Pine Marten's symbolically-charged drilling.

[Klenchblaize]

‎Congratulations on your purchase PM

I do not propose to comment on your specific acquisition beyond it looks a very nice piece of kit with pleasing wood and such fowling pieces only afford me pleasure when flaunting their vintage Germanic lines from a dog-eared catalogue of similar parentage and if cradling a glass of S&N Brilliant Ale.
‎
What I do wish to say and with significantly greater relevance is that you are to be credited for so slavishly following a childhood dream and in the face of that ever-growing SD clamour that proclaims "it ain't no good and you're a plonker" if the action does do not bear the markings as might be more at home on a numbered Ealing Broadway Indian takeaway menu.

I say this as someone who's whole approach to hunting with a rifle is governed by an esthetic garnered from US hunting publications of the 50's through to the 70's ‎and one or two articles in particular. For this I make no apology to anyone . The articles referred to being no great works of literary geniuse beyond the good fortune to convey a very particular point in time allied to walnut and steel within a Fall landscape that to this day can bring on that same primeval awakening as did the first scent of our 2014 Autumn as it hit the back of this 50 something's scenting kit.
‎
Pursue your dreams however particular and against the tide of common consensus they may be as it is for you and no other to look back down the years and and consider if a life lead less ordinary was worth it.

Oh, and why the he'll didn't you get one with .22 Hornet barrel on top?!
‎
K‎
‎

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

 

[mchughcb]

Aha!

I shall see if I can track one down.

Thankyou.

So for the addition of a couple of hundred grams, a couple of hundred quid and bit of regulation at the range you can turn your drilling into a jack of all trades. Running rabbits, foxes and ducks at 40 yards, Rabbits, Foxes, Crows at 100 yards and Fallow, Red Deer and Wild Boar at 300 yards.

 

[Dalua]

I have seen 12 gauge subgauge sets from Briley, with are lightweight and work well. $350.00

Seminole makes nice ones, too.

I bought a set of these Chamber Mates in 28 gauge for my 12 gauge SxS shotguns.
They work way better than you might think. And inexpensive.
http://www.chambermates.com/questions.htm

Pistol barrel inserts for $150.00 USD Now we're talking !! $130.00
http://www.gaugemate.com/info/sub-gauge-adapters
http://www.gaugemate.com/purchase/category/39-pocket-sniper-10

That's a remarkable range of calibres - more I, I think, than the Lothar Walther range of sub-bore adapters.

They're meant for different purposes from the Einstecklaeufe of Keller & Simmann or Keppeller, though.

 

[Pine Marten]

Pursue your dreams however particular and against the tide of common consensus they may be as it is for you and no other to look back down the years and and consider if a life lead less ordinary was worth it.

Oh, and why the he'll didn't you get one with .22 Hornet barrel on top?!
‎
K‎

Thanks very much for the kind words, K. There must be a few others around with this sort of state of mind. Although my sort of namesake said it better:

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.

As for the .22 Hornet on top, I fear there are no vierlings within my budget, and anyway, that's your thing!

There's still an obstacle to realising this dream though, which is the total lack of response from the Business, Industry and Skills people who look after import permits.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Can you not simply go and pick it up and have the rifle entered on your FAC when you get there? We are after all talking EU aren’t we??

K

 

[Pine Marten]

I could do something like that but I'd have to go to Idar-Oberstein and back, which isn't exactly cost-effective... Actually I'd have to add it to my FAC, then to my EFP, then go and fetch it. So we'd be in a paperwork race between the BIS department and the Met Police. Who'd be faster? There's no telling.

 

[Pine Marten]

After all that, the BIS tells me that I don't need an import licence, I just need to have the gun sent to the gunshop, and they don't need an import licence either. So I called William Evans back and they went "Ah right, yes, you're right". Well that was all a waste of time. I've just arranged it all with William Evans and the seller now. Although they don't work on Mondays. And my cheque for the Yildiz appears to have vanished in the post, I need to ask the neighbours to check their letterboxes.

Everything just takes aaaages...

 

[private fraser]

Really interesting thread,nothing like an ambition realised. Your school jotters must have had teachers scratching their heads at what was in the margins.
Fashion can be a useful thing,allowing you to have what you want cheaply as long as you buck the trend.
I had a list of obscure pistol calibres I wanted to work through then it all went up the swanny.
You could get a pistol in 9mm browning long for lot less than £100 from Weller & Dufty.I still have the catalogues...sob.
Good luck with it and keep the reports coming.
Atb

ps.. you mentioned working up a load for fmj...because of range restrictions?

 

[Pine Marten]

ps.. you mentioned working up a load for fmj...because of range restrictions?

No, just because I want to familiarise myself with the rifle before taking it out stalking, and I'd rather plink away with bullets that cost 20p than ones which cost ~£1 each, that's all. It's not going to be a range rifle really, but I do need to find my way around it and make sure that I'm happy to shoot at a deer with it. Can't be taking risks with injuries and so on. I can't let this long story have an ugly ending after all, you'd all be disappointed.

 

[Heym SR20]

No, just because I want to familiarise myself with the rifle before taking it out stalking, and I'd rather plink away with bullets that cost 20p than ones which cost ~£1 each, that's all. It's not going to be a range rifle really, but I do need to find my way around it and make sure that I'm happy to shoot at a deer with it. Can't be taking risks with injuries and so on. I can't let this long story have an ugly ending after all, you'd all be disappointed.

Get a couple of boxes of bullets. Get used to the trigger pull using the shot barrel. Check and adjust the sights, rembering to get a good rest but hold the foreend firmly and rest you hand on the rest. Fire one shot at the target. Walk up to target, check position of bullet. Adjust to hit bang on at 50, 1 and bit inches high at 100. Fire a second shot and repeat. Key with Drillings and combos is letting barrel really cool between shots. Start with target at 25 yds and use the Hornady ballistic calculator to determine trajectory. Used the advanced settings to set scope height above bore - this does make quite a difference. Once you have shot half a dozen to ten shots you should be well sighted in - go hunting. You know how to shoot and just be confident in your ability.

 

[Southern]

No, just because I want to familiarise myself with the rifle before taking it out stalking, and I'd rather plink away with bullets that cost 20p than ones which cost ~£1 each, that's all. It's not going to be a range rifle really, but I do need to find my way around it and make sure that I'm happy to shoot at a deer with it. Can't be taking risks with injuries and so on. I can't let this long story have an ugly ending after all, you'd all be disappointed.

Heym is right; start by shooting proven loads made for the regulation of a combination gun or drilling. Once you get your rifle zeroed proven loads, then you can try to work up other loads which shoot to the sights. Don't adjust the sights you set with the standard loads.

Don't try to shoot hotter modern loads which will work in a single shot Merkel K1, Blaser K95, or Heym.

Since yours is an older drilling, the standard load is the same as for the original 7x57mm Mauser load for the 1893 bolt action rifles: 173-gr RN bullets at 2,340 fps.
Seillier & Bellot load them.
Prvi Partizan loads them.

They both also load 139-gr loads to the same pressure, at about 2,660 fps, so that is the next load to try.

What I am doing is setting my seating dies off these loads, then trying to seat other bullets to that ogive.
I am loading the 175-gr Hornady, working up to the 2,350 fps mark with different powders.
I am also loading a few 175-gr Speer RN bullets I pulled from so 7x57 Mauser ammo of unknown charge.

I am also loading the 154-gr Hornady RN for my next trip to the range.
If I get this to shoot, then I will try to get the 154-gr flat base spire point to shoot, as I am hoarding the RN.
If I get any 139 / 140 gr bullet to shoot to my sight settings but a little flatter, I will be real happy.

Hornady offers some 162-gr SST in a mild load, so I am going to try a box of those.

I am also working on getting the 120-gr Nosler BT to shoot at well, and it will probably be doing 2,800 fps.

 

[Pine Marten]

Thanks for that Southern. Could I just ask why I shouldn't adjust the cope to the point of impact of the bullets? I understand that you have to do that for open sights, but why do I need to do that for the scope?

Finding factory loads in 7x57R isn't going to be easy I suspect....

 

[palmer_mike]

Finding factory loads in 7x57R isn't going to be easy I suspect....

Kranks do ppu fmj rounds (for your practice rounds? )
7 X 57 FMJ BT 173gr PPU Rifle Ammunition Pack 100 [A141] - 62.85 : Henry Krank, Everything for shooters and collectors

 

[Pine Marten]

Kranks do ppu fmj rounds (for your practice rounds? )
7 X 57 FMJ BT 173gr PPU Rifle Ammunition Pack 100 [A141] - 62.85 : Henry Krank, Everything for shooters and collectors

Aaaah, but that's just plain old 7x57, not the rimmed version!

 

[palmer_mike]

Aaaah, but that's just plain old 7x57, not the rimmed version!

Aaah!

just done a google and ruag make factory loads with oryx bullets (not sure if anyone here stocks or could get them for you tho.....)
7 x 57R - RUAG Ammotec UK Ltd

 

[Pine Marten]

No, not easily, I suspect demand isn't huge. This is why I wanted to reload. I think our friend Southern may live in a world of comparable easy availability of bullets and easy access to ranges! Based on my current available range time, I would need about 8 or 9 trips to Bisley to follow his approach, which is getting on for two years of attendance... I'm afraid I have to be pretty focused. Although I absolutely take on board the main point about loads that this rifle was intended to shoot.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Or you could have it sleeved to shoot a rimmed cartridge of sensible proportions and with only 13grns of powder behind a 35g bullet shoot all day without pain to wallet.



K

 

[Southern]

7x57R cartridges and brass are not common here, but I can find S&B and PPU in larger gun shops, and order Hornady, Norma, RWS. I have lots of 7mm bullets from loading for the 7mm-08, .280 Rem and 7x64mm.

Since you are going to reload for this drilling anyway, and can use 7x57mm Mauser dies to do that, with a different shell holder, you could buy those PPU, pull the bullets, and reload the powder and bullets into rimmed brass. You can even make a few 2 gr less, 1 less, and shoot them through the chrony first for safety. Then, if things look good, drop in the full loads and sight in.

My bet is that if you use the standard low pressure loadings, you will on the regulation of the gun, and the iron sights will be on. Then just maybe tweak the scope. This gun has been used, and I bet it is on the money or close.

You got a great buy on it. The wood is beautiful, and the rings alone would cost what you paid.

You are going to be amazed at the precision fit of the action. When mine closes, the joint just disappears.

 

[Pine Marten]

My bet is that if you use the standard low pressure loadings, you will on the regulation of the gun, and the iron sights will be on. Then just maybe tweak the scope. This gun has been used, and I bet it is on the money or close.

You got a great buy on it. The wood is beautiful, and the rings alone would cost what you paid.

You are going to be amazed at the precision fit of the action. When mine closes, the joint just disappears.

Thanks Southern! I'm going to try and buy a box of S&B if I can find one somewhere. You never know, William Evans may even have one or two in mouldy boxes sitting in the storeroom or something. I'm trying not to let the excitement have the better of me for now because so far, no-one at either end has even asked me for money, let alone arranged the transfer. It's just one more thing on my list of projects that I'd like to conclude faster, but no-one else is that bothered and I have no purchase on them. Like the Post Office. The builders. The imminent new job. I just can't move them along faster than the pace they're prepared to go at...

 

[Southern]

Or you could have it sleeved to shoot a rimmed cartridge of sensible proportions and with only 13grns of powder behind a 35g bullet shoot all day without pain to wallet.
K

I have a bag of 7mm cast bullets which can be shot with 13 grains of Red Dot max, more like 10 gr, for .22 Hornet recoil and still deer deadly. You can do the same with jacketed bullets, or use Trail Boss or IMR 5744 or 4759. I surely will try it myself, to get a light plinking load shooting to the sights at some range 100 yards or shorter. It is great to be able to get familiar with a big centerfire rifle by shooting 50 rounds offhand and other field positions, same as a .22 LR.

See the posts above on the chamber inserts for the shotgun barrel. A .22 Savage HP or .22 Hornet would be sweet.
I will order a .357 barrel for my 20/7x57R combi, and if it works well, maybe .357 or .44 Mag for an old SxS 12 gauge.

The 7x57R with 173-gr bullet at 2,350 fps is just a bit under the .303 Brit with a 174-gr, so the powder and loads are close to each other. You can form 7x57R brass from .303 brass, and from .444 Marlin.