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Thread: 9x57 Mauser 180-200gr reloading information

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    Default 9x57 Mauser 180-200gr reloading information

    Hi..I am looking for some information on reloading 9x57 Mauser with 180 and 200gr jacketed bullets. I have the dies, brass and 180gr and 200gr jacketed bullets...but no information on the brand of powder and how many grains to use. I would appreciate any information anyone can share. Thank you.

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    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    Welcome to The Guide.

    This from Cartridges of the World:
    245gr Lead bullet 38.0gr IMR 3031 1950fps
    250grSP 44.0gr IMR 3031 2260fps
    280grSP 43.0gr IMR 3031 2030fps
    280grSP 46.0gr IMR 4064 2045fps

    That's all the data I can find here in my library. Nothing for lighter bullets but there was mention of a 205gr factory load at one time. Takes a .356" jacketed bullet.
    Contact IMR directly for data, Sierra Bullets techline may be able to help, too.

    Without seeing the condition of the rifle and bore for myself, I could not suggest possible jacketed loads for you and post them publicly.

    For a cast load however, a 180-200gr castFNGC and that charge of 38grs of 3031 should be around max (maybe 2300fps) to avoid bad leading, I'd probably start around 34grs and work up from there.

    What do you want to use the rifle for? Plinking? Target? Hunting? Tell us about the rifle....... I am into old Mausers.

    I would shoot some cast 190gr .35Ranch Dogs in it at 2000-2200fps and see how it liked them sized. This would be a fantastic hunting rifle for a bullet caster and handloader to own, just like a 358Win in power and versitility. Deer/black bear/moose no problem, targets to 200yds or more with the right bullets.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
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    "This would be a fantastic hunting rifle for a bullet caster and handloader to own, just like a 358Win in power and versitility. Deer/black bear/moose no problem, targets to 200yds or more with the right bullets. "

    The only place where I might see a problem is the bore diameter. mI believe it's .356" rather than the more common .358" in the .35 Rem., .358 Win. and .35 Whelen.
    The two solutions are either load light with .358" bullets and carefully work up to what the rifle will stand or, you can buy a die to swage the bullets down to .356" and go from there.
    Ken Waters describes the process in his Pet Loads article on the 9x56MM Mannlicher round.
    You could buy a copy of Pet Loads and just use his 9x56 data as both rounds are basically the same in power. The alternative is use the starting loads for the .358 Win. which shoud keep you in the ball park and may even allow you to work up to a full power 9x57 load. (Not the .358 load.)
    Anyway, that's how I'd go about it. It would be a good idea to slug the bore before you do anything and determine the actual groove diameter. I have seen a couple of 9x56 and 9x57s that did have a .358 Bore so you just might luck out.
    Paul B.
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    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    Good point, Paul, and good advice. Yes, the bore diameter is .356.

    That's not a problem for cast bullets that need to be .002-.003 above groove diameter anyway, but it may be an issue for jacketed bullets.

    Everything I have read and learned from experience about swaging down jacketed bullets leads to jacket separation, so any bullets remade that way are target bullets. That said, .002" even with a jacket is not that big a deal pressure wise unless the loads approach red line. This is NOT what anyone would consider a "hot" cartridge. With mild loads and light bullets there shouldn't be a safety issue. In a magnum cartridge I would not consider it.

    The "oddball" cartridges like this one are just made to order for casters, as well as many obsolete and obsolescent offerings that can be very frustrating for those limited to jacketed offerings.

    I would be happy to send you some cast 190gr bullets to try in your rifle. PM me if you are interested.

    Me, I am very interested in hearing about the rifle itself and its history. Is it a Mauser? Could you post a photo of it, please?

    FWIW, the .35rem and .358win are two of the better deer hunting cartridges for casters and another round in the same class is just icing on the cake.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

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    the 35 cals are easy ,super easy to get cast to shoot through accurately and with good velocity.
    i shoot my 358 win at full jaxketed velocity with cast boolits, the bbl's twist rate is very friendly to cast.
    i'd also suggest using 358 win data.
    basing the loads on the action used.

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    "i shoot my 358 win at full jaxketed velocity with cast boolits, the bbl's twist rate is very friendly to cast."

    That's only true up to a point. It depends on what your rifle barrel's twist rate is. If you're lucky enough to own an original Winchesyer M70 or even the M88 or M100, the twist rate is 1 in 12". The Browning BLR and Savage M99 are also 1 in 12". The early Rugers are 1 in 16" although I've heard that the Hawkeyes went to the proper 1in 12".
    I have a Savage M99, Browning BLR and two Ruger M77s so I know what the twist rates are. The Rugers shoot most cast bullets quite well while the Browning and Savage are a bit tricky in getting cast bullets to shoot well. I did have a Kodiak Mauser for a while but of the three Kodiak rifles I've had experience with, I never could get it to shoot anything worth spit. I sold it to a fellow that wanted the action as a donor for a custom he wantd to build.
    Not to take this OT but to this day I haven't figured out why Ruger and Remington went to a 1 in 16" twist for the .35 Whelen when the proper twist as determined by Howe and Whelen was 1 in 12"? A 1 in 16" is good ffor bullets up to 250 gr. but the Whelen was designed to shoot 275 gr. bullets and possibly some heavier as well. I have three rifles in .35 Whelen, a Ruger M77, Remington 700 Classic and a custom based on an Oberndorf Mauser that I picked up at an estate sale. That Mauser has a 1 in 14" twist barrel and will do .50 to .75" all day long with the 225 gr. Barnes TSX. Dunno who made it or who it was made for but it fits me so well you might as well say it was custom made for me.
    Regarding the 9x57, I've often though about building one with the .358" groove diameter just for spits and grins. With a strong action, I see no reason why .358 Win. data couldn't be used for the work up.
    The only .35 caliber cartridges I have no interest in are the .35 Rem. and .358 Norma Magnum. No use for the Remington round and with a .375 Taylor in the safe, no need for the .350 Norma.
    The Taylor is the .338 Win. Mag necked up to take .375" bullets. It does everything a .375 H&H does but in a 30-06 length action. Mine is built on a Ruger M77 tang safety rifle and sits in a Ramline stock. Total weight of the package is 7.5 pounds with all steel El paso Weaver 4X acope with post reticle, sling and a full magazine. Recoil is there but not as bad as you might think.
    Paul B.
    POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IS AN OXYMORON PROMULGATED BY MORONS.

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    OMGoodness....thank you all so much for all this information. My Father owns this rifle and has me working on this "project" to help him find loads for it. He thought that maybe the lighter grain bullet would have less recoil but seeing how we really can't find the reloading information he is looking for I believe we will try the 250 gr loads. I will be going to Fathers on Tuesday to take him to the doctors so I will get pictures of the rifle for you. I know that it is a 9x57 Mauser rifle made in Germany with an octagon barrel and mannlicher stock, set triggers. The wood is in excellent condition. And it came with a German scope...most of the writing on both the rifle and scope are in German. OH...Father just told me that we will go and shoot it with the 250 gr bullets and I get to shoot it! I am excited!!! Woo weee!!!
    Will keep you posted. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by CowgirlUp50 View Post
    Hi..I am looking for some information on reloading 9x57 Mauser with 180 and 200gr jacketed bullets. I have the dies, brass and 180gr and 200gr jacketed bullets...but no information on the brand of powder and how many grains to use. I would appreciate any information anyone can share. Thank you.

    old thread but worth reviving, there's not a wealth of reloading data for the 9x57 out there. If you can find an old reloading manual check it for information. Per a previous post "cartrdidges of the world" has a few loads listed.

    I also have a 9x57 that I had custom made from a worn out German WWII era 8x57 K98- had it rebored and re-rifled by one of the few diehard souls who still have the old equipment and skill to do such a job. The results were an excellent and very pleasing rifle to shoot, and tack driver accuracy, with lots of knockdown power.

    on the load data issue, the 9x57 cartridge is smack dab between a 358 Winchester and a 35 Whelen in cartridge capacity and power. It shoots the same bullet weights and types for all practical purposes. This means that a 9x57 can be loaded up using any .358 Winchester load data, and also close to or at "starting loads" for 35 Whelen- PROVIDING the rifle is a modern action of sufficient strength, i.e. a Mauser 98 w/3rd locking lug, or one of its clones.

    Last night I was loading some 9x57 for this rifle and using Varget powder and 180 grain flat nose bullets. The max load listed for a 358 Winchester was 51 grains. The starting load for 35 Whelen was 54 grains. Putting 54 grains of Varget in the 9x57 case, filled it nearly to the top and would have been a compressed load. Not wanting to go that route, I decided to use 52 grains of Varget. My logic is this, the case is bigger so it should be able to handle more than a 358 Winchester. If I don't load it higher than that, why have a 9x57, I may as well have a 358 Win. So I added ONE GRAIN more powder than the 358 Win specified, and loaded all the shells with 52 grains of Varget.

    One can use this logic with any bullet weight in the 9x57, provided the action is a modern one capable of handling the pressure, and if it's an old action, then it should be a Mauser 98 or clone that is strong enough to handle it. I would not recommend this for the early Mausers model 1888 to 1895 as they lack the strength of the metallurgy, 3rd locking lug, and gas porting of the model 98.

    When I had my rifle rebored, the gunsmith finished the bore to the high side of the 9mm spec, and the low side of the 358 spec, so it will shoot both factory 9x57 and wildcat .358 x 57 cartridges, i.e. it will shoot both .356" and .358" bullets.

    CH dies made up a special set of 9x57 dies for me, with an extra .358" plug expander die. I never need to use the extra plug expander, the 9x57 dies load the .358" bullets just fine. The barrel on my gun is stamped ".358 x 57" but I have fired the old Kynoch 9x57 ammo made in England and it handles it just fine. The die set cost me some money around $65 at the time, when a die set at Midway was $20-$25, but it's the cost of entry into this caliber. You could also keep your eyes open for used dies at gun shows.

    FWIW I use 9.3 x 57 brass to neck down to 9x57 and it works quite well. Necking up from 7x57 or 8x57 doesn't work as well.

    You can also use 9.3 x 57 reloading data for the 9x57.

    I saw a few questions about dies on other sites, in a pinch you can neck size using a 358 Winchester FL die (adjust to stop sizing at bottom of neck only)- and decap with a 35 Whelen die, and bullet seat with either (358 with plug backed out, or 35 Whelen with plug turned way down). A 35 Remington die may also work. Basically any 35 caliber reloading die set can be coaxed to work on a 9x57 but what you'll be doing is several procedures to decap, neck size, seat.

    I use the same logic when reloading 7.7 Jap, only had a FL resize/decap die, and I seat the bullets with a 303 British seating die. Neck size is critical but seating a bullet has some leeway in dies used, basically your pushing the bullet in with a plug, you can knock the bullets in with a little hammer on a wooden block for that matter.

    A very good option would be buy a 35 caliber univeral neck resizing die, and bullet seating die. In my own experience using those on 30 caliber magnums, they work easier and better than bona fide FL resizing set made for the caliber- the flip side is the ammo would be for bolt action only and a specific gun, i.e. fire formed rather than FL resized.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check        

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