why no more interest in the .256 round?
from what i read, only one gun was made to shoot it and then it just went away. what took its place and why didnt it catch on? its a cute little handgun round that looks like a benchshooters invention!
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Is this a bottleneck cartridge that Ruger had in their Hawkeye single shot? If I remember, it was about the time of the Rem. XP100 which would out do it, the machining costs were high, lack of interest in long range varminting, ect. with handgun at that time frame and I think also they had a lot of trouble with set back of the cartridge case, thereby jambing the breech block. How Taurus gets their .22 hornet and .218 Bee's to work was a break thru as others had tried and always had a set back problem. I'm working from memory of what I read here and there and I defer to anyone who has personal hands on, better memory and expertise, saying I could very well be in error. 0 -
Hi bobski,
The .256 Winchester Magnum was introduced in 1960 as a new handgun cartridge, however, the only handgun that chambered it was the single-shot enclosed breach Ruger Hawkeye released in 1961. The .256 WM is a .357 Magnum necked to .256 caliber.
The .256 WM was also a rifle cartridge because Marlin produced the Model 62 lever action rifle in this caliber and Universal Firearms made the semi-auto Ferret on the M1 carbine receiver. The Marlin was available about a year after the Hawkeye was available and both were discontinued shortly thereafter. The Thompson/Contender was also available in this caliber.
As far as a rifle caliber the .256 WM was more potent than the .22 Hornet or the .218 Bee and is an effective varmit cartridge out to 200 yards. However, it is woefully inadequate for deer and other animals of that ilk. Most states did not allow it for use on deer sized animals.
The previous statement about the .256 WM as a pistol cartridge competing against the XP-100 is true. Let us also not forget that Remington was in direct competition with the .22 Remington Jet which was also introducted in 1961 and also bombed. The .22 Jet was a bottle necked round and chambered in the S&W 53. The Jet was not quite as fast as the .256 WM and suffered from cylinder lockup when using full house loads and gas cutting around the receiver. The Jet became obsolete before the .256 WM.
When you look at the competition in .22 rifle caliber cartridges (even though it was .25 caliber, its balistics were competing with .22 caliber) during the early 60's the prospects for this niche cartridge were not good. Consider that the .223 first appeared in 1957, the .225 Winchester in 1964, and the .22-250 chambered in the Model 700 in 1965 (it was a wildcat before then). The .222 Remington had been around since 1950, and there was still the .220 Swift, .257 Roberts, and the .243 Winchester was released in 1955.
So where was the .256 WM supposed to fit? As a varmit cartride it was good, but not at extended ranges beyond 200 yards. For a .25 caliber it was severely underpowered and for a .22 caliber it was not sufficient because there were so many other .22 cartrides that easily surpass its performance.
It was a neat little cartridge but it did not have sufficient performance to compete with the bigger boys. It was eventually discontinued in the 1990's.
Regards,
Heavyiron[8D]
"If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix0 -
heavy, excellent response! thank you all for your inputs. 0 -
The .256 WM I have in a T/C Contender 10" is perfect for javelina and coyote hunting out to 150 yds. Ammo is a little hard to come by and brass is almost non-existant. Make mine by carefully necking down .357 Mag brass. Have about a 10% reject rate, but the .357 brass is easy to come by, so no big deal.
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
whats a box of 50 winchester rounds go for?
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, former navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction. NRA certified instructor.0 -
bobski i seen loaded ammo going for around $60 per box for factory ammo 0
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