Has anybody here used the 7x57 for bear? I was wondering if maybe it would be adequate with a heavier round nose bullet. Maybe a 175 grain barnes or something of the like.

160 NP, through the ribs = a dead bear. Done it. My buddy shot the rifle afterward, with a look of puzzlement on his face, he asks me, "Did the rifle go off"? The recoil is very mild in a Brno 600. Alas the 7x57 barrel came off and 9.3x64 barrel took it's place.

The 7x57 has a remarkedly long and successful history for hunting many different species.There's no reason why it wouldn't work well on black bear as long as you use a 160-175 gr well constructed bullet.

140 grain Swift A-Frames.

quote:

Originally posted by GrosVentreGeorge:
Has anybody here used the 7x57 for bear? I was wondering if maybe it would be adequate with a heavier round nose bullet. Maybe a 175 grain barnes or something of the like.

Yup, it worked on elephants using solids.

139 interlock at 2800 has taken several deer, 7-8 elk, cows and bulls. and 3 bear now.
some coyotes a bobcat and about a dozen foxes.
so i am thinking that it works well.

quote:

Yup, it worked on elephants using solids.

And on poor British "tommies" at Spion Kop and elsewhere in the Boer War!

There are bear and there are bear.
I would use the 7X57 on any animal that is uder about 400 LBS. And even bigger if the animal has no fangs or claws.
Use a good bullet 140 and up. I know lots of guys who would use a 7 mag at 500 yards but would scoff at the 7X57 or 7mm08 at any range.
Silly !
...tj3006

I've seen an awfully lot of black bear, from Arizona to the Yukon, and I have never seen one I would be unwilling to take on with a 7x57 with any good bullet from 139 grains up. In fact, one of the modern 139-140 grain expanding bullets is what I would choose for the job with a 7x57.

I've done it with lesser rounds, so I'd have no problems taking black bear with a 7x57mm.

Thanks guys, the reason I asked this wasn't for myself but for a cousin of mine. He is twelve and went hunting for the first time this year. He had been hunting before but not were he had a license and could hunt himself.
I had let him use my 7x57 after having him try several different rifles and deciding that he liked that one the best. He is a very good shot, three years of marksminship or whatever it is, and he goes bear hunting every year with a family friend. He wants his first rifle to be able to run the gamut from antelope to bear and since he has already found that he likes the 7x57, why not get him started down the right path.

Of course he isn't getting mine, but I will help him find one and I will load the proper rounds for him. I just wanted to make sure that it would be up to snuff for him.

GrosVentreGeorge please check your PMs,Thanks!

I would hunt anything in the Lower 48 with 7x57, and would stay in the 154 to 175 gr. blt. wt. range for everything over the 200 lb. class.
I took zebra, gemsbook, heartabeast, and kudu with 7x57 and 162 gr.Hornady's. Heartabeast over 400yd. and it was a one shot kill. Probably just a lucky day for old eyes.
1Shirt!

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas Jones:
There are bear and there are bear.
I would use the 7X57 on any animal that is under about 400 LBS.

...tj3006

+1

There are bear and then there are BEAR.

I have seen bears (black bears) that I'd not feel comfortable using a 7x57. Especially if the only shot offered was at a less-than-optimum angle. I always subscribe to the "more is better" school of thought with my bear guns.

The boy has good taste, Nope he is not going to have a problem shooting black bear with it or anything else. Thou it's pretty much a handloaders cartridge, he could go thru a hunting life time with the two Federal Loads, the 140 gr Nosler Partition and 175 gr RN and never look back. Handloading makes the cartridge more so.

A 7x57 is right in there with a whole bunch of non mags that are perfectly acceptable for any Black Bear...period.
Quality bullet of 150 gr or heavier cup&draw style and 140 or heavier X types.
If you shoot a Blackie thru the heart/lungs with a good expander he's in the bag. They are not hard to kill if shot placement is right.
I know of a lady that shoots everything with a 257 Bob and 110 gr Partitions, Blackies, Moose and Deer. She is a fine shot and puts em where they count and voila they drop just like advertised.
Guess the animals just haven't figured out she ONLY uses a 257 Bob or no self respectin one of them would just croak for that lil pip-squeek of a rifle, huh. LOL
She just thinks the world of her lil rifle and thinks its absolute poison on game.