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well i'm starting this one:mrgreen: so there!!!
7x57 or 7mm-08
now i like both of them but i'm gotta say i luv 7x57. mostly because i have a fondness for old calibers. the 7-08 is more than enough to kill a deer, but the 7x57 is the best deer cartridge ever;).
i go with the 7mm-08, but you could very well flip a coin for all the practical difference between the 2.
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It's not a good idea to chamber pre-98 Mauser's for high-pressure cartridges like the .308 Win (which the 7mm-08 is based on), as they just don't have the safety features of the 1898/98 Mauser's.
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From 6mm Remington to .375 Nitro Rimless 2 1/4" that 57mm case is hard to beat. Old Herr Mauser got much right back then; but the Swedes, especially Husqvarna with their tweaked commercial versions, may have taken Mauser actions beyond Mauserto their peak.
I agree; 7x57 is the best deer cartridge in existence! [smilie=w:
It very probably is. I've shot one doe with it and she dropped right there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tracy
AND- P.O. Ackley said it was too!
You forgot the 5.6 x 57. And I think the 1909Argentine is the zenith of Mauser. Some think the P14 Enfield is......but the Swedes are gems!Quote:
Originally Posted by Landy88
Nah, I left the 5.6 and 10.75 out because the case is a bit too much for one and not enough for the other.Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas by God
True, the Argentine is a beauty, as is the Mexican; but I'll still pick Husqy commercials.
The P14 is a great fat pig, too big and heavy for all but elephant rifles; and if we stretch the Mauser that far we have to include M70s, Springfields, and early Sakos, all better than the Enfield.
Love that 7x57mm. Very effective, mild recoil. Have a very custom 1891 Argentine re-barreled to that cartridge.
Our family has much love for the 7-08 only because the savage 110's do not come in 7x57. But I personally have more luv for the mauser cartridges in any caliber because they are the originals and we have not improved much over them with our american contributions.
[QUOTE=pietro;4100362].
It's not a good idea to chamber pre-98 Mauser's for high-pressure cartridges like the .308 Win (which the 7mm-08 is based on), as they just don't have the safety features of the 1898/98 Mauser's.
That is a good guideline. There is no substitute for using the best action for the application.
But Israel rebarreled thousands of model 96 Mausers to 308. Fought several border wars and numerous battles with them. Have not read any failures. We had 4 (still have one) and after thousands of fired rounds never a hiccup.
I would not consider the model 1888 or previous models. But it would be interesting to know what it would take to destroy the model 93/96 Mausers.
The 7x57 is one fine caliber. More than equal to the 308 especially when hand loaded in a modern steel action to the full potential it can produce.
Mike in Peru
In the family(nephew owns it currently) is a "Guild gun"- a 98 sportered in Germany in 7x57.
They hand filed the steps from the barrel, carved the military club down to a svelte Schnable style, mirror polished and deep blue. The spoon type bolt handle cracked at the weld so I replaced it with a normal style from Brownells. The barrel was 27" long so I cut 4" off and the handling, looks and accuracy all improved. It wears a reissue Leupold 6x Alaskan. One of my brothers used it to take a 5x5 elk when it was his turn to own it.
It carries like a dream and shoots wonderfully for a military barrel.
7x57 for a Mauser action; 7mm-08 for other actions is how I come down on it.
Or. . . The Enfield is the the big, low-compression V8 that will power through whatever workload it is subjected to, and do it practically forever without the added, standing-start resistance of that silly, cock-on-open idea. True, you wouldn't want one in anything less than a .30-06-family round, but where do most of those "if you could only have one rifle" discussions lead?Quote:
Originally Posted by Landy88
We have the modern concept of short, fat powder columns being an enhancement to accuracy. This is probably true as far as Benchrest-level play is concerned, but for field use, most of the guns shoot better than we can. The older, gently-tapered, slightly larger cases operating at a slightly lower pressure that are slick going in and slick coming out - like the 7x57 - are of greater interest to me these days.