Would you believe that in 45 years of hunting deer, I have never owned a 7mm or a Winchester deer rifle!

Why? I do not know. I have seen some nice pre-64�s but they were over priced and / or in a caliber that was of no interest to me. Most of the post-64�s have no appeal to me. I do like the lines of the Featherweight stocks but they feel heavy and chunky in my hand.

So, what I�m thinking is maybe building 7x57 on a Winchester action in Featherweight style stock (but maybe lighter and slimmer).

Please, let me know what you think of this idea. And do you think I can keep the cost under $2,000?

Yes, it can be done for much less than $2,000.

Cole K: Unless you just gotta-start-it0now, why not take the next couple of months and look at gun auction sites such as GunsAmerica.com and GunBrooker.com and buy a Model 70 Winchester Featherweight XTR in 7x57mm. There was one there just about three weeks ago. A good friend of mine owns one and loves the thing. I am a CZ 550 fanatic and a nut for the 7x57mm. For me it has been my go-to rifle for elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, antelope, black bear, wild hogs, javelina and even wild turkey in Texas. Like Oregon, I am certain you can build one for $2,000 or less on a Model 70 action. Your choice of caliber is right on the mark, though you really need to be a handloader to take full advantage of the cartridge. My friend's CZ has a 1x10 twist barrel and it does a fantastic job on 150 grain bullets, 145 and 140 grain bullets, 139 grain bullets, but I have not seen him shoot any other grain weight. My rifle has a 1x8.66 inch Euro twist. I load 162 grain Hornady SSTs and 160 grain Nosler Partitions with it exclusively. Absolutely fantastic cartridge. Good luck with it. Tom Purdom

Unless you really want the Featherweight "style" of stock, order a Hunter's Edge for the Winchester 70 with featherweight contour barrel...a nearly perfect blend with the right optics.

If I were you, I would contact a good stockmaker and see about making an ADL pattern Model 70 stock; that is, a stock for a pre-64 action without a floorplate. That would save you a great deal of weight and look very attractive. There is an issue of Sports Afield that covers custom rifles and has a picture of a Model 70 with that type of stock. Combine that with a featherweight contour barrel and you will have a light, well balanced gun. The pre-64 action is no lightweight, so balance is likely to be more important than overall weight.

You can be forgiven.

But you have to repent.

If you want a really sweet 7x57, there is a Ruger 77 RSI for sale on GB for $1,500, auction # 83184310. This is the tang safety 77 and is a non-cataloged limited edition. If I could have only 1 7x57, this would be it.

Jeff

The 7 X 57 is a great choice. I love mine. Find a chrome moly donor action (cheaper than stainless)and send it out for re-barrel to that caliber with a chrome moly bbl.
Cerakote the metal for the same finish throughout and also for protection from the elements. McMillan or Bansner stock bedded. Have the trigger worked over. Mount the scope of your choice in Talley liteweights and go kill stuff.

You'll like it!

Mr. Howell, if I get this rifle built have I repented enough?

Thanks for the help guys.

My original thought was wood stock, blued action and barrel. But what I really want is light weight woods rifle.

I like the looks of the McMillan Hunters Edge Featherweight stock and if later I don�t like it I can always re-stock it with wood.

Instead of blue I�m how thing a Cerakote finish would be better.

I think I would like a 21 inch barrel with a 1-10 twist.

Now the big question, which M70 action, short or long?

What do ya�ll think guys, am I on the right track?

On this board Cole is not the heretic, I am, for I have never owned a Remington bolt gun.

Nor am I repentant. Grin

Idaho_Shooter,
I have also never owned but 2 Remington rifles. I still have both of them. One is a Fieldmaster 22 that was my Dad's and years and 5 'smiths to get it to shoot right.
I have a 700 30-06 I bought 20 years ago that has never shoot better than 2 inch groups. But I have killed alot of deer with it.
May God keep from another one.

Cole K - go with the standard action. You will limit yourself with the short action and there is no sense in doing that from the very beginning of your project. Tom Purdom

A 7-57 in a long action will be short in the magazine and will not work true CRF all the time. The COL of a 7-57 is 3.065" and a long action may have a magazine length of 3.4".

Now a 7-57's bullet can be seated further out but its not easy to fill the magazine length wise to get reliablility. I know as I have such a ill designed rig, a 21h Brno.

If you do find a long action you might as well chamber it for a long action cartridge.

Someone mentioned a M70 XTR which to me was a push feed. Now those rifles were made as Featherweights and the stocks are much slimmer than the original pre-64's. The ones I know of are not CRF but they are not a bad gun at all. I bet you can find one for under $1000 before a custom gets finished at $2000.

On the other hand they may be making new ones again by then.

A 7x57 on a pre-64 Win M70 action with a 22-inch barrel would be fantastic. Go for it!

I, too, love the 7x57. It is a wonderfully balanced round capable of great performance with bullets of sufficient weight. By "balanced" I mean it is chambered in rifles of moderate size and weight, the recoil is tolerable, and the terminal performance is at least sufficient, if not fantastic. The recoil is noticably lighter than a 30-06 with 180 grain bullets. I currently own 2 rifles so chambered, with another on layaway (a Ruger #1A), and I have owned others. My go-to bullet has been the 160 grain Speer Hot-Cor driven to around 2700 fips with H4350. It is in the middle of the middle of the road.

_

Mauser made commercial actions for the 7X57 in an intermediate size. You can find them around too, for example I have one made in the 60s by Heym.

jim

I would get a short action M70 in 7mm08 caliber. The 7x57 is too long for short actions and the 7/08 is it's ballistic twin except with more choices available for factory ammo etc.

+1 "I have never owned a 7mm or a Winchester deer rifle!"


Came close to a Winchester once...

A 7-57 may fit in a M70 short action. I am not going to measure mine but the max COL of the 7-57 is just over 3" and the magazine of the rifle is about that. One could make it fit is my take on it.

A 7mm-08 is a very nice round but in terms of perfection is a little small for the M70. A 284 Win would fit a M70 full up however. The 7-08 goes real nice in a Kimber.

You un-American heathen! Seriously, watch the local pawn shops. If you're patient you can get a decient deal on a 7X57 or a Model 70 Winchester.

It would be a sweet rifle, and yes it can be done easily.

cole..,

The first centerfire I bought for myself was a 7RM built around a Husky barrelled action and a custom stock. It kills like the hammer of Thor ... belt or not.

A few years ago I picked up a sweet little customised Mex.Mau. in 7X57 for $200.00. It kills like a .270 with less recoil, just like O'Conner said it would 40 years ago. I've killed so many deer with it I'm afraid Bush will classify it "a weapon of mass destruction'.

Before my sun sets I will own a .280 ... just because. And, when my sun does set, both the 7RM and the 7X57 will be in my safe. Sadly, I've never owned a Mod.70, but, if one shows up within reach in 7WSM, it will likely be in the safe,too.

You've missed out on much. CATCH UP!!!

cole k: you never indicated if you would consider an already made Winchester Model 70 Featherweight XTR in 7x57mm. There's one on the auction block right now on GunBroker.com. It is listed under 82583724. If you want to lighten up even more, then buy a McMillan featherweight stock at 21 ounces or so. Good luck ... Tom Purdom

Cole,
Yes, it will be a sweet rifle! I am having Redneck build my lefty M70 in 7X57. You cannot find a better smith, and, this will be my third M70 build that he has done for me this year. Best of luck with your project!
Oh, don't use the Winchester short action, it is to short! If you wish a "short" action tailor made for the 7X57, then look at the Montana action. I have no experience with them, but, the mag box is 3.125...perfect for this perfect cartridge!

....If you love LIGHTWEIGHT rifles and can up the ante just a bit 'north' of your $2,000. budget , look into a New Ultralight Arms rifle from Melvin Forbes in 7X57, or .284 Winchester. Such a rifle will be superbly accurate, VERY LIGHTWEIGHT, and balance as a fine hunting arm should.
.......The Winchester model 70, sweet as it is, simply is not ideal for the 7X57, which, as has been pointed out, is a bit long for the Winchester short action, and a bit short for the standard length action. In a push feed no big shakes, but in a control feed action BEST reliability would dictate the short action, and limit full house loads to the lighter projectiles. Heavier bullets, 160 grain stuff,would start taking powder space.

....P.S. The Ruger RSI in 7X57 mentioned in an above post would be sweet indeed, but it is a push feed if that bugs you, and it's shorter barrel costs a little speed while adding a bit more POP! Also the Early Ruger's with the tang safety have triggers that require upgrade, at least if you have more than a couple seasons behind a rifle..The good news is that today, drop in quality replacements are available and are reasonably priced. Back when those guns were made fixing the trigger was more problematic.

A push feed for mainly deer hunting is not a big deal to me. If it was I could always re-barrel my 8x27.
And I�m not opposed to Mauser action. Buy I really want a Win M70 action.

Oldhippie: what you saw in my previous post was a sure sign of age creeping up on an already spent mind. My friend owns a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight XTR in 7x57mm and it has a 1x10 twist. The bottom line is, I screwed up that line in my post.

Your Full Stock CZ 550 in 7x57mm has a 1x8.66 twist, just like my CZ 550 American with the longer barrel. You might, if you handload, give some 160 grain Nosler Partitions a try with 48.3 grains of H414. My brother's CZ 550 Full Stock in 7x57mm puts three partitions into a .75 inch circle with that load. He has chronographed the load at 2,645 fps, which is pretty darned flat shooting for a 160 grain slug. Another 7x57mm fanatic likes Reloader 19 with the heavier bullets. A friend of my brother also owns a CZ 550 Full Stock in 7x57mm and his rifle loves 162 grain Hornady SSTs with 48.3 grains of powder. His is loaded out to 3.270 inches overall lenghth. The fellow tells me he can shoot the heads off of Texas turkies at 100 yards with that rig and load. Also said it is deadly on deer and hogs.

I appologize for the wrong twist rate on the other post. I hope this clears the matter up. The attachment show the kind of groups I can get with my CZ 550 American with the 162 grain Hornady SSTs and H414 powder. In my rifle and my brother's friend's rifle, that combination goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Tom Purdom

Cole,
These factory models if I am remembering correctly have the bolt stop adjusted for .257 Roberts or 7x57 with a slightly shorter magazine follower! If you need a 7x57 over a 7-08 for your perfect rifle, one of these already made up for this length would be the one to start with even if you have it rebarreled later.

Get one of these in 7x57, I sure like mine!!

....Tom, Those are some sweet groups you got there! The 7X57 with 160 grain bullets at those speeds, and with that accuracy, well it's no wonder the old Mauser 7mm has you won over! Thanks for sharing..Ian

Kenster, Is that a Brno model 22? It is a mighty sweet looking rig, thats for sure. I wish my CZ550FS had stock lines more like that. The Euro Bavarian style the 550FS features is about first kin to a fence post! At least to my eye...
.....And Kenster that great old Weaver scope on your rig really looks right too!

Thanx olhippie, yes thats what it is. Weaver is a 1x,and its sure quick to get on target.

Mauser, I'm not going to start this until after deer season and that's in late January.
I'm not opposed to a Model 70 Winchester Featherweight XTR or a CZ 550 or a Ruger in this caliber. Winchesters are high right right now. But I know where I can get a Winchester Long Action cheap. CZ 550s or a Rugers in this caliber are rare and Winchesters are rarer.

By the way Mauser those are great groups.

Great looking rifle.

Cole--
Another option would be to build it off a Montana Rifle Company action. The short MRC magazine box is about 3.1", which would be perfect for a 7x57. The downside of the MRC action is that it is heavy, so that is a serious strike against it if you are trying to build a lightweight gun.

Cole, I had the exact rifle, a win 70, shilen barrel and mcmillan fwt stock. sold it to a lucky fellow. You could easily do the same one you find a donor action.

action $500
barrel installed $500 (or less)
stock, installed, $500

nothing to it!

Thanks, Bob
I talked to a buddy of mine yesterday and he is going to bring me a pre-64 action when he comes home for Thanksgiving. He say the action is less than $500.

A pre-64 is even better! I used IT&D lately for three barrels and they do great work at a great price. You put put together a nice rifle for $1500 or so, not including scope.

Bob, if I can get this done for $1,500 I will be happy as a lark.
As for a scope I have a couple of Luepy 2x7's laying around that I think will fit nicely.

sounds like a good plan with the 2x7. I highly recommend IT&D for barrel work, quick and good value. the last one the installed for me was under $400, stainless to boot. douglas barrel. I have a half dozen or more douglas barrels and they all shoot well.

I will be selling a FW mod 70 at a gunshow this upcoming weekend chambered in 7x57.Not mine, belongs to the gun shop I am working for.Cant remember the price right now, but if anyone interested, call me.

What's your number?