.256 Win-Mag Encore gets it done in Idaho...Pics

Blaze

New member
Thought I would try to share some pictures of my favorite calling rifle with you. It's been a work in progress over the past three years and has culminated into it's current state.

My rifle is a T/C encore in .256 Win-Mag that I bought while deployed during OEF/OIF. I had it built to order by Virgin Valley Firarms before they went out of business and has provided me with a lot of satisfaction.

I don't get to hunt as much as most because I am in the service and deployed to Korea right now but when I do get to take leave I hunt hard while I am back. Last year some of you might remember the coyotes, fox, and Mt Lion I took with this rifle in Arizona. This year I was really looking forward to pounding the Southern Arizona desert but actually never hunted a day there. I came back to find my significant other didn't find me so significant anymore (another story entirly) so I did what anyone in their right mind would do... I cut my losses loaded my car with the rifles i cherished the most and made my way up to Idaho to be with family and friends.

While Idaho may not hold as many coyotes as AZ, it does have a few and I was determined to call one in with my Dad before the big game season started. I left my hometown of Orofino and headed up out of the valley to the south and called an area around Nez Pierce which is a prarie farming region this is what it looks like coming out of the valley.
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Once on top my Dad and I used his new FX3 caller and were able to hustle up this coyote who tried circling around me and i dumped at about 150 yards with a single shot. The 75gr Hornady HP folded her up like a cheap set of blinds.
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My rifle is justabout the same as last year with a few exceptions. If you're not familiar with a .256 it's a .357Mag handgun case necked down to .25 cal and is easy to reload for. Here is a line up of a .223, .222 and a pair of .256's the first with an 87gr Speer TNT HP and the second a 75gr FN.
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I love this little rifle and it's just been a joy to load and shoot with here is a full length shot of it. It's stock is Kevlar but has a 15.5" LOP because I am very tall. I also added a 16oz mercury recoil reducer in the stock and a Darrel Holland brake on the end that cut's recoil to about a bump. Watching impacts through the scope is no problem.

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The only thing else I did was that I was tired of holding an extra round or two between my fingers especially when cold. I made this shell holder from an old radio controlled model servo and then attached it with 3M double sided tape it works awesome. The O-rings I put on it hold the rounds snug no matter how I carry the rifle but are still easy to pull out in the heat of things with gloved hands.
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Anyway, I thought I'd share and hope you enjoy.
Blaze
 
Blaze nice looking rig! Been through the "significant other" ordeal myself, hang in there it gets better!!! And the more hunting you do the easier it is!!!


Guy
 
Way COOL! Seeing the pics makes me want to go back to Idaho.
I also like the gadget for the extra rounds. PATENT IT!

God Bless,

Song Dog
 
Nice post.
I want a 256 WinMag so bad! I shot my buddys contender and now I have to have one for my contender. Can we get some pics of the Mt Lion you shot with it, thats impressive. Give me some more info on your loads...ie, coyote loads, pdog loads, lion loads...or are they all the same. What fps are you getting? 150yds...nice!
 

my significant other didn't find me so significant anymore (another story entirly) so I did what anyone in their right mind would do...

"I got a new girlfriend!" Just like the song (I did what any gentleman would do, I got a new girl friend), I been there, done that. Just remember, she was not worth it if that how it goes when you are gone to war....JOHN
 
Luckily my wife has put up with me and all my deployments. She does get a little upset when I volunteer to go so much so I have slacked off some lately. I have volunteered for one next year...gotta get some $$$$ for a new gun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Nice rig you have there. I always thought that it would be cool to neck down the .357, never really knew that it has already been done. I like the sound of it. Is it easy on the pelts? I especially like the extra shell holder...sould try and market it to someone...you already have the prototype. Oh, and thanks for all you do for this country. (that includes everyone on this board that serves one way or another)
 
Alright, since there has been some level of intrest in this thread, I'll post part of a PM I sent to another board member who is haveing a Brown Falling Block rifle made in .256 Win-Mag. Some of the information is purely subjective but the velocities have been confirmed by Chrony and all of my data is based on actual shooting. It's a little lengthy but if your interested it's all there...


I’ll try to share with you what I know or have found to be true during the past three years I’ve been shooting my Encore.

First buy a set of forming dies Redding makes a set so that you can form cases from .357 brass. They may seem expensive but they will quickly pay for themselves if you like shooting your .256 as much as I like shooting mine.

Also all of my shooting, with the exception of my last leave, was at FT. Huachuca Arizona which sits at 4,000ft ASL.

Most of my loads seem to hit their sweet spot at around 17.5gr of RL7 it was at this point that the increased powder charges did not markedly increase velocities. On my favorite load 19grs RL7 and the Berger 78gr MEF I do consistently see 2,700fps but I also get some flattened primers so I’ll probably back it off to 18gr. I mean when you get down to brass tacks the difference in trajectory between 2,700fps and 2,500fps doesn’t amount to much under 200yards. I use my rifle primarily as a calling rifle where shots are under 150 yards 90% of the time.

I can say that the result on coyotes has been phenomenal. In the two dozen or so that I have shot I have only had one spinner and it went about 10 yards before it realized it was dead. Everything else looked like it was hit by lightning; I mean they go down hard. It’s my opinion that there is something magical about the combination that makes up for this. Many people stay away from varmint bullets because they feel driven too hard and they “splash” on impact and to slow they don’t expand properly. I think the heavier style varmint bullet like the 78gr Berger travels slow enough as not to splash but rapidly expands after penetrating even at lower velocities in the 2000fps range. This has been proven to me over and over especially on quartering shots. The bullet hits hard and fast enough to expand but not fast enough to disintegrate and the bullets core drives through and exits about 80% of the time depending on range and angle. Most exits are quarter to fifty cent piece sized. Sort of mimicking a soft point bullet from a larger centerfire rifle. Here is a coyote shot last year outside Tombstone Arizona at about 60 yards. It came in pretty hard from left to right and was hit sort of quartering toward me. I don't remember it exiting but I do remember, and you can see it if you look close, that it felt like shaking a half empty paint bucket when I picked him up and the blood stain on the inside left thigh is actually under the skin/fur surface. It was about that time I felt I really had something cooking here.

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I tune all of my brass. I form it from virgin .357 cases, trim it, uniform and de-bur the primer pocket, and turn the necks a few thousands. Once I am done I usually prime with Remmington 7.5 SRP’s or CCI benchrest small rifle primers. I have not seen much difference in switching primers but the rest of my regime shrank my groups from about 1.5” down to sub MOA. I used a 24x scope for most of my load development then switched to the 2.5-10x40 4200 Bushnell Elite it wears now. I have loaded just about everything in the .257 diameter under 100gr and even messed around with a low velocity Nosler 100gr BT in sort of a .256 Whisper attempt I got the velocity down to 1,500fps but got worried about getting too slow and lodging one in the barrel so I never got under the supersonic crack and thus defeated the purpose. I never pursued that avenue any further but I bet a small dose of Alliant 2400 and it could be done.

The bullets that I had high hopes for but my gun just didn’t like them were, the Hornady and Speer Flat nose offerings in 60 and 75grs respectfully. I got them into 2-2.5 inches but that didn’t do it for me. I have had good luck with 78gr MEF/Varmint Berger, 75gr V-Max, and plain Jane 75gr Hornady HPs. The Nosler 85gr BT and 87gr. Speer TNT’s grouped real well but max out about 2,400fps which is alright but I think 75gr range is a better choice. I really liked the 80gr Starke bullet it kicked [beeep] but they don’t make them anymore. On paper the 75gr V-max is the best choice and it worked well for me taking a few of the coyotes and the mountain line I posted on PM but I liked the terminal performance of the Berger’s better and call me a Sicko but I love the big “WHOP” it’s large hollowpoint makes on impact.

Here's a couple pictures of the Lion I took with it last year using a Hornady 75gr V-max. The big cat just crumpled where it was sitting from a single shot.

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Here's one of myself trying to hold it up. I'm 6'5" 255lbs and I had to struggle to get it held up before the timer went off on my camera.

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I don't experiment much anymore as I think I have found the best that I can do with my rifle. The larger 85-87gr bullets shoot well and have a higher BC but by the time it takes them to catch up to the 75-78gr. bullets it's already past what I consider to be my effective range. If I remember correctly the 78gr Berger I like to shoot is travling around 2,400fps at 100yards which is just about what the TNT's and Nosler BT's leave the barrel at.

Thanks for the comments on my case holder, I agree I think it would sell. Especially a polished product for comercial use instead of my utilitarian prototype.

The .256 Win Mag isn't for everybody that's for sure, but if your shooting most of your predators under 200 yards it's pretty impressive in my book.

Blaze
 
Almost forgot...

Ammohouse,

I use pretty much use whatever I have loaded at the time. Mostly the 75-78gr bullets. No special loads for specific game. Although I would load a non varmint type like a Sierra GameKing if I were going to eat the prey.

xtrempredhntr,

None of the loads are very hard on the pelts. The norm is a quarter sized exit wound; if the bullet exits. I'd say it's in the same neighborhood as the .222 and .223 I own; it all depends on the variables.

Tod Bartell,

I see 2,700fps with the Berger's using 19gr of reloader#7

Hornady V-Max and plain Jane 75gr HP's get right at 2550fps using 17.5gr of RL#7 which is a really nice mellow load and is what I killed the Idaho Coyote with this year.

The 85gr Noslers and 87gr Speer TNT's come out at 2,400fps using 18gr of RL#7

I found RL#7 to be superior to IMR 4227 in almost every area.

Blaze
 
Thanks Blaze...now I gotta get me one!
I really want a 14" for my pistol frame. I've shot a few praire dogs with it and it is awesome for that. But after reading and seeing your results I think a rifle barrel may be my next purchase. Thanks again.
 
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