7mm mauser reloading kit, help me pick

[Bionerd]

Bionerd,
I've loaded for the 7x57 Mauser for a long time. What rifle is yours? This is important. Older ones[1893, 1895], need to be loaded down a bit.1898 and up can be loaded a bit hotter. Modern 7x57's are good for what the manual's call for. I'd stay with 139 or 154gr Hornady Interlock's. Fairly inexpensive and can as accurate as any bullet you'll likely find. More info and I'd be glad to help.

Hi!
Its a 1912, im planning to reload the cases I already shot. They are RWS and some federal.


Thank you!

[Bionerd]

I do not look at anything through little beady eyes. I checked the price of new cases for the 7MM, 8MM and 7.65mm Mauser cases, I also checked the price of the 7.7 Japanese cases and the 257 Roberts etc. And then as I traveled I searched for cases like 30/06 cases that were new and or fired once and I looked for cases that were turned down by other reloaders.



I found 30/06 military cases in 5 gallon buckets no one had interest in because in appearance they were the worst of cases meaning the cases required cleaning, a lot of cleaning. And I found 3 belts of 30/06 cases on metal links. The cases that required the most effort when cleaning cost me one cent each; that was 1,400 cases for $14.00 dollars. And then one day I stopped by to visit Pat's reloading in Ohio. He had new pulldown 30/06 LC National match cases for a more than reasonable price. I purchased a few thousand thinking I would never need another 30/06 case for the rest of my life.



A reloader in the neighborhood came over and decided he would take me up on the offer to become a volume buyer the low price. I had to explain to him the offer was a one day thing because when I left shipping had to be added. Anyhow I called Pat, he made us a deal we could not refuse so we purchased a few more thousand.



Forming cases: I do not have an excuse for not forming cases for the Mausers, by the time I form 100 cases the tools are paid for and the next 100 cases cost me 14 cents plus time.



And then there is that thing about head space; I can not miss. The 30/06 case is is longer by .171" than the longest Mauser case. All I have to do is determine the length of the Mauser chamber from the shoulder to the bolt face when forming cases. I form the cases to off set the length of the chamber fire forming is not necessary.



And then there is that other problem, case manufacturers do not make cases for reloaders that know what they are doing. For the most part the cases they offer for sale are too short from the shoulder to the case head.



I love long cases and short forming dies.



F. Guffey

[pennstater]

Bionerd,
If I have any spare 7x57 brass, I'll send it to you. Is that a 1912 Argentina Mauser? I'd look around for some new brass. Midway maybe.
Edit: Didn't think I had any more. Graf&sons has them:#PPC7X57, 50 ct, $26.99. This would be way easier than trying to rework other brass. Do you have any IMR 4064 powder?

[Bionerd]

[17+1]

[pennstater]

You can start by buying a good handloading manual. Lyman #50 is a very good one. While you may not be able to learn how to load from the internet, you can get advice on things to get and other things.

[fguffey]

So, you could use cases from 3006, 3030, etc.

30/06, yes. 30/30, no.

F. Guffey

[God Bless America]

OP just buy the Graf PPU cases, they are made in Europe, they know what they are doing over there.

F. Guffey loves to be asked about his secret to headspacing secret. Just search google for "headspacing" and "guffey" and you will see. I don't know what his point is, he won't say it outright, but I am pretty sure his issues are far beyond 99% of most reloaders, including me. I have been at it 20+ years.

Just use standard dies and brass and you will be ahead of the game. If you want to neck-size, Lee has an excellent collet sizer, no lube needed, for $22 at Midway.

Don't overthink this, save that for later. Load up some factory brass, shoot it, and then decide what else you need.

[LynnJr]

Buy a two die set and bullets in the 140 grain range. Buy a simple single stage press and a beam scale off of E-Bay. You don't need a case trimmer a powder measure or a trickler.
A harbor freight 6 inch caliper at $10 is all you need along with some imperial sizing die wax.
You full length size the brass.
You use the press to install the primer.
You pour a glass full of powder and using a spoon you measure it into your beam scales pan.
You put the powder into the case using a funnel.
You seat the bullets after your tray of 50 is full.
You repeat that for the next 50 and call it a day.
I have loaded more accurate ammo than F Guffey has ever seen and my advice would be to skip over his nonunderstandable posts.

After you have shot those rounds 3-4 times you will know what additional equipment you need and I doubt it will be much.

[pennstater]

Hmm. Why wouldn't OP need a case trimmer of sorts? Please, lets not get started, I'm simply wanting to know this.

[Whiterabbit]

will eventually.

But for now, not needed. If something grows, just put it in a separate pile to trim later.

But really, it will take time for the cases to grow enough to need trimming.

And if he has a loosey goosey chamber (and chances are good for 7x57) then he has LOTS of room to grow before he hits the end of the chamber with the mouth of the brass.

I'd actually be very surprised if he couldn't get 3-6 firings off brass with no trimming and have brass that had issues based on case length.

But sure, he'll need it eventually.

[LynnJr]

If your dies match your chamber and they are setup correctly your brass won't grow much.
Brass grows in length when you are sizing it too much.
At 3-4 firings in a 7X57 if the cases are growing much something else is way wrong.

[Bionerd]

Slowly getting it together.

How long does a case can be re-fired? 5-10-20 times?

[God Bless America]

Slowly getting it together.

How long does a case can be re-fired? 5-10-20 times?

Depends how much it gets worked. At least 5 times normally, I would budget for no more than 10. If you neck-size, anneal, and don't crimp, they can last a long time.

[Whiterabbit]

I bought my 7x57 brass by buying 500 rounds of ppu 7x57 when it was on sale. I haven’t lost many pieces to date. Loose primer pockets is my failure mode. Lost a few dozen over a decade, maybe?