.256 Winchester Magnum
Encyclopedia
The .256 Winchester Magnum was a firearms cartridge developed by Winchester, and was produced by necking-down a .357 Magnum
cartridge to .257 diameter. It was designed for shooting small game and varmints. Introduced in 1960, Winchester offered ammo and reloading components into the early 1990s. The cartridge was first chambered in the Ruger Hawkeye single shot pistol. It is now obsolete and only offered as a chambering by the Thompson Center
Custom Shop and other custom manufacturers of single-shot firearms.
From an 8.5 inch pistol barrel the 60 grain .256 Winchester factory load was advertised as having a MV of 2350 fps and ME of 735 fps. This was 250 fps faster and nearly twice as powerful as the .22 Jet, a varmint cartridge for revolvers that was also based on a necked-down .357 Magnum case.
According to data from the fifth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading handloaders with a .256 rifle can approximately duplicate the Winchester factory load using the Hornady 60 grain Flat Point bullet in front of 15.5 grains of H4227 powder for a MV of 2700 fps. The trajectory of that load looks like this: +2.3 inches at 50 yards, +4.4 inches at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, and -26.2 inches at 300 yards.
The .256 Magnum is a varmint and predator cartridge introduced by Winchester in 1960. In 1961 Ruger brought out the Hawkeye single shot pistol for the .256 Magnum. The next year (1962) Marlin chambered their Model 62 Levermatic rifle for the new Winchester cartridge. These were the two principle firearms chambered for the .256 Win. Mag.
Winchester offered factory loaded .256 Magnum ammunition (and brass to reloaders) into the beginning of the 1990's. Winchester .256 factory loads used a 60 grain Open Point Expanding bullet at a MV of 2760 fps and ME of 1015 ft. lbs. from a 24 inch rifle barrel. That is about 500 fps faster than Winchester factory loads for the old .25-20 cartridge. At 200 yards the velocity was 1542 fps and the remaining energy was 317 ft. lbs.
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
cartridge to .257 diameter. It was designed for shooting small game and varmints. Introduced in 1960, Winchester offered ammo and reloading components into the early 1990s. The cartridge was first chambered in the Ruger Hawkeye single shot pistol. It is now obsolete and only offered as a chambering by the Thompson Center
Thompson Center Arms
Thompson/Center Arms Company is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company is best known for its line of interchangeable barrel single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson Center manufactures muzzleloading rifles and is credited with creating the resurgence of their...
Custom Shop and other custom manufacturers of single-shot firearms.
From an 8.5 inch pistol barrel the 60 grain .256 Winchester factory load was advertised as having a MV of 2350 fps and ME of 735 fps. This was 250 fps faster and nearly twice as powerful as the .22 Jet, a varmint cartridge for revolvers that was also based on a necked-down .357 Magnum case.
According to data from the fifth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading handloaders with a .256 rifle can approximately duplicate the Winchester factory load using the Hornady 60 grain Flat Point bullet in front of 15.5 grains of H4227 powder for a MV of 2700 fps. The trajectory of that load looks like this: +2.3 inches at 50 yards, +4.4 inches at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, and -26.2 inches at 300 yards.
The .256 Magnum is a varmint and predator cartridge introduced by Winchester in 1960. In 1961 Ruger brought out the Hawkeye single shot pistol for the .256 Magnum. The next year (1962) Marlin chambered their Model 62 Levermatic rifle for the new Winchester cartridge. These were the two principle firearms chambered for the .256 Win. Mag.
Winchester offered factory loaded .256 Magnum ammunition (and brass to reloaders) into the beginning of the 1990's. Winchester .256 factory loads used a 60 grain Open Point Expanding bullet at a MV of 2760 fps and ME of 1015 ft. lbs. from a 24 inch rifle barrel. That is about 500 fps faster than Winchester factory loads for the old .25-20 cartridge. At 200 yards the velocity was 1542 fps and the remaining energy was 317 ft. lbs.
Firearms
The .256 Winchester Magnum was chambered in a very small selection of firearms, and never achieved great commercial success. Its firearms included:- Marlin Model 62 LevermaticMarlin LevermaticThe Marlin Levermatic was a family of lever action rifles created by Marlin Firearms in the 1950s. The Levermatic differed from the traditional lever-action rifle, such as the Marlin 39A, in that it employed a cam-and-roller system giving it an extremely smooth and short lever motion to reload a...
lever action - Universal Firearms M1 carbineM1 CarbineThe M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
variant - RugerSturm, RugerSturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut-based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action...
HawkeyeRuger HawkeyeThe Ruger Hawkeye was a single-shot pistol chambered for the .256 Winchester Magnum cartridge, produced by Sturm, Ruger in the 1960s. It was built on the same frame as the Ruger Blackhawk, but rather than having a rotating cylinder like a standard revolver, it featured a swiveling breechblock...
single-shot pistol - Thompson Center ContenderThompson CenterThompson Center may refer to:* James R. Thompson Center, an office building in Chicago, Illinois* Thompson Center Arms, an American firearms company...
single-shot pistol barrel chambering