7x57 Brass

[VikingsGuy]

I am working on a 7x57AI rifle project (details in a different HT thread). I am waiting on a barrel that is set to arrive early January. I am trying to find either 7x57 brass (will fire-form) or 7x57AI brass (Norma makes this specialty). Google and AmmoSeek.com both failed to find me some. I am not asking for your honey hole , but has anybody got any good sources for less common brass during this period of hoarding?

 

[marksjeep]

Grafs has some 7x57 in stock. Not top shelf stuff, but might get you going. Kind of hate working up loads on a component that is not what I would usually use, but whatever. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[std7mag]

I got mine from Grafs.
7X57 PPU.
Use it to form into 257 Roberts & 257 Roberts AI.

Don't be put off using PPU brass!
It's better than what most people think.
Got some for making 7mm-08AI.
Ended up with amazingly low ES-6 fps, and SD-2 fps.

Something a lot of benchrest shooters would almost kill for!

 

[ImBillT]

RWS and Lapua are substantially harder than Norma if you have any desire to hotrod. Lapua is the harder of the two. 8x57 will size to 7x57 with no trouble at all. I don’t know for sure if it will work in a 7x57AI die though. If sizing down, verify that your neck is not too thick for your chamber before firing.

 

[Addicting]

RWS and Lapua are substantially harder than Norma if you have any desire to hotrod. Lapua is the harder of the two. 8x57 will size to 7x57 with no trouble at all. I don’t know for sure if it will work in a 7x57AI die though. If sizing down, verify that your neck is not too thick for your chamber before firing.

@VikingsGuy
RWS is the toughest brass out there. Huntington’s has it in stock. Don’t worry about the sticker shock. It will last 2-3x longer than anything else out there. Which helps offset its high price tag.

 

[ImBillT]

@VikingsGuy
RWS is the toughest brass out there. Huntington’s has it in stock. Don’t worry about the sticker shock. It will last 2-3x longer than anything else out there. Which helps offset its high price tag.

I’m a big RWS fan, and use it every chance I can, BUT Lapua is tougher. RWS is the most dimensionally perfect, Norma is second, Lapua is third. Lapua is the toughest, RWS is second, Norma is pretty far down the line. I still like Norma brass and use it a lot, but you can’t hotrod it.

 

[Addicting]

I’m a big RWS fan, and use it every chance I can, BUT Lapua is tougher. RWS is the most dimensionally perfect, Norma is second, Lapua is third. Lapua is the toughest, RWS is second, Norma is pretty far down the line. I still like Norma brass and use it a lot, but you can’t hotrod it.

I have my lapua primer pockets get loose at 7-9 firings, I have ran RWS hard and quit keeping track when I was in the teens. Primer pocket is still tight as can be.

Either way you can’t go wrong with either.

 

[choc dogs]

You could make it out of surplus 06 brass. “A poor man has poor ways”

 

[choc dogs]

On a more helpful note, I’ve got some unfired Herters I might part with, If nothing else pans out.

 

[blueridge]

I made my 300wsm handload recipe with 60 pcs of RWS brass given to me by a friend and really like it a lot … then could never find anymore.
If you can find some available, grab it.

 

[ImBillT]

I have my lapua primer pockets get loose at 7-9 firings, I have ran RWS hard and quit keeping track when I was in the teens. Primer pocket is still tight as can be.

Either way you can’t go wrong with either.

I agree that you can’t go wrong with either.

How many firings you get from your brass has a lot to do with how you treat it as well as how tough it is. If you don’t over-size it, or run it hotter than it can take, you’ll get a ton of firings out of it. The reason I say that RWS isn’t as hard/tough as Lapua is that, with RWS, I get ejector swipes and loose primer pockets before a Fed210M is flat. With Lapua brass, I will get a Fed 210M to begin to flatten at the edges before I get ejector swipes and loose pockets.

If you load at a pressure that doesn’t give you any ejector marks, and you don’t oversize it, you will get a lot of firings out of any of the good brass. I have Lapua 308 cases with over 30 firings on them. I have Norma cases that are similarly high. All was shot in rifles with tight-neck chambers and neck sized only for 3-5 firing before bumping the shoulder minimally.

One nice thing about starting with 8x57 and necking down is that you can reduce the clearance between your case neck and a SAAMI chamber. You just have to make sure that you have enough clearance to be safe, if not, you’ll have to turn your necks, which I also consider a positive, but it is definitely more work.

 

[Trial153]

I might have some. Problem is I am sitting the airport waiting to fly to Wyoming. I will be back next weekend and will check. If have it I will send it out to you.

 

[Don Fischer]

Is this a hunting rifle? If so I don't see what difference the brass will make. I'd get 7x57 brass and make up a dummy round that will cycle through the action. That 7x57AI Norma might be a good way to go, no fire forming required I'd think. Not much of a wild catter. Only have one, a 6.5x06. Brass made from whatever cheap Brass I could find. Shoot's extreamly well! But I also have a 30-06 so moved to using either 270 or 280 brass for the head stamp. Don't have either one of those. My though is if the ammo your using has the right headstamp, not as possible to put the wrong ammo in the wrong rifle. As for fireforming, I think that is the way to go. You could buy that Norma brass and most likely it will fire form also to your individual chamber. Then simply adjusting the reload die to match you chamber as close as you can make a better fit with less working the case. probably even better would be to have the sizing die made by the smith using the same reamer he cut the chamber with. I've read about that and it sound like a great idea to me. You do that and go with the Norma 7x57 AI brass might be worth while to run all the brass through the sizing die to make sure everything fits before loading it. Come to think of it, the smith could probably just take a factory 7x57 sizing die and ream it with the same reamer he did your rifle. Just a thought.

 

[ImBillT]

Is this a hunting rifle? If so I don't see what difference the brass will make. I'd get 7x57 brass and make up a dummy round that will cycle through the action. That 7x57AI Norma might be a good way to go, no fire forming required I'd think. Not much of a wild catter. Only have one, a 6.5x06. Brass made from whatever cheap Brass I could find. Shoot's extreamly well! But I also have a 30-06 so moved to using either 270 or 280 brass for the head stamp. Don't have either one of those. My though is if the ammo your using has the right headstamp, not as possible to put the wrong ammo in the wrong rifle. As for fireforming, I think that is the way to go. You could buy that Norma brass and most likely it will fire form also to your individual chamber. Then simply adjusting the reload die to match you chamber as close as you can make a better fit with less working the case. probably even better would be to have the sizing die made by the smith using the same reamer he cut the chamber with. I've read about that and it sound like a great idea to me. You do that and go with the Norma 7x57 AI brass might be worth while to run all the brass through the sizing die to make sure everything fits before loading it. Come to think of it, the smith could probably just take a factory 7x57 sizing die and ream it with the same reamer he did your rifle. Just a thought.

A) Most sizers are hardened and aren’t going to cut with a reamer.

B) If you’re going to make a custom die, why pay for a finished die when you could start with a blank at a lower cost?

The 6.5-06 was standardized by A-square in 1997, so it hasn’t been a wildcat for a while, although I’m sure you acquired yours prior to that. On a side note, I’ve read a fair number of “quater bore” enthusiasts extolling the 256 Newton, but it isn’t a “quarter bore”. It is a very slightly modified 6.5-06 that shoots .264” projectiles just like other 6.5mm cartridges. The 256 refers to the bore diameter of .256” rather than the groove diameter(and thus bullet diameter) of .264”.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Quick status update - was able to get 200 Norma cases in 7x57 at a small local shop that I will fireform to AI - the guy didn't even know he had them until he started digging. Now I just have to find dies (but that is for another post).

 

[Ben Lamb]

I've got 8mm Mauser Norma cases that are damned near 60 year old and still going strong. I used the norma for my 7x57AI because they had the best reputation for consistent forming. Not too hard, not too soft & each case is factory annealed.

Enjoy! RL17 is your friend here.

 

[ImBillT]

I've got 8mm Mauser Norma cases that are damned near 60 year old and still going strong. I used the norma for my 7x57AI because they had the best reputation for consistent forming. Not too hard, not too soft & each case is factory annealed.

Enjoy! RL17 is your friend here.

How many reloads? I formed 6.5-257AI from Norma 8x57 and only got five reloads before getting splits in the shoulders and necks. Should have annealed after necking down. You’re not necking down quite as far. I love Norma when I’m not planning to run at maximum pressures. It’s more uniform than Lapua and usually cheaper too.

Norma, Lapua, and RWS are all factory annealed. I still recommend annealing again after necking up or down.