The 9×57mm Mauser is a cartridge based on the 7.92×57mm Mauser. It uses the identical 57 mm-long cartridge case, with the same shoulder angle, but necked up to accept a 9 mm-diameter bullet. Ballistically - but not dimensionally - it is indistinguishable from the 9×56mm Mannlicher–Schoenauer. It is currently regarded as a semi-obsolete calibre, although hand-loading keeps it alive.

Performance

Firing a relatively heavy bullet of 14–16 g (220–250 grains) at a modest velocity of 670–700 m/s (2,200–2,300 ft/s), the 9×57mm is low in noise and recoil, pleasant to shoot, and regarded as accurate and effective on all but the very largest, most dangerous game at distances out to 250–300 m (300-350 yd). The cartridge's low velocity combined with the heavy, poorly streamlined bullet, gives the 9×57 a relatively poor

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, which makes it unsuited to shooting at longer ranges. This calibre was popular as a large-deer cartridge in Germany and Central Europe; and also in German spheres of influence in Africa in the early 20th century, such as

German West Africa German West Africa (''Deutsch-Westafrika'') was an informal designation for the areas in West Africa that were part of the German Colonial Empire between 1884 and 1919. The term was normally used for the territories of Cameroon and Togo. German W ...

and

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

, where it was widely popular among European farmers and settlers for shooting

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. It also accounted for many lions and leopards. Its popularity was gradually eclipsed by the significantly more powerful, flatter-shooting, 9.3×62 Mauser cartridge. The CIP maximum average pressure (MAP) for the 9×57 is 280 MPa bar (40,600

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Firearms using the 9×57

Many beautifully-made sporting rifles in 9×57mm caliber, often dating from well before 1939, are still giving their owners good service today. However, dependable, recently manufactured factory ammunition is increasingly expensive and hard to obtain, and many users must rely on

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by assembling the individual components (case, primer, propellant, and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded ammunition. The term ''hand ...

. Many of these

Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...

rifles were made from de-militarized World War I small ring M98 rifles by many gunsmiths throughout Germany, and usually these are rebored (oversized from 7.92×57mm). When barrels eventually wear out, 9×57mm rifles are generally rebarrelled in other, more modern calibres. The cartridge was popular around the world and was even chambered in

Remington Model 30 The Remington Model 30 is a US sporting rifle of the inter-war period based on the military P14/ M1917 Enfield rifle action, which was manufactured for the British and US governments during World War I.Bolt Action Rifles - By Frank de Haas - Blue ...

and

Winchester Model 54 The Winchester Model 54 is a bolt-action rifle manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The 54 was the first successful production run civilian centerfire bolt action for Winchester; it was essentially a less-ornate derivative of the ...

rifles.

Commercial production

The Eley-Kynoch 9×57 cartridge manufactured by the company at its

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

factory up to the 1950s used fully jacketed and soft-nosed, round-nosed, flat-based bullets weighing , with an average muzzle velocity of . Factory-loaded ammunition is now increasingly hard to come by, and most users handload, using either fire-formed 9×57 brass or modified 7×57 or 8×57 cases necked up to accept 9 mm diameter bullets.

Gallery

File:9and8mmamuser.png, 9×57mm Mauser cartridge next to a sporting 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, its parent case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:9by57mm Mauser Pistol and rifle cartridges

Performance

Firearms using the 9×57

Commercial production

Gallery

See also

References