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ligonierbill · July 5, 2013, 06:57 PM

I see your point Clark, and I feel a little silly. To think I've been shooting 7 Mag all these years when I could have been getting just as much out of a 7x57. It must be a conspiracy between the lawyers, the suppliers, and the gun makers. Just to be sure, I checked Quickload for my favorite 160 grain pellet and Reloder 19. I usually use 22 for the Mag, but I'm not sure you could fit enough in a Mauser case. Sure enough, for a 24" barrel like my 700 carries, I can match the 3,000 fps with the Mauser. Of course, the 7 Mag falls within those silly specifications, while the Mauser huffs up to 73 ksi, 10 ksi over the 7 Mag spec (16.5 ksi over CIP for the Mauser). Will that fracture the bolt lugs or rupture the barrel? Probably not. Might one experience an exhilarating release of hot gases? Maybe. Maybe not. Engineers do test things to failure. I used to break stuff on purpose all the time. But I didn't put my face next to the test piece. Good luck. And folks, please don't try this at home.

July 5, 2013, 06:57 PM	#91
ligonierbill Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Posts: 2,456	I see your point Clark, and I feel a little silly. To think I've been shooting 7 Mag all these years when I could have been getting just as much out of a 7x57. It must be a conspiracy between the lawyers, the suppliers, and the gun makers. Just to be sure, I checked Quickload for my favorite 160 grain pellet and Reloder 19. I usually use 22 for the Mag, but I'm not sure you could fit enough in a Mauser case. Sure enough, for a 24" barrel like my 700 carries, I can match the 3,000 fps with the Mauser. Of course, the 7 Mag falls within those silly specifications, while the Mauser huffs up to 73 ksi, 10 ksi over the 7 Mag spec (16.5 ksi over CIP for the Mauser). Will that fracture the bolt lugs or rupture the barrel? Probably not. Might one experience an exhilarating release of hot gases? Maybe. Maybe not. Engineers do test things to failure. I used to break stuff on purpose all the time. But I didn't put my face next to the test piece. Good luck. And folks, please don't try this at home.