256 Winchester case forming & annealing

[midnight]

I have just finished forming 500 360 Dan Wesson cases into 256 Winchester. The first thing I did was anneal the case mouths with a Ballistic Edge annealer. They were then run into a 30 Mauser fl die to neck to 30 cal & move the shoulder most of the way back. Next they were sized in an RCBS 256 Win fl sizing die to neck down to 25 cal & move the shoulder to its final position. They were then trimmed to 1.281 & flash holes were deburred. Now comes the question I need opinions on. Should I anneal the case mouths again or just load and shoot? Inquiring minds need to know.

Bob

[Jedman]

I just started for,I got 256 brass recently. I plan on shooting it for at least 5 times before annealing again.

Jedman

Some letters jumped off this IPad , so excuse the wording :?:

[EDG]

I would just load and shoot 20. If none of them cracks load and shoot the rest.
Otherwise just anneal and move on.

[Jedman]

Seems to me that using 360 DW is a waste of expensive brass. I just formed a bunch of 256 WM brass from 357 mag brass and all of it needed trimming to get to 1.280" so you must be trimming
Something like a 1/8" of the neck ? I also formed some Nickle plated brass that was annealed and it formed very easy.

Jedman

[rbuck351]

A couple years ago I made a couple hundred from 357 cases the same way midnight did. I didn't anneal before or after and they worked fine. Later I managed to find a rcbs 256W case forming set real cheap and made some more. The set came with an inside neck reamer and works very well. I haven't annealed any but haven't shot them a lot either. Some maybe two or three times but no issues yet. I also made a few from nickel cases that worked fine. Some have said the 357 cases end up to short but I have had to trim all I have made a little bit.

[BentSprings]

It was suggested on another forum that if you swap to a 223 extractor you can use chopped and formed 223 brass. I did just that and it worked great in my contender. Of the 101 LC16 brass I tried all 101 came out perfect and are holding up really well. I am at 6 fires right now and I am convinced. It looks a bit like a fat mouthed 221FireBall and I could not be happier. Next time I make brass I will use the free 223 brass I have been picking up. I even tried a couple from 223 blank brass, but at 5 fullhouse H4227 firings the cannelures started to stretch enough I got scared and abandoned the trials.

[tctender]

I have read where you can also use the 256 seater die to start the neck and shoulder on the case.I have not done this yet but will try it soon. Have any of you all done this and does it work as well as the mauser die method.

[midnight]

Starline 357 brass costs $0.17 ea and 360 DW brass costs $0.19 ea. Decide for yourself if it is worth the two cents. I listened to Grumpa who was the guru for making 25-20 & 256 Win brass while he was with us. He said a couple of things, one was that the 360 DW brass had a stronger web and that 357 brass resulted in a 256 case that was 0.020 to 0.030 short. I did not test this assertion but took Grumpa at his word and bought new DW brass. Since then a number of members have said that their 256 cases do not come out short. I will try a batch with new 357 brass and see. I will also speak with Starline to try and determine the relative strength of DW vs 357 brass web. At the tme I figured a little extra strength in the web couldn't hurt.

Bob

[FISH4BUGS]

I listened to Grumpa who was the guru for making 25-20 & 256 Win brass while he was with us. Bob
Amen brother. I bought 300 25-20's (formed from 32-20) from him literally a week before he passed. I shoot them in my Savage Sporter. Perfect brass in all respects. If he said the sun is green, I would believe him. RIP Grumpa.....