed ideas from it proving they got it right the first time.

I really like al three of my 8x57's but I'm not sure if I would call any of them the best mediam bore ever. I have a lot of other cals I use a lot.

Oh heck I dont know Calibers but I do know wrenches and I know a 9/16th is absoloutly the best medium size wrench. No one can argue that.

12mm is better!

I would think it'd be among the best.

the absolute best?? Maybe not . But in the lower 48 it'll do the job if the one pulling the trigger does his or her part. After 120 years that ain't all bad. roger

Uhhh - too difficult a question. Thinking about that too much could cause brain lockup.

Easier to answer by saying - medium bore - If one has a 7x57, and a 8x57, and a 9.3x62, then certainly he would have the best medium bore ever. If medium bore includes 6.5mm, then I would certainly include the 6.5x55 in the mix.

The reason I say all that is because the 6.5 & 7mm are the best for deer, etc. IMO, and the 9.3mm best for bear and moose, and elk, and such, and the 8x57 would work for all, but more than enough for deer, and a little light for bear. But if I could have only one, I could be very statisfied with a 8x57.

Another .02 cents afterthought = as much as I like the 7x57, lately I've become acquainted with a nice shooting CZ 550 in 7x64, which I like just as much as the 7x57. Notice that I'm not yet willing to say I like it more, but I like it equal to the 7x57, at least for now.

Also, I like the 8x57 so much that I had a custom barrel put on a CZ 550 in 8x57, and it is a very good shooting rifle. I tried some 220gr bullets in it about a week ago with close to max H4895, and the four shot group was under an inch at 100 yds. It shoots 175 gr Sierras, 195 gr Hornadys, and the 220 gr about equal accuracy. I have lots of other bullets to try, such as the 180 gr ballistic tips, 200 gr accubonds, 200 gr Speer, 220 gr Swift, 200 gr Lapua, etc, etc, but I feel pretty confident that it will be excellent with them all. The CZ 550 is offered in Europe chambered in 8x57, but they don't import it to the US. Too bad.

KB

'The Best' would be debatable till the cows come home, but I will say that because of the nice old 8x57 Mauser I now have; I no longer own a .30-06.
Elmer Keith said about it in his book 'Rifles for Large Game', that the 8x57 was a better killer on large game then any bullet from a .30-06. because of the larger bullet diameter. He liked the 236 grain bullet of that time, in the 8mm.
Id say the 8mm is pretty damn good!

I can't decide between the 30-06 and the 8x57JS. I own both. They're about equal - and very little tops them. They get there the bestest with the mostest!

quote:

Originally posted by Kabluewy:
Uhhh - too difficult a question.

Easier to answer by saying - medium bore - If one has a 7x57, and a 8x57, and a 9.3x62, then certainly he would have the best medium bore ever. If medium bore includes 6.5mm, then I would certainly include the 6.5x55 in the mix.

The reason I say all that is because the 6.5 & 7mm are the best for deer, etc. IMO, and the 9.3mm best for bear and moose, and elk, and such, and the 8x57 would work for all, but more than enough for deer, and a little light for bear. But if I could have only one, I could be very statisfied with a 8x57.

Another .02 cents afterthought = as much as I like the 7x57, lately I've become acquainted with a nice shooting CZ 550 in 7x64, which I like just as much as the 7x57. Notice that I'm not yet willing to say I like it more, but I like it equal to the 7x57, at least for now.

Also, I like the 8x57 so much that I had a custom barrel put on a CZ 550 in 8x57, and it is a very good shooting rifle. I tried some 220gr bullets in it about a week ago with close to max H4895, and the four shot group was under an inch at 100 yds. It shoots 175 gr Sierras, 195 gr Hornadys, and the 220 gr about equal accuracy. I have lots of other bullets to try, such as the 180 gr ballistic tips, 200 gr accubonds, 200 gr Speer, 220 gr Swift, 200 gr Lapua, etc, etc, but I feel pretty confident that it will be excellent with them all. The CZ 550 is offered in Europe chambered in 8x57, but they don't import it to the US. Too bad.

KB

well said! my favorite cartridge of all time, while i think that a 338 winchester has more reach, bigger frontal area, heavier bullet,etc, i think the 8x57 is an all around medium bore rifle that anyone can handle and learn to shoot accurately. cant say that younger people and women can do the same with something bigger.

Well you all missed the correct answer of a 35 Whelen in a 1 in 12 twist

Good thread!

While I have never hunted with the 8mm Mauser, I use an almost identical 8,2x53R caliber.
Also I have had the pleasure of shooting the 8mm on the range. Pleasure, I say; for it sure was! It was a slightly modified M98 and I shot Sellier & Bellot 200gr hunting ammo, but the recoil was so mild I could hardly believe it was anything but a .22!
In my experience, the .30-06 kicks surprisingly sharply and that's why I was so surprised about the 8mm's mild recoil.

The .30-06 (or it's more modern brethren the .308) are probably the closest competitors. It's interesting to note that the 200grs 8mm has a tad more diameter, and a tad more weight; whereas the 180grs .30cal has a tad better SD and slightly more velocity. Makes it kinda difficult to compare! I'd tend to agree with Boddington on this one: the result on game is about a draw.
If handloaded, the 8mm will gain about the same velocity as the .30-06 so even on longer range I'd say they're about equal.

I have never heard anyone complain about the 8mm's killing abilities. Au contraire, e.g. Taylor called it "an infinitely better killer than the .303".
In those days, the 220grs to 236grs bullets were the order of the day; today the 200grs seems to be the stand-by. It's fairly difficult to find 220grs bullets. Sierra makes them, however. I believe (note: "believe" - I'm not calling myself knowledgeable in this!) that the bullet development has somewhat diminished the benefits of the heavier bullets. For sure, from a ballistic perspective, the heavier bullets still have the edge over similar lighter ones; but I believe that today's 200grs bullet in the 8mm will do what the 220grs of yesteryear did.
We had a discussion about this on the NitroExpress.com forum, and most seemed to agree with this view.

For this season, I loaded 4 different bullets in two weights (200 and 220grs), but I have had very little luck in my hunting so I cannot intelligently speak about the merits of one against the other.
But I'll continue next season for sure!

As closing comment I'd like to opine that the 9,3x62 is in an upper power league in comparison. Whether it's medium still, or does it qualify as "big" or "heavy" is debatable but for sure it has quite a bit more punch than e.g. the 8mm or the .30-06. Which does not make it bad at all!

- Lars/Finland

I believe so. I am thinking I may use this Walther 8x57 on a hog hunt next month.



Here it is next to its little brother 7x57.

Actually, I think the 8x60 is the perfect medium bore. The 8x57 is a wonderful cartridge, but it doesn't take full advantage of a standard Mauser action (It fits nicely in an intermediate action, though).

For the record, I think the 7x64 is the perfect small bore.

perhaps not the best, but certainly in the group that is best of class

Kurt,
I've spent this last hunting season with a 7x64 .. and i agree

If you want to fill-up a Mauser action you can go to the 8x64s. The 7x64's older big brother.

It tickles me how there is all the hoopla about the 338 Federal & it is not any better than a good adult loaded 8 X 57. 200 gr bullet @ 2700 ish fps.

Load the 8X57 to 338 Federal pressure & I don't think the 338 Federal would even keep up.

A 200 gr .323 has better BC & SD than a 200 gr .338 & I don't see a 308 length (2.8") cartridge digesting anything heavier in a .338 pill while still maintaining suficient case volume..

quote:

Originally posted by byf42:
[on 8x57]
well said! my favorite cartridge of all time, while i think that a 338 winchester has more reach, bigger frontal area, heavier bullet,etc, i think the 8x57 is an all around medium bore rifle that anyone can handle and learn to shoot accurately. cant say that younger people and women can do the same with something bigger.

It seems to me that you've just endorsed the 338WM as tops. A lot of people in Africa, Alaska, and the 'West lower 48' love them.

While I've used an 8x57, my wife shoots our 338WM, so recoil really shouldn't be a decisive part of the discussion.

PS: were I to limit myself to 8mm, then I think the new 8mm short magnum (AKA 325 WSM) would win out. See the review by RealGuns.

The 8mmRemMag would be better, but it is difficult for a longer-action to become popular, so that it couldn't displace the 338WM back in the 70-80's.

Which brings us back to the 338WM. There is something nicely 'balanced' about the 338WM cartridge. Nice shove, reliable results, balanced powder/bore/energy usage.

Now with 185 TTSX bullets from Barnes you can have a 3100fps authoritative elk round, but you'll want the great penetration of the 225 TTSX in big bear country, backed up by the 250 flatnose solid for a parting insurance shot.

i am big fan of the speer 200 grainer in 8x57 and of the 200 grain sierra boat tailed soft point in 7.62x54r on medium game

I think, I put it in the top five....
You should all own a...
.223
6.5x55
.30-06
8x57
.338 Win Mag

I have a couple in this pile...

I'm rather fond of the 8mm Mauser, too.
I've got a .257 Roberts, .275 Rigby (7mm Mauser), 8mm Mauser, and a 9.3x62 Mauser. And just started building a 6.5x55 Swede.
I've also a .25-06, .270 Win and a .30-06.
I think I've got the mid-bores covered.
I'm really fond of cartridges that have been around longer than I have.

I love the 8mm Mauser because it is so easy to rechamber into a 8mm-06.

NO!

definetly one of em, Im kinda partial to mine with a 195 grain hornady at 2650

Love the cartridge, although it is an un-American cartridge.
But as of late, I'm no longer sure just what 'American' is anymore!