I am thinking of getting a Blaser barrel in this calibre. Opinions?

This interesting caliber was developed by RWS I think and brings 3.800 fps with a 50 grain bullet (see VV data metric). More interesting even, you can accellerate a heavy 74 grain bullet to 3.260 fps. This the 220 Swift can�t do. For this reason, barrels manufactured here have a very short twist rate. It was originally designed for long-distance chamois and roe deer hunting.
Loading data is also available from RWS.
Regards, Dirk

I nearly got one but was put off by the thick neck that is designed to allow the use of a 22rf adaptor. This means all loads must be near full power to seal. The neck is so thick and the neck tension so great that it is not possible to pull bullets from the factory loaded cases without destroying them.

If you do not want to put up with the "quirks" of the 5,6x57, but still want high speed performance, consider the 257 WBY Mag.
85gr. at 3700+fps
100gr.at 3600fps

I would back up 1894�s warning: I have a friend who wanted to load for 5.6x57. Because of that thick neck, reloading is difficult! Carefully decide which die brand, which expander diameter. My friend never developed something near factory velocities and got extreme pressure ( bolt had to be hammered open on what was thought to be starting loads ).

Although I�m not sure about his knowledge. He sticked to reloading books, but I don�t think he understands all problems.

Usual ( US ) .224 bullets will fragment on contact with target.

An interesting cartridge, but you should know about the risks.

Have fun! Hermann

Gentlemen

I have a friend who had one. It gave good velocity but washed out the barrel quite fast. He had no problem with thick necks, but brass flow were a prolem to him.

He later rebarreled that rifle to 22-243 middlestead, which also is another hot number.

Heritage Arms, Why not getting a 6X62 Feres. It is also another funny german cartridge

/ JOHAN

It seems this caliber is full of problems, I have read before of people having problems with it

As much as I like this calibre I guess I will go with the .22 250

Thanks for the imput Aleko

hey, i�m using the 5,6*57.
And can�t say anything bad about this cartridge. Only thing is, that the farer the game (roes) are away, the better the bullet works.
But IMHO this cartridges wasn�t developped for short distance shots. I once shot a roe calf at 260 m and it worked more than just good.

Up to now i�ve only used factory ammo of RWS, but bought me a RCBS Die Set, and will try to develop some new loadings during th enext season, because my storage of factory ammo is nearly empty.
The only Problem i�ve heared about - concerning reloading- is the thick brass and the problems of seating the bullet.
But hope / think ...that�s a managable problem.....it only will need more time and a lot of "sense in the fingers".

cheers
Konstantin

hey folks , got news about reloading the 5,6...
i have spoken with a guy who does reloading as business, and he told me that it took him 1 year and a lot of money to find -something, he didn�t tell me what or how he oes it- a way to load the 5,6*57.
Sounds like a pain in the a** ...so maybe u better don�t get the 5,6 when u realy like reloading th ecartridge yourself.

cheers
konstantin

The 5,6 while a great idea has its failings and its pluses, I really want a .22 cal that will shoot well with the 73 grs RWS cp. How about a .22 06 in an R 93???, They will custom make the barrel or would a .243 be a wiser choice.

Aleko

Heritage,

I suppose it depends on your desire. There will be no advantage between a 5.6x57 and a 243 with 70gr hornady sps. This of course does not address the issue of desire.

If I had the desire for a high performance metric cartridge that could double for varmints and deer I would go 6x62freres in the blaser and use the money that blaser asks for custom chambering towards a longer than 22.6" barrel and 40 pieces of brass and a die set. If no longer barrel available I would go 243, use hornady 70gr SPs and book a hunt with the cash (and heartache) saved!

I shot the .243 Barrel with 70 grs Nosler a put 3 shots touching at 100 m. I guess that I had the answer under my nose the whole time.

Cheers, Aleko

[ 02-04-2003, 04:35: Message edited by: Heritage Arms ]