anyone shoot 256 win mag?

[NikA]

I have a .256 Win Mag single shot on a Martini Cadet frame. Just finished forming 100 brass from .360 Dan Wesson stock this weekend. The .360 DW case is plenty long so the resulting brass doesn't end up with short necks as cases formed from .357 do. Used a .30 Mauser die as an intermediate step. Chopped with a small saw as I do .300 BO. Annealed with a hand drill and a propane torch.

It worked well enough that I sold the NOS brass I had saved up on the S&S. Neck thickness was my primary concern, but the samples I measured were consistent with the factory brass I had.

[Rockzilla]

Contender here also ..10" Bull barrel purchased long ago when Midsouth was closing out the barrels
nice shooting round. managed to pickup brass long ago also...

-Rock

[tward]

I got a 256 Winchester magnum Bbl for my Contender about 10 years ago. I read about how hard cases we to form, saw how expensive forming dies were and decided I had made a huge mistake. Then one day I decided to try just running a 357 case into the 256 die. I crushed the first few, then slowed down. I found, for me, that if I use a light coat of Lee case lube on the outside and inside the neck and slowly formed in 4 or 5 stages, relubing between pushes, that I lost less than 5% of the cases. I was using clean, once fired cases of all brands, brass and nickel. I can live with the slightly shortened neck. I tried 360 Dan Wesson cases but didn’t have any better luck. The big things seemed to be 1. High quality case lube, 2. Taking it slow in 4 or 5 steps with relubing between steps. I was using Hornady dies (bought second hand) and a Lee reloaded press. I still have some of the Dan Wesson cases, if you want them you got them for postage, send a PM. Don’t be intimidated and have fun. Tim

[rbuck351]

I have made a couple hundred cases from 357 and so far all have been at minimum length or a bit longer. My first bunch was made by running then through a 30 mauser sizer die then a 256 die with 100% success. I then found a rcbs case forming die set with reamer at auction very cheap which works very well.

[Jim22]

I just had a rifle re barreled to 256 Win Mag Rimless
My rifle uses 223 cases cut down and reformed with 256 Win Mag dies
I have to ream the cases to get the right neck thickness

Have you tried using either .300 blk or .221 brass? They are closer to the right length and should not require neck reaming.

[MrWolf]

Redding makes custom dies #1 and #2, if I remember right, that converts 357 brass to 256. Check on Graf and sons. I looked them up. REDDING 256 WINCHESTER FROM 357 MAG FORM #1 CUSTOM $79.99. Need #2 also for same price and both in stock.
Ron

[rbuck351]

That is still expensive when a set of 30 mauser or 7.62 x 25 dies will work to get you to a mid point where you can finish with 256 win dies.

[AZ Pete]

I haven't shot a .256 since 1968....a Ruger Hawkeye..
Odd pistol, it didn't catch on.

[MI2600]

I bought a new Marlin 62 from KMart back in the mid-60s. Later, I found buying loaded ammunition was getting difficult so I went the reloading route and bought RCBS .357 to .256 conversion dies. I don't know if they are still made. I later found a TC barrel in .256, just a 10".
Then, a couple years ago I purchased a Winchester '92 rebarreled to .256.
It's a shame the little cartridge didn't make it in the market.

[WestKentucky]

I have both calibers of marlin 62 to load for. The .256 was (still is actually) dads gun that he got as a teenager from a used rack in a hardware store. I killed my first deer with it, my nephew killed his first deer with it, it’s a really nice and really fun gun. It’s hard to load for though because the chambers on most were kinda oblong messes that don’t do well because they expand just enough to try to hang. Factory loads aren’t bad at all but once cases start getting weaker then they get sticky. Finding bullets that work also isn’t super easy for jacketed, and there aren’t many good .258. Gas checked molds in the 60-70 gr range. Brass is unobtainable so forming is a given. From .357 I use a chopped up 30-30 sizer to neck size to .30-357. Even annealling I lose about 10% to cracking. Anneal again, and size down to final size. Lose roughly another 10% to cracking. Shoulders are hideous, but they shoot decently well when being fire-formed to the oblong chamber. 3 or 4 shots is about all that can be expected from once fired .357 brass, and I suspect that a max of 5 would be true for virgin starline .357 but I have never tried it. I have piles of .357 so I don’t bother. Still though, it’s a fun gun and I love shooting it, but I generally prefer the 30 carbine because it’s just as nice, a lot easier to feed, and it’s almost as accurate as the faster and flatter .256.

One thing that is absolutely amazing considering how puny the little .256 is is the amount of damage it does when it hits meat. The little 60gr JHP factory loaded bullet explodes about an inch in and leaves a void of shredded mess roughly the size of a grapefruit. A hit on a deer vitals with that and there is not much left that is recognizable inside the chest cavity. A shot in the gut is one of the biggest messes that can be imagined.

Pricing on the little rifles is stupid. Flat out stupid. They are not super durable, are an absolute nightmare to work on and parts are rare. Still though, I love the little guns and keep hoping to find a beater or an orphaned action to have the trifecta. Marlin actually made a .357 but never mass produced them and sold them. It’s was purely a pre-production sample. A .256 bolt in a decent action with a .357 barrel screwed on and only shooting 38 level ammo through it would make this old boy happy. One of these days... but the last barreled action I saw sell went in the $500 ballpark. I was a bidder to $300 but after that I just quit and watched the idiocy.

[Thin Man]

I bought a new Marlin model 62 in 30 Carbine back in 1972 or so. It cycled perfectly with factory ammo, all brands. However it refused to seat any case (loaded or empty) after it was full length sized. Never could figure a way around that issue so the rifle went away. After all there still were at that time plenty of G.I. surplus carbines on the market.

[besk]

A bunch of years ago I purchased a NOS 30 carbine barrel from a Model 62. Had it rechambered to 30-30 and adapted to a Contender. With the slow twist it is good for light bullets.

[Jedman]

I have a handi rifle in 256 WM with a 1-10 twist barrel. I have not shot any game animal with it but it shoots 87 and 100 gr. bullets under MOA at a 100 yards so in some states where legal I think it would be a effective deer killer for someone who knows when and when not to take a shot at a deer. It seems the bullet makers kind of shun the 25 cal. Compared to the .223, .243, .284, .308 they sure don’t offer the choices of bullet weights and bullet designs in .257.
I like the 256 WM because I can make the cases from common 357 brass and load it with many different powders and use it for squirrels to deer. In my handi rifle I can load 100 gr. bullets to over 2.00” OAL and not be touching the lands.

Jedman