What caliber for M70 build?

[skydiver386]

I cut a good deal on a used Winchester M70 long action at my local gunshop today. I'm planning a build for Pronghorn, Impala, Chamois and Deer size game, and anything bigger would bring a 30 cal out of it's case. The .25's seem to be almost made for this size of game at normal hunting ranges, so the .257 Roberts and the 25-05 might be my pick. I've also considered a 270 Winchester or 280 Remington for this build.

Edit: I stumbled across 200 new unfired Nosler .257 Roberts cases still in the factory boxes, in the same gun store, so brass for the .257 won't be a problem.

 

[Mekaniks]

Want to go with something classic, the .257 Roberts or .270 win are hard to beat.

Want to go a little more "modern" a 280 AI would be cool.

 

[dchum]

.270 win

Such an easy and sturdy cartridge.

130 -140 Barnes ttsx and 150 swift a frames make it a done deal. All of those are very available in accurate factory loadings!

 

[wolfhunter]

one of my favorite calibers (rifle) 257 Roberts.

 

[Fatback]

Can’t go wrong with any of them. I have a 25-06 and a 270 and enjoy them both and both have served me quite well. Not as familiar with the 257 or the 280. Best of luck whatever you decide.

 

[Green Chile]

I'm going contrary to the majority of votes with the 25-06. It's a seriously underrated cartridge and you did say pronghorn but also little chamois, etc that offer longer shots. 257 Roberts is classic but lacks the punch of the 25-06 for longer shots. 270 is great too but consider the little 1/4 bore rocket.

 

[ActionBob]

270 Winchester because when I think of a Winchester M70, the first thing to go through my mind is Jack O'Conner with a Pre '64 Featherweight in 270 Win.

 

[BourbonTrail]

I’m a 25-06 proponent.

That said, everyone in my extended family uses the 270 for everything, and my father in law killed hundreds, if not thousands, of deer in Virginia over the years with his 257 Roberts.

 

[CZDiesel]

Without a doubt the 270 Win! A long range classic for deer sized game…

 

[RR 314]

I'm going contrary to the majority of votes with the 25-06. It's a seriously underrated cartridge and you did say pronghorn but also little chamois, etc that offer longer shots. 257 Roberts is classic but lacks the punch of the 25-06 for longer shots. 270 is great too but consider the little 1/4 bore rocket.

Even more contrarian—.257 STW. . Brass is getting a bit hard to source, but I love mine. .280 or .280 AI are solid as well.

 

[Pablo]

.270 Winchester gets my vote. That’s my go-to gun and I’m not afraid to shoot anything in the lower 48 with it.

 

[375Ruger416]

Another vote for the 25-06; my brother in law has one in a Sako that he loves for his deer, coyote, do everything rifle. A .257 Wby is even better, but you’ll pay the price for ammo. If I was a handloader, I’d have one anyhow.

To be clear, he is not recoil sensitive - also has a 338 RUM and 2 300 Wby’s, but that damn 25-06 seems to go everywhere with him.

 

[Nkawu]

7x64 Brenneke or 6.5x55

 

[AB2506]

25-06

 

[Certus]

25-06

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

257 Roberts; is classic and timeless. Shot my first deer with this caliber and have loved it since. You can find an original Pre64 in this caliber. I’ve got a first year production in the safe.

25-06; for what you’re doing is a perfect caliber. You won’t find a Pre64 in it unless custom so might as well build one.

250 Sav; not an option listed, there are a few Pre64’s out there and many fakes. Great caliber

257Wby; won’t find a Pre64 but have long debated building one on a donor action. One of my favorite calibers.

270; plenty of Pre64 guns out there, no need to build one just buy a different one

280 Rem; another great caliber but if you’re going to go this route, just build a 280AI with the action.

All that said if I was building on a donor action I’d go 280AI, 257Wby 25-06 in that order.

 

[BlueFlyer]

I voted for 25/06
But I love my 280AI that was built in the 1990's before it was trendy.

 

[BeeMaa]

I'm a big fan of the quarter bores and voted 25-06 over the 257ROB. It's not the most popular chambering, but deadly on the range of animals you listed. Load up some 100 grain Barnes TTSX and put them in the salt!

Keep us posted on what you decide and how the build goes.

 

[nomspc]

Of the OP’s original choices, I’d go 270 Win, but if I were building another M70 LA, it would be a 280AI; super versatile. I had a similar decision to make for a Blaser R8 barrel, had a 280AI barrel made and am thrilled with it.

 

[Ruraldoc]

If you did not handload , the 270 leads your list in ammo availability as well as the variety of loads from which to select.

But as a handlloader, I would pick a 280 with a 9 twist or faster.

You can make it act like a 25-06 with the 120 grain Ballistic tip. You can make it buck the wind at really long distances with Hornady or Berger long range high BC bullets.

Or you can push 140 grain bullets over 3000 fps for a great all around load for the animals you mentioned. Jack O’Connor wrote about watching his friend Fred Huntington use a 280 in Africa with 140 grain partitions for more than a dozen one shot kills on plains game, large and small.

Jack was very impressed with Fred’s 280 and would go on to build his own toward the end of his life.

If you have a 280, you don’t really need a 25-06, 270 or 30-06 because the right load will do just about everything they can do.