wyotimberghost

I had no idea 7x57's were so hard to get. I bought a used Rem 700 7mm Rem Mag for $250 a few years back and while he was getting the gun out of his cabinet he saw an old military 7x57 laying in there that he never shot and he just gave it to me for free. I never really shoot it and its in great shape. I might have to do a little work on it and sell it after seeing this thread.

James B

Its a fine old caliber. Much like the 6.5x55, it kills game way beyond what its balistics would indicate. Low recoil and effective. Its no wonder its been around so long.

Having one built would be no problem and components are available for it. Its sort of a medium action however. Its not really a short action or a long action and length wise is about like the 257 Roberts and 6 MM Remington.

Kyle K.

If you can't find a nice rifle in 7x57 consider building your own. You can pick up a Turkish Mauser in good shapenowdays for $80-100 easily ($55 if you have a C&R license), bend the bolt for scope clearance, new safety, drill/tap for scope,get a new barrel in 7x57, cut down themilitary stock and your good to go. You could even consider leaving it in the original 8x57 (verysimilar to 30-06) and using the original barrel.

If you have trouble finding a rifle that you likein 7x57 I'd definently consider this rought. You can put as little moneyor as much money as you want into a project like this and end upwith something thatis exactly what you want out of a rifle. Itcan be a lot of funif your into that and if not there are gunsmiths that specialize in building Mauser sporters with reasonable prices.

saladin

isn't the roberts based on the 7 x 57, james?

interestingly, ruger chamber the M77II in 257 roberts, but not 7x57. and i noticed that they are just starting to reintroduce the 6mm Rem to the line up.

saladin

looking a bit further, you'll find that Blaser offer 7x57 in their switch barrel R93 straight pull bolt action, but at $3,500 australian, they aren't exactly cheap.

i guess it becomes a question of cost versus value. 7mm-08 would be the equal of the old mauser, and you'd get a bloody nice rifle in 7mm-08 for a lot less than than $3k!!

Galngbeard

Here's the ticket! Pick up a Yugo 98 mauser (about $125 for one in really good shape) and send it to E.R.Shaw. They'll do all the action work and rebarrel it, install a Timney trigger and a new safety and then blue it for about $500. Then you can get a nice laminated stock from Boyds for about $100. Now you've got a really nice, accurate 7x57 for about the same price as a new standard rifle - or you could just buy a 7mm-08 for about the same money.

ipscshooter

Where are you shopping that it costs over $700 for a new 7mm-08? You ought to be able to pick upa new 7-08with a scope and mounts for $500 or less.

Unless you are handloading, I'd just get the 7-08. Ammo is more readily available, and factory ballistics are a step up from the 7x57 or the 6.5x55.

James B

Yes the 257 Roberts is based on the 7x57 case. There is no advantage of the 7x57 over the 7mm-08. Its just kind of nice to dabble in the old cartridges. I have a Mauser in 7x57 that could be sproterized as it shoots pretty well.

Galngbeard

Hey IPSC, have you priced a Remington MTN rifle or A-Bolt or Kimber or stainless Tikka or Sako lately! You're not going to get a nice one of those for $700 with a really good scope these days unless you go used. I wasn't referring to the Savage, Stevens, Mossberg or other lower priced guns out there. Those are all fine guns, especially the Savage which are very accurate, but they are not my cup of tea anymore. I've had tons of lower priced guns with cheap optics and have gotten tired of just settleing for those and dealing with the problems often associated with lower priced equipment. Don't get me wrong - higher priced doesn't always mean higher quality, but i've found what works for me so these days I save a little longer and buy only top quality gear - i've been much happier since!

The 7x57 does have one advantage over the 7-08 and that is with heavier bullets. If you handload, you can get a little more velocity out of the mauser especially with heavier bullets. If your interested in building a custom rifle then look at the Montana M1999 - their short action has a 3.125" magazine which means you can get a 7x57 in a short action. I think the Howa has about the same size also but not sure.

Best of luck!

Zeak

I picked up a good used 7x57 in a Win model 70 Mountain about 12 yrs ago for the wife to shoot. She just loves this gun. Seems like I gave $280 for the gun and 2 sets of dies and 200 rds. of brass. The 7x57 will out do the 7mm-08 if you hand load for it. Not knocking the 7mm-08, I own 2 of them also. One is in a Striker pistol, and it is a lot of fun to shoot. Zeak