[joet47]

I've got an early 1901 rolling block which is pretty much the same as yours. Mine does have a nice bore. I've been shooting 140 grain cast with gas checks in front of 20 grains of IMR4198. This load clocks at 1750 fps and is pretty darn accurate. There is very little recoil. Now there is a problem with reloading for the old 7x57 rolling block. The chambers are pretty loose length wise, so the head spacing is pretty sloppy. Of course with excessive headspace after a very few reloads you get cases coming apart. What I did was to make my 7X57 cases from 270 or 30-06 cases. When first setting up I kept the sizing die long and kept trying the case in the chamber, then size again till I got a good full chamber fit, then locked down the sizing die so it would be ready next time. I have also use these cases with jacketed bullets, being mindful of possible reduced case capacity. Forgot to mention, gotta trim the reformed cases to length to. The rolling block in 7X57 is fun to shoot, just have to take a few pains with the ammo