I cannot understand why no one has posted loads for the little 7, so let me be the very first on this site. THIS IS FOR MODERN ACTIONED RIFLES ONLY! I have used this load in my CZ 550 American and a Ruger Mark II that I owned once and used as the trade rifle for the CZ. I use R-P cases, Federal 210 primers, H414 powder and Hornady 162 gr. SST bullets. My load is 48.2 grains of powder with the bullet seated .01 inch off the lands. Seating this close to the lands makes the cartridge look funny as hell because there is so much lead sticking out the front end and the canlures are way, way out there. There is .2 inches of bullet shank in the case neck and I don't crimp the cartridge. Now, for stats. This load chronos out of my 23.5 inch CZ barrel at 2,815 fps. It averages between .4 to .5 inch five-shot groups from a sandbag rest at 100 yards. My little brother owns a CZ 550 FS with a 20.5 inch barrel and this same load gives him solid 1-inch groups at 100 yards with average velocity of 2,765 fps. Both of these rifles have a Euro-twist for the metric cartridges of 1x8.66, so the heavier bullets shoot a whole lot better. I can push the envelope a lot more with H414 and the 162 grain bullet and I am still tweaking the load. I have gone up to 51 grains with an average velocity of 2,925 fps, but the groups open to 1.8 inches at 100 yards, besides, 2,815 is plenty fast enough for anything I care to tackle, including elk. Again, this is for modern rifles such as the Ultralight Arms, the Rugers, the CZs, Winchester Model 70 and the like, not the old military rifles.

If you wanted a .280, why didn't you buy a .280?

No need to load ragged edge charges in a 7x57, normal loads will kill anything that needs killing.

I favor AA-3100 and bullets in the 130-145 grain class. Reasonable pressures, good accuracy, and you aren't likely to get enough in the case to get in real trouble. And if I really needed another 150 fps I would just haul down the old 1908 Brazilian with the 29" barrel.

Leftover: I wanted a 7x57mm, not a .280, so I got a 7x57mm that shoots 162 gr. Hornady SSTs very, very accurately, at 2,815 fps and no pressure signs what-so-ever.That isn't to say a .280 is not a fine cartridge. My brother just got through buying one in a custom rifle, but then he can afford stuff like that. As a newspaper reporter for the past 28 years and living on a newspaperman's salary, I cannot afford too many rifles so the 7x57mm is my big game rifle, a CZ 527 in .223 is my varmit rifle, and I have two others plus a smokepole and a shotgun. That said, if I did own a .280 I would strive to find the most accurate load I possibly could find and at the top possible speed. If that pushed the round up into the 7mm mag realm, so be it. If the load was safe, what the heck! Tom Purdom

Thanks for the load THomas, I'm expecting my new custom in 275 Rigby (British version of the 7x57) in about two weeks. I've been searching for loads to try as I want to stick with heavy for caliber bullets. It's on a Mauser action, Douglas barrel, Bell & Carlson stock, gun-kote finish on metal.

Browningguy: You are welcome. The CZ has a 1x8.66 twist barrel which is made for the heavier bullets such as the 162 grain bullets. H414 is an absolutely fantastic powder for this caliber, as it is also for the .30/06. I have found that I can go well past the book maximum for H414 powder with no problems at all. BY the way, the 2,815 fps is chorongraphed, as is the 2,765 fps out of my little brother's CZ 550FS in 7x57mm with the same bullet. My CZ has an exceedingly long throat, as do most 7x57mm in the Euro configuration. Have fun with your 7x57mm and if you have any questions e-mail me and I'll be more than happy to answer them for you. My e-mail address is on my profile. Tom Purdom

I shoot 49.5 grains of H414 with R-P brass, Fed 210M primers and 140 grain Nosler ballistic tips. It shoots under an inch and chronographs at 2800 with a 22" Remington classic. It also likes 139 Hornady bullets and IMR4350, but that was with Winchester brass which became hard to find so I switched to Remington and started over.

Bob257

Gee wizz Tom , That sure is some potent load you have going there. My favourite rifle would have to be my 7x57mm.

the rifle is built on a Mauser 98 action , Musgrave Barrel, with some nice class 3 Walnut, topped with a Lynx 3-9x40 Wide Angle.

Load for this baby is 139gr Hornady Interlockt , Fed 210 primer, S335 (Sonchem) 44gr, OAL 79.2mm , PMP brass.
2910 fps

Thanx or the info

Rudie

I just loaded up some 120gr. x-bullets with r-19. I also loaded up the same bullet(120) with r-15. And just for the fun of it, I loaded up some more using the 140 gr. XLC using the same powders r-19 & r-15. My only problem is that I have to wait until I get back from work to see how these loads do. I haven't had much luck with Barnes bullets yet, but I haven't been able to tinker with them as much as I would like. Has any one tried these two bullet weights yet( in Barnes)

My hunting load is Rem brass, fed 210 primer, R-19 51gr, and 140gr. Nosler Partition. I am not sure about velocity yet, but I know it has been hell on the hogs so far.

I just ordered a chronograph from Natchez. So when I come back from work I can post velocities.

As with a few of the older and not Firearm Company
Cailbers,the 7x57mm is 1- underloaded in factory ammo,and 2- data for it the most part is under loaded also.
Hogdon used to have some good data for this round and stated This data is to be used only in modern rifles likes the Ruger 77 and Win 70.Manual #25 I think.With this data you can get close to or match the .280 rem without any High Pressure.

I've shot alot of different loads in mine right now using Rem. Cases,Win WLR primer,H-4350 at 49grs,and 140gr Nosler Partition at around 2800 fps.

[ 11-27-2002, 10:11: Message edited by: Tiny ]

Hey guys here are the loads:15ft. from chrono, 43 degrees temperature.

1. R-19 52gr. 120gr. barnes x-bullet, rem brass fed 210 primer o.a.l. 3.030 velocity for ten shots 2969fps and I am still two grains under max decent accurracy.

2. R-15 45gr., 120 barnes x-bullet, rem brass, fed 210 primer, o.a.l. 3.030, velocity for ten 3043fps, one grain under max. also shoots well in my gun.

3. R-19 52gr., barnes 140gr. xlc, rem brass, fed 210 primer, o.a.l. 3.030, velocity for ten 2780fps, max load decent accurracy.

4. R-15 42gr., 140 barnes xlc, rem brass, fed 210 primer, o.a.l. 3.030 velocity for ten shots 2708fps.

5. H414 48gr., Nos. 140gr. Part., rem brass, fed 215 primer, O.A.L. 3.060, velocity for ten shots 2858fps. great accurracy. one grain under max.

6. R-19 51.5gr., Nos. 140gr. Part., rem brass, fed 210 primer, o.a.l. 3.060, velocity for ten 2801fps. max load.

7. R-19 49gr. fed 210 primer, rem brass, Nos. 150gr. ball. tip,o.a.l. 3.060, velocity for ten 2717fps, two gr. below max. good accurracy.

I know that some of these loads aren't sizzling, but they are pretty good. Plus they leace me some room to work up towards the maximum loads. My initial goal was to get 2800fps for 140 grain bullets, and 3050fps for 120 grain bullets. I feel that I have accomplished this. The 150gr. bullets really surprised me though, I did not think that they would move that fast. All of the rounds shot from 1-1/4" to 3/8" groups. I found that by shortening the o.a.l. on the Barnes bullets that I could get decent accurracy 3/4"-1-1/4". I hope this helps. I am going to go and work up some more loads. It is funny I was impressed with some loads, and surprised with other loads. By the way, I dug up some of the Barnes 120gr. bullets and they looked picture perfect. I might have a new load for small Louisiana deer.

Thomas,

Thanks for posting your info. I've been thinking about buying the same setup you have. Have you shot any 175's out of that thing yet? I'm glad to see that the twist in the CZ is favorable for the heavy bullets as I plan on shooting 160's and 175's most of the time. I think it would make a great rifle for black bear, caribou, sheep and I'm sure it would work just fine on moose as well.

Tom, I have been reading the different messages on the 7x57, since you e-mailed me and decided to put my load for this round one more time. I hope its alright. I have a 08/34 mauser I rebuilt some six years ago. It has a 19" barrel, I load 162gr. hornady's with 50gr. of h414 and wlr primers for 2824fps ave. I get sub. moa with this load. fws
ps. I have loaded 52gr of h414 but the loads spread so settled with50gr. This is from a military barrel I purchased in the white years ago.

[ 12-09-2002, 19:00: Message edited by: toto ]

Leftoverdj,

I have shot 52 grs. of H414 in all my Brno long throated Mausers for years with the 160 gr. Nosler. I have fired many cases 10 to as much as 14 times with several trims..It's max but it is not pushing the envelope in a long throated gun....were you assuming a push or do you know this load to be too hot in some guns.

In short throated guns I might use 48.5 to 49.5 grs. of H414 (book max) but H414 like most slow burning powders does not build high pressure..Try it you might like it...

The books are leery of max loads in 7x57 because of some of the so called soft 95 and 96 Mausers floating around, and load down because of that, but thats another thread...A good action is another story...

The above loads are applicable to my guns only. and anyone should start 10% below my loads and work up...or any load you see anywhere.

This post is applicable to good strong Mod 98 Mausers, Win. Ruger and Rem etc. rifles.

I have read in several posts that Winchester 760 is either identical or very similar to H414. Any comments? I have some of both and as I type I am putting some starting loads together. My rifle is throated so that I can load 160 grain Speer spitzers to 3.120 and have .010 clearance from the lands. Is this a long throated 7x57? The load data in Hodgens 25th edition shows identical load data and incredibly close velocities.

RickT - While H414 is similar to Win 760, it is not the same powder. Has a similar burn rate, but again, not the same. That said, if I loaded 51 grains of H414 behind a 162 grain Hornady SST I think I'd be blowing primers in my CZ 550 American. I can safely load 51 grains of H414 and not blow primers, but the accuracy in my rifle suffers, so I load back to 48.2 grains and seat the bullet .01 inch off the lands with the Hornady SST in 162 grain configuration. With my 23.5 inch barrel I get 2,815 fps and five shot groups (with proper cooling between shots) of between .4 inch to .5 inch. I would not consider the throat on your rifle a long throat at all. By the way, do you have a Winchester Model 70 FTW in 7x57mm Mauser? With H414 (I would highly recommend this powder over Win 760)I would begin with 46 grains and work up in half-grain increments. At 48.2 grains or thereabouts, you will reach 100 percent load density with the bullet seated .01 inch off the lands in your rifle. Load any more and you'lll be compressing the powder, though, like Ray said, you can probably load to 49 grins in a short-throated rifle. At 48.2 grains the powder reaches just to the top of the shoulder where the shoulder meets the case neck. I would say that you would be so close to 2,800 fps the load you could kiss the speed.The trick is, though, does it shoot well in your rifle? You might also take a look at the twist of your barrel. If it has the Euro-twist then it will be fine with the heavier-weight bullets of 160 and 175 grains. If you have the 1x10 or 1x9.5 twist you might be better served with the 150 grain bullet or possibly the 140 grainers. You might consider the Nosler Partitions if this is the case. By the way, if you have a sporterized Model 93 or 95 Mauser, do not use these loads please. As for the poster who asked if I had used the 175 grain bullets, not yet. I have such wonderful accuracy and luck with the 162 grain Hornady SST and Nosler Partition in 160 grains that I haven't gone higher up the the weight scale yet. Tom Purdom

So far in this rifle, a mauser 98 I have experimented with AA 4350 and the 140 grain remington soft point, the 160 grain Sierra bt, the 160 grain Speer flat base and two versions of the 150 gr. Nosler Ballistic tip. The Remington 140 does not shoot well in this rifle but the others are tackdrivers. With the Remington bullet and it's short bearing surface I can load the bullet to an overall length of 3.240 but 2 inch groups are the norm. The 160 grain Sierra bullet has a maximun OAL of 3.090 as it is full bore diameter rather quickly from the point. My cases at this point are Sellior and Belloit and they are heavy in comparison to others si I will make up my starting load t 47.0 grains of H414. I'll be shooting in my backdoor range so results will be posted soon.

48.0 grains it is. At 49 I started to get a slightly harder bolt lift. Accuracy just at 1 inch for three shots. Test bullet is the 160 grain Speer and primer the CCI 200.

Thanx for the info Thomas. I am loading a 130gr GS HV/HP infront of 45,5 gr S335 for 3050fps and no sign of pressures. Accuracy is also great

Looks like 7x57 is very popular.

Ray,

My point is mainly philosophical. The 7x57 in factory dress is a nice, gentle little cartridge that outperforms any reasonable expectation. It should be appreciated as such. I consider it highly unlikely that heavy loads will give any observable improvement in its performance on game.

All too often, discussions on reloading turn into a "my load is hotter than your load" contest. This is not a real good idea when some of those loads just might find their way into some of those early Mausers you mentioned.

I will give you this. It is not unreasonable to seat spitzers way out in long throated rifles and to adjust the powder charge accordingly. It is also not unreasonable for an experienced handloader to realize that his lot of a powder is slower than specs and to go over book max somewhat.

But most of us in this forum have more rifles than time to shoot them. Rather than beating up perfectly decent little rifles, I would suggest that we just reach for the next size up.

In reality the load I settled on is within the limits in the Hodgen manual #25 and you have to use something for load data. A 160 grain bullet at close to 2800 fps is not some tough demon to shoot and as long as it is accurate why not. I could load it to 2600 and get slightly better brass life and probably identical result on any game animl hit but the difference is small. I consider the factory 140 grain loads to be way slower than necessary and generally load them to 2800 fos also.

While leftoverdj may be right concerning any noticeable improvement on game shooting, using heavier than factory loads in the 7X57, it is not overstretching or overstressing A MODERN, STRONG-ACTION 7X57, like a Ruger M77 or No.1, to shoot 160 grain bullets at 2800 FPS from one using heavy charges of slow-burning powders like H414, IMR 4350, MRP, or RE 22!! Also, loaded to similar pressures, the velocity one can get from such 7X57s with 140 and 175 grain bullets is also surprising. However, loaded to like levels in strong actions, the .280 will ALWAYS be more powerful!! If one is more comfortable shooting lower powered loads from the 7X57, by all means do so! But realize there are folks who choose to use heavier loads, and they are perfectly within their rights to do this, as well!

i use 145 speers with 48.5gr imr4350 and get 2750 fps..that's pleny fast enough to kill any deer in ga.. i have also used 154 round nose hornady's with 48.0 gr imr 4350 and it is a quick killer.i have used 140 gr nosler bal tips with 50.5 gr imr 4350 @2950 fps but the load cratered on large hogs and was discarded.. my current rifle is a remington 700 classic in a borden stock with a leupold 1.75x6 leupold scope..as good as it gets for a southern deer rifle.

I certainly hope that it is not considered "bad form" to dredge up an old string. However in dealing with classic literary works or classic cartridges, I think periodic review is in order.

First of all, some seem to think that striving for more potent loads than commonly published for the 7X57 is trying to make the cartridge something it is not. With most other cartridges, I might agree. But as previously stated, pressures have been kept very low in deference to the 100+ year old relics in this caliber. I guess I don't understand why this cartridge doesn't commonly have "modern rifle" loadings in the manuals. I have a .45LC Colt SAA that I would never fire with the published loads for my .45 Ruger Blackhawk. Why don't they do the same fot the 7X57?

Anyway, I greatly appreciate the above loads and I will work up to them. I just received my custom rifle in 7X57 built on a 1942 BRNO Model 98 action with a 23" 1 in 9 twist barrel. How do I know if I have a long or short throat? Using my Stoney Point OAL Guage, I got the following results:

7 X 57 MAUSER

CASE BULLET OAL MAX
NORMA NOSLER 140 GR. PARTITION 3.02
NORMA HORNADY 139 GR. BTSP 3.055
NORMA HORNADY 154GR RN 3.04
NORMA SIERRA 160 GR SPITZER 2.98
NORMA SPEER TROPHY BONDER BC 160 GR SP 3.01

Thanks for your help...

Looks to me like you have a modern commercial throat. Your OALs will all work through a standard mag. Many of the older military rifles had throats so long that spitzers could not be seated to touch the lands and still work through the mag.

I'm one of the much miscontrued advocates of moderation. I load 50.0 grains of AA-3100 or IMR 4831 (same stuff, different labels) behind 140 -154 grain bullets. It'll do anything that needs doing.

There may be loads that give a bit more velocity but nothing on the other end will ever notice a difference.

My 7x57 is a Win M70 FWT I purchased new back in the 1980s. Foolish me, it never occurred to me that Winchester would use anything slower than 1:9 rate of twist, especially given this cartridge's history and claim to fame was with 173-175 grain bullets.
This all came to a head with me when I quit using
traditionally manufactured bullets, such as Hornady, Sierra, & Noslers, and now shoot exclusively Barnes 150 grain X-Bullets. They provide excellent accuracy and penetration,
with not enough difference in velocity to make any
practical difference down range between the 150 and 140 grainer.
Most of the premium bullets such as Barnes & Swift, are longer/per weight than other mfrs. For
instance the Barnes 150 grain X-Bullet is the same length as Hornady's 175 grain SPT! And the 1:10 twist is an "iffy" proposition for the heavier premium bullets. I finally obtained decent accuracy by loading near max, or at max+ with H4831 or RL 19, driving the bullet fast enough to somewhat offset the slow rate of twist.
After reading all the posts here, one thing is for sure, the 7x57 is a very versatile cartridge,
and with either a 1:8.66 or 1:9 rate of twist is capable of excellent accuracy with the full range of bullet weights, and not too finicky about powders or primers.
Regarding an earlier comment about going to a 280,
if reloading the 7x57 to it's full potential steps
on another cartridges toes, so be it. But keep in mind regarding the 280, this is a cartridge that has suffered more handicaps from Remington than the hunting fields. The 280 loaded to it's full potential moves it into areas often considered 7mm Mag territory.

I'm going to break ranks from the speed demons here -- but I greatly appreciate all of the wonderful combinations that I've seen described. My own 7x57 is a Model 1924 Brazillian '98 carbine, made by FN in Belgium around 1940. It has an 18.5-inch barrel. I replaced the issue sights with a Lyman receiver aperture and a higher, thinner front blade. The friend who sold it to me described this little rifle as a "Jungle Carbine" -- a joking reference, of course, to the venerable No. 5 Lee-Enfield.

I like to think of it as a "camp gun" or a "brush gun", and I load it accordingly. As most of you have guessed, it has an incredibly long throat. Therefore, I load it according to its original 1890s-era design with 175-grain Hornady roundnose bullets.

The load I've selected is 49 grains of WC 852 (the slow lot that burns very close to H450) ignited by a magnum primer. With those peep sights and that short barrel I've managed to coax out groups in the range of 1.5 inches at 100 yards. I also average a little over 2,400 feet per second out of that stubby little barrel with this load. I've shot loads with a 139-grain Hornady pushed by 50 grains of IMR 4350 for an average of about 2,700 -- so it looks like my barrel is performing just as you would expect a short tube to perform.

I haven't shot any game with this rifle yet, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it with the 175-grain load for just about anything in British Columbia inside of, say, 150-200 yards, notwithstanding it's "puny" muzzle energy of barely 2,200 foot-pounds.

leftoverdj, I suspect you are right that "nothing on the other end will ever notice a difference". I cannot question this. However, I will say that this same principle applies to comparisons betwenn other cartridges. Like, for example, the .30/'06 vs the .308, the .30/40 Krag, or even the .300 Savage!

To; Ancien
Re; Featherweight 7 x 57.

Ancien, I live just up the I 5 in Oregon. I also have on of these rifles and love it, because it is something different, than the average 30/06, 270 7 Mag crowd.

I have loaded everything from 120grains to 175 Spitzers and RoundNoses in mine and they all shoot 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups at 100 yds. ( Can you believe there is actually a few of us who still love round nose bullets??, contrary to what all the gun 'righters' tell us)

the old 7x57 like the 6.5 x 55 have been working for over a hundred years on about anything that walks.

I must be odd tho, everyone else uses the slower powders. I prefer the good old RL 15/ 4064/ 4985 in my 7 x57s. I get 2725 out of a 22 inch barrel using 4064 with a 170 grain Sierra Round Nose for my elk load in deep brush. What is a 7 mag or 400 remchester ultra short long mag going to give me that this load won't give me??

I guess I will have to be another odd person. I haven't hunted for 20 years now because of these jokes I have for knees. I still love shooting all 4 of my 7 x57's. Two are older than dirt having been built back in the '20 for my father on 98 Mausers. The other two are newer- an FN made in 1952 and a Ruger 77MkII. I only shoot the newer two anymore and then only at paper and steel gongs. I shoot an old Ideal (Lyman) cast bullet #287377. It is a spitzer, single lube groove and gas checked. I have used Lyman's Super Moly Lube for a couple years and it has totally eliminated leading and the barrel is very easy to clean. It is a real pleasure to shoot a low recoil very accurate load. 19.5 gr. of Accurate XMP5744 groups in the FN at .75 to .85 and .65 to .70 in the Ruger. Trajectory is like a mortor but is a kick to shoot and I bet my shoulder and my barrel will last longer than the speed demons. I have also used this powder (5744)or 25gr. of H4895 for jacketed stuff in the 110 to 130 gr. range. Again, pleasant to shoot and very accurate if I do my part. Both of the guns have after market triggers. I was lucky to hit the 18" x18" targets with the original trigger in either one. Sometimes slow is good too.

fishbait:

amen to the light recoil loads also. I do a lot of shooting in most of my guns with loads using 4198 (either one). I get great accuracy and makes the range a real pleasure.

I also end up loading that powder for dad's on their sons first couple of deer hunts when their grandpa gave the 12 yr old his old 30/06. funny how many dads come back and ask me to load them up some of the 4198 loads also.

As I usually ask, who needs a 500 yd load to shoot a 50 yd, 75 pound blacktail.???

Another thing I have learned to pass on to a lot of handloaders. Search around for older manuals.
Some of those ones from the 1960s have loads for older rifles long before lawyers had too much times on their hands instead of nothiing better to do than to harrass gun owners and gun manufacturers.

Back in the days the anti gun and hunting people were just called bird watchers.

Finley: you have a private message on this board. Tom Purdom

BKR, I use 53 grains of WW760 and 140-grain Nosler Partitons in My No. 1A for 3000 FPS. Have had no problems with this load, summer or winter. I also use 54 grains of RE 22 (barely leaves room to start the bullet) with the Nosler 175 grain Partition, this gives 2720 in both a 1A and an older M77 both of which have long throats. The O/A loaded length of the 175 grain load is 81mm. It doesn't even give any kind of high pressure indications in either gun. Not even a slightly flattened primer!! Accuracy is 1.25 MOA or better with both loads. I don't think one could put enough RE 22 into a 7X57 case to cause pressure problems with any bullet of 175 grains or less. Maybe with the Barnes 195 grainer, you could. I don't know, never tried such a heavy 7mm bullet.

[ 07-14-2003, 15:34: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

BKR, you should have no problems with these loads in the long-throated 1A, but of course, work up to them like you would any other max load... My No. 1A is a Liberty Model, made in 1976.

Anybody ever hear of the Three-inch 257 Roberts? In the 30s and 40s some handloaders who owned long action rifles in .257 Roberts did just that so they could burn a bit more powder and therefore increase velocity without increasing chamber pressures. Those loads were commonly identified as the Three inch 257 Roberts which closely described overall cartridge length. When a bullet seated deeply in a bottleneck case like the 257 Roberts it actually displaces very little of the combustion area because bullet diameter is so much smaller than the diameter of the powder chamber of the case. Maybe that's why Thomas can get the velocity he's getting in his 7mm, Jay

BKR

I use a very similar load- 53.5 gr H414 with a 140 NP for 3038 fps. A warm perfectly safe load in a long throated 7x57- which is most of them.