I am on a super tight budget but have the firm desire to convert my battery to several CZ 550 Americans. I have a super clean used 7x57 spotted but I may not be able to also get a rifle in my old standby 270Winnie due to budget constraints. Texas White Tails, hogs under 200-250lbs and all the hill country exotics I can find under 300 yards are 99% of my game shooting. Does any body think the 7x57 will have any collectors value? Is the 7x57 too close a duplication of the 270 performance wise? I am looking at a 3 maybe a 4 gun battery in CZ 550's of a 22-250, 7x57 or 270, a Tikka 695 300Wmg or converting a used CZ '06 I found, and a 9.3x62 for a poor mans DG gun. Forego the 22/250 and take both the 7 and the 270? What caliber/useage am I missing?
Ron

Loaded to modern pressures the 7x57 will push a 140 grain bullet nearly as fast as the 270... probably about 50 fps slower. There may be more difference as you go up in bullet weight.

If you're looking at resale value, the 270 is far more popular than the 7x57.

The 7x57 is a very underrated cartridge. It's an excellent all-around choice.

quote:

Does any body think the 7x57 will have any collectors value?

NO!

quote:

Is the 7x57 too close a duplication of the 270 performance wise?

YES!

The 7x57 has the collectors potentail of a Yugo. It is a fine round, but won't duplicate the .270 as far as velocity. But it will work fine for what you describe. It won't come within 50fps using the same pressure loads as a .270, that's for sure. I ahve found the 7x57 does not drop as many whitetails on the spot as a .270 will with a lung shot. THe extra velocity does show up there. IN real terms, they perfom the same on the game you mention.

Sounds like if I can get the 7x57 for cheap enough it would be a good platform for a 35 Whelan conversion!
Thanks guys your replys bear out my gut instincts but before I destroyed something that might have some collectors value in the future I thought I'd bounce the idea around with somebody out side Texas.
Ron

No choice, go for the 7X57, they don't import them any more. It's a classic, has the ballistics, and doesn't kick, but kills like crazy. I have one, accurate, and wouldn't sell it until the house goes on the auction block.

For goodnes sakes, go for the CZ 550 American in 7x57mm. Like the poster before me said, CZ dropped the 7x57mm from its lineup of calibers in the CZ 550 for reasons I still don't understand. They said it wasn't selling well. Call me crazy, but almost every time someone posts on one of these forums about the 7x57mm, just take a look at the number of posts. Oh well, maybe if they drop that old granddaddy of a caliber from its line up the CZ 3 in 7mm WSM will take off a lot better. I own a CZ 550 American in 7x57mm and it shoots my handloaded 160 grain class bullets in the 2,765 fps to 2,815 fps range with sub half minute of angle accuracy on a three-shot group. My brother owns one in the CZ 550 Full Stock version in 7x57mm and that too is one sweet little rifle, but CZ dropped the 7x57mm from that lineup long before the company dropped the 7x57mm from its CZ 550 American lineup. I have used the 7x57mm on everything from elk to coyote and have had absolutely no complaints with all the one-shot kills. The CZ 550 American in 7x57mm is a handloaders proposition becuase it seems to like the heavier bullets better, such as the 160 grainers and the 175 grain bullets. Naw, go for the CZ 550 American in 7x57mm and join the club. You will not be disappointed! Tom Purdom

quote:

It won't come within 50fps using the same pressure loads as a .270, that's for sure.

Yes it will. SAAMI standard speed for a 140 grain bullet is 2950 fps in a 270. Loaded to modern pressures, the 7x57 is capable of 2900 with the same weight bullet. The problem is that all the load data for the 7x57 is very anemic, and the cartridge is not traditionally loaded to its full safe potential. It has higher case capacity than the 7mm08, and is capable of higher speeds. Hodgdon lists 2868 fps for a 140 grain bullet in the 7mm08, and the 7x57 will beat that.

I just re-read your second post. Good Lord, don't garbage out a 7x57mm so you can make a .35 Whelan. You already said you are going to get a 9.3x62. Taking a CZ 550 American in 7x57mm and using the action for a 35 Wheland makes little or no sense at all. First, you don't see a lot of used CZ 550s on the used gunrack market and second, CZ has stopped producing the 7x57mm in its CZ 550 line. Like I said before, you stated you plan to get a 9.3x62 anyway one of these days which is a better round than the 35 Whelan, but to take that 7x57mm and trash it just makes no sense. Tom Purdom

I wondered where all the 7mauser guys were.
I got the 9.3 yesterday and am planning a road trip asap to go look at the two used 550's this dealer has. He also has an '06 American and I may be able to get them both but whole reason for the post was to see which was the one gun to get.
I was joking about the Whelan conversion but want a 300WMg in a 550 and WAS considering converting one or the other of these two. I found a 300 barrel to take the place of the '06's 1x12 twist...we'll see how tough the dealer is and what the guns look like.

If I get the 7x57 I'll probably use it to teach my wife to shoot...and create another monster...I taught her how to Striper fish with a top water and now she whips my butt regularly with the biggest fish in the boat!
Ron

WhelEn

HP S
My gunsmith pronounces it "WHEE lin" so I never know with his Red River accent just how to spell stuff! LOL!
Ron

Yes, I hear they speak Texan, not English, down there......

ALL of us speak Texan but some speak a local Red River dialect, a Hill Country German dialect, a Central Texas bohunk dialect, a distinct Latino "TexMex" dialect, a West Texas cowboy dialect, a Houston oil patch dialect, a Dallas dialect that is definitely not "Foat Wuth!" either! and a two different east Texas versions as well. 22 million Texans don't sound all alike and that for sure!
When 22 million people all try and sound alike it only happens in the upper midwest outside of Chicago...'cause at least in the 70's when I lived there they had a different sound from block to block in some neighborhoods!
It's closer from Texarkana to Chicago than it is to El Paso... so we cover lots of diversity in that 22 million people.
Ron