Advantages and limitations of 7mmx57 round?

[cal30_sniper]

Most of the posts you see where guys use low recoil and meat damage for an arguement come from guys thats idea of shooting is popping off maybe a box of shells a year in there deer rifle and killing a deer every two or three years. They dont want to put in the time to master a bigger gun so instead of admitting they cant handle it put a lable on anyone who can or say they arent as cool of a hunter because they too dont use a small gun. Sorry but i use them all. Ive shot enough deer to have a pretty good grasp on what works and how differnt calibers stack up. You can preach that smaller is better or just as good till your blue in the face but preach it to me and you might as well be preaching to the choir. As to your arguement about weight. I wieght 250 lbs and worked a real job all my life and even at 56 i think im capable of carrying 8 flipping pounds around all day. Nope i hope God comes and takes me the day i feel i no longer need an o6 in the safe

Kudos to you. Unfortunately, not all of us are built like Goliath. I've weighed less than 140 lbs my entire life. For a person of lighter stature, there is a very clear difference in how much you get walked around by an '06 compared to a 7x57, especially from field positions. There's also a tolerable limit to how many rounds you can fire in a range day. Many times I've fired over a hundred rounds from a 6.5x55 or 7x57 in a 6-7 lb rifle in one day. I certainly hope I never have to attempt doing that with my '06. The Garand, yes, but definitely not in a light bolt rifle. As far as strength, I've gotten a max score on nearly every military PRT, PFT, and CFT I've ever taken. I'd still much rather carry a rifle that weighs 6lbs and works just as effectively as one that weighs 8. Pounds in the arms is completely different than pounds on the back. If you're hunting from a deer stand in flat country like you, it probably doesn't make much difference either way. Lug it around all day in rough country stalk hunting and see how you feel.

Not once did I claim that the 7x57 was ballistically equal to the '06. A 140grn bullet launched from a 7x57 and a 180grn bullet launched from an '06 are going to have a trajectory that is virtually identical. In fact, due to the better BC of most 7mm bullets, the difference between the two cartridges is actually going to shrink as ranges increase, not grow.

The '06 packs more punch due to the heavier weight bullet, plain and simple. It also does more meat damage and recoils a lot more. The simple fact is, the 7x57 is more than adequate for any North American game animal except the Large Bears and perhaps Bison. If you're hunting stuff that large, you're most likely not going to be reaching for an '06 anyways. So even though the '06 is more powerful, it's not a bit more useful in 99% of hunting applications.

For deer sized game, there is a sweet spot of calibers that includes the older .257 Roberts, 6.5x55, 7x57, and their newer cousins, the .260 Rem and 7mm-08. America is and has long been a .30 caliber nation. Just because the '06 is popular does not mean that it isn't overkill for many applications. If an '06 will do it, chances are, so will a 7x57. I'd like to see the situation that an '06 is ideal for that a 7x57 won't work just as well.

 

[Savage99]

"I'd like to see the situation that an '06 is ideal for that a 7x57 won't work just as well."

I am hunting in open land now for deer. The deer are much bigger than the bucks I got up North. These are big heavy bucks.

The ranges are much longer than up North. The last two bucks were at 240 yds and 280 yards. I don't want the bucks to run when hit as not all the land is ok to hunt on.

In my view cartridges like the 243 or 7X57 will not kill a deer as fast as a bigger faster bullet. Thus I leave them home. Nor will they shoot as flat or buck the wind as well. Also my favorite woods round, the .358 is out of place there.

I hunt there with a new to me favorite, a 30-06 custom. Also I have other rifles with a battery of magnums in both pre-64 70's and SS/Syn rifles. I am limiting myself to 300 yds on deer. I have a Leica rangefinder.

 

[cal30_sniper]

In my view cartridges like the 243 or 7X57 will not kill a deer as fast as a bigger faster bullet. Thus I leave them home. Nor will they shoot as flat or buck the wind as well. Also my favorite woods round, the .358 is out of place there.

I hunt there with a new to me favorite, a 30-06 custom. Also I have other rifles with a battery of magnums in both pre-64 70's and SS/Syn rifles. I am limiting myself to 300 yds on deer. I have a Leica rangefinder.

The .243 and the 7x57 are in two completely different classes of cartridges. There is twice the difference in bore diameter between the .243 and 7x57 than there is between the 7x57 and the .30-06. Where the range of useful bullet weights is very similar between the 7x57 and the '06, they are completely different between the .243 and the 7x57. The fact that you consider them in the same class shows the very error of your thinking on the 7x57.

The 7mm bullets have some of the highest BC of any hunting bullets out there. In weights useful for deer, they usually have a significantly higher BC than similar .308 bullets. "Bucking the Wind" is purely a function of BC, and has nothing to do with bullet weight. The 7x57 is going to buck wind better than an '06. As I stated before, a 140grn 7x57 load and a 180grn .30-06 load are going to have just about identical muzzle velocity. In most hunting bullets, the 7mm is going to have a better BC and SD, leading to a flatter trajectory and arguably better terminal performance. In the worst case scenario, the '06 will be able to match the trajectory of the 7x57, but it won't be able to surpass it. Even with 150grn bullets in the '06, the difference in trajectories is going to be fairly negligible.

At 300 yards, you are well within the capable killing range of the 7x57. 0.02" of diameter and 10-40 grains of bullet weight is not going to make much difference, especially on deer sized game. If you're hunting something bigger, a 150-175 grain pill loaded in the 7x57 will do just as well as anything coming out of that '06. Like I said before, if its something that the 7x57 is not capable of handling, the '06 isn't going to be a good choice either. That's where the Magnums and the medium bores come into play.

I'm by no means saying the '06 is a bad cartridge. It's a great one gun ensemble for the American shooter, not the least because it has some of the most readily available ammunition of any caliber out there. What I am saying, is that the 7x57 will do anything the '06 will do. It's more expensive, harder to find, and the rifles it is chambered in are rarer, but the two cartridges themselves are in the same class. The only difference is, the '06 makes more mess and more fanfare on the buttstock end. If you like that, then fine. It's no reason to categorize people who'd rather get the same job done with a more economical package as being weak or inexperienced.

 

[Savage99]

"The 757 is a great caliber, what its not is a 06 or even a 270. Sure a guy can twist the mathmatics around and make any round look good by also twisting the numbers on the round hes comparing it too. Bottom line has allways been and allways will be, add more powder and more bullet and you get more power. Real life numbers an 06 will push a 150 to 3000 and a 757 WILL NOT. An o6 will push a 180 as fast as a 757 will push a smaller diameter 150. How in the #### does that make the 757 equal to an 06. I own a nice 757 and load it with 140s at a tad over 2800 fps and its death on deer out to 300 yards so why say its more then what it is. As to all the guys who jump in and claim recoil is the big seperator. Well maybe for a kid or your wife but any Man who shoots regularly (and i assume we all do or we wouldnt be frequenting shooting forums) that can accurately shoot a 757 loaded up to the level you guys are talking sure wont go home injured after shoot the same rifle in 270 or o6."

sixgun junky