Marlin 62 Levermatic .256 Winchester

[beagle]

I'll second that. That's like looking for a money tree......./beagle

aahahahahahahahahahhahahaahhaahahahahahahahaha!!!! !

[shdwlkr]

hipshot
I will have to try that when I get things in my reloading room out of boxes.
I was looking at getting a 256 win mag from TC but the twist seems way to fast to me as it is 1 in 10 and I am looking for a 1 in 12 or 1 in 14.

[Newtire]

shdwlkr,
Try the annealing, you shouldn't lose any ! I'm using just my RCBS loading dies to form the cases---NOT forming dies!
To anneal stand the deprimed cases (brass cases are better-not as brittle) in a pan app 1/4 the way up in water----hit the neck area with a propane torch intil it turns red (go all the way around the brass) then tip over in the water to quickly cool the brass. Lay them on newspaper to odsorb the water and shake . Also pick up each one and blow the water bubble out of the flash hole.

So Hipshot,

I'm with you on the annealing and turning the cases red & all since I tried the methed where you let them get too hot to hold & then drop into the water & it did no good for me. I have some .30 Luger dies coming to help form them and am going to give that a try. I found a set of Redding Dies brand new from Midsouth I believe. I also scored an old 25-20 Plainbase mould off of Evil-Bay yesterday to try out for a plinker. It should be good in my .257 Roberts also. Tomorrow is pickup day for my Marlin!

[Hipshot]

.22 Jet brass was also mentioned. I almost forgot but I bought 100 pieces of brass from Huntington Die Specialties. The price was very reasonable, but I haven't tried to fireform them yet.-----If I did I would first neck them up to 25 cal. , load with 3 gr. Bullseye, top off the powder with cream of wheat, and seal with a dab of case lube or grease, or crisco. Point up in the air and fire to help keep the brass against the the bolt head.
Almost forgot, put "A LITTLE" case lube where the shoulder would be.

Hip

P.S. To be safe (results wise) it wouldn't hunt to anneal these cases first.

[Flash]

Wow, this is a long thread so I doubt that I'll share anything that wasn't covered. I too owned a 256 in a Contender and as many others stated, one pass in a set of RCBS 256 Win dies and the cases were formed. I couldn't get nickel to size properly but the brass cases worked like a charm. I used Imperial sizing die wax to keep the hydraulic dimples to a minimum. Naturally, the 256 barrel was sold when I bought my 257 JDJ but I love those 25 calibers.

[Newtire]

Well, I've gotta tell you, I formed a bunch of .357 mag. cases and they came out real nice. I annealed the brass & it was Federal brass mostly. I annealed the brass like in the NRA loading manual with the propane torch and the water bath. I fired them with some j-words & some H335 & RX-7 and all of the Federal brass survived, most all of the S & B split and I lost one Remington.

A load of 6.0 gr. AL-8 and a 92 gr. plainbase Loverin looking boolit from a Marlin .25-20 mold I stole from Ebay somehow gave 1-1/2" accuracy @ 50yds. Keep in mind, this was only a maiden voyage.

I ended up forming the brass as follows:

First, I ran the cases up into the .256 FL die about halfway until the mouth just started to bend inwards and stopped.

I then ran these about 3/16" into a Lee .32-20 FL die to reduce the diameter slightly before putting them into the form die that I bought.

Then I ran the cases into the 2nd stage of the 2-part form die from Redding. I only bought the one die and this was the one I used.

I followed that by running these thru the FL size die.

I had to trim these back about .020" to get them to minimum trim length and then they chambered just fine. What was interesting is that I thought they weren't going to fit but after trimming them, they all chambered effortlessly.

I had a whole bunch of CBC nickel plated stuff so thought I'd give these a try and they formed up just great. Surprise surprise. I have a few light ripples in the neck but not like a wrinkle if you know what I mean. I used Lanolin (like i learned how to do on this site) as a lube and wiped it all off the neck & shoulder area before running it into the form die.

Like I said, the cases turned out great and not that hard to do. I kind of stroked the case into the form die until I had that little .25 cal spout start to form at least 1/16" and then eased it the rest of the way into the die in about 3 more strokes. I wrinkled a few but not that many.

The cases stretched .015" on first firing so we will see if they make it the second round. I will have to adjust the FL die so as to just let the case chamber and try that. I haven't fired any of the Nickle plated ones and will just have to see. I'm not too sure about how to anneal these?

I ordered a little low speed motor to set the water dish on top of and will use that for my annealing operation. It was only $10 bucks so what the heck.

So, that's about it for now. Found a bunch of load info on the Wolfe Load Data that I subscribed to last year and have been using the stuff for the Marlin rifle-not the Contender!

Going to get out my Belding & Mull measure and try to see if I can't crank some accuracy out of this thing. Sure is fun!

[Hipshot]

Newtire,
Glad it worked out for you !!!!! Just a note---I wait until after the first fireforming to trim the cases, it usually saves work as you MAY not have to do it twice (right away that is ).

Hip

[sharpshooter3040]

The other day, I put the money down on a Marlin 62 Levermatic in .256 Winchester Mag. I had a M57 in .22 s,l,lr before and really liked the thing so this was a real find in my mind. I have grown quite fond of the .25 caliber anyway.

I need to make some brass up and wondered if anyone had any actual hands-on doing this. I sent for a form die(Redding) from Midsouth and now I see that Redding sells a #1 & a #2 form die. Hoping the one I bought does the job! This thing forms the cases from .357 mag. I also heard you could fireform .22 Jet cases after snizing up the necks to a .25 cal.

Any advice?

This is absolutely the last rifle I'm buying...this month.

I've always wanted one too, so I decided to build one from a Marlin model 94 in 357. I put a 26" Adams and Bennet barrel on it. The project came out real nice, and the gun functions and shoot very well. As for making brass, thats a snap. I make my 22 jet brass the same way. You don't need the expensive form dies. You can do the same thing with your full length sizer and a little patients. Here's what you do. Start off with brand new 357 brass anneal about 1/4 inch of the mouth, quench and dry thourghly. Set up your full length sizer die to contact the shell holder with a tad of resistance (when the force of the sizing operation starts it tends to take any slop out of the equiptment) Next you want to put some imperial sizing die wax on the case....not too much or it will put dents on the case shoulder. Run the case through the sizer, you should be able to do it in one pass. Thats all there is too it

thanks
Doug

[Crooked Creek]

For those that don't want to form their own, Midway is showing 256 brass made (formed?) by Quality Cartridge, #296437 as "available" at the pricely amount of $48.49 per 50 pieces. Also, at www.contendercache.com/Miscellaneous.htm cases are available formed from 357 mag at, it appears, .20 each.
Someone asked for pictures, here is mine:

[Hipshot]

Crooked,
WoW ! That is an old Weaver, but I can't remember the model-----is it a V5 ? And what is the extra knob for----I forget ?

Hip

[Crooked Creek]

Hip,
It's a oldie all right, it's a KV model (as it is marked on top of the turret block). It might also be referred to as a V5 (I don't know), since it is a variable. Note the absence of the typical power adjusting ring back by the ocular end. The third knob, the one to the left under the cap, is to adjust the power. It is marked 2 3/4 X with an arrow pointing in one direction and 5 X with an opposite pointing arrow. It has cross hairs that are not permanently centered, which can be a little distracting if (when?) rings, bases, barrels, etc. are a little out of whack (alignment). Best to use adjustable rings, shims, etc., I guess. I don't know when it was made, but I'm guessing the '40s or '50s.
Here are a some additional shots that may show it a bit better:



Roger Allen

[Newtire]

Hi CC,

That's a nice looking rifle you have there. Looks like it's been well cared for. Mine has seen some time in the woods looks like.

I have been playing around with this thing now and am getting real good at making the cases up. I even made a bunch out of Nickel plated cases made by CBC and haven't lost one yet in 2-firings. I had some trouble getting the Federal brass cases to chamber without first annealing them but those Nickel plated ones chambered every one even before annealing.

I got some pretty decent starter groups at 50 yds. with both a 7.5 gr load of old AL-8 and another using 12.0 gr. SR 4759 and the Lyman Flatpoint that they sell. It weighs 74 grains lubed and checked.

I also used a starting load of 13.4 gr. H110 and some 60 gr. J-word Hornady's for some real decent groups.

I plan on finishing the stock sometime in the next week or so and will post another picture but here is the rifle.