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I picked up my Grand fathers BRNO Mauser action the other day.
It’s chambered in 7x57 and came with a bunch of 50 year old ammo.
I’m looking to take it out to the range and wonder if anyone is shooting factory ammunition and there is any recommendations
Also looking at loading for it if it is shooting ok. Anyone have it any success reloading these?
The Brno rifle will be way better than the 50 year old ammo. Fine to shoot it but a 7x57 that I used for nearly 30 years got more accurate as it got older . . . .actually I think ammo and projectiles improved heaps during this time.
Reloading will get you the best results in term of both power (US ammo is woeful in 7x57) and accuracy. 160 Gn Sierra's are very reliable on any NZ game and nearly always shoot well in just about any 7mm you can shoot them out of.
Cheers
In my experience most of the BRNOs are long throated for 175 gn military ammo.(I have a Model 21H, as well as a ZZK600).
Take this into account when you are handloading and you will be fine. They can handle European pressures (US factory and reloading manuaks both underload the 7x57)
Great chambering on deer when loaded with Sierra 140g Gamekings and 2208
I used 140 Gamekings and H414. Grouse calibre.
An excellent cartridge with a versatile range of projectiles available. Pre-WW2 'Karamojo' Bell used one (with 173 grain RN FMJ's) for head-shooting over 1,000 elephants (as well as the 6.5x54) but his technique of creeping into a sleeping herd then climbing a step-ladder to get precise shot placement is not for the faint-hearted!
Great calibre, I used one for years before it was stolen! I used nosler 150 B/Ts and 2208 and it was accurate and very effective on all game including pigs. It didn't seem to recoil much and that was before suppressors came along, so great for new hunters.
Regards
Ruger7mm
@gundoc not a lot of room for mr cock-upQuote:
Originally Posted by gundoc
Greetings Tony D,
So you have your grandfathers rifle. Well done. You must have done something right. May I suggest you resist the temptation to turn it into a modern rifle, you likely have other rifles that are much better suited anyway. These rifles with historic family connections are treasures which can be taken out for an aimless wander through some nice easy deer country when the mood takes us. Any deer spotted can be taken or not depending on our mood at the time. As far as loads go have a look at your grandfathers cartridges to see what he was using. You might have to pull a few apart to find out if they are not in their original boxes. The 7x57 is not chambered much these days having been displaced by the 7mm-08 (or the 7x64 in Europe) so handloads are probably the story. As others have stated the rifle will have a long throat so longer and heavier projectiles are likely the best bet. I see that even in the current component drough Reloaders has at least 3 options in the 175 grain area. Backed with a suitable charge of AR2209 this would kill anything in NZ out to 200 metres or so. Ken Waters in his 1968 Pet Loads report favoured 44 grains of IMR4350 and 1970's manuals listed 45 grains for around 2,400 fps as max. IMR 4350 is a little slower than AR2209 and Hodgdons suggests a max of 37 grains of AR2209/ H4350 for a low pressure load and I would start there. Enjoy loading for it.
Regards Grandpamac.
Old Karamojo Bell Article. (A bit fuzzy, sorry.)
Attachment 188755
A superb cartridge. been loading for it for a long, long time.
If it was my grandad's this is what I would do.
1. Google model, see what I could discover.
2. Have competent gunsmith check bore, throat and measure twist rate of rifling.
3. Don't modify
4. Check out the ammo but put aside for interests sake.
5. If reloading you will find a heap of information on here from very competent people.
6. Totally ignore all American forums re reloading for this cartridge.
Enjoy the rifle
A superb cartridge. been loading for it for a long, long time.
If it was my grandad's this is what I would do.
1. Google model, see what I could discover.
2. Have competent gunsmith check bore, throat and measure twist rate of rifling.
3. Don't modify
4. Check out the ammo but put aside for interests sake.
5. If reloading you will find a heap of information on here from very competent people.
6. Totally ignore all American forums re reloading for this cartridge.
Enjoy the rifle
I should add that I used to own a .275 Rigby but all I ever shot with it was a very large boar on the back face of Mt Grey, and a possum running along a fallen tree at 20 yards which, in the fading twilight, looked just like a deer running about 100 yards away. The express sights on the Rigby made it an easy swinging shot. An American mate made me an offer I couldn't refuse and he took it home to be "the only goddam deer hunter in New England using a Rigby"!
Thanks for all the info, looks like this adventure will be a bit of fun.
Will def keep it in original shape. This was a well used rifle around Te Anau pre/during Deer cull days. And I never got to meet my GF as he passed before I arrived.
I’m guessing it is a 21H with a its set trigger???
GF used 140GR Norma - so will start around that weight.
Next stop Gunsmith for a once over then a couple of boxes of factory to start.
Pics below
Attachment 188765
Attachment 188764
Beautiful rifle. I have a custom DWM Mauser 7x57 and shoot a range of projectiles, but mainly 130 gn Speers in front of 48gn 2209. I have scope mounts here that fit your rifle if you need them. My rifle has a 3-9 Swarofski.
He didn't do that. At one time he did stand on his telescope tripod so he could see to shoot elephant over six foot high tall grass, but what you described about sleeping elephant and a step ladder was some big bore enthusast being sarcastic posting on the net. (ie, that's the only way they figured he could kill an elephant with a 7x57...)Quote:
Originally Posted by gundoc
He shot 1011 elephants - 800 elephants with a 7mm Mauser (and the rest mostly with a .318 Westly Richards.) But people forget to mention he shot 800 buffalo and about 50 lions with his 7mm or a 6.5mm too!
Forget the gunsmith, unless its obviously rusted and pitted anywhere, its going to be fine. I had the exact same rifle in 8x57.
The 7x57 is underloaded both in factory ammo and the reloading data, because of the old Remington rolling blocks which can only handle low pressure. But with a modern Mauser like yours it can be loaded to the same pressures as the other modern cartridges your rifle was chambered in.
With factory ammo you are stuck with what you get, which is low power but will still kill deer fine - the best of the lot from the shop is the Sellier Bellot 139 grain, which is faster than the American brands and has a good round nose, its quite an impressive killer on deer.
For reloading the 7x57 I use 7mm08 data (and you are safe here also, because the 7x57 case is 8% bigger volume so pressures are very slightly lower.)
In my rifle I load 50 grains of AR2209/H4350 with a 139 grain HOrnady soft point and it shoots one ragged hole. This is a max 7mm08 load.
Three deer with it so far this year, and I have observed that for some reason I cant explain the 7mm kills better than my .308 even though the bullets are going about the same speed and are the same interlock construction. I dont know why, but I notice it whenever I use the 7mm.
A beautiful old classic rifle! They sure don't make 'em like that any more.
Had the opertunity to shoot and hunt with a 7x57 Brno many years ago. It was an absolute hammer. Accurate as. This one seemed to love 139gr bullets(Hornady). Dropped Warthog, Kudu and Bluewildebeest like they were stuck by lightning.
Wanted to build myself a 7x57 Ackley ever since - even got the reamer.
The 7x64 would be a good one too.
I was thinking of moving to a .280 but I’ll stick with my 7x57 till I leave the uk.
I've got two M70 winchesters in 7x57 an older push feed, and a newer, limited run controlled feed, from 7-8 years ago,
I run them with a 48 Gr, charge of 4381, and either a 162 gr a max, or ELD, or 150 gr ballistic tip,
Love em, great rifles and a solid performer with 162 gr A-max,
Being on the receiving end of the 7 x57 fired from a mauser impressed the americans so much that they ditched their new 30 krags for a Springfield mauser and the 3003 later to be the 3006.
How can you go wrong
Gees if only I could buy one…Quote:
Originally Posted by southernman
I had one and it was a great rifle. Beautiful and accurate, beautiful balance.
Before being stolen.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’m running the 139g to interlock with a charge of 44 H4350. Sadly I’ll have to change this as they have banned the Hogdgon powder here on in Europe. Also leads on the way out. So I’ve started looking for a substitute.
The new N555 Vihtavuri powders look promising and I think I’ll go for the Hornaday GMX.
Just need to wait for some stock to come in.
Why the Hodgdon powder ban?.
It’s a great caliber, certainly easier recoil as I found when I was a teenager compared to a .308
I bought a Winchester Model 70 7x57 and hunted everything with it from goats, pigs, sika, fallow, reds & tahr.
I used 139 gr Hornady with AR2206 which was a lethal accurate load.
I did try some big 175 gr RN but from memory can’t remember how they went.
As others have said factory ammunition especially from the states is well under powered however if you get some European ammo it’s got more grunt but reloading will bring the best out in the 7x57
As others mentioned there’s a lot of history with the 7x57 from Karamojo Bell, Jim Corbett, American Spanish & Boer War to it being well used here in NZ as it was a well mentioned calibre from numerous authors including Philip Holden.
Great calibre, great rifle.
Best of luck & hot barrels
