256 Winchester

[Turk]

Anyone shoot the 256 Winchester?  Your thoughts please.

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

[Steve P]

thoughts about what?
Case forming is not that bad.
Bullet cost is a little more due to 25 caliber.

Steve  

[Turk]

Let's see.

How about what speed does it comes out the bore (if anyone chrono's).

Accuracy

Hunting whitetail deer

Thanks,

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

[RonF]

I used to shoot a Super 14 in .256 Win quite a bit.  I could get around 2450 fps with the 75 gr. Hornady or Sierra and a case just about full of RL-7.  In those days, all I had access to was a 50 yd. range, and the best group I shot was 5/16" with under 1/2" very common (from a bench, of course).  The barrel had a 4X Leupold on it.  I personally think it's a bit light for deer, but not everyone agrees.  It is great for prairie dogs and groundhogs, though some other cartridges are better for this application.  In my opinion, if you want to hunt deer with a .25 bore in the Contender you should go for a .257 JDJ or one of the similar numbers based on the .30-30 case from other vendors.  They will handle heavier bullets better and exceed the varmint performance of the .256 Win.  Of course, they make a lot more noise and use more powder.

Hope this helps you.

RonF

[Johnly]

I have three 256 Win Mag barrels(2x10"Bull, 1x10" Oct) and a 12" 256 Maximum.  I kind of have a thing for quarter bores.  :grin:

I don't have my chrono data handy, but Ron's reccomendation of RL-7 is a good one. Don't overlook H4227, AA1680, and Lil'Gun as they also work quite well.

As far as accuracy, my 10" 256 WM bull barrel is scary accurate using 14.0 H4227/75gr V-Max,  with a 2.5-8X Leupold EER mounted on it. I've shot many groups under 3/4" @ 100 with a few under 1/2".

I think it's a bit light for critters larger than yotes, but it's a fun caliber to shoot and easy to load.

[Turk]

Thanks for the info.  I agree the quarter bore is a little light for deer in this caliber.  I'm looking to down size in caliber size as to what I shoot.  I guess I'm tried of shooting the big  bores I have.  A few weeks ago I took out a wheel gun (38 Spec. Colt Official police) that I haven shot in 30 years and what a pleasant gun to shoot.

Thanks,

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

[Reed1911]

Turk,

If you are looking at the 1/4 bore for deer you may consider the .256 Max. IF you have it long throated you can shoot the 117's just fine and they will certainly take a whitetail. Johnly can likely give more advice on the Max than I can, but they are both supurb calibers.

[Turk]

Johnny,

Tell me more about the max.

Thanks,

Turk


Remember to pray for our troops.

[Johnly]

Johnny,

Tell me more about the max.

Thanks,

Turk


Remember to pray for our troops.

Turk.

It's a 11 3/4" EBCO barrel they I stumbled on to while looking for a spare 256WM barrel on eBay. As luck was have it, on one of the Contender boards someone had a set of Redding 256 Max for sale, so I didn't have to go the custom die route or partially size cases with 256WM dies.

Right now I'm using a case full of RL-7 topped of with a 85 gr. Nosler Ballistic tip. My Pact is having problems so I can't give you any velocity data. I'll measure the case capacities of the two cases and post them back to the list.

[Johnly]

Turk,

A fired 256WM case holds 22.3 grains of ball powder to the top of the neck, while a 256 Maximum holds 28.7 grains. If you're looking for a quarter bore with a bit more zing, you might want to shop for a 25-25 barrel. It has greater case capacity and doesn't require custom dies.

[Turk]

Guys,

Thanks for the information I'll keep looking the max seems to be the way to go.

Thanks again,

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

[Johnly]

Turk,

        Bullberry offers the 256 Maximum chambering option should you decide to order one of Fred's barrels.

[Turk]

Johnly,

I think I'm going to order a 256 Max. from Bullberrry.

I assume you have to form your cases?  I see Redding has them for the 256 Mag. so I would think you could use them for the longer case.  Is that the same for the reloading dies?

Thanks again,


Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

[Johnly]

Forming 256 Win & 256 Maximum cases are much easier than most people think. An you don't need high dollar forming dies either.

Purchase a Lee 30 Mauser or 7.62x25 die set for $20 and use the sizer die to neck the case down to 30 caliber, then use a 256 sizer die to finish up the job. Anneal the cases and you'll be good to go.

[haroldclark]

Many years ago, I formed cases from 357 magnums and the brass cases were hard to come by.

I checked out how a 223 case would fit the chamber.  Just perfect!  I took out the 357 Mag extracter and replaced it with a 223 extracter.

Using a tubing cutter and a Lee trimmer case holder, I cut off the 223 case just below the neck and then formed it in the 256 mag full length sizing die and trimmed off the excess.

It workes like a champ and the cases last many shootings longer the the 357 mag cases.  I have a quantity of 265 mag empties and a full box of 50 Winchester loaded ammo from the mid 80s.  I probably will never use them.

The 256 Maxi sounds interesting too.  I have really enjoyed my little 256 Mag.  Mine is a 10" octagonal barrel.

Harold Clark

[CASEY]

http://www.coyoteguns.com/

  IF YOUR HAVING TROUBLE FINDING BRASS, TRY THESE GUYS. I DID HAVE TO TRIM TO LENGTH.