7x57 bullets

[Moonraker68]

I've found it hard and expensive to track down a decent supply of factory ammunition, so I plan to try reloading. What bullets would you suggest for roe? My rifle has a 1:10 twist and a 23 inch barrel. Thanks.

 

[enfieldspares]

At what distance, MR, at what distance?

Classic "Brit" hill stalking load was the one Rigby marketed as ".275 Rigby" a 140 grain bullet at 2,600 or 2,700 or thereabouts. For woodland stalking you might try something slower and heavier such as the 173 grain at 2,500 fps.

I guess that the middle ground is 160 grains which is also in metric 10 grammes.

 

[Moonraker68]

It's typically open ground stalking; anything from around 40 yards out to nearly 200.

 

[enfieldspares]

I'd go 150 or 160. No harm in 140 either. All will work well. If you're not concerned with any continental 10 gramme game law then all will work.

Except IMHO 140 (and 150) are too much like trying to be the .270 WCF but not quite as fast.

For that reason I'd mark it out as a true 7mm and take advantage of that and go for 160 grain at, say 2,600fps. Mild and yet flat enough out to your longer mentioned distance.

Or you could even go to 173 grain...just to be different and just because you can. You're lucky whatever weight it'll do the job!

 

[Tom D]

The Speer BTSP, is a nice bullet, there is a 130 gn, 145gn and a 160 gn, they are nice and soft and have good BC's. I'd go with the 130 for roe..

 

[jb7x57]

Found 130/140 best al round weight, Sierra 140 been good for me

 

[Southern]

No bullet will make the 7x57 Mauser into a 7x64 or 7mm Rem Mag, but with the right bullet, it will take a lot of game inside 200 yards.

If I had to pick one bullet for everything in the deer class, even large red deer, it would be a Speer 145 grain, probably the BTSP one, which shoots very flat and very accurately. But the Sierra 150-gr GK sitting on top of a full case of H-414 or 4350 is great, too.

The do-it-all bullets are the Hornady 154-gr Interlock, and tough 160s: Sierra 160-gr GK BTHP, Speer Hot Cor 160 gr, Nosler 160 gr Partition, and Speer 160-gr Grand Slam. Jack and Eleanor O'Connor killed sheep, wild boar, large bears, every kind of African antelope, leopards and Bengal tiger with 160-gr Speer at 2,600 FPS. The 160s are a bit tough for smaller deer, so I am getting a bit off track from what the OP asked.

 

[Muir]

I shot a mule deer this weekend at 225 yards with a 120 grain Game Pro @ 2800 fps using my 7mm-08. It was bedded on a uphill slope giving me a very narrow window to shoot as it faced away from me but at a slight angle. The bullet clipped the back of the left foreleg as it was tucked back towards the spine. The bullet proceeded through the chest and blew out the very front section of the right shoulder. Devastating. The deer was dead on the spot. I've taken a number of deer with these bullets. Slap, bang, dead. Cant' say enough about these Game Pro's.~Muir

 

[Southern]

The Sierra 120-gr Pro Hunter and the Nosler 120-gr Ballistic Tip work well inside 200 yards at 2,650 fps - a very mild load, but can be easily loaded up close to 3,000 FPS in 7mm-08 and 7x57 Mauser. The 7mm Nosler PT has a thicker jacket than the 140-gr PT, so it is not explosive, very accurate, and at 2,800 to 3,000 FPS, very flat shooting. My son started his whitetail hunting with the mild loads inside 200 yards from a 20-inch Model 70 carbine in 7mm-08. For deer most hunting, I would just use the 120-gr Sierra, as it is half the cost of the Nosler, so you can practice more with it.

 

[John Gryphon]

No bullet will make the 7x57 Mauser into a 7x64 or 7mm Rem Mag, but with the right bullet, it will take a lot of game inside 200 yards.

A Woodleigh Hydro will turn the 7x57 into a TIGER believe me it will punch way above its weight but in this case for Roe its probably a bit too much.

 

[Muir]

The Sierra 120-gr Pro Hunter and the Nosler 120-gr Ballistic Tip work well inside 200 yards at 2,650 fps - a very mild load, but can be easily loaded up close to 3,000 FPS in 7mm-08 and 7x57 Mauser. The 7mm Nosler PT has a thicker jacket than the 140-gr PT, so it is not explosive, very accurate, and at 2,800 to 3,000 FPS, very flat shooting. My son started his whitetail hunting with the mild loads inside 200 yards from a 20-inch Model 70 carbine in 7mm-08. For deer most hunting, I would just use the 120-gr Sierra, as it is half the cost of the Nosler, so you can practice more with it.

And it makes a distinctive noise when it hits, I've noticed. The last two deer I've taken with these died in their shadows: knocked flat to the ground.~Muir

 

[A Guy Out West]

Don't forget the 139 gr. Hornady SP.

 

[monarman]

With your twist rate and the fact your main quarry is roe .... I'd opt for a 120 grain load.
In My last 7x57 I'd worked up a very accurate load with h314 and 120 grain nosler ballistic tip hunting bullets, but 120 sierra prohunters are also a good choice.
Don't overlook the hornady 139 sst either.

Any heavier and your slower twist may not give you the best accuracy.... but as any reloader will tell you... it's trial and error.

 

[Heym SR20]

I have shot a lot of Roe deer with the Hornady 139gn softpoint. MV about 2600 fps - lots of penetration, reasonable expansion and not a lot of mess. And deer fall down straight away. I have taken large old bucks with through shoulder shots at 30 yards, to small yearling bucks and does out at 160 yards - and same result all the time. I have also shot a few red deer with it - same result.

 

[Moonraker68]

Thanks for the replies. My local dealer has Nosler 120gr spitzers and Sierra Pro-Hunter's in 120gr and 130gr, so that should get me started.

 

[Southern]

I have never seen a 7x57 Mauser with 1:10 rifling. Most are 1:8.66 or 1:9.5 or something like that.
The 7mm-08 is usually 1:10 and does quite well with bullets up to 160-gr, and especially with 145 and 150-gr and lighter.

The .280 Rem is usually 1:10, and has enough forward speed to stabilize any of the 7mm bullets.

 

[Moonraker68]

That's the twist rate on the Schultz and Larsen website for 7x57, but it sounds like I better check it for myself just to be sure.
The rifle is a Schultz and Larsen Victory.

 

[Southern]

Don't worry about the rifling. You are loading 120 to 140 grain bullets for starters, for smaller deer, and it will shoot fine.

Have you tried some factory ammo in 120, 123, 139 grain bullets? You should do that first, starting with inexpensive stuff and see if one of them shoots really well, then use that ogive length and MV as your reference to start reloading.

Don't obsess about distance off the lands, either. Just seat to the same ogive as factory ammunition which shoots well, or to the COAL given in the reloading manuals for that bullet. Older 7x57s have a fairly long throat, and shoot shorter and lighter bullets just fine. Align the bullets well and apply a crimp with the Lee Factory Crimp die.

 

[Acm]

hi moonraker, i bought a 7x57 earlier this year and quickly found the same as you. i started reloading for it with the 165 grn nosler accubond, with good results. i took maybe 10 roe with this load and a few fallow, plus a few foxes. i had no plans to change it as it was working well.
BUT,
i was in need of more ammo at the wrong end of the month back in august and a friend bought me down some 120grn sierra pro hunter from bisley. i loaded them up, very very accurate. kill roe very well without any disastrous meat damage. and I've since knocked a fallow over with it too.
the 7mm is not my working rifle. i just fancied a 98 actioned mauser. But i have found the same thing in every caliber i own, for roe, bullet choice is fairly un important. i shoot plenty with varmint bullets designed for foxes or coyote, and I've shot them with 220grn bonded round noses. Roe aren't hard to kill, bullet placement as im sure you'll agree is as it always has been, everything.

 

[JockStalk]

140ish grain soft point, take your pick. With a 7x57 you have already made all the major 'correct decisions' already��
Personally I've found Speer 145 grain soft points are superbly accurate and very little meat damage. And they bang gongs out to 600yds without trying.

If if there is a god, he's a stalker and shoots 7x57.

(and if you look close it's a Varberger )