too personal

.256 Newton is a sweet performer, almost a 6.5-06 with some minor tweaks. I owned a 6.5-06 on a Remington 700 action and took a few head of game with it, low recoil and always deep penetration.

You may want to do some reading here http://www.newtonarmscompany.com/ to see more about what you've got. 140 grain bullets at nearly 3000fps is a pretty decent round for all sorts of game.
 
Check his bookshelf for the reloading manuals, and there should be a dusty logbook somewhere in there too, if it isn't too late to check.

Reloading is mostly following a recipe. I mostly have older books so I don't know what is currently the best books on the market but I am sure that has come up on here before.

Also, see if you can't find an experienced reloader to show you how... it is worth asking the question, retired guys can usually find the time if you are in earnest.
 
If it has family value, someone wrote a book about the newton rifles, I bet there would be information in there of interest to you. $50

newtonrifles.com
 
256 Newton is basically a shortened, necked-down .30-06. It is actually a 6.5mm-06 if you want to get technical and uses a .264" bullet. Either 30-06 or 270 brass can be used to make the brass you need. Although it is not as powerful as a .270 or other 6.5 or 7 mm in its class, it is a definitely capable of taking any North American game and is, I think, the first American made 6.5mm round.
Load data is somewhat hard to come by. You can find posted data here:
ht tp://www.reloadersnest.com/query_all.asp?CaliberID=298.

I have found 3 loads in Cartridges of the World:
120gnSP bullet 55.0gn IMR4350 MV=2980 ME=2362 No source quoted
130gnSP bullet 46.0gn IMR4895 MV=2900 ME=2425 No source quoted
140gnSP bullet 57.0gn IMR4831 MV=2890 ME=2598 No source quoted

And also Ken Water's had several in his Pet Loads and his Notebook. I have the Notebook and on pg 367, he posts 8 different loads.

Hope this helps.
 
Idcurry, get yourself "The ABC of reloading" and the Lyman 49th ed. Both will explain in detail how to get started, what to do and what NOT to do. I didn't have a mentor and those two books were great for me.

Hope it helps
 
As you know, the .256 Newton is a good round, but it has long since faded from common usage and reloading data is going to be hard to find. The .30 Newton is even rarer.

Reloading is not particularly difficult, nor is it at all dangerous if done properly. From what you are saying, all you are going to need are bullets, primers and propellant to get going.

ABCs will give you a general idea of what reloading is all about, general hints and techniques, etc. Read that before doing anything else. Normally I would agree with the suggestion to get a reloading manual or two on top of that, but they would be most unlikely to provide loads for either of those, so my personal call would be not to initially.

I fully agree with the earlier suggestion to look for a notebook or log in your father's effects - the 'recipes' he used himself. If you can find that, you're on your way. There might also be labels on his ammo boxes - they may look cryptic but can tell you what loads he was using. Moreover, every rifle has its own preferences and normally a reloader has to go through a trial-and-error testing phase to determine what his rifle likes best; in your case, your father will have already done that.

Whatever you do, follow the recipes exactly at first. Don't try to substitute one powder for another or a different weight of bullet.

I would also suggest that you start off using your father's reloading gear - the stuff won't have deteriorated sitting on the shelf. If something isn't working or is a real pain to use, then consider upgrading or replacing it.

Where are you located? I'm sure we can find somebody to walk you through it initially.
 
The parent case for the design is 11.2 Mauser .

Seems some are forming from 8x68S cases...if you can find them. I believe some companies make the 30 newton brass in the US..but few and far in between and then you need to get them over the border. Ive also read that 375 Ruger cases are close in dimensions.
 
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domyalex said:
Idcurry, get yourself "The ABC of reloading" and the Lyman 49th ed. Both will explain in detail how to get started, what to do and what NOT to do. I didn't have a mentor and those two books were great for me.

Hope it helps
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X2 on that! I also had no one to help me, but got those 2 books and did very well with them.

I would encourage you to try your dad's old equipment, not much has changed with this stuff in a long time. Whatever he had must have worked for him and it will likely work for you! Sounds like it is a very good place to start at the very least.
 
Pathfinder said:
The parent case for the design is 11.2 Mauser .

Seems some are forming from 8x68S cases...if you can find them. I believe some companies make the 30 newton brass in the US..but few and far in between and then you need to get them over the border. Ive also read that 375 Ruger cases are close in dimensions.
Click to expand...

375 Ruger is a rimless cartridge. The base is 90 thou bigger than the base of the .30 Newton. Not sure how that would work...
 
The Newton is definitely one rifle I wouldn't mind seeing resurrected, albeit with a stock with a recoil pad and less drop.
 
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