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Colin
October 10, 1998, 09:51 PM
Is anyone familiar with reloading this cartridge and forming the brass? I need load data as well.

Rob Pincus
October 13, 1998, 09:34 PM
Not only am I unfamiliar, but it is the first round I've ever looked for in my Hogdon Data manual and not found! what is it?

Dale M
October 14, 1998, 06:30 AM
Cases for the 256 Newton can be made from
30/06 or 270 Winchester cases with a pair
of forming dies. You should be able to
get the forming dies from RCBS. The
orginal factory load was a 129 gr. bullet
at 2760 fps. but they stopped offering
factory ammo for it around 1939. The Hand
Book For Shooters and Reloaders by P.O.
Ackley has some load data on it and Frank
Barnes's book Cartridges Of THe World the
4th edition has several loads listed for
it. These are the loads that they listed.
120 gr bullet--55gr imr4350--2980fps
130 gr bullet--46gr imr4895--2900fps
140 gr bullet--57gr imr4831--2890fps
I hope this helps you out.

chargar
October 19, 1998, 10:57 AM
The 256 Newton is one of the cartridges developed by Charles Newton between the wars for his line of rifles. The 256 Newton is little more that the 6.5/06 with just enough shoulder angle difference to keep them from being interchangable. In addition to the other references posted, Phil Sharps book on Handloading contains Newton data and so did the first Speer Wildcat handloading manual published in the late 1950s

Leftoverdj
November 29, 2004, 01:30 AM
Colin, I sent you an email with a .jpeg of Ken Waters data for the .256 Newton. The complete article should be in the current edition of Pet Loads.

GlennH
December 1, 2004, 12:52 AM
I've got lots of experience with the 256 Newton. Got 4 1st issues. You can get dies from RCBS. 270 is the easiest to form. You'll have to trim to length
but usually you can form them with the FL die. I did run into one Newton with an extra tight chamber that was a little difficult. After you fire form a few cases, ship them back to RCBS with the dies and get the dies matched to your gun. Newtons are great guns but a little variable in chamber dim.
You can use 6.5 '06 data.

Anybody wanna know how to do 30 and 35 Newton?

tex_n_cal
December 3, 2004, 06:43 PM
Anybody wanna know how to do 30 and 35 Newton?

:D No, but I'll cheerfully trade you a .500-450#1 Blackpowder Express with a slightly rough bore, you should find it equally amusing :D

Kidding! :D :D Those historical Newton-designed rifles are pretty cool, I wouldn't mind loading for one of them. I recall the .30 and .35 were pretty hot cartridges in their day?

GlennH
December 6, 2004, 10:22 PM
My 30 has been restocked with a heftier hunk of wood, it'll still kick you crosseyed.(I was told it was once owned by Elmer Keith) I'll admit to being a coward with my 35, it has the original stock and I've never gone over about 35 Whelen levels. Besides, I read Phil Sharpe's account about how the 35 kicks twice. 250 grains at 3k...maybe later. Charley said it was no more than a 12 ga., in a 3lb gun maybe.
The 256 is a sweetheart, mild recoil, accurate and it really reaches out. Charley built a 7mm mag based on the 30,35,40 case but he never did anything with it because he didn't see any advantage over the 256. He used to invent cartridges and send them off to friends for testing. I was told that is where Gebby got the first 22-250.

tex_n_cal
December 6, 2004, 10:58 PM
Somebody (I forget who) wrote that the .35 kicked twice - once when you shot it and another when you picked yourself off the ground and kicked yourself for being fool enough to pull the trigger. :D

Something about that light rifle, with lots of drop on the stock, driving loads about like a .340 Weatherby :)

Wonder what it would do with modern powers? :D