What caliber for M70 build?

[Tra3]

.270 Winchester. I hunted pronghorn for over 20 years with a .270. My friends bought the same caliber. It is very effective on them with a 130 grain bullet. With 150s I’ve taken numerous elk.

The caliber works great for Africa too, my kids have used it to take a few dozen PG.

@Mtn_Infantry makes a very good point, though. It is a common rifle in that action, so just buy a .270 already built! In that case, the .25-06 gets my vote.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I don’t know what all your build will entail, but if it’s just a barrel and stock, go with the 257 Roberts or 25-06. If you want to build something really special, meaning high end custom, go for whatever caliber you want. Basically my point is you can buy push feed M70 for $500, and the others are hard to find.

 

[DG870]

All are good for the game you indicated, but a fast twist .270 that’s able to use some of the new heavier bullets would give you a backup rifle to your .30 in a pinch.

 

[YancyW]

270 win. With Reloader 26 and a 150gr VLD you can easily get 3000fps and it would be a hammer on what you are after.

 

[Graham Hunter]

For Deer size and down you can't beat the 25-06.

 

[skydiver386]

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.

Not sure the STW cartridge will work in this action length. It has a .473 bolt face and the ejection port actually looks more like a short action.

 

[skydiver386]

The gun store owner had a Win70 short action stock that we tried, and this action was at least an inch to long to match the screw spacing, so I'm pretty sure it's a long. Maybe some Winchester fans can chime in and let me know exactly what I have, and what will work through this action. It is push feed, NOT CRF.

 

[skydiver386]

 

[375Ruger416]

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.

Who made your barrel and how was your experience?

 

[Neophyte]

I used a 25-06 to take four antelope.
Like the 6.5 calibers it seems to punch above its weight class. The .270 would be my second choice and first choice if you thought you would use one of your selections for elk. If not just stick with the 25-06 and call it golden.

 

[DLSJR]

If I was doing this build, it’d be a .270. It’s such a versatile cartridge. I’ve shot game as small as Klipspringer and Sharps Grysbok, all the way to Zebra and Alaska Yukon Moose with a .270. With quality bullets you can hunt most game with a .270.

 

[Green Chile]

Why build a 270 when you can take your pick of them all over the place? I thought @Mtn_Infantry made a great point with that and he is a collector of these rifles.

 

[TERMINATOR]

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.

.257 Weatherby

 

[TERMINATOR]

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.

I like the 25-06 a lot

I LOVE the .257 Weatherby

Because whatever .257 bullet you like to shoot…it shoots it faster

I am a fan of Roy’s creations both the Mark V rifles and the .257, .270, 7mm and .300 Wby cartridges

 

[FlyGuy]

Post#16 said it all.
25-06! Preferably a 26” barrel with a tight twist.
Unfortunately it’s an extremely underrated cartridge.

 

[nomspc]

Who made your barrel and how was your experience?

Palehorse Zero; 24” standard barrel, 8.5 twist, excellent fit and finish, very accurate.

 

[Puddle]

I had built a 257 Roberts using a long action. Primarily my Pronghorn getter, however I've taken big wheat field Muley's with it using the same load.

 

[mdwest]

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.View attachment 625596

If youre still undecided after all of this.. I will gladly relieve you of the problem and send you $225 for the action today...


you got a great deal on that thing man... congrats!

 

[gbflyer]

I had a PF model 70 from the mid 1980’s. It was a .243 on a long action from the factory. It went to more than one gunsmith trying to make it feed. Must have never found the right gunsmith because it never did. Anyway, with that experience behind me, I’d definitely go with a long action cartridge. Hard to go wrong with a .270, maybe a .280 imp now that it’s a SAAMI cartridge.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I voted for the .270 but like others posted, they're already out there. Would go with a 25-06, #3 contour Bartlein, twist determined by the bullets you plan to shoot, but a 9 or 10 will work with most.