Ruger .256 Win Mag Hawkeye Pistol

[Walter Rego]

As I am rapidly approaching retirement age and at the peak of my earnings potential I have been attempting to add guns that I have always wanted to my collection. They will be the ones I keep and shoot occasionally when I downsize. I have always wanted a Ruger Hawkeye pistol. I like the oddballs, I also own a first year production Smith & Wesson Model 53 in .22 Centerfire Magnum AKA .22 Jet caliber. The .256 Winchester Magnum and .22 Jet are both based upon the .357 S&W Magnum parent case.

Only around 3300 Hawkeyes were manufactured, most within the first year of production which was from late 1962 to the end of 1963. I received a Ruger factory letter which stated that this gun was manufactured in December 1963. It came with the half of the warranty card that the owner would retain which had November 23 1964 written on it and the original owners manual. This model was a slow seller, it is unknown how long it sat in Ruger's vault before shipping or sat on a shelf at the hardware store where it was purchased.

Factory ammo has about dried up except at expensive collector's pricing. It is now a handloading only proposition, brass can be formed from .357 cases but that requires annealing and expensive, multi-die forming and trimming die sets. I did find some new .256 brass at $1.00 a piece (ouch !) and standard Redding dies so I have some ammo loaded and ready to try. Does anyone here load for this caliber and do you have any favorite loads or tips ?

 

[steelslaver]

I don't reload it but do think it is a very interesting gun and round. I wonder if you could take 22 Jet cases and run a 25 cal expander die through them then use a light load and a 25 caliber bullet to fire form the cases to get the correct shoulder. 22 Jet brass is probably much more available. Let me know if you want to try I have several thousand rounds of jet brass.

 

[tndrfttom]

A shooting acquaintance in the late 1960s or early 1970s had both a Hawkeye and a Marlin 62 in .256 Winchester cal. I recall he used 2400 powder but I don't remember how much or which jacketed bullets he used. He experienced hard extraction in the Hawkeye but I don't know if this was a problem with the pistol or his reloads. The Marlin 62 seemed to have a large chamber and brass didn't last long in it. He was using factory 256 brass - I don't think he got around to converting 357 brass. Sorry, but I don't have any specific load advice.

 

[steveno]

I had a TC with 10 inch barrel in 256 Winchester but it has been a long time ago. I thought it would be a neat production gun for IHMSA. after a coupe of matches I realized that it didn't have the power required for any of the targets except the chickens at 50 meters and that was iffy. It was accurate enough but just not the power so I got rid of it. the only bullet I tried was the 87 grain Hornady. 60 grain bullets weren't heavy enough and 100 grain bullets were too heavy. I don't remember what powder or charge I used.

 

[DWalt]

My old Gun Digest Reloaders Guide (1968) has several .256 recipes. These presumably use jacketed bullets, but it doesn't specify, nor does it say whether the MVs are for a rifle or a handgun. I'd guess they are for a rifle.

60 grain - 17.6 IMR 4198 2740 ft/sec; 14.1 2400 2705 ft/sec; 15.8 IMR 4227 2640 ft/sec.

87 grain - 15.3 IMR 4198 2100 ft/sec; 12.7 2400 1945 ft/sec; 14.6 IMR 4227 2137 ft/sec

I'd say fire forming .22 Jet (which is available) in the .256 chamber to get .256 brass would be worth a try. I have fire formed stranger things.

 

[Bakebfr480]

I paid $175.00 for 2 of them new in boxes back in 1981!

 

[Tony M.]

It's been a while since I reloaded for it, but I had no problem making brass from standard .357 brass and I had about the same brass life as I did with factory .256 brass.

I used my normal redding dies to for the brass (after annealing) and trimmed with a standard case trimmer. Once formed I reamed the necks and loaded as normal.

I was shooting mine in a contender barrel.

 

[Trooperdan]

I believe .256 made from .357 winds up a tad short. I have a Marlin in the caliber and I intend to make brass for it from .360 DW brass but haven't done so yet.

 

[oink]

I have a couple of friends with the Marlin rifles. One has moved away. I've loaded a bunch for both. They bought the dies. Forming, reaming and trimming wasn't at all difficult. I used once fired 357 brass. I don't remember what kind off hand. It was nickel plated and probably Winchester. They didn't come out too short and still required a little trimming. I originally used 60GR flat based, round nose, jacketed soft point and 2400. (It might have been a HP) I based the load on the data in Lyman 43rd Edition which shows 12 to 16 grains of 2400 for the 60GR bullet for velocity of 2309 to 3005 for the rifle.

A more recent reload of a couple hundred rounds or so required a different bullet as we couldn't find those short little 60GR bullets. We had to use more typical heavier spire point bullets. They might have been boat tailed also but not sure off hand. They were 75 or 78 grain, I think (It has been a year). The guy I loaded for complained that the original loading had some hard extraction so this time I took some primed brass, bullets, powder and a hand loader over to his house and let him shoot some in his barn. We ended up with a loading off max that gave him his preferred extraction. Unfortunately I didn't find my actual loading data after looking briefly, sorry. I can try again if needed.

Bottom line. Forming the brass isn't hard. I don't know how expensive the forming dies are now. Loading the cartridge isn't difficult either. Once fired 357 brass wasn't too short. Hotter loads do, I guess, cause hard extraction in the rifle.

When I was doing the original loadings (20 years ago?) I had one of the rifles to work with and some of the brass got used a number of times at close to max loads. I recall the ones I was experimenting with went at least 4 or 5 times. In the Marlin they do stretch so trimming every other time is wise. For the rifle I had no luck fire forming. I think that was due to the large chambers someone mentioned.

He claims it's a great deer rifle. I've heard it was a popular poachers rifle in it's heyday. It's not loud as rifles go.

 

[DWalt]

I do case forming for numerous oddball calibers, both handgun and rifle, and have not had any problems in using either the standard FL sizing die for that caliber or doing fire forming. The worst time I ever had was forming .303 Savage brass from .220 Swift, and I won't do that again. Much easier to re-form .30-30 brass even though the case head diameter is a tad too small. Donnelly's case forming manual says that to form .256 Win cases from .357 brass, anneal the .357 case neck and run it through the .256 FL sizing die. That's all. BTW, Donnelly's manual is a treasure trove of information for those who are interested in forming their own cases for unusual and obsolete calibers.

 

[oink]

Well I guess my fire forming worked but I found no point in it. They still had to be full length resized to function. Then I got the same case expansion. There was no gain. A custom sizing die for the Marlins probably would be good. I never tried forming with just the sizing die as they bought the forming die set too.

 

[Walter Rego]

I have an article written by Terry Wieland in Handloader from a few years ago where he discusses forming .256 brass from .22 Jet brass. It took several steps including fireforming with a light load and a Cream of Wheat filler. A guy on Youtube shows how to form it by using unplated .357 brass (recommended over plated) that has been annealed and then running it through multiple forming, sizing and trim dies. That seems like a lot of work and that die set including an extended shell holder needed for the trim die runs about $250.
I have read that running a .357 case through a .30 Mauser sizing die first as an intermediate step and then through a standard .256 sizing die will work, I may try that when my supply of correct .256 brass gives up the ghost.
The most current information in a loading manual that I could find was in the Hornady #7 manual which dates to 2007. Hornady does make a 60 grain flat point bullet which I have loaded up and ready to test.

 

[oink]

Holy mackerel! I was curious so I Googled the forming die set. They got expensive. I think I'd be trying to figure out an alternative forming method too.

 

[mi2600]

I have a Marlin 62, purchased in 1964 from KMart for below $65. Unfortunately, the .256 popularity dwindled. So, I invested in a Redding 3-die reforming set so I could continue to shoot. It's been a while since I reformed any .357s, but from memory it was very easy.
I also have a '92 Winchester carbine someone rebarreled for .256.

You might check the Cast Boolits site. They have a separate case reforming section which I believe had info on reforming for the .256.

 

[DWalt]

Holy mackerel! I was curious so I Googled the forming die set. They got expensive. I think I'd be trying to figure out an alternative forming method too.

Did you read my #10 above?

 

[jake1945]

Recently, on Gunbroker, there was a Ruger Hawkeye for sale. If think the price was $2995.