What Have You Killed with the 7x57

mauser98 said:

The Expert M98 is a refined rifle no doubt but it was also tieing up 10,000$ which i wasnt putting to use. The cz cost 1/10 of that, and am not afraid to use it as a hard working rifle. Same function...and in all honesty handling many of my mausers and copies compared to the m98 Expert never gave me that premium feel. It's pay for the name to play the game type of thing going for it.

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Mmm...OK but mine feels "premium "....and think looks it....and have handled plenty of "premium " rifles and owned the odd one....and as said mine is carried and used....the cz 550 is great as well...have 2 ....calibres are just a bit bigger though....if I could find a cheap 7x57 here would probably get it just so can have the extra yearly ammo allowance

Don't get me wrong the grade of wood and finish were better than most of my rifles but in all honesty a well done up semi custom mauser feels much of the same to me, but to each thier own. The old rifles have more soul to them...like my 1912 oberndorf 7x57, or my 1913 dwm factory 7x57 sporting rifles.

mauser98 said:

Don't get me wrong the grade of wood and finish were better than most of my rifles but in all honesty a well done up semi custom mauser feels much of the same to me, but to each thier own. The old rifles have more soul to them...like my 1912 oberndorf 7x57, or my 1913 dwm factory 7x57 sporting rifles.

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Give it another 100 years and it will be the same

jnmullins said:

My 7x57 is a JP Sauer Mauser made sometime after WWII, but not sure when. I bought it as a barreled action from Gunbroker, installed a Timney trigger and did the work on a Richard’s AA stock. The scope is a Herkules 6x42 claw mount from eBay that I had to drill new holes in the rail for the rear claw to line up with the rifle.

I had this buck on camera on New Years Day this year, then he followed a doe out into an opening at 60 yards. I was using 175gr RN, probably Hornady, since that is the only thing that shoots reasonably close to point of aim within the adjustments of the scope

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That is a hoss of a buck sir and the rifle is exquisite!

All UK deer species fox hare crows ..

Africa everything up to but excluding Eland ..
. Iceland some seals and seabirds

Icelandic fox

All from a BSA I once paid 100 pounds for

Told ya I was cheap

In 2025 I took my Pre-War Rigby (.275 Rigby) to Zambia. I shot 140gr Accubonds that Lonnie at Superior Loaded for me in 7x57 Brass and a handful of once fired 275 Rigby cases. No issues entering Zambia or South Africa with the 7x57 stamped cases.

Target shows how it groups with the 140gr Accubonds off a sandbag with the Swaro Fixed 6. I’ve since swapped the scope to a S&B 3-12x42. I do want to try the 140gr TTSX a bit more and see if that flyer was me or the ammo.

That trip I took Sable, Kafue Lechwe, Puku, and Crawshay’s Waterbuck with it.

Mtn_Infantry said:

In 2025 I took my Pre-War Rigby (.275 Rigby) to Zambia. I shot 140gr Accubonds that Lonnie at Superior Loaded for me in 7x57 Brass and a handful of once fired 275 Rigby cases. No issues entering Zambia or South Africa with the 7x57 stamped cases.

Target shows how it groups with the 140gr Accubonds off a sandbag with the Swaro Fixed 6. I’ve since swapped the scope to a S&B 3-12x42. I do want to try the 140gr TTSX a bit more and see if that flyer was me or the ammo.

That trip I took Sable, Kafue Lechwe, Puku, and Crawshay’s Waterbuck with it.

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People who do our visitors permits if its a 275 / 7x57, put both calibres on the permit like that so you covered

spike.t said:

People who do our visitors permits if its a 275 / 7x57, put both calibres on the permit like that so you covered

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That’s exactly what I did.
I also wrote both on the US 4457 CBP form. I did have to prove to the officer the two calibers were the same since my barrel wasn’t stamped 7x57 but there are enough articles online about that it was pretty easy.

'Just deer out to about 300 yds, using 140 Nos PTs (at nearly 7 RM velocity due to the chamber being Ackley Improved.) Stock, bedding, trigger job on a converted Montana M70 style action. It's a shooter! I'll have to see how it likes 160-175s, and if so I'll bring it over for PG oneday. The beauty of improved cartridges/guns is that the case headstamps remain the same! And, what's this 275 nonsense? ;p Friend loves his old 284 Winchester (handloaded, it becomes a short magnum.)

'vividly recall this deer...the temps plummeted and I was far from my truck, but this old-timer heard the shot, had enough and showed up to rescue me/the deer w/ his ATV! He's ancient, so he's got a permit to hunt via ATV (he just rides it to his fav stands/blinds <1 mi away.) More recently he got turned around in the woods and spent all night outside (on a sub-freezing night) until he was rescued. Amazing he didn't succumb to hypothermia.

Hi,

In a M98 Standard, or similar action, and a barrel with the CIP standard specifications which allows a much longer OAL a la Creedmoor way, the 7mm Mauser-7x57, can be loaded at very similar performance level as the 270-280-284-7x64. I have did, and do, this from many years ago!

I’ve been working with my 7x57 a lot here lately. So there’s been a lot of paper killing. But I did get one opportunity last hunting season for a nice doe. I really enjoy that little No.1. I’m currently making plans to have one of my LH Winchester M70s into a 7x57 soon.
I also plan to take it on my first safari next year.

You raise an excellent point (in AI form, there's no advantage to the standardized 280 AI or even factory 7 RM ammo, but yes, including the 284 they are all performers!!!) I was never a 7 mm fan (simply b/c I had every .30 variant there was, but I happened upon a 257 Roberts (257x7mm Mauser) Improved and loved it so much, I had to have the parent case companion (and it's really beautiful to boot!) The below data is just an average. There are individual loads that surpass the 06 case in the 57 case! The '06 was simply an innovated version of Paul Mauser's invention by John Browning, but the smaller case has advantages with the 140 gr and down loads. It is also a stellar performer with the 175+/- grainers at low V due to the extreme SD! They can be seated out farther in an M70 or M98 or eq. Long (Std.) action. ~5 less grains powder (in hot handloads) and it performs about the same, and sometimes better (slight SD advantage for similar weight bullets in 7 vs. .30, and the .30 typically uses heavier at the cost of V and terminal E.) There exists a classic African safari video where a Mark? (not Sullivan or Buchanan) from the W. US uses a really beautiful GMA/Breeding 7x57 w/ heavy slugs to great effect on PG in E Africa. It is of film studio quality!

Clodo Ferreira said:

Hi,

In a M98 Standard, or similar action, and a barrel with the CIP standard specifications which allows a much longer OAL a la Creedmoor way, the 7mm Mauser-7x57, can be loaded at very similar performance level as the 270-280-284-7x64. I have did, and do, this from many years ago!

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*He had 2 rifles in the video-the 757 was Joe Smithson's creation using GMA I believe. There is something to be said about cartridges in the 50s grain range (7 and 06, but also improved shapes-fatter/shorter/straightened-the WSMs also take just over 60 gr but pack quite the punch in a small, super-accurate pleasant to shoot packages!)

7x57Joe said:

That is a hoss of a buck sir and the rifle is exquisite!

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@7x57Joe thank you very much. That buck is my biggest by a good margin and I consider him the buck of a lifetime. I’ve got trail camera pictures of him from the night before, which is super cool for me.

The rifle turned out exactly how I wanted. I wanted to build a custom 7x57 but then found this one at a price I couldn’t pass up. I’m a hobby woodworker, so the stock was a fun project. I replaced the tip cap with ebony and the grip cap with a steel one I rust blued myself. I also slimmed the stick down a bit and opened up the grip. It’s not a Rigby or Parkwest, but it just feels right in my hands.

franzfmdavis said:

These were taken in April 2025 in the Waterberg District in RSA with a Rigby Highland Stalker chambered in .275 Rigby/7x57 using hand loaded 175g North Fork bullets:

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If you don’t mind, what’s your load for your 7x57 with the 175 Northfork bullets? What’s the velocity?