7x57 accuracy

[Woodlander]

Is a vintage round, such as the 7x57, as accurate as say the 7-08, all things being equal?
It’s obviously plenty accurate for hunting at sensible distances, but could it be consistently 1/2-3/4 MOA?
Just looking at the relative merits of some 6.5 and 7mm cartridges.
Thanks

 

[ejg]

Recon accuracy will have more to do with the rifle, bullets and loading. Nothing really bad about the 7x57 design or other way round nothing really much better with a 7-08. Slightly higher pressures for the 7-08 that might suit modern powders better???
edi

 

[Yorric]

The bullets are the same for both so if sent at the same velocity they will perform the same. The cases are not massively different in form and capacity so internal ballistics won't influence accuracy.
IMHO the rifle would have the biggest influence on group sizes. Whichever rifle fits you and shoots best for you is the one to get.
Both chamberings will work out to long range pretty equally.
Availability of ammo and components is an important consideration.,,,, especially in Shetland!
Ian

 

[bullet chucker]

Modern/NEW rifles are available in 7x57 so why' would it shoot any different to any other selection on the list?

BC.

 

[Bowland blades]

Being honest at 300 yards there is little to say about tge shape of the case that propels the bullet . That's a long shot on deer that most won't take .
Word of caution buy something local rfd in various areas of our nation won't be likely to have in stock as components or as factory is bad news in a stalking rifle if your in a bind (thats experience speaking ) .

 

[HandB]

I have a 1955 BSA Hunter in 7x57. My handloading skills are crude as I only neck size, don't tumble my brass etc, but it still shoots under an MOA at 600yds using cheap PPU brass and S&B bullets:

 

[Bowland blades]

Is a vintage round, such as the 7x57, as accurate as say the 7-08, all things being equal?
It’s obviously plenty accurate for hunting at sensible distances, but could it be consistently 1/2-3/4 MOA?
Just looking at the relative merits of some 6.5 and 7mm cartridges.
Thanks

Yet to find a cartridge design that couldn't do 1/2 moa ( rifle condition and build allowing). You won't get much more primative than 22 hornet and mine is crazy accurate 1/2 - 1/4 moa out to 200 . Real diffences in accuracy happen a lot further out with cartridge inherent accuracy

 

[Ronin]

7x57 and 275 Rigby are both very accurate (and similar) rounds

Having built several for clients and owning my own (275 Rigby) I can confidently say that it’s an accurate cartridge

Factory ammo is available and works well

Developing your own load will (or should) produce better accuracy (assuming one is competent to make ammo)

7x57 or 7mm Mauser was used extensively in the Boer war - possibly killed as many beings as 303 and 6.5x55 has

Very effective and accurate killing cartridge

 

[PeterH]

I did some reloading for a guy's 7 x 57 in an old Sako and despite a bore camera showing a fairly poor bore condition, it shot reasonable well. The 6" gong was at 300 yds and all 10 shots were on target.

 

[NP435]

7x57 can do what the shooter behind it can in my experience.

 

[JockStalk]

7x57 is very under rated!

 

[Scipio]

Modern/NEW rifles are available in 7x57 so why' would it shoot any different to any other selection on the list?

BC.

Hey Bullet chucker, and good question! i Guess it pertains a bit to what makes a cartridge "inherently accurate", (if there is such a thing) or easier to load for.

Now i own two calibers which one would do best to reload for, more specificaly, the 6.5 and 7x 57 Mauser, and given that i am looking to start reloading this summer, i have started reading up on reloading in general, but these calibers in specific.
From what i can gather, if there is such a thing as an inherently accurate cartridge, or cartridge family is debatable. The quality and state of your barrel, the bedding of the action to the stock, your trigger, the fit of the stock to the your preferences and body, the quality of the ammuntion you use and your own ability as a marksman are likely all more crucial factors than your choice of (similarly classed) cartridges.

This said some cartridges are likely easier to obtain good results with than others with less effort. This can be down to more and better commercial ammo simply existing for one cartridge vs another. Just think how many more options you have available in 308 vs 7x57 for example. Thus finding commercial 308 ammunition that works in your rifle will be easier than say in 7x57.
With regards to reloading, there is simply a lot more data available on the more popular cartridges, which again makes things easier. On top of that rifles made for the 7x57, as i understand it, frequently have quite large variations in throat length (or rather freebore) between them, than say most 308 chambered rifles.
Hence if you're dealing with a 7x57, what works in your chamber and your rifle might be relevant mainly to you and your rifle vs if you were dealing with a 308. So you will likely have to do more work yourself, developing loads that works for your kit, and your kit mainly. I guess that is a charm to some, and a bother to others.

Just my 2 p, anyways.

Claus

ps. Ron Spoomer, though someone involved in the industry, imo tends to actually speak sense. In this video he speaks about the 308, but via that also touches on why some cartridges perhaps develop certain reputations:

 

[Scipio]

7x57 and 275 Rigby are both very accurate (and similar) rounds

Having built several for clients and owning my own (275 Rigby) I can confidently say that it’s an accurate cartridge

Factory ammo is available and works well

Developing your own load will (or should) produce better accuracy (assuming one is competent to make ammo)

7x57 or 7mm Mauser was used extensively in the Boer war - possibly killed as many beings as 303 and 6.5x55 has

Very effective and accurate killing cartridge

Hello Ronin, isnt the 275 rigby simply an anglified name for the 7x57 mauser ? I always thought so, but i might be mistaken of course.

 

[Kalahari]

7x57 is very under rated!

Not by Karamojo Bell, it wasn't.

David.

 

[SDC7x57]

Another disciple here - I've shot this round for more decades than I really care to admit. I still have two - one is a hand built beast on a Mannlicher Schoenauer action, with a Ferlach barrel, and the other is a modern Schultz & Larsen. I shoot factory and hand loaded ammo and I can honestly say that if a shot is seriously adrift, whether it's on paper or on a beast....it's me, not the rifle. At 100m, I would hope to completely cover three shots with a 10p piece, although I have no idea how that translates into MOA accuracy.

 

[Roedeer 1962]

N160 is good for 7x57

 

[Muir]

My 7x57's were / are half MOA rifles.
The last deer I killed with my 7x57 was a large whitetail at 275 yards with a 140 Game king in her chest. She fell onto her shadow. That said, I have retired that particular rifle in favor of my Tikka 7-08. Not only is the 7-08 possibly more accurate than that custom stocked 7x57, but it can be rode had and put up wet with no issues. I smile every time I drag the stock across a rock...~Muir

 

[LeftHandGuy]

Hello Ronin, isnt the 275 rigby simply an anglified name for the 7x57 mauser ? I always thought so, but i might be mistaken of course.

It's the same case, chamber and bullet diameter, but I think Rigby's bullets were lighter and his pressures and velocities higher. As to whether CIP or SAMMI ever recognized the Rigby as a distinct cartridge I don't know.

 

[Scipio]

It's the same case, chamber and bullet diameter, but I think Rigby's bullets were lighter and his pressures and velocities higher. As to whether CIP or SAMMI ever recognized the Rigby as a distinct cartridge I don't know.

I don't know either, but if they basically just changed the bullet weight and made it hotter powder wise, i very much doubt it would qualify as a new cartridge, as they've haven't changed The necessary variables.

But again I can't claim i know.

 

[Heym SR20]

Some intercomments by Ron Spomer in his discussion on the 308 in video below.

The cartridge itself is probably the least important part of an accuracy package. Good quality barrel, put onto a well made rifle, shooting good bullets with a consistent load that is tuned to the rifle is key to accuracy.

I think that high pressure rounds are often less tolerant than lower pressure rounds. Nothing per se to back it up, other than my own experience and observations.

Where the 7x57 gained its reputation for accuracy was 100 years ago when it was being compared Martini Henry’s, early lee enfields etc in the Boer War. More importantly it was being used in good Mauser rifles by riflemen who had grown up shooting rifles. If you had given the Boers 303’s they would have a long standing reputation for accuracy.

Today 7mm-08, 308, 6.5 CM are all considered accurate cartridges because you can by well put together accurate rifles and plenty of choice of good well made ammo.

By comparison there are fewer 7x57 being made, many that are available are often well used, abused or cared for, and ammo choice is more limited.

But what I can say is my 7x57 Rigby will shoot nice tight groups with Fox, Remington, RWS, Federal and Hornady ammo - all well within the magic MOA, and more importantly at 100 yds pretty much puts them all to the same point of aim, regardless of bullet weight.

Is that special for the 7x57 - no. I know of other rifles in different calibres that are the same. @Edinburgh Rifles has a 308 Tikka T3 thats the same, and @Pine Marten will say the same about his 7-08.

Where the 7x57 possibly has an edge over the 7-08 is you are generally using a longer action with a longer magazine so depending on you barrel throat you can use a longer thus ballistically more efficient bullet with sufficient powder volume to give good velocity. This will be less effected by wind, and thus more forgiving if you don’t read the wind correctly on longer range shots.

The flip side is that 7-08 is loaded to full pressures and thus high velocities from the start. Whereas a lot of 7x57 - especially of US manufacture is loaded on the basis it could be used in 100 plus year old rifles.