Author Topic: 256 win mag (Read 1287 times)

LOCUST GROVE · « **on:** July 01, 2008, 05:52:27 PM »

first post for me hello all

i have been bouncing around the idea of a new t/c in either 221 fireball or 22 k hornet i like efficiency & don't need a cannon

then i discovered the 256 win mag was made from the 357 mag i have tons of empties & the dies are available from redding & probably elsewhere

thinking along the lines of an 18 -20 inch barrel but have no clue what twist would be best i am thinking the 60 grain bullets would be my first try

gun would be used for armadillos & stray dogs & cats which have become a problem around here

100 yards max

now my question after reading rocky raab's article i am not sure i want to try it he didn't seem really impressed with it's inherent accuracy although he did have a couple of decent groups

anyone have any experience with this round ?

Savage · « **Reply #1 on:** July 02, 2008, 01:27:05 AM »

Welcome to the forum LC!
No first hand experience with this round, sounds interesting for your application tho! At least brass won't be a problem. Here's a link that might be of interest to you.
Good Luck!!
Savage

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/p256wm.html

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #2 on:** July 02, 2008, 02:07:38 AM »

that is one of the articles i read after reading rockys'

it seems to me that with the right fiddling about by a knowledgeable gunsmith if needed one ought to able to make it shoot

pretty much the case with most rifles i think

thanks for the reply

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 02, 2008, 03:50:28 AM »

L G

Welcome , another round you may want to look at would be the 218 Bee , works well out to 100 yards with bullets up to 55 grain and no case forming is needed .

I use mine for everything from P-dogs up to 70# coyotes with very good results .

stimpy

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #4 on:** July 02, 2008, 04:06:55 AM »

thanks i will check it out

clodbuster · « **Reply #5 on:** July 02, 2008, 11:30:30 AM »

LG My 256 wm is a Marlin 62 lever. My experinces: excellent accuracy with brass made from r-p virgin brass annealed and run into a sizing die. Make sure you go all the way into the die or you can have long case syndrome. I like AA1680 at the recommended charge, small rifle primer and 60- gr hornady bullet. These chrono at 2765 fps and they pack noticeable more wallop than my hornet. These are 21-22 inch barrels. Annealing is the key to forming brass easily and with very little loss. I love the cartridge!

Blackhawk44 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 02, 2008, 12:45:45 PM »

.256 cases can be a pain and .25 caliber bullet availability hit & miss unless you cast your own. With that much brass laying around, why not a .357 barrel? Kind of like a heavy .32-20. Bullets are cheap. Cast work fine and you don't have to run it wide open. If you still like something in between, a .25-20 barrel could be fun without the hassle of case forming. They are usually less finicky as to accuracy (I have a Ruger Hawkeye for comparison). In addition to my Marlin lever in .25-20, I have a 10" Contender barrel that gives within 20fps of rifle velocity and ever better accuracy, with factory ammo. In a short rifle a .221 could be real fun without much fuss. Isn't it nice to have options? Good luck.

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #7 on:** July 02, 2008, 01:39:40 PM »

do appreciate all the replies you guys have helped me for sure
i think i have made up my mind

i think the real issue is that i have never done any case forming and i have a hankering to try it

therefore i think i'm gonna purchase a g2 & get a custom barrel in 256 and give it a try

i think you all pretty much covered all the bases pros & cons
i will say the biggest issue is the bullet availability they seem to jump from the 60 grain roundnose to the 75 grainers nothing at all in between
but therein lies the ultimate challenge make a little tiny case with limited capacity shoot that 75 grainer

actually the longest shot i have made around here is a bit less than 90 yards (we live on 40 acres in the jungles of northeastern oklahoma - but only about 8 total acres are cleared)

if i can make it shoot to that distance with either bullet then i have something good

i am thinking a 1 in 10 twist might be the way to go tell me what you think[/size

Catfish · « **Reply #8 on:** July 02, 2008, 02:54:01 PM »

You would be far better off to go with a 1 in 14 twist for a 60 gr. bullet. A 10 twist in .25 cal is for heavy bullets, 100 to 117. I have a rifle chambered in .25cal on the .221 Fire Ball case and load it to .256 specs whit the 75 gr. Sierra bullets and it does a great job on groundhogs. It`s the rifle my wife used to use when we still had some around the house.
1 more thing you`ll probly have to do is turn the necks on your cases. When you take them down that far the neck will get pretty thick. When you get your barrel make sure that they tell you the through dia. so you`ll know what to turn your necks to. I personally like .002 neck expantion.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 02, 2008, 03:27:08 PM »

Catfish

With my 224GNR I didn't have to turn the necks at all , but the chamber was cut to fit as formed , that being said the neckd didn't thicken more than .002 by forming and thats taking a 357 Max case down to .22

stimpy

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #10 on:** July 02, 2008, 04:02:23 PM »

so you think the 1 in 14 might be good for both weights ?

yes this new idea of mine will take me into reloading for real

i've reloaded for a long time but nothing more than 357 / 38 spcl & 30-30 and nothing approaching warm hunting loads

just target stuff for the kids & grand kids with nothing but standard issue lee dies

the neck turning paying very close attention to case length headspace etc will be a whole new adventure

thanks for all your ideas

Blackhawk44 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 03, 2008, 07:03:28 AM »

One of the sponsors here is just down the road from you and a nice guy to work with. That's Ed's TC's in Ok City. Check in TC classifieds. He should be able to fit you with that barrel without destroying the budget. You might check with him for advise, he might have something to offer.

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #12 on:** July 03, 2008, 07:48:40 AM »

thanks i will check him out there is also a dandy gunsmith named David White up in
vinita about 35 miles north of me gonna see him too

thanks

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2008, 12:51:14 AM »

after much net reading i am thinking the 25 caliber might not be what i am looking for i keep running into the same issue lack of choice in bullets that 60 grain round nose is all i can find then there is nothing but 75 grainers

have checked out the GNR 224 interesting but i was hoping to go with something other than a 22 no real reason just preference at this point

i would like some choice between 60 - 75 grain once again no real basis just preference at this point

that leaves me with the 6mm/243 lots of bullet choice there

is there anything out there like that say based on the 357 max case ?

once again i am not looking for a 400 yard cannon just a shooter i can use at 100 yards or so that is a bit quieter than the 223 but with more bullet size than the k hornet

any more ideas ?

Catfish · « **Reply #14 on:** July 05, 2008, 09:24:21 AM »

Just got to thinking, if your main reason to build a wildcat is to use up the .357 max. brass you have you would be better off to trash the brass and buy a factory round if your thinking of saveing money. With the extra cost of dies ect. there is no way you`ll save money. There are people that will make you a reamer for anything you want, but grab your wallet. If your just wanting to get your feet wet with wildcatting I would recomand you look for used Contender or Encore barrel that come with dies. I picked up 2 .17 cal. wildcat Bullberry barrels with dies for $ 200 each, that`s less than 1/2 of what I would have paid new.

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2008, 09:59:46 AM »

actually all the brass i have is 357 mag my last post was just wondering about the 357 max

you are right in every thing you said

i should have just bought the 221 fireball i was lusting after before i started reading the GBO forums & been done with it

BUT after viewing the available GNR stuff i have become cozy with the idea of a custom gun

for the first time in my life i have the time & the money to get the gun i really want

kinda back to square one at this point still thinking along the lines of a 24 caliber due to the available bullets (60-70 gr)

would like to have a shooter that only uses 15 - 20 grains of powder & the max case seems to do that

doesnt seem like the 357 mag case would be quite big enough but i dont know have to research too if no one offers up their thoughts on that

i wonder how much more difficult it is to squeeze the neck down to 243 than to 257 ?

appreciate your interest thanks

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2008, 04:57:37 PM »

LG

Here are a few options to look at , one would be the .257 Kimber , its based on the .222 Rem Mag case , a little more powder than you are looking at but a nice round anyway . There is also the .257 Mag Revolver round , this one is based on the 22 Hornet with the case blown out to a .25 cal . and lastly the 25-35 Tomcat , this one is formed from a 30/30 win case .

The .243 / 6mm stuff all seems to run in a case cap much larger than what you want as far as powder charges go .

http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

stimpy

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #17 on:** July 06, 2008, 02:23:30 AM »

well i have had a lot of fun looking into this i guess i kind of jumped in with both feet not having a clue how many options there really were
talked to mr reeder about necking his 256 down to 243 because of the bullet choice he said it was doable but time frame was pretty long
oh well i think i am going to go to do some more cruising the internet & thinking about this before i buy
i will probably stay with something based on the 357 mag or max if i go the reeder route
when i finally decide & get the gun i will show it off
thanks for your help stimpy

ricciardelli · « **Reply #18 on:** July 06, 2008, 07:13:09 AM »

http://stevespages.com/256winp.html

http://stevespages.com/256winr.html

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #19 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:49:33 AM »

good info thank you just gonna have to take my time & get the gun i really want i guess

by the way i have lot's of family in missoula actually on the edge of town what a beautiful place way too cold for this southerner though

cousin is about to retire from the highway department took me on a back road one time(35 plus years ago) into the very northern end of yellowstone really something

then we drove north about two - three hours to a place i swear he called YAK or THE YAK it was absolutely stunning wilderness

anyway thanks for you guys help

LOCUST GROVE · « **Reply #20 on:** July 08, 2008, 12:34:32 AM »

well i guess this thread has about played out but i will tell you what i have decided to concentrate on

i will either go with the 221 fireball & work up a load with a heavier bullet ~60 grain and/or do some more research into the 6mm whisper which does sound interesting

i think either of these choices will give me the bullet choice i am looking for