7x57 loads for 1893 Mauser. Recommendations?

[jmoore]

Have been looking at various manuals to do some heavy bullet loads for the 1893s, but it seems that all but Lyman shy away from small ring Mausers. Oddly, some of the Lyman loads are rather hotter than those in the other books!

Thinking of trying IMR 7828, but would like to get some real world input first! Have 175gr bullets on hand, Hornady Spire points to start.

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[Patrick Chadwick]

My jaynoowine Boer Mauser, with the 1893-style flat-bottom bolt, shoots best with the S&B 7x57 ammo loaded with the 173gn SPCE bullet. Probably because the SPCE style provides the maximum cylindrical length for a good fit in an old military chamber, which is by now surely noticeably longer in the throat than a new CIP-SAAMI-conforming rifle would be. And the fired primers look good - no overpressure signs.

So my suggestion is: get a box of the S&B, fire a test target at 100 yards, and chrono the shots OR carefully note the drop compared with 50 yards shooting. Then, starting (of course) at the lowest charge in the reloading manual, work up until you hit an optimum - but go no faster/flatter than the values (velocity or drop) measured for the S&B.

Having said all that, I have not bothered to experiment with my Boer, since the S&B is so good and time is limited. Why re-invent the wheel? I am grateful for every commercial load that works well in such old rifles.

[Parashooter]

Go to Take Aim at Rifle Reloading Data | Hodgdon Reloading, select 7x57, 175 grain. You'll find plenty of pressure-tested data that's below the SAAMI maximum of 46000 c.u.p. - safe for any Mauser in sound condition. (Pressures with your bullets should be a bit lower than with the tough Nosler partition 175 they tested. Compare to their Sierra 168 data to see a charge difference greater than we would expect for a mere 4% weight increase.)

This would be a better source than some forum participant who might be careless, ignorant. or just plain nuts - like me.

Given the extended throats on most military 7x57's, best results may be easier to find with long-bearing round-nose bullets than with spitzers.


Not load examples - just dummy rounds showing how impractical it would be to seat near lands.

[ireload2]

I have two 7x57s. One is a a 77 Ruger the other is an all original mint M95 Chilean Mauser.

The Rugers shoots none of the 140 grain bullets well.
I have never shot a 140 grain bullet in the Mauser.
However both shoot the 175 gr Federal plain vanilla RN factory ammo like it was the best match ammo.
Moderate loads of 4350 with Herter's and Hornady 175 grn bullets shoot well in both rifles.

[jmoore]

Went looking for some 173-5gr round nose projectiles locally, but so far this is what I've found:







Otherwise, no joy.

Have one partial box of the 175gr Federal ammo, several boxes of the S&B. The S&B shot well in the Spanish 7mm, at least until I sorted the bedding so the tang wasn't trying to split the stock! (OLD thread, haven't had the chance to dredge it up, yet.) But the S&B's the loosest, cartridge headspace wise. Everything else has only about 0.004" fore and aft slop, the S&B is about 0.012".

[jmoore]

Looking at the on line data referenced above, looks like 7828, 4350 and maybe 4320 would be the top choices of the powders on hand. Liking the 7828 as likely will be easiest to match the nominal 2300fps out of the 30" barrel without using max. loads.

Probably won't order any components online until 2016.

Borescope indicates I need to scrub a little more rust out of the rifling before shooting. Slow going without getting too aggressive. No worries there. It's been clean and soak for a few weeks now. Throat looks fairly low round count, and surprisingly short (almost no freebore at all!), but haven't yet checked with a bullet.

[jmoore]

...
Given the extended throats on most military 7x57's, best results may be easier to find with long-bearing round-nose bullets than with spitzers.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2/mczsq0-1.jpg
Not load examples - just dummy rounds showing how impractical it would be to seat near lands.

Have yet to stumble across any 175gr RN bullets so far! Either locally or online. (Not that my Google-fu is strong, it isn't!) Hornady's site doesn't seem to list them anymore? Bother.
So pointy projectiles for now.

[Mako275]

Graf Sons - HIRTENBERGER BULLET 7MM (.284) 173gr RN PER 100

I've been looking for RN bullets too for my M95 Chilean. Found these above (173gr RN) and ordered them. Never heard of the manufacturer. We'll see how it goes.

[jmoore]

Thanks!

I've seen Hirtenberger 9x19 ammo before and shot a bit.

Will order some directly.