I can't find ammo for my 7 x 57 rifle

[rossrocket]

I am a rookie so please bear with me. I am new to hunting, bought a used Ruger 7 x 57 M77 rifle, and now I can't find ammo anywhere. Any advice on where to find ammo?

 

[dgoalie]

First, I want to say congrats on the rifle. I am a big fan of the 7x57 and have 2 Ruger M77s in that caliber. What era is the rifle? Does it have the safety on the top rear tang of the gun (2 position, fire and safe with locked bolt) or does it have a 3 position safety right at the rear of the bolt when the bolt is closed? The older tang safety 7x57s often like 175 grain round nose, while the newer 7x57s may like the lighter 140 grain boat tails. Brownell's seems to have a few of the 140 grain options in stock. Midway has a few options right now. Personally, I reload 7x57, but you can find ammo. the whole ammo issue right now is impacting all calibers. I'd guess materials and primers are causing the shortage of 7x57.

 

[oldguy]

First I'd like to say great choice of rifle in a great classic caliber. If you have any old school gunshops or small sporting goods type stores ( not the big names ) in your area you might be able to find some ammo. The main problem you'll have , even when the ammo shortage problem clears up , is the 7x57 is not as popular as it once was so the selection of different bullet weights etc. is not as extensive as it used to be. I've had good luck with Remington 140 gr. cor-loks in my Ruger #1.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Hello,

I have two rifles chambered in 7x57 and I am surprised that you can not find any ammunition.

When things in the ammunition world for consumers was at it's worst, say 3 or 4 months ago, I was still able to find 7x57 ammunition. At my local Cabelas, they had zero 308 but boxes of 7x57. Three different manufactures.

Hornady

Sellier & Bellot

Winchester

I have had luck going to the shows and wondering around the tables. I have found several deals from private parties selling older boxes. PMC and Federal.

It is out there. I have about 20 boxes in my man cave now.

Keep trying, it is out there.

Bill

 

[MikeJinVT]

Prvi is pretty good ammo. Try this link.
http://www.sgammo.com/product/prvi-...n-soft-point-prvi-partizan-thunder-ammo-pp701

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Tell us about your rifle..... 8)

 

[Geoff Timm]

You might pay a relatively high price, but 7x57 might be found by checking with the big stores, Gander, Cabela's, etc. and see if they can computer search the inventory and have them transferred.
Geoff
Who notes .308 is in short supply.

 

[rossrocket]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I was able to actually find some with the advice and links you gave me. I had visited the local gun shops, Gander Mountain store as well as on line, and even placed an order for brass at Midway which they couldn't supply. And for Buckeye Bill who gave great advice and asked me to tell you about my rifle. Well, it's about three and a half feet long and has this little thing on the bottom that when I pull on it then the rifle goes "boom!". I'll need a lot more experience with rifles before I can tell anything to anyone that makes any sense.

 

[Clark]

Also, some ammo manufacturers label 7x57 ammo as 7mm Mauser.

Clark

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I was able to actually find some with the advice and links you gave me. I had visited the local gun shops, Gander Mountain store as well as on line, and even placed an order for brass at Midway which they couldn't supply. And for Buckeye Bill who gave great advice and asked me to tell you about my rifle. Well, it's about three and a half feet long and has this little thing on the bottom that when I pull on it then the rifle goes "boom!". I'll need a lot more experience with rifles before I can tell anything to anyone that makes any sense.

Stay way from the long pointy part if you have your finger on the little thing at the bottom. If not, when it goes "boom", you will not have to worry about where to find ammunition. :lol:

I had a M77 7X57 tang safety gun once and it preferred the 175 grain offerings.

Bill

 

[Rocdoc]

Recent panic illustrates why EVERYONE should reload. Get yourself some basic components, can be done cheap, even the gear to get setup can be had cheap. Once you are setup, you will never worry about ammo availability again.

 

[Silent Sam]

just components...

 

[ClintV]

Prvi is pretty good ammo. Try this link.
http://www.sgammo.com/product/prvi-...n-soft-point-prvi-partizan-thunder-ammo-pp701

Ditto, I found some Privi at the local gunshow for $18 a box (139 gr blue box), made a deal and got 4 for $60
I didn't know what to expect but figured it would go bang and at least let me shoot my RSI a little.
Danged if it don't consistently put 3 rounds in an honest inch at 100.

 

[Ken S.]

If I'm not mistaken.. You should be able to reform 30-06 cases. then trim, load a heavy projectile under a minimal load to form-fire. Then load whatever load you like.
30-06 is plentiful enough.

 

[Mobuck]

#1: Reforming 30/06 brass may result in an overthick neck when the shoulder of the 06 is formed into the neck of the Mauser.
#2: If your rifle shoots the Hornady Superformance ammo well, it should be your first choice. A step above the common Remington/Winchester/Federal over the counter ammo.

I've been hunting with a 7x57 for about 20 years(off and on) using handloaded ammo equivalent to current 7mm08 factory loads. Last year I was running low on my handloads and decided to do some meat hunting with Remington 140 grain factory loads I'd had on hand. Yes, they killed deer but I was very surprised at how poorly the bullets performed at the low velocity delivered. I already knew that most of the 175 grain factory loads just drilled holes in deer but found that the 140's did the same. Didn't ruin any meat but I was glad there was snow on the ground. With Superformance or optimum handloads, the 7x57 is a 300 yard deer rifle but with domestic factory loads, it's only good to about 150.

 

[Ken S.]

He could use a concentricity trimmer to thin the 06 reformed. I was only getting to the point that it could be done.