i would like to build a 257 roberts and a 270 win.what action would you recommend.i was thinking of a remington,cz or howa.thanks

My 3 257's are built on long action remington 700 actions. If you can find a short action Winchester m70 action that would be the perfect .257. I have just got back a custom 257 witha a #2 lilja barrel, m700 la , Brown Precision pounder, conetrol mounts, & zeiss 3x9 scope it weighs a perfect 8 pounds.

I too would start with a Winchester action if I could, but the 2 projects I've got going are on Mausers, one is a small ring Husqvarna with a solid reciever which should be a perfect little .257 and the other is a 98 Mauser that will work too, but it wouldn't have been my first choice it just came to me as a just started project sporting a featherweight contour .257 barrel.
Both of these I will put M70 style safeties on ( one has the safety completed the other I haven't started ) and featherweight style stocks.
If you were looking at just a functional lightweight accurate sporter I would think a Rem action would fit the bill, I'm not fond of the look of the Rem 700 action but they are light and accurate.
Something I've thought about doing is watching for the right wood stocked Howa and rebarreling that. Anything is probably less money than building one on a Mauser action.

tom and Snellstrom,
I have a Model 70 Classic in 243, that I bought purposely for the action, with the idea of someday rebarreling it to a 257 Roberts. Other than rebarreling, what work needs to be done to the action? I am specifically referring to the magazine box. It has a spacer in the back, which I believe can be removed to allow longer OAL, but I think there is more to it than just that, like possibly ejector work. Your thoughts?

Bolt face and ejector should be fine as they are the same size. The magazine follower should be replaced, you need one for a .257 or 7x57, 6mm follower may work too. Remove the spacer in the magazine box. That and a rebarreling and you are set.

I just had a m70 in 300 win mag converted to 375 H&H. The gunsmith changed the box & ejector but left the same followler & it feeds fine. It is really impossible to find parts to convert a m70. You might want to call John Lewis at 803-827-2069 & ask him what needs to be changed out.A 257 m70 in 257 is not the end of the earth as long as throat is matched to the max OAL the magazine will allow.

My 257 Roberts was finished last year. It's built on a M77 Mk I long action with Lilja #5 stainless, 3 groove, fluted barrel @ 24". It's both pillar and glass bedded into a McMillan R stock. It's turned out to be quite the tack driver with 75 gr, 100 gr, 110 gr, and 120 gr bullets.

Mines a model 70. But if I were building one i'd go for a CZ action. You get a set trigger and a detachable mag.

I have 2 Roberts, one is a factory Ruger, while the other is a 03 springfield. It is expensive to convert a military action , but if you find one that has been sporterized already it might pay off for you ! ...tj3006

I've built a 257 roberts on a winchester short action. I removed the spacer from the magazine box, used the same follower. The ejector has to be shortened or it won't feed because the back end of the top round in the magazine box will catch on the ejector, preventing it from rising into position. You might could just swap a .375 H&H ejector in, I think they're shorter, but I haven't tried it. The back of the feed rails have to be massaged a bit also.

Boltman, what was the previous chambering of the short action you started with?

I have a pre-64 Win 70 that was previously a .30-06. Screwed in a used HART 24" barrel that was the same contour as the original barrel. The barrel was supposed to be a straight .257 Roberts but upon test firing found out it was an Ackley Improved!!

Mounted a 6X Leupold and just love it. Great deer and antelope gun. The sole load I have worked up shoots a 115 BT at just shy of 3000 fps. Killed a 5x5 whitetail last year at 275 yds with one shot.

Most of my hunting rifles have reasonable amounts of recoil so a big game rifle that barely kicks is a welcome change.

FN in MT

I built mine on a VZ-24 action. I am currently working on fitting it to a full length, laminated stock. The mauser actions are the perfect size with the proper bolt face, ejector, and mag length. Why would you want to build one on any other action?

Fast Ed