Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 8x57 vs 7x57

I'm a fan of the 7X57 and have three. That being said if you consider the resale value should push ever come to shove and you have to sell it the 7X57 will be easier to move. We never figure on having to sell one but it's life and s*&t happens.

Resale is akin to the bullet argument. Just as I don't need 538 different bullets, I don't need 538 buyers, just one. Good stuff sells itself.

A nice/classic 7x57 will sell for as much as 25% more than the same rifle in 8x57 here in Canada.

I vote 7x57, but I've always wanted a modern hunting rifle in 8x57.

Well, it is Canada

Just saying, it shoots the same weight bullets at the same speeds. So if the 30/06 is never a mistake, then one could say the same for the 8x57. Since again, it's shooting the same weight bullets at the same speeds.

Maybe have some Ensure before you read that.

You've heard of us?

If you say so, I apologize. Every time I see Canada I naturally assume another stupid socialist. I don't know why.

You do know it's almost 2021, right? 'That wasn't always the case', seriously? We aren't discussing cartridge choices in 1923.

Who cares about 30 years ago, that has nothing to do with the choices TODAY. Do you live in a nursing home or have some form of dementia so I know not to be so harsh? If it's just plain stupid, let me know, thanks.

I am far from socialist with leanings well into the right, which is the reason I come to the Fire as well as the many other CDNs who come here.

But you didn’t say it was never a mistake. You said “one would say the 8x57 is All American too”. English...you should probably learn it.

I shoot both like them both , no german in my background but have met and known more than a few folks with german ancestors most have been good people. I don't blame ww1 & ww2 on the 7x57 or 8x57 it takes people to do stupid sh*t not firearms. When I get around to it I've got 200 185 gr Rem Corelokts to work up a load for my 8x57 and some 180 nbt's, several kinds & types of 170' s while I would probably never need 200 npt's might get some of them too. I am glad I just enjoy shooting and working up loads cause hunting don't give me near enough shooting. MB

The 8x57 is great. I probably have more of them than anyone in this thread. I killed my second biggest deer with it.

It was at one time the most widely used military cartridge in the world. It was the quintessential German/European/ and world cartridge. At one time, off the top of my head, it was used by Germany, every country in Central and Eastern Europe, several in the Middle East including Iran, a dozen or two in Africa, and China. It was used by both sides in WW II. Hell, even the British used it in machine guns in their tanks and armored cars.

It would not be accurate to call the 8x57 the German 30-06. It would be more accurate to call the 30-06 the American 8x57.

I've played with both of them, and you can cover all of north American game if you have both.
when you load the 8mm with 200 grainers i would hunt big game over 300 pounds.
with the 7mm you can load it like a 243 or a 270.
i've hunted with a 375 h&h and as light as a 223.
I should have kept my 7mm and 8mm's and been happy, but I'm a loonie so trading and selling
is what i do to help my addiction!

Considering that almost all bolt actions are derived from the Mauser the same things could be said about them. I still can't get over that the US was paying patent infringement payments to the Germans while we were at war with them. As a kid we shot surplus Mausers in both calibers and would have endless discussions on which is better, not sure which one won but due to how under loaded the 8mm was and that most bullets for it at that time were round nose I think the 7x57 got the nod as the better deer cartridge, but usually with the caveat that the 8mm was a better "brush gun". This was when the myth of the round nose bullets shooting through a forest of brush was still prevalent.

There was an article in one of the Gun Digests about the perfect deer cartridge and that writer picked the 8mm AI which I thought was a pretty good choice.

I have made many 7X57s and kept one for myself for several years. I have no complaints against it at all.
But I no longer own a 7X57. I let my Brother in law talk me out of it several years ago, and I never did build a replacement.

I do now have an 8X57 and I truly like it. I have killed antelope, deer and elk with it. When I had my 7X57 I also killed elk and deer, but never an antelope with that rifle.
Both were very accurate and my current 8X57 is REAL accurate. I had a 22" barrel on my 7X57 and 8X57 has a 19" barrel. Trying to count every game animal I killed with both cartridges I can remember 23 as of this writing.

It is true the 7X57 has more bullet options and to be fair, the 7 probably would serve the average American hunter a bit better because of the fact that it shoots flatter with the lighter range of bullets, but in real hunting, it's a small advantage in all reality. The other advantage it has is less recoil with the light bullets. To some that may be an issue worth consideration.

In my 8X57 I have found the 170 gr Hornady SST is so accurate I don't tell folks the size of the groups I have shot (not one, but many times) but safe to say a dime is a reasonable target at 100 yards with these bullets I have not found them to be tough enough for me to recommend them for elk hunting (I did kill a 5X5 bull with them, but was under-impressed with their lack of penetration) but for deer and antelope they work very well. For elk the 200 grain Partition is the best I have used so far, and I have high hopes for the 180 grain Hornady GMX and the Barned TSX in 180 gr too. But those types of bullets are not good for expansion when they impact below 2000 FPS and from my 19" barrel I get about 2520 FPS so the useful rage of these solid-expanding bullet is about 250 yards. In the real world that good enough for about 19 out of 20 shots on elk.
I had an old friend in Nevada that shot an 8X57 and it was his only rifle. He used it mostly on deer, but did kill 2 elk with it in Idaho too. I know he loaded the old 170 Gr RN bullet as his "deer-getter" and he said it was super effective, but I never actually saw him kill one. I only saw them when he's bring them in. He was a WW2 vet and brought the rifle home from France and had a gunsmith in Reno work it over into a nice sporter. He was an old-school shooter and always said to me "Boy don't shoot at them, shoot them. Aim carefully and squeeze!"

PPU makes a 196 Gr Soft Point 8MM bullet I may try in the future. Hornady also makes one in 195 grains. I bet either one would be great on deer and probably do well on elk, but so far I have never shot one, or even seen one used, so I can't say how reliable they are as game killers, or how accurate either.

With my old 7X57, I never shot a bullet that was really inaccurate. All seemed to do well on paper but the some were disappointing on deer. All from 150 to 175 were good however. The oes I remember doing very well were 154 gr Hornadys in both RN and Spire Points, 150 grain Remington Core-lokts, 160 grain and 175 grain Partitions and also 175 grain Hornadys in both RN and Spire Points. Today if I were to get another 7X57 I would try some 140 gr bonded bullet for deer and I am certain I would find them to be perfect. For elk I would go back to what I know if excellent, the 160 gr Nosler Partition.
The 7X57 would probably have a shallower "learning curve" then the 8X57 because of it's higher velocity with light bullets. The 8X57 shoots plenty flat with 150s, but the short bullet don't hold onto their speed all that long because of a low BC. Again, for shots out to about 300 yards (90% of real world kills) it probably make little difference. I sure wish someone would make a 150 or 160 grain Bonded 8MM.

The 7X57 is a wonderful "One size fits nearly all" shell. The 8X57 is a heavier hitter and can throw larger diameter heavier bullets, but you need to learn the hold-overs a bit closer then you would with the 7.

So pic one (or get one of each)
I doubt either would be a disappointment to you at all.

Slightly off topic, but many years ago I encountered a Springfield 1903 custom rifle chambered in 8X57MM caliber. One of the oddest custom rifles I have seen over the years. It was very well done and wasnt priced terribly high

Tell me about your time at band camp. Lord you are dumb

Understood, I'm glad you have full control over your medical, et al.

8x57 All American round. Lololol