7x57, 7x64, .280 & to a lesser extent the 7-08 are all pretty much in the same catagory. Great rounds for med. size big game. They can be made into very light moutnain rifles w/o beating the crap out of the shooter. Welcome to the 7mm club.

One of the first rifles to leave for a hunt is an Interarms Mark X 24" barreled rifle with B&C black stock that shoots Hornady 140gr. Light Magnums so well I don't even bother reloading for it! Low recoil & great accuracy. Certainly one of my favorites.
Joe
in Houston
Always Looking for BSA Lee Speed commercial sporters

Good show Terry! Been a fan of the 7mm Mauser for about 20 years and just got my second one this summer, a M.98 Mauser sporter. It will accompany me on an elk hunt this fall loaded with 150 grain Nosler Partitions and IMR-4350.Ohh that's one accurate load, but actually I haven't found a load yet that doesn't shoot well!-JDL

I'm just starting my affair with the 7x57 and haven't hunted with it yet. Muley season for me starts in mid-November so hopefully I'll have a small amount of experience with it after that. Mine is a CZ550 with NECG iron sights added and an acrabond stock. It shoots factory S&B 173 grainers into .75" to 1" off the bench depending on if I've been shooting any of my over 40's before I pick up the 7mm. I've always been a 270 fan but this one is gonna be right up there with it!

I'll go along with the rest of you here. My 7x57 (275 Rigby actually)is my main gun now. It's a VZ24 action, Douglas 24" barrel in a synthetic stock. I have been shooting the S&B 173gr. SPCE load which only shoots about 1-1.25" in my gun but it has very taken Axis, Dall sheep and a large Sika so far. I've been working on handloads for it this year using the Hronady 154 gr. Interlock and will be using that this winter.

Terry: My CZ 550 American is going on a cow elk hunt at the end of October. It has been mule deer hunting, whitetail deer hunting, antelope hunting, wild hog hunting, coyote hunting all with 160 grain to 162 grain bullets backed by H414 powder in Remington Cases and Federal 210 primers. It is one amazing little rifle. I refinished the stock with GB Lindspeed Oil, glass bedded the action and the first inch and one-halof of the barrel chamber area, had a gunsmith do a small herringbone pattern jewell on the bolt body and polished the bolt handle from the flat black to a nickel color it is under the black stuff, put some Talley Rings on it and a Leupold 4x12 scope and let me tell you, that is one accurate, fast little 7mm. I love the caliber and the CZ products (I also have a CZ 527 Lux in .223 Remington). On the game I mentioned with the exception of antelope, the 7x57mm has been a one-shot rifle. My 162 grain Hornady SSTs will put three shots into a half-inch or less circle from a sandbag rest. I used that combo on a whitetail deer hunt in Texas to take the head off a turkey at a lasered 163 yards using a very steady tree rest, some steady breathing, a still day and in a state which allows rifles to take turkey. Like I said in another post ... you gotta love the 7x57mm. Tom Purdom

Terry,
That caliber has a 100 years of like praises behind it...It is the lightest recoiling caliber that I would hunt all the animals on the earth with, not that I would want to, but I would.....

Just returned from a deer hunt where I used a 7X57 for the first time. 3 shots - 3 deer - 2 fell where they were shot one ran 25 yards. I was using Rem core lokt 140 gr factory ammo, nothing special, your basic Kmart ammo. Two of the shots were 170 yards, the third was 100 yards. I sighted the Dakota in 1 1/2 inches high at 100 and just held on the shoulder. While a sample size of 3 is small, 3 for 3 convinced me. This is one great round. low recoil yet it hits hard. 7X57 just might be the ideal whitetail round.

7X57 just might be the ideal whitetail round.< !--color--> You got that right! It's even good for other critters as well, such as sheep & goats, etc. BTW, a Dakota deserves a good worked-up custom handload!

Mine will lose it's virginity in 4 weeks on an Idaho mule deer hunt. It is a wonderful little rifle, 1909 Argentine action, 22" #1 Lothar Walther barrel, 1.75x6 Leupold in Tally rings, and stocked in a beautiful piece of English walnut by our own Customstox. Chic will be along for the christening and to make sure I'm worthy of carrying one of his babies.

Jeff

I've only used 140 gr. in my 7X57. They are excellent, but I'm curious about heavier bullets. How have 175gr. or other heavier rounds worked for you?

I have narrowed my bullet selection down to 5 brands really, all of which I use, with different purposes on each.

Nosler Partition: 140 gr-best all around load which I use for deer/antelope. For most of my hunting if I was only allowed 1 bullet this would be it.

Nosler Partition: 175 gr-I have used this mostly on paper but I have taken 1 bear and an elk with this. I really wouldn't call this a exhaustive study but both cases this bullet performed as I expected. In my rifle this is a very good accurate load, but doesn't have the flat trajectory of the 140 above, but that is offset by the deep penetration.

Speer- 160 gr Grand Slam, these work well in my rifle, I would add the 160 Noslers, the Speer Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, and the Norma Oryx ( 156 Gr ), I have used them all but not hunted with any of these, so other than the Speer I can't give performance on game animals, but I would expect all would give good performance. If I hunted heavier game routinely a real case could be made to switch to these from the 140 grs.

Sierra- I use both the 160 gr Game Kings and the 168 match bullets, never hunted with either, and I use these as target and practice loads. Both are very good accuracy in my rifle.

Hornady- These I use for practice and target, they are cheap, and accurate. I can get a consistant 3/4" 5 shoot group with these bullets, no they are not quite as accurate as the Sierra's above but the difference is just a tad over 1/8" groups and I feel this is the most economical load in my 7x57. The 139gr and the 154gr both shoot well in my rifle, but lately I load the 154gr exclusively, whats not to like in a cheap bullet, that I can squeeze the groups down to almost 5/8"?

I will say my rifle is not fussy, every once in a while you get one like that that shoots everything well. I have never tried any bullets below 139 grs and nothing over 175 grs but every bullet I have ever used in this range, when I have the loads worked out gives me under 1.125 MOA and most drop into the .75 MOA range. Best powders for me have been IMR 4350 and Reloder 19. I have been planning to work with the Reloader 22 also but haven't found the time, and I must admit it is not a big priority as my current loads work so well. That pretty much sums up my 15+ years working with this cartridge and rifle.