RE: 7x57 Mauser
My Great Grandfather and my Dad took everything in NA with a 7x57, save for a Grizzly, and that's only because no bear presented itself. Imitating Bell, my Great Grandfather shot an unruly Circus elephant with the rifle in the 1920's, after the pachyderm had killed its trainer.
I have a 7x57 in a 700 mountain rifle, and I also have a .30-'06 in a 700 CDL. There's about 3/4 # weight difference between them, butI have foundnoticeably less recoilwhen shootingFederal blue box 175 RN's inthe 7x57, vs. shooting Hornady 165 BTSP's in the '06.
I bought the 7x57 mainly for the nostalgia, because the 7mm-08 is nearly the same thing, and that ammo is far more widely available. For some reason, these cartridges seem to kill better thantheir noise, recoil, or lack-of-hype would suggest.
FC