What chambering to choose in an old x57 action?

B

bobnob

Handloader
Nov 3, 2012
678
11
I have a 19th century (1897 manufacture) Mauser rifle. It was rebarreled to 308 Win about 33 years ago. I have owned and used it for many thousands of rounds since 1984. It is - I believe - a 95 pattern action.

For the last few years in deference to the age and metallurgy concerned I have loaded it very light. Something in the order of 150g bullets around 2600fps from a 24 inch barrel.

I think the time is coming to rebarrel this in something more befitting its heritage. The receiver is one of those intermediate lengths ie built around the x57 action.

I figure there are 3 obvious choices: 7x57; 8x57 and 6.5x55. I guess 257 Roberts and 6mm Rem also spring to mind.

The rifle sees use on pigs and goats. The chance of deer could present itself. I intend to load the rifle closer to 40K PSI than 50K.

So folks, what say you? I am an avid handloader, so factory ammo is not a concern. What chambering should I go for that will give me good power and and decent trajectory in a low pressure loading?

I am very open to suggestion on this.
 
...6.5X55 Swede would be a good choice, 85-160gr. bullets in the 35-45K CUP range w/ good BC's...
 
They are each interesting cartridges. I do enjoy both the 7X57 and the 8X57, however. I would be intrigued to work with the 9X57 or the 9.3X57. Having said all this, were this my rifle, I'd sure be interested in seeing the old girl wear an 8X57 tube again.
 
I would go with a barrel in 7X57, but first I would identify the make and model of the rifle. If it is an 1895 Chilean Mauser it probably has Ludwig Loewe, Berlin stamped on the left side of the receiver and has the Chilean crest on top of the receiver ring. Nicely made rifles. I have a custom '95 in 7X57 that was my project rifle way back in my gunsmithing student days in the mid-60's. The Spanish model 93's which you often see barreled to .308 are not of the same high quality as either the Chilean 95's or the Swedish 94's and 96's. You are prudent in keeping your pressures moderate with these older rifles. Good luck and I'm sure you will be happy with the suggested chamberings.
 
Quick and dirty way to identify which model mauser you have is to look at the bolt face. If it id flat on the bottom, it's a 93 Mauser. If it's round, it's a 95. Could be a 96 Swede too but the odds are it's a 95.
I have a Chilean mauser based on the 1912 Steyr action, an M98 type that probably was originally a 7z57 that was converted to 7.62 NATO. Sez so in big ugly letters on the top of the receiver. :x There was a filler welded ito the front of the magazine to shorten the interior. Your rifle may also have one of those fillers.
Frankly, I strongly suspect your rifle is a Spanish M93, probably one of the one's Kimber sold a few years back. From what I understand, those rifles were proof tested and declared safe for full power .308 Win. factory loads.
I can't say if your rifle is one imported and sold by KImber or not but you might try contacting them and asking. If it has a synthetic stock that looks like a Ramline, it could very well be one from Kimber. I dunno if any were done with a wood stock.
I once had an M93 still chambered to 7x57 that was put together on some small British gun shop. The rifle looked like a Karamojo Bell .275 Rigby and even with the 3X El paso Weaver scope, the gun weighed 6.5 pounds. Whoever did the job knew what he was about. I regret to this very day ever selling that one.
Paul B.
 
My gleanings tell me it is a 95 pattern, a model which was sold commerically to Orange Free State at the end of the 19th century and some later were on sold to another country, which might have been Chile, not sure about that last factoid...

IMG-20120102-00541-1.jpg


It has been heavily sporterised...

IMG-20120623-01483.jpg


I definitely intend to keep this around 40K CUP, even though I personally have previously shot thousands of rounds of factory 308 ammo through it. There was a lot I didn't appreciate when I was doing that.
 
That's a tough choice all the rounds mentioned are excellent I guess you would need to decide if you want to shoot a heavy bullet from 9.3 of some kind, go for the all around choice of the 8x57 or a lighter weight option like the 6.5x55 or 7x57 which can still be loaded with high S.D. bullets.
 
A consideration in rechambering this rig is the potential for use of factory ammo at some point in the future. Thinking about that, it may be wise to consider the 8x57 as the new chambering. Modern factory ammo for the 8 is loaded to very low pressures, in deference to the .318 bore of the early version, the 8x57i. Current ammo is, of course, loaded with .323cal bullets consistent with the later 8x57is. With handloads, you could realistically propel a 150gr bullet at about 2800fps, or a 180gr at about 2500fps, most likely, and potentially more. Either would be a very good all around load from a classic rifle.
 
I'd go with a factory spec 7x57, and enjoy the heck out of a mild-shooting cartridge capable of great things.

A "relax & enjoy" kind of rifle.

Guy
 
Guy Miner":1qzqsmvn said:
I'd go with a factory spec 7x57, and enjoy the heck out of a mild-shooting cartridge capable of great things.

A "relax & enjoy" kind of rifle.

Guy
Click to expand...

Based on the OP's criteria a factory 7x was my knee jerk as well. Soooo many awesome bullets out there. Whereas the .323 can at times be problematic. However if that action were mine and
i was going to put CUP restrictions on it, and rightly so I might add, I would have to choose the 8x. For ammo availability as well as brass. The 8x is Western Europe's .30 '06. It's ubiquitous.
Anyway it's a fun problem to have and i appreciate the OP sharing. Great pics.
My $0.02 adjusted for inflation in Obama dollars.
 
Definitely am split between the 8mm and 7mm Mausers now.

8x57: A bit more case capacity and bore diameter would allow relatively healthy velocity at low psi with bullets from 150 to 180g. There also would not be a deer in the world that would be a match for a 195g Hornady Interlock inside 200 metres, even at 2300fps MV.
7x57: What I see this option has going for it is the outstanding 120g Nosler Ballistic Tip in 7mm. With a bc of 0.400+ it could easily be launched well over 2800fps at my pressures and have a trajectory equal to factory 308 Win ballistics, with good retained energy at 300 odd yards and almost no recoil. A good all rounder I would have thought.

So anyway that's where I am at for now. This rifle was Dad's, no doubt when my boys come of age and I give them some of my other rifles I will find myself using this old girl a lot. And eventually one of my boys will get this one.

Pretty neat 'eh?
 
Yes it is - and speaking of that 120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, that is the bullet used by both Stephen & Storm last fall on our Wyoming mule deer & pronghorn hunt. EXCELLENT results from his .280 and her 7mm-08...

Great accuracy and solid, one-shot kills. It's a real hum-dinger of a bullet.

Stephen posted a couple of threads on the hunt, and one specifically on the performance of that particular bullet.

Regards, Guy
 
As it's been narrowed down to either the 7x57 or 8x57, my vote goes to the 7x57. :grin: 8)
Paul B.
 
Razorbacker":2svggcz5 said:
The 8x is Western Europe's .30 '06. It's ubiquitous.
Click to expand...

This has certainly been my experience with the 8x57. I'm sure the 7 is also good, and I've heard from a good friend how much he loves his 6.5 for everything including moose in Sweden, but if it were me, knowing what I know about the various rounds, factory ammo, and the presumptions about this action, I'd lean to the 8x57. Bullets are available in various weights - 125, 150, 160, 170, 175, 180, 185, 195, 200, 220 - and the utility is nearly that of the -06 or the 308. Consider, too, that a 200gr Spitzer at 2300fps would give you 200+ yards of point blank range, and carry energy out to nearly 400yds for deer/elk, if you use 1000lbs as the threshold. I'm pretty confident in my 8x57 after seeing the 180gr BT results on white-tails at 150yds. A soft point/spitzer would offer good expansion, penetration, and mass downrange for deer, hogs, elk, or the like.
 
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