5.6x57

[peeblesman]

ok guys...I use my tikka t3 243 for an everyday working rifle....... now I used to have a krico many moons ago and allways loved the fullstocked versions...
on gunstar there is a full stocked krico in 5.6x57.... looks very sexy. having done some back ground work on this unusual calibre ...ammo seems to be rarely available with only factory stuff from RWS via geco on special order... does any one have experience of this calibre ?

 

[Heym SR20]

Have a read of http://www.chuckhawks.com/5-6x57.htm. Pretty much a 22-250 and nothing wrong with that. If you reload and get hold of 50 or 100 cartridges then you will have enough brass to last for a good while.

 

[peeblesman]

thanks mate... interesting reading.... the use of the 22..250 stopped the 5.6 x57 entering America.... I shoot mainly fox and roe with my 243 and light bullets but fancied the krico as a sunday rifle....

 

[Muir]

thanks mate... interesting reading.... the use of the 22..250 stopped the 5.6 x57 entering America.... I shoot mainly fox and roe with my 243 and light bullets but fancied the krico as a sunday rifle....

Back in the late fifties and early 60's there was a wildcat 224 cf with a 1-8" twist called the .224 Clark. It was a necked down 257 Roberts (or 7x57) and was wildly denounced in the gun rags when the designer was killing deer at long ranges with custom 80 grain bullets. In that light, I doubt the 22-250 stopped the 5.56X57 cartridge from being used in the US as much as the general lack of acceptance of small bore, long bullet use. Note the 22-250 was never loaded with heavy bullets and is not loaded so at present. It was always sold as a varmint/vermin round.~Muir

 

[robertw]

As I understand it the 5.6x57 was used mainly for hunting Roe deer and Chamois with a 77 grain bullet, not designed as a varmint cartridge, there have been a few of them in NZ but I have never run across any
a friend ran a gunshop and sold a few boxes of ammo a year, said they were bought by a couple of customers for hunting Fallow deer, heard of a chap that load his with Speer 70 grain semi point for deer hunting. Robert.

 

[ofbiro]

My late father in law owned a 5,6x57, he used on roes and chamois. The action was a Mauser 98 military, nevertheless it shot quite well (25-30 mm at 100 m). The factory ammo is produced only by RWS, GECO as you said and maybe, Hirtenberg. If you decide to reload better you use only RWS bullets, as the barrel was bored not to .224 (typical dia. of .22 calibers) but slightly larger. Let us know what you did.

 

[JMS906]

ok guys...I use my tikka t3 243 for an everyday working rifle....... now I used to have a krico many moons ago and allways loved the fullstocked versions...
on gunstar there is a full stocked krico in 5.6x57.... looks very sexy. having done some back ground work on this unusual calibre ...ammo seems to be rarely available with only factory stuff from RWS via geco on special order... does any one have experience of this calibre ?

That's a nice looking rifle for not a lot of money. The 5.6x57 RWS case can be formed from .270 Winchester brass. You will need to anneal the neck and shoulder, then full length resize to form 5.6x57 and trim to length. I have a technical drawing with all the dimensions, if you're interested, pm me.

-JMS

 

[9.3x64]

The 5.6x57 was originally designed to meet minimum requirements for shooting roe deer. It used a 74 grain RWS cone point for this purpose and is a great round.
However the neck is thicker than standard brass, this enabled rimfire adapter units to be used in a 5.6x57 rifle for practice during the closed season.

This is a round that has always fascinated me. I own a Krico in 9.3x64 Brenneke and will never sell it.
They are a very underrated firearm in my opion.
Hang onto it.

 

[bewsher500]

.224 calibre 74gr at 3400+fps on a roe is only ever going to be messy IMO

 

[ejg]

5.6x57 was quite popular in Ireland before the laws were relaxed regarding calibre. The RWS was one of the "biggest" 22's out there which was the max cal for all deer up to the early 90's. Because of the unusual thick wall section on the neck I think it is a flop design. Have a nice Krico stutzen in that cal stored for a friend in my safe, he had shot plenty Sika with it using the cone point RWS ammo.
edi

 

[peeblesman]

I bought my first krico from callum ferguson way back in the early 90,s loved it ...the stutzen version is just beautiful.... not sure if ill buy the 5.6x57 .... but if any one has a krico stutzen for sale I would be interested..

 

[chrisc]

if anyone is interested i have some 5.6x57 rds i will be going to kelso show if they want to meet up.

sorry to jump on the thread but it could help someone.

 

[Glen of Imaal]

5.6x57 works very well, only down side is the price of ammo. The 74 grain RWS ks bullet is the only one I can get for it. Still use it for a couple of trips every season. Not had a Sika complain yet. The Krico is a well made rifle, very nice to carry, a lot lighter than my Sauer!

 

[MARCBO]

A frined of mine was working on an article for Visier magazine circa 2003 and I had a chance to handle one of the newer Krico's then. It operated very roughly and I would not have considered buying one. The older ones are pretty good but they are out of production so if you have problems you will be on your own. Not a bunch of older model parts out there if you need spares.

SS

 

[peeblesman]

yes I had herd that spares were hard to come by...... is the factory ammo expensive ?

 

[Glen of Imaal]

Last box I bought here was about 65 Euro. Have enough stockpiled for a while. Only RWS available and only in the 74 grain ks.

 

[Glen of Imaal]

Only rifles in 5.6x57 that I have really come across here were Krico or Mannlicher. They were very popular when we were restricted to centrefire .22's. I don't think any manufacturer is offering it now.