The 5.6×57mm (designated as the 5,6 × 57 by the C.I.P.) cartridge was created by Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprengstoffwerke (RWS) in Germany in 1964 by necking down popular 7×57mm Mauser (similarly to how Paul Mauser himself created 6.5×57mm 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.
