Anyone have experience with 7x57?

I made the same calculation and I agree that you can't work all the time but reloading in no way helps you shoot more. The price difference is too small and the time it takes to reload too long, especially seeing how ammo is so cheap. Think about it, it takes you about 24 hours to cook up 1,000 rounds! That's nothing, you can burn through 1,000 rounds in just one range session if taking the family. You can get 9mm on sale for ~$8 a box, 556 for 20-25 cents a brass cased round, and 7.62 NATO for 25-40 cents a brass cased round. 12 gauge can be bought very cheaply too. Throw in a bunch of 22's to save a few bucks and shooting doesn't have to be that expensive. All you have to do is click BUY on the online store or offer to make a deal with your local gun store and more than a few are happy to do so if you're buying in huge bulk.

Maybe the biggest problem with reloading is you have to take your time, cannot cut corners and be careful in that it cannot be rushed or you will suffer bad consequences. Having seen it and briefly tried it with a friend's equipment it takes too long for too few rounds and sharply limits your ability to go to the range. You're basically wasting all your afternoon for just a paltry amount of rounds you could have bought in massive bulk quantities for not much less money.

Well, all I can say is that my experiences are vastly different than yours.
 
I recently began shooting a 7mm mauser and have come to the following conclusions. The 7mm mauser offers about the same ballistics as the 7mm-08. Ammo and brass are not readily available but are not difficult to order. The caliber is no more difficult to reload than any other bottle necked rifle caliber. Recoil is mild.
 
Well, all I can say is that my experiences are vastly different than yours.
I think it has to do with the available time. If you're retired and on a fixed income reloading is definitely more worth it than early middle aged, working full time and have a family.

Ultimately the greatest, most valuable treasure and resource is time. Everything else you can get more of it but time will eventually spell doom for all of us, time is limited, time is never enough, time is an ever more scarce resource for everyone.

I think as to answer the reloading question the biggest consideration to ask oneself is "WHAT IS YOUR TIME WORTH?" And I don't juts mean money or wage wise.
 
If it's just a dollar and cents decision and you only shoot common calibers in common configurations, then OK. But being able to reload things like .30-40 Krag and .35 Remington and tailor lighter loads for magnum revolvers makes it worthwhile for many of us. It's also an interesting hobby for most of us.
 
If it's just a dollar and cents decision and you only shoot common calibers in common configurations, then OK. But being able to reload things like .30-40 Krag and .35 Remington and tailor lighter loads for magnum revolvers makes it worthwhile for many of us. It's also an interesting hobby for most of us.
As a matter of fact I do own an old Krag Jorgensen and stock up on factory ammo every once in a while. But at the same time the gun is a bit of a family heirloom so I don't want to push it too much. I put a couple boxes of ammo through it and clean it once a year so even at $1.75 a round Remington Green/Yellow Core Lokt isn't so bad.

The other thing that really scares me about reloading is the safety element. You know it too; most if not all the ranges pride themselves to new members that "NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN SHOT HERE" but as you remain a member you start hearing stories about this one or that one that got hurt, maimed or killed because someone had a double charge. Or with the new guns you can build your own AR and you're calling around about failures and all the builders tell you that it's usually handloaded ammunition that causes most of the problems. Or that the newer "NO QUESTIONS ASKED" lifetime warranties of the newer guns are voided if you use reloaded vs factory ammo.

I shoot mostly common calibers, with a few pet cartridges. I think most of us do. It's really a question of time.

But in this day and age most calibers and rifles have become so accurate and both the guns and ammo so cheap and the liability of this world being what it is the case to be made or the draw towards reloading seems weaker than the past.
 
As a matter of fact I do own an old Krag Jorgensen and stock up on factory ammo every once in a while. But at the same time the gun is a bit of a family heirloom so I don't want to push it too much. I put a couple boxes of ammo through it and clean it once a year so even at $1.75 a round Remington Green/Yellow Core Lokt isn't so bad.

The other thing that really scares me about reloading is the safety element. You know it too; most if not all the ranges pride themselves to new members that "NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN SHOT HERE" but as you remain a member you start hearing stories about this one or that one that got hurt, maimed or killed because someone had a double charge. Or with the new guns you can build your own AR and you're calling around about failures and all the builders tell you that it's usually handloaded ammunition that causes most of the problems. Or that the newer "NO QUESTIONS ASKED" lifetime warranties of the newer guns are voided if you use reloaded vs factory ammo.

I shoot mostly common calibers, with a few pet cartridges. I think most of us do. It's really a question of time.

But in this day and age most calibers and rifles have become so accurate and both the guns and ammo so cheap and the liability of this world being what it is the case to be made or the draw towards reloading seems weaker than the past.

I think you're far too scared (your word) about reloading. No, you probably can't watch TV or work your way through a case of beer and have reliably safe loads. But you can't drive that way safely, either. It's not like trying to do open-heart surgery on yourself using YouTube videos as your guide. Reloading only requires normal prudence.

My take on reloading from just under 50 years' experience. Once upon a time, reloading was both much less expensive and likely to produce much more accurate loads. In general, neither are true. The quality and consistency of most brands' factory loads is outstanding. The price per round for common loads is usually cheaper than I could manage, and I don't have to spend time setting up and then doing the reloading. The only remaining niche where reloading is really viable, in my opinion (and yours might be different) is hard to find loads, like .30-40 Krag (which someone already mentioned). Even there, if you look you can usually find loads like .30-40 Krag or .22 Hornet or 7x57 Mauser (all uncommon in stores in my experience).
 
These aren't 7x57, but they are in another caliber that's got a very long and solid record for medium game, is accurate and is fun and relatively tame to shoot. It's also a challenge to find at your LGS. And - Ruger made the No. 1 in this caliber, too!

View attachment 310528
Hmm. Must be 6.5x55 Swede! (Oh, wait - now I see the disk on the stock. Dead give away).
 
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