7mm Mauser Question

[Potsy]

Got a Ruger 1A and been thinkin' about a heavy cast boolit around 2,000fps or so. Something in the 160-175 grain range. Mostly for plinking, summertime pest control, etc.
Any comments or suggestions?
Also, kinda hate asking J-word questions here, but this is the only forum I post on. I'm taking said same rifle to Oklahoma looking for a piggy next week, she'll be stoked with 175 Hornady RN's running 2500fps. Anybody have any experience with this bullet? Will it hold up pretty well on close up pigs at that speed or do I need to avoid bone when picking my shot?

[Hardcast416taylor]

I kinda feel sorry for the porker you shhot. They will do the job just fine. Remember in Africa "Karamojo" Bell used 175 gr. fmj 7 Mauser ammo to take elephants.Robert

[StarMetal]

I kinda feel sorry for the porker you shhot. They will do the job just fine. Remember in Africa "Karamojo" Bell used 175 gr. fmj 7 Mauser ammo to take elephants.Robert

• He shot exactly 1,011 elephants with a series of six Rigby-made 7x57mm (.275 Rigby) rifles with 173 grain military ammo.
• He shot 300 elephants with a Mannlicher-Schoenauer 6.5x54mm carbine using the long 159 grain FMJ bullets.
• He shot 200 odd with the .303 and the 215 grain army bullet.
• He went to a .318 Westley Richards for a while, which is a cartridge firing a 250 grain bullet at about 2400 fps, but found the ammunition unreliable and returned to the 7mm.
• He also recorded that one of the reasons why he favored the 7x57 was that the ammunition was more reliable and he could not recall ever having a fault with it. Whereas British sporting ammunition, apart from the .303 military ammo, gave him endless trouble with splitting cases.
• The balance of his elephants were shot with this .318 and his .450/400 Jeffrey double rifle.
• He wrote about being able to drop an elephant with a light caliber rifle if he shot it in the same place that he would have shot it with a heavy rifle.
• It was unmentioned, but understood, that 7x57 ammunition cost a tenth the price of large caliber .450/400 Jeffrey cartridges and money is always a factor in business.

[Martin 1940 D28]

I give up

[StarMetal]

That bullet will be fine under any circumstances on those pigs.

[Ramsgate]

I give up

well, don't fret

(a little Dreadnought joke)

[Von Gruff]

Got a Ruger 1A and been thinkin' about a heavy cast boolit around 2,000fps or so. Something in the 160-175 grain range. Mostly for plinking, summertime pest control, etc.
Any comments or suggestions?

Giday Potsy, I have an abiding love for the 7x57 and have found the Lyman 160gn boolit to be a stellar performer. I cast it in lino and load over 39gn H4350 for 2415fps and 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in groups at 100yds. I cast the same boolit but with a 65gn softnose of 50/50 ww/pb on a lino shank over the same load for hunting and have had brilliant results with kills out to nearly 200yds so far. At this loading it is still doing over 1700fps at 250yds and recovered boolits have expanded to .577 retaining full weight.
For plinking I load the boolit cast in 50/50 over 11.5gn Red Dot for 1500fps and same sighting for 60-100yd play for volume shooting at 600plus shots to the pound of powder.

I load the 160gn Woodleigh to 2700fps over 47gn H4350 but for anything out to 250yds cant see the need for anything other than the cast softnose.
Have the 120gn GSC HV bullet at 3235fps with Fed 215 and 51gn BL-C2 and and exceptional accuracy.

Good luck with the grunters,

Von Gruff.