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wildfowl
.224 member


Reged: 02/07/08
Posts: 7
Loc: IL, USA
7x57 on plains game
      #108793 - 03/07/08 04:33 AM

Looking to go on a plains game safari with my wife. She is recoil sensitive so I was thinking the 7x57 might be an option. Boggington seems to have faith in it for the purpose. She would be taking springbuck size game only. No Kudu or wildebeest.

Looking for more opinions, experiences with, and load suggestions.

THANKS

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Charles
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Reged: 13/12/07
Posts: 55
Loc: Texas
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: wildfowl]
      #108797 - 03/07/08 05:35 AM

Years ago, I used a 7X57 to hunt deer with. Killed very well and had no complaints about its performance.

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xausa
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Reged: 07/03/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: wildfowl]
      #108805 - 03/07/08 07:19 AM

On my last trip to Africa I carried a lightweight 7X57 built on a G33/40 action with a short stock and a 22" barrel in hopes that my then girlfriend, who was along for the ride, might like to try her hand at shooting. She didn't, but I used it to take a couple of wildebeest and a record book Peters gazelle. Since then, I have used the same rifle repeatedly deer hunting, with perfect satisfaction, using Federal factory loads. I recommend it unconditionially.

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: Charles]
      #108809 - 03/07/08 08:19 AM

Abolutely one of the finest hunting rounds ever designed and fielded.

We have used ours on 5 elk, many deer and rubbish like coyotes. The load I used exclusively was the Remington 150 grain PSPCL pushed to 2800 fps from our tang safety Ruger M77.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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bigmaxx
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Reged: 13/06/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 9.3x57]
      #108829 - 03/07/08 01:52 PM

I have deer hunted with the 7mm08, whic is a dead ringer to the 7X57. I think with a premium bullet at reasonable ranges it should be a encellent choice. You might take a look at some of new "managed recoil" ammunition on the market too. A shortened stock, fit to her dimensions with a good recoil pad should help too. I have a boyt safari vest with some shoulder padding and it helps tremendously. I bet "She-Safari" and some of the other retailers offer one for ladies.

--------------------
One day at a time...

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JabaliHunter
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Reged: 16/05/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: wildfowl]
      #108849 - 03/07/08 07:11 PM

Quote:

She would be taking springbuck size game only. No Kudu or wildebeest.


a 7x57 would be great for those too. Can't imagine that with a good 7x57 Mauser action rifle and a well fitted stock that you would ever NEED another non-DG rifle.... ever.

Of course if she really doesn't like recoil, you could also consider a 6.5x55; or for impala sized game only a 6x45 (6mm/.223) is also popular in SA...

Edited by JabaliHunter (03/07/08 07:14 PM)

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Nakihunter
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Reged: 13/10/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: bigmaxx]
      #108853 - 03/07/08 07:48 PM

I agree. My Kimber Montana 7mm08 has been a eye opener. With Barnes 150 gr TSX, this caliber or the 7 X 57 will handle anything up to Kudu / Elk etc out to 250 yards - if the nut behind the but can hit the spot (& not the gut)!

--------------------
Always shoot through the target & not just at it.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: wildfowl]
      #108932 - 04/07/08 04:56 PM

Quote:

Looking to go on a plains game safari with my wife. She is recoil sensitive so I was thinking the 7x57 might be an option. Boggington seems to have faith in it for the purpose. She would be taking springbuck size game only. No Kudu or wildebeest.



Haven't used a 7mm but a .30-06. For smaller and medium sized plains game a 7x57 will do fine. Similar to any 'deer' rifle. I would probably use a good premium expanding bullet in 150 gr to 160 gr range.

I remember reading an article years ago about 'wives' using loaded down - for recoil reasons - 7x57mm rifles and they killed well. They used a lighter 135 gr bullet which may have worked fine due to the lower velocities.

The 6.5mm and 7mm are 'classic' African calibres for this so I wouldn't expect any problems with proper bullet placement.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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Ripp
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Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: NitroX]
      #108959 - 04/07/08 11:48 PM

Have several friends who have been using them for years...One in particular started his son using this caliber..has used it ever since on everything from bigger canadian whitetails to elk with absolutely no problems what so ever...agree, a very good cartridge...

Ripp

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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DarylS
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Reged: 10/08/05
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: Ripp]
      #108965 - 05/07/08 12:18 AM

With 130gr. to 140gr. it's a Deer/goat/sheep rifle without faults. With 150 to 175gr. bullets it's a moose, elk and bear rifle. You can sub in the African species that duplicate these, I assume.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Ripp
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Reged: 19/02/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: DarylS]
      #108979 - 05/07/08 03:09 AM

Just read an article in this months "Rifle Shooter" where Boddington has again surveyed 100 PH's as to their recommendation of calibers for various plains game--of all the calibers, the 7x57 was mentioned in each category of light, medium and large plains game. What I found surprising was how high in each category it showed up even in the large plains game category--number 4..

Boddington also stated his daughter Brittany took a huge eland with a single shot from a 7x57 using a 140 gr Nosler partition...as he stated.."placement is everything"..

Ripp

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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DarylS
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: Ripp]
      #109003 - 05/07/08 08:38 AM

Absolutley - something the 19 to 30 year old Ultramag buyers haven't learned yet - but they will.
: In addressing shot placement, which comes from practise, I was just wondering, how much practise do they actually do at $75.00 to $100.00 per 20 rounds?

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: DarylS]
      #109012 - 05/07/08 11:49 AM

Quote:

Absolutley - something the 19 to 30 year old Ultramag buyers haven't learned yet - but they will.
: In addressing shot placement, which comes from practise, I was just wondering, how much practise do they actually do at $75.00 to $100.00 per 20 rounds?



Funny you should say this. My buddy who is a gunsmith and bluer told me he has had many of them come back to his shop saying they 1} can't afford to shoot those Ultrawondermags {most are not handloaders} 2} they kick so much more than expected...

But back OT: Here's a couple:

My son's first elk, years ago. Ruger Tang Safety 7x57:



Here's a spike bull elk shot with the 6.5x55. As far as I can tell, there is nil difference in killing power between the two of these cartridges. And best of all, Daryl, they are cheap to shoot!

I actually did part with my 7x57, to my nephew. But in our small assortment of shooting irons, we have four 6.5x55's and they all get used.



--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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mikeh416Rigby
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Reged: 24/02/03
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Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: wildfowl]
      #109017 - 05/07/08 12:12 PM

On my first Safari, which took place in Namibia, a German hunter in camp was using a 7 X 57 with 175 grain Barnses X bullets. He hit a huge Eland Bull too far back with his first shot. His 2nd shot was a Texas Heart Shot, and the bullet traveled the full length of the bull, and was recovered in the brisket. I'd have no hesitation using the 7 X 57 on any Plains Game as long as I was using a premium, heavy for caliber bullet. In the 7 X 57, the 175 grain bullets are just like the "Energizer Bunny"...they just keep going, and going, and going.

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ozhunter
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Reged: 18/08/04
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Loc: Sydney, Australia
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
      #109027 - 05/07/08 03:02 PM

You must be carfull with those long 175gr X bullets as a friend of mine tryed them with his Sako 7x64 and found they were not stabalizing and hiting the target side on.

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: ozhunter]
      #109056 - 06/07/08 12:42 AM

Quote:

You must be carfull with those long 175gr X bullets as a friend of mine tryed them with his Sako 7x64 and found they were not stabalizing and hiting the target side on.



Good point.

I'm not sure why anyone would want an X bullet in the 7x57, but the warning is well sent.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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88MauSporter
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Reged: 06/06/07
Posts: 530
Loc: Alaska / Texas
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 9.3x57]
      #109075 - 06/07/08 07:48 AM

9threeXfifty7:
Great photos of the elk and your son. What a great experience and teaching him the truths that the past has a lot of truths that don't change.
Your son seems very proud of his take. Congratulations. 6.5X55 or 7x57 are great choices. I bought a 6.5x55 for my oldest son years ago. He later bought a Winchester 7mmWSSM. He actually hunts and shoots the old 6.5X55. He rarely takes the WSSM out.
I don't tell him "I told you so", because he already knows.

--------------------
"A hunter should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everthing goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." 88MauSporter

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 88MauSporter]
      #109311 - 09/07/08 12:21 PM

88, thanks.

Yes, he was busting at the seams!

I was nowhere around. He stalked it from above in thick brush, and finally got a shot as the bull was sneaking thru the timber below him on a lower ridge, going down. The only shot he had was along the spine, and he placed the shot just ahead of the hips in the back. He knew the shot would anchor the animal and it did, the forky dropped at the shot. He added a coup de grāce in the head.

Just another example of the shootability of the 7x57.

I can add another one using the 6.5x55. A few years ago I hiked up the mountain across my hayfield and made a "Blitz Blind" with one of my parang knives just below the ridgeline above what we call the "Amphitheater", a "bench" surrounded on three sides by white fir patches. A chubby spike whitetail slithered down the mountain just at dusk somehwat behind me and to my left. I am left-handed and shoot from my left shoulder, so you can do the math. A tough shot for me, as I couldn't move for fear of giving myself away and I was a bit rusty shooting from the right shoulder.

With even a .30-06 the shot would have been unpleasant, and with a heavier caliber maybe I'd have flinched it away, but with the 6.5x55 it was a breeze. I twisted hard and with the buttstock nearly off my shoulder, merely laying on my arm and chest, picked the spike out of a clump of fir and snapped off the shot. Result; spike in freezer.

Does such an advantage really matter?

Maybe not often, but when you can combine a totally legitimate elk and deer killer with Mama's caress recoil, you really have something going.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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DarylS
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 9.3x57]
      #109354 - 10/07/08 12:06 AM

I used 160gr. TS and they were amazingly accurate in my BRNO, often punching 1/2" or slightly smaller groups at 100 meters. I didn't get a chance to shot any game with it, though. My easy pressure RE# 22 load was running them out at just over 2,600fps.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Stephen_Palos
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Reged: 11/10/08
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Loc: South Africa
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: ozhunter]
      #116776 - 12/10/08 11:48 PM

Quote:

You must be carfull with those long 175gr X bullets as a friend of mine tryed them with his Sako 7x64 and found they were not stabalizing and hiting the target side on.



Perhaps the combo of twist rate and higher velocity of the 7 x 64 changes the dynamics for a 170/5gr bullet and causes this? From everything I've read that is the ideal weight range in the 7 x 57 and I've no doubt that this is what has made them so remarkebly effective even on the largest (including elephant!) of game. I have no doubt that the "long-for-calibre" bullet, at moderate velocity is ensuring deep, straight line penetration. The moderate velocity is also forgiving on "less-than-premium" bullets (not that I'm advocating their use)

All in all, I'd say that the 7 x 57 could be contender for the "least badmouthed" calibre ever. And with good reason!

--------------------
I hunt because I am human, so hunting is an expression of my humanity.

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9.3x57
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: Stephen_Palos]
      #116786 - 13/10/08 02:14 AM

Quote:

Quote:

You must be carfull with those long 175gr X bullets as a friend of mine tryed them with his Sako 7x64 and found they were not stabalizing and hiting the target side on.



Perhaps the combo of twist rate and higher velocity of the 7 x 64 changes the dynamics for a 170/5gr bullet and causes this? From everything I've read that is the ideal weight range in the 7 x 57 and I've no doubt that this is what has made them so remarkebly effective even on the largest (including elephant!) of game. I have no doubt that the "long-for-calibre" bullet, at moderate velocity is ensuring deep, straight line penetration. The moderate velocity is also forgiving on "less-than-premium" bullets (not that I'm advocating their use)

All in all, I'd say that the 7 x 57 could be contender for the "least badmouthed" calibre ever. And with good reason!



Higher vecity will increase stability, not decrease it.

I've found that on game the size of whitetails and the two large cow elk I've shot with the 7x57 and the one bull my son shot with it, Remington Core-Lokt 150 "less-than-premium" bullets worked very well indeed. I'd highly recommend them.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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Ripp
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Reged: 19/02/07
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Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 9.3x57]
      #116788 - 13/10/08 02:36 AM

9.3x57

Have several friends who swear by the core-lokt--especially in the velocity of the 7x57...works great especially on deer size game--but as you stated seems to do just fine on elk as well..amazing---with all the hype now days...thought it would not work unless its bonded...

Ripp

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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Stephen_Palos
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Reged: 11/10/08
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Loc: South Africa
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: 9.3x57]
      #116798 - 13/10/08 04:42 AM

Quote:



Higher vecity will increase stability, not decrease it.





Now this could be an interesting hypothesis....? If I look at a twist rate of somewhere in the 8 or 9 inch range then a moderate velocity will still "take" the twist, but speed it up a bit? Perhaps the "64" starts to jump lands in the heavier loads???

I know that there are many variables. I have a little shooting range on my plot and I see a lot of different issues. I find a common problem is "sporterised" old 303s that just don't group. I know many older barrels had a tighter twist for the older, slower military (cordite?) cartridges. They tend to "strip their moer" as we say in Afrikaans. Is the same not happening with the 7 X 64? Speed it up and strip over the lands?

I have limited knowledge of the "64" but I know it works! That's clear from it's advocates. But the fact is the "57" has NO detractors! There has to be a logical explanation. The only reference I have to twist rate is GS Custom which reflects the same twist rate for both. The "57" is a proven accuracy winner (It always scores well in our PMP comp and many other references swear to it's accuracy) The "64" on the other hand has very few champions. Why? I'm sure it's just more "fussy" but when you hit the right recipe it's great.

I'm not saying I know the answer, but the 7 x 57 works, and the 7 x 64 works sometimes!

--------------------
I hunt because I am human, so hunting is an expression of my humanity.

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zimhunter
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Reged: 05/02/04
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Loc: Southern Arizona
Re: 7x57 on plains game [Re: Stephen_Palos]
      #116890 - 14/10/08 07:58 AM

My last safari to Zimbabwe I used my custom 7x57 as my plains game rifle. Took several Kudu and lesser game, the Kudu at ranges to 275yds. Bullet used was a 175gr Nosler Partition. Totally effective in each case. This rifle was built by Clayton Nelson specifically for 175gr Noslers and is very accurate for 3 shot groups. Has a very light 22" barrel and heats up rather quickly for over 3 shots. Rile weighs exactly 7 lbs and is a delight to carry. It is my favorite plains game choice.

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