7x57mm – A Century Of Success
THIS mild-mannered pre-World War 1 cartridge has survived a multitude of newer and sexier cartridges that shot 7mm bullets faster, made more noise, kicked harder, raised more dust and blew the grass flatter. Despite being over 100 years old, Rigby has recently chambered it in the Highland Stalker, calling it .275 Rigby.
Over the years I've owned three 7x57 Mausers and tested maybe half a dozen other rifles - mostly European. While the 7x57 had a brief run in the U.S.A it was always popular in Europe. An early smokeless powder cartridge, the 7x57was designed by Paul Mauser in 1892 for the first Mauser rifles having staggered internal magazines. The new Mauser rifle was adopted by the Spanish military in 1893 and quickly became one the the world’s favourite military cartridges, adopted by Serbia, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, Chile, and Uraguay and others.
Military rifles in 7x57 were made in Germany, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Spain and Mexico. In the U.S. thousands of single-shot rifles were made by Remington on the old
