Dear Marshall:

Could you give me any information about the use of cast bullets in the 256 mag.  I took two whitetail deer with this rifle last season with 86 gr. Remington bullets

Hello Pastor,
Right out of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd ed.--#257420, 68gr, #2 alloy (I used  95% wheel weight and 5% 50-50 solder) Three loads listed--starting at 5gr unique (max 6gr); starting at 9gr 2400 (max 11gr); starting at 10gr IMR 4227 (max 12gr).  I like  10.8gr of IMR 4227.  There is also three loads listed for an 88gr cast bullet.  I find the larger bullets take up too much case capacity.
The only factory bullets I use are the Hornady 60gr fp (#2510)--both in the Marlin 62 and the contender pistol.
I've been haunting quite a few forums now and this is the first time I've seen any mention of this cal.  It surely is fun to shoot!  Have you found any new brass anywhere?  I gave up and bought an RCBS forming die set and make them from new .357mag brass.  BigShooter

Hello Pastor,
Right out of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd ed.--#257420, 68gr, #2 alloy (I used  95% wheel weight and 5% 50-50 solder) Three loads listed--starting at 5gr unique (max 6gr); starting at 9gr 2400 (max 11gr); starting at 10gr IMR 4227 (max 12gr).  I like  10.8gr of IMR 4227.  There is also three loads listed for an 88gr cast bullet.  I find the larger bullets take up too much case capacity.
The only factory bullets I use are the Hornady 60gr fp (#2510)--both in the Marlin 62 and the contender pistol.
I've been haunting quite a few forums now and this is the first time I've seen any mention of this cal.  It surely is fun to shoot!  Have you found any new brass anywhere?  I gave up and bought an RCBS forming die set and make them from new .357mag brass.  BigShooter

Count me in as a fan of the .256 and Marlin 62. *Several years ago I was lucky to find one for sale at an attractive price and in excellent condition. *Brass can be a problem. *I too almost resorted to getting a set of forming dies (expensive!) but found a supply of .22 Rem Jet brass at a fair price. *Not all are fireformed yet. *I wasted a lot of bullets fireforming until I tried 3 gr. of Unique and a tissue wad pressed into the case mouth. *This doesn't always perfectly form cases but they're blown out enough to load lightly and good brass results from the second firing. *I just noted Marshall's post above this on fireforming .30-30 brass for the .375 Win. *I may try using cornmeal and a parafin plug over the powder in an effort to get better results. *This is one fun little rifle. *God Bless, Ed

We do make and sell the Lyman # 257420 FNGC bullet for these rifles, we simply don't catalog or list on the website all the bullets that we have available! *We're swamped with what we already list, but yes, they are available in lots of 500+, as are most currently offered RCBS, LYMAN and SAECO bullet designs, as well as many, many discontinued bullet designs. *Simply messenger, email, or call for pricing and shipping info!

About your fire-forming, click on this link to see our post in the tips section of the website!

Fire-Forming Cases Made Foolproof! (http://beartoothbullets.com/tips/archive_tips.php/17)

Hope this helps!

God Bless,

Marshall