Author Topic: 7 mm mauser for hunting (Read 1393 times)

nealglen37 · « **on:** July 25, 2004, 04:28:47 AM »

Hello All:

I just bought a great little sporterized chiliean mauser at a pawn shop. I shoot a 140 grain PSP and get 2 inch accuracy up to at least 200 hundred yards. i have been using my 308 mauser with 180 grain PSP for hog/deer hunting in Oklahoma.I need a gun that will put an animal down fast as there is very thick brush, on the public hunting area I hunt on.

question...............how do you think the 7 mm mauser will compair to the 308 in putting game down fast? your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks, and everyone have a nice day.

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #1 on:** July 25, 2004, 05:46:54 AM »

Elephant hunting excepted, (a PH at the turn of the Twentieth Century did just that :eek: ) the 7 MM Mauser should prove a good performer IF you use a heavier bullet (170grn or better) for hogs. The US ammo manufacturers generaly load the 7 X 57 on the light side. You may have to go to the European firms (if you donot reload that is) to get decent Ammo.

1911crazy · « **Reply #2 on:** July 25, 2004, 08:24:06 AM »

The 7mm mauser(7x57) round has killed everything in NorthAmerica and thin skinned game in Africa too and the performance is right in the same area with the 303/308/7.62x54 and I'm sure the little 7mm will do anything you require its all about the shot placement. Reloading for the 7mm really opens up a wide variety of choices for a wide selection of game it can cover the choices we have are 100gr to 175gr bullets. I've been shooting the Sellier & Bellot ammo with great out of the box accuracy for bought ammo I'm happy with it. I just started reloading for it too I bought Lee Dies from Midway USA thery have very reasonable prices too. for Sellier & Bellot ammo you may want to checkout Outdoormarksman.com they have the cheapest prices around too. I'll be hunting with the 7mm soon too. BigBill

One must becareful when reloading the higher end of the loading specs maybe too hot for the older M1895 mausers so start with the lowest load and work up and inspect the primer for being too hot too so work up slow on reloading.

S.S. · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2004, 06:31:16 AM »

D.W.M.Bell did indeed kill Elephants with the 7 Mauser.
Not recommended, But he did it.
I would place the 7mm Mau. as one of the greatest
cartridges ever developed. In European loadings
it is substantailly more powerful than U.S. Stuff.
I too have a Chilean mauser in 7mm, also a Mexican Model 1915
and an FN model 1949 semi-auto. Within reasonable range I would not hesitate in shooting anthing on the North American continent with it except the Big Bears.

1911crazy · « **Reply #4 on:** July 26, 2004, 10:50:19 AM »

S.Sumner is correct since the 7mm had such a great track record in performance we developed the 30-06 round from it. BigBill

We should of used the 7mm and shortened the case a bit. Of course its hind site now because we are working on a 6mm now to replace the .223.

Big Paulie · « **Reply #5 on:** July 26, 2004, 11:14:32 AM »

I don't mean to spoil the party, but in factory loaded ammo, the .308 Winchester is the superior round and will put game down faster than the 7 Mauser. If you hand load the 7 Mauser, then it will be perhaps the equal of, but not better than, the factory loaded .308 Winchester. As a practical matter, you will not see a hair's worth of difference in terms of their performance on game.

Also remember, you can buy the .308 in factory loaded Hi-Energy or Light Magnum loads, which propel the 180 nosler partition bullet at the same velocity and energy as a regular 30-06 factory load.

All this having been said, the 7 Mauser is still a great cartridge.

Best Regards,

Big Paulie,

1911crazy · « **Reply #6 on:** July 26, 2004, 11:37:42 AM »

There is two different loads for the 7mm one is for the old mausers and one is for the new modern guns in 7mm. My hornady reloading book shows the specs for the 7x57 mauser for the winchester model 70, the speer book shows the 7x57 load for the ruger rifle while the lyman book shows the 7x57 load for the M1985 mauser. So one must becareful which load we go by for which rifle. I'm shooting the Sellier & Bellot 7mm in 173sp which imported ammo is known to be hotter than the american made wimpy ammo. But i'm still impressed with the performance of both the small ring mausers the 6,5 & 7mm because of the way they handle vs. the power too. The recoil is managable and the accuracy out of these 29" barrels and even sites is unmatched. In the speer reloading the 7mm load for the modern rifle goes 2,600fps and has 2,627me thats right in there with the ones mentioned if your new bought ammo is what it says it is(loaded to what they claim). BigBill

S.S. · « **Reply #7 on:** August 03, 2004, 03:05:43 PM »

ONE OF THE GREATEST, I have to stick by that.
The 7mm Mauser was introduced in the 1893 mauser rifle
if memory serves. Therefore it was doing what the 308 can
do, but it was doing it more than a half century earlier. It was
doing it with less recoil and it was doing it with equal or better
accuracy. We have a number of calibers that are more powerful,
and come in a staggering assortment of bullet weights and velocities.
But are they really any better? I personally don't think so.
I would go even a little further and put the 7x57, the 7.65x53 or the 7.92x57 cartridges easily as 3 of the top ten greatest.
What would be number 1 ? The .22 Long rifle of course!

1911crazy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 03, 2004, 10:33:49 PM »

The 6,5x55 swede and the 7mm mauser have very close the same recoil and accuracy too and the only difference is in the power between the two. I like stepping down from the big bores to shoot the mid sized bores for it sure does make a good day at the range without getting hammered by the big bore recoil. Its all about accuracy and a well placed shot and the gun can do its part if we the shooter do ours.
BigBill

Don't sell that rifle short that has that little hole(bore) in the barrel.

35Whelen · « **Reply #9 on:** August 10, 2004, 06:46:14 PM »

I've used a 7x57 quite a bit. Killed a bull elk with it as well as a deer or two. It kills as well or better than any of my other centerfires. My father has used a 7x57 extensively on whitetails. He handloaded a 139 gr. Hornady SP to nearly 3000 fps. His only complaint? This combination had a tendency to wreck deer. I remember a doe he shot with this rig. It was a quartering shot from the rear and it made a huge mess. Don't worry, it'll handle anything Oklahoma has to offer. Oh, and by the way, Hornady loads the 7x57 in their Light Mag. It runs a 140 gr. SP at 2830 fps. There's not a deer or hog anywhere that could walk away from that!!