01/02/2025 – Just as a catch up, I sat on the sofa and pretended to watch TV for two years, decided to jump start and almost end my life when I decided to renew my interest in motorcycles, Brought my old pickup truck up from Texas during hurricane season, cleaned the house, and bought new dishes and flatware. Yup, those are the salient points.
Oh, yeah. I decided to get hearing aids and discovered the world is quite different than my previous understanding and, and…, I can now listen to Spotify through a Bluetooth connection while writing. So forgive me if the text drops into the lyrics of a song every now and then.
Chuck III, the 2006 Chevy work truck is running great, looks good and is loaded up with stuff for the Salvation Army and Good Will, along with twelve large trash bags of shredded paper files. Please see “I cleaned the house” above.
“I’m gonna rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I’ll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I’ll get up and do it again
Amen
Say it again
Amen”
Ultrasonic The Hedgehog
OK, Joe, what’s with the dramatic photo? I can barely see the product against that black seamless paper. Look, the product body is black chrome and the lid is bare stainless. My talents as a photographer are only second to my talents as a writer. I think we all know how tragic that is.
With white seamless, the unit looked bright chrome… which I maintain it isn’t. Without black seamless, my messy shop appeared in reflection. So my suggestion to readers is to stare at the top left corner of the unit, and let your brain will interpolate to create whatever is not clearly visible.
I have tested, over the long haul, virtually every ultrasonic cleaner offered by component manufacturers, and found them wanting. They either have too limited or too great capacity, they have a low transducer count, the tanks etch easily, they don’t clean effectively, and are priced beyond their capabilities. So I buy Chinese made ultrasonic cleaners on Amazon or eBay. They are: better spec’d, longer lasting, more fully featured, lower priced, and they clean.
I gave my previous cleaner to a guy who is just beginning handloading and bought the Creworks unit pictured. It has 6 liter capacity stainless tank, 3×40 kHz transducers, 500 watt heater (68°F-176°F selectable), and degas and gentle modes. And it looks pretty spiffy on the bench. $109.99. No, this isn’t a recommendation, just a “for example”. There are many competing brands, most made in the same Chinese factory.
The perfect deer hunting rifle… for an old man… living in the Maine boonies
While Real Guns publishing has tapered off, I never stopped shooting and reloading. Only that activity has been focused on my personal interests and applications. Other than a couple of firearms that date back to childhood, my favorite rifle is the pictured Ruger Hawkeye International in 7×57 Mauser. Why? Because it is very compact, fast handling and I love the cartridge.
Aesthetically and functionally, it incorporates all I hold dear… and it is a bolt action of adequate capacity, blued with a walnut stock. There are only two synthetic stock firearms I currently own; an ancient Nylon 66 22 LR and a 270 WM made in the shop. On the latter, the action is a Remington Model 700, and the stock assignment was for the sake of project expediency.
So this past deer season, I put some ammo and necessities in a backpack, picked up the Ruger and hiked 40 acres or so back into the woods. There, at the edge of a clearing, I found a large fallen tree, rested the Ruger in a secure position, took a turkey and Swiss with mayo sandwich out of the backpack and had a very enjoyable lunch. Then I took a nap. Exactly the intent of geezer lifetime hunting licenses.
“Old man, look at my life
Twenty four and there’s so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two
Love lost, such a cost
Give me things that don’t get lost
Like a coin that won’t get tossed
Rolling home to you”
Sevens are niche cartridges, probably because there are so many
Yes, I know some are missing, but these are the ones I am familiar with in terms of time spent, shooting and reloading. Left to right: 7-30 Waters (2), 7mm-08 Rem (33), 7×57 Mauser (11), 280 Remington (29), 280 Ackley (14), 7mm WSM (3), 7mm Rem Mag (81), 7mm Rem Ultra Mag (7).
Of all, the most commercially successful is the 7mm-Rem Magnum, based on the number and variety of loads produced by ammo manufacturers, counts noted in parenthesis in the preceding paragraph. Not ten years ago, the 7mm-08 Rem commanded approximately 2x the current offerings. Fickle market.
The 7×57 Mauser was wildly popular when inexpensive surplus Mauser rifles and ammo were being imported. Today, surplus Mausers are in short supply… expensive, and 250 rounds for $99.99 7x57mm is gruesome. There are no domestic or importing gun makers mass producing 7x57mm rifles. It is an excellent cartridge, and one of two 7mm cartridges I still reload and shoot; 7×57 Mauser and 7mm Remington Magnum.
“Put on my coat in the pouring rain
I saw a movie it just wasn’t the same
‘Cause it was happy and I was sad
It made me miss you, so bad, ’cause”*
*Yes, I am man enough to listen to Jewell, even without headsets… as long as I follow immediately with Bonnie Raitt.
For the sake of clarification, all of the sevens indicated are effective on deer, hogs, black bear and similar. In fact, they would also be suitable for use on elk and moose, with the cliche proper bullet selection caveat. From 7mm WSM up, sevens will also drop large dangerous North American game including brown bear.
No, I can’t explain the disparity in cartridge recommendation between the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game and famous writers. The former recommending as mild of a cartridge as the 7mm-08 Remington, the later nothing short of a 375 H&H. However, the ADFG indicates a hunter is ready for Alaskan big game hunting when they can empty their rifle into an 8″ circle at 200 yards from a sitting or kneeling position.
The ASFG places an emphasis on hunter skills, whereas famous writer places an emphasis on cartridge power… so that when recoil flinch makes the hunter shoot high, the bullet will hit a cliff in the background and start a landslide, which will cause the eventual demise of the target animal. Bring a shovel.
Load development and uncharted territory = vacillation
No, I did not misspell vaccination. We already know I like the 7×57 Mauser for its old world charm, the illusion of precision, and because it is different from typical. Yes, a desperate cry for attention. However, in order to develop loads, I need to select bullet weight and type, and know powder chamber capacity. But what is the perfect Maine deer load for a napping old timer?
Lightweight bullets were not a primary consideration. The rifle has an 18.5″ barrel and would not be setting velocity records. Heavyweights might not be bullseye compliant with its 1:8.5″ rate of twist.
Mature folks might remember a time when 175 grain 7mm bullets were of the short round nose persuasion to keep bullet length down so they would stabilize in lazy rifling. Why lazy rifling? Because, in the olden days, bullets were not as good as they are today, and over rotating them would bring out flaws that would destabilize them. The joys of 5″ 100 yard groups.
So I opted to use a 150 grain Winchester 150 grain flat base bullet; good bullet weight, good expansion at anticipated velocity, short to stabilize at this twist rate. Spoiler alert, I know they work well because I have been loading them… a lot, for over a decade. Still, the process is not without a need to accommodate the unforeseen.
Just because it says so on the box, doesn’t mean…
I have always had an affinity for Norma brass. Expensive, long lasting alloy, made in Sweden, expensive. Certainly a criteria for selection. So I popped open a box of new Norma 7x57mm brass… I think popped is an appropriate verb. Flipped? Cracked? Opened? I’ll stick with “popped” and began to inspect samples for condition and dimensions.
The “trim to” case length spec for the 7×57 Mauser is 2.235″. Unfortunately, the new cases measured 2.230″ as received, and 2.230″ after a run through the full length sizer die. Additionally, the case neck was not uniform in length. Measured with a dial indicator, the run out was 0.005″, causing overall case length to run from 2.230″ – 2.225″. In defense of Norma, I can say all were uniformly out of spec.
May not seem like much, but published handload data is predicated on nominal, in spec dimensions that determine case powder chamber volume. Under size cases increase pressure, over size case decrease pressure. Nonuniform sizes make for inconsistent pressure, which makes for variations in barrel harmonics, and muzzle position when a bullet exits. The tighter and more uniform, the more accurate the firearm.
Truthfully, the lowest performing handloads, if shot from the same firearm, are those made with new brass. Once fired cases have expanded to the firearm’s chamber and a consistent dimension/capacity. Even if full length sized, the cases will be very uniform to those sized dimensions. So, taking the lemons I was given, I trimmed all of the cases to 2.224″, which was the maximum length that would case mouths and provide uniform length.
Seating a Winchester 150 grain bullet to the upper portion of the cannelure yielded a cartridge overall length of 2.980″. SAAMI maximum cartridge length is 3.065″. I had no reason to seat the bullet our farther than proper cannelure position as there was sufficient case capacity for any powder type anticipated, and I don’t subscribe to the need to park bullets on lands.
Too sloppy. I need to stop here…
Sorry, I can’t get beyond this new brass issue. I’m going to assemble some moderate pressure handloads, fire form all of the brass, and restart from there. At this point, I am not sure of the brass will pick up significant capacity, get long, or grow short. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to nail that variable down and then proceed.
“Don’t you be wasting all your money
On syrup and honey
Because I’m sweet enough
Don’t you be using every minute
On making a living
Because we got our love”
It’s old, but Duffy has an amazingly soulful voice that is like a brain massage. Real Guns, twenty six years of free cognitive processing therapy. Thanks.
Nice to have you back. Love that Ruger. I’ve been looking for one in 257 Roberts. I don’t hunt but years ago I read about the 257 Roberts and there was just something about it. Don’t know why. Since Washington state has prevented me from getting my other fascination (FAL), I guess I’ll start getting serious about looking for that Ruger.
Yes, a terrific cartridge in the 257 Roberts for reasons that very much parallel the 7×57. Hope you find one.
Joe