5.6×57mm
The 5.6×57mm cartridge was created by in Germany in 1964 by necking down popular 7×57mm Mauser for hunting small deer such as roe deer, and for chamois. The calibre has a significant following among European sportsmen, and most European mass production riflemakers chamber several models of rifle for this cartridge. During the 1970-1990 period this cartridge was widely and successfully used in the Republic of Ireland for deer shooting, since security considerations at a period of Provisional Irish Republican Army violence had led to a ban on the civilian ownership of calibres larger than.224in. Some British small deer specialist hunters use the 5.6×57 mm with great success on roe deer, muntjac and Chinese water deer.
With a factory-load velocity of with a 74-grain, cone-pointed bullet, it is approximately faster than the .220 Swift cartridge firing a bullet of equivalent weight. The larger case capacity means that handloaders can produce 50-grain loads that, with velocities in excess of, will outpace anything that can safely be achieved by the Swift. The .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum is a 21st-century cartridge that is comparable to the 5.6×57 mm.
The 5.6×57mm cartridge case has a distinctively thick case wall, and this causes significant problems when handloading, owing to the force that needs to be used through the press when re-sizing the case neck. It has been suggested that this unusual neck thickness is the result of the use of.22 rimfire chamber adapters in centrefire rifles chambered for this cartridge.