Jump to content
Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Loading For 7x57 Or 8mm In 224


Recommended Posts

FYI,

 

The 5.6x57 is the 7x57 necked down.

 

The 5.6x57 will drive a bullet of any given weight about 100 fps faster than the .220 Swift. The Hornady Handbook, Third Edition shows that their 60 grain bullets can be driven at 3700 fps in a 22" rifle barrel

with N204 powder, or IMR 4320 powder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Long or short barrel life? That's a relative thing, depending on how you load and what the application is for.

 

Shooting it during an extended prarie dog outing (150+ rounds) using heavy loads would be very hard on a barrel indeed. I would rather have another cartridge like the .223 Rem, .22 BR Rem, .225 Win, or .250 Savage. Not only would the recoil be annoying, but the muzzle blast would be disconcerting to fellow shooters.

 

For stalking coyotes or hide hunting, it would be a dandy. With less than 20 shots fired on an outing, barrel life would be "fair", and a hunter would get quite a number of seasons out of such a pill.

 

Why coose this cartridge? Improved feeding? Longer (extreme) range? Heavier bullets? Very heavy bullets (90 grains) shot at medium game like antelope (where legal)? There are better .22 cartridges that will feed OK through a Mauser. Most varmit shooting is done single shot unless you're stalking; feeding shouldn't be an issue from a stationary position.

 

If you want the longer cartridge for better feeding from the magazine, nothing says that you have to beat other .22 rounds. A handloader can always back-off the velocities using milder loads or faster powders. My .223 loads are very mild RL-7 pills. I probably get ..221/222 Rem performance and have a cool barrel after extended firing. There are slower powders that can add 200 to 300 fps, but I don't care.

 

I probably wouldn't build a 5.6X57, but if someone gave me one, I'd see what I could do with fun loads of either 4198 ot RL-7. I wouldn't care if I exceeded a 22-250.

 

7X57 or 8X57 brass can probably be used to make the cases for the 5.6X57, but I'd rather use .257 Roberts brass. Even if it were more expensive, there would be less neck-turning and trimming. I might be wrong, but going from 7MM to 5.6 (.22) should require reaming or turning case necks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don;t want to burn your barrel? Simple, then don't load to max. The .22-250, 220 swift and 5.6x57 along with the 224-6mm etc are all high intensity rounds that when used at full tilt loads will take their toll on your barrel, especially the throat. Of those mentioned, the .22-250 is probably the easiest in terms of barrel life. Just find the most accurate loading for your rifle and forget about how fast it's going.

 

A very popular conversion used to be to the .219 zipper. But, most were single shots.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...