.256 Newton

[ozark]

When I was just a kid my brother traded a 28 model Chevorlet for a .256 Newton. It was a beauty with set triggers. It was a shooter but getting ammunition was a problem. Unfortunately it was in his house when it burned to the ground years ago. I wonder if there is any still around or even if anyone ever fired one. Ozark

[rossman40]

IIRC Winchester/Western stopped making the ammo right when WWII started. I think the .30 and .35 Newton was cut about the same time. You can still get brass from some of the brass makers. The .256 was basicly a 30-06 cartridge that was shortened and necked down to take a .264 bullet (I do not know why he called it a 256). It came out in 1913 and about the same time the .30 and the .35. Newton also designed the 22 Savage Hipower in 1912, the 250-3000 for Savage in 1915 and IIRC had something to do with the .300 Savage in 1920. The big killer for the .256 Newton was the .270 Winchester that came out in 1925.

Charles Newton tried like four times to get a rifle company started so there wasn't too many rifles made. IIRC he did offer aftermarket barrels chambered in .256 for the 03 after WWI. Looking back you would say he was the father of high velocity centerfire rounds. The 22 Hipower and the 250-3000 were the barn burners in their day.

The real kickinthepants, a pre-WWI Newton rifle in good shape would bring somewhere in the $5000 range. A post-WWI rifle at least $2000

[jims]

If Rossman doesn't know it I do not think it is known. He really is a font of knowledge and has access to it.

[rossman40]

Charles Newton was a bit ahead of his time and a victim of bad timing. His early rifles were based on Mauser actions and he only got one shipment of rifles before WWI put a end to his first try. After the war he couldn't get steady shipments from Mauser so he went on the rocks again. Then there was the "buffalo" Newtons which he designed the action which was a multiple lug set-up 30-40 years ahead of what Roy Weatherby came up with in his Mark V action. Newtons last attempt was a straight pull bolt, the leverbolt, which was a cross between a bolt action and a lever action. Marlin agreed to make it only if he could get enough orders but then the stock market crashed like the next day. Supposedly some guy bought the name and rights recently and was going to produce the leverbolt as a big game rifle.



As far as cartridges Newton was ahead as producing some of the fastest cartridges of the time. You have to remember this was before DuPont came out with the IMR powders which was the big advancement in smokeless propellants. The 22 Savage Hipower pushed a 70gr bullet to 2800fps and the 250-3000 sent a 87gr bullet over the 3000fps mark which in the early 1900s was HOT. The .256 was basicly a 25-06 and then the other more popular Newtons were the .280, .30 and the .35. There was a 270 Newton which was a necked down .30 that was popular in the 50s that Newton did not design. If you used modern powder in these rounds you could come close to modern short magnum performance. Another thing I remember was Newton was the first to go to pure copper jackets instead of the cupro-nickle jackets of the time. He also played with partition bullets.

There was some smiths that chambered for the Newton rounds until recently and there are some guys still shooting Newtons.

I love history, tied in with Charles Newton are names like Fred Adolph (legendary gunsmith), Harry Pope (the barrel maker of the day), Ludwig Wundhammer (gunsmith and stockmaker, the wundhammer swell on stocks) and Frank Kenna (Marlin Firearms).

[ozark]

i remember the set trigger system. You cocked the rear trigger and then only a touch on the front trigger would release the firing pin. I seem to recall some saying this rifle was made in Germany. No idea where they got that idea. Ben

[rossman40]

I found you a picture or two,






Some Newtons were built on Mauser actions from Germany, how much was done in the US and how much was done in Germany I can't say. Most of what I remember was from a book "Bolt Action Rifles" and I found another on the net that is more detail,

www.newtonrifles.com/Index.htm

I did find you can read some of the pages of the 4th edition (better, I read an earlier edition) of "Bolt Action Rifles" on the net,

books.google.com/books?id=tuVUMLRE47UC&pg=PA373&lpg=PA373&dq=newton+rifles&source=bl&ots=tHFuFZlkHC&sig=GfKGN3GE4qM-5hZfp1mRcdOb3nM&hl=en&ei=Nnk0SpE90Iy2B9Dc3PgO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#PPA366,M1

[raf]

That rifle looks very much like one my grandfather had back in the 60's. I know it was an 8mm mauser with the 2 triggers. Don't know whatever happened to it.

[rossman40]

Set triggers are a carry over from European gun makers which I think dates back to the early 1800s maybe a little earlier. Hawken and "plains" rifles had double set triggers but you did not see many on early (pre-revolution) Kentucky or Pennsylvania rifles. Basicly you pull one trigger which "sets" the other trigger to a hair trigger. The only double set trigger I really played with if you pulled the front trigger it "set" the rear trigger to less then one pound pull. If you needed a quick shot you could pull the rear trigger "un-set" and you had about a five pound pull. Then there are the single set triggers which you push the trigger forward to "set". I played with a Ruger #1 which had a Canjar single set trigger. You pushed the trigger forward to "set" and in set mode it was only a few ounces pull. It still gave you the option to pull in "un-set" mode.

In the US you would find set triggers on target rifles like Sharps, Remington and Browning rolling blocks before 1900. Seeing set triggers on US made rifle was rare after the Newtons. Canjar did make aftermarket double and single set triggers till they went out of business last year. Kepplinger is a Austrian or German company that still makes aftermarket single set triggers for 98 Mauser, Remy 700, Winchester 70 and Ruger #1, #3 and some M77s, available from Brownells. There was a company that was making a double set for M98s. There is a few companies making lock/trigger sets for traditional smoke poles.

As far as factory set triggers Traditions, Lyman and TC still offer double set triggers on traditional sidelock MLs. As far as centerfires Mannlichers use to come with set triggers and the only production company that I know of that equips their rifles with one that is readily available in the US is CZ. The CZ has a single set trigger and I have ran into guys that have bought them that never knew about the set trigger.

RAF, after WWII there was a whole cottage industry taking surplus military actions and sporterizing them. Some were pretty nice and a few that I have seen were downright butcher jobs. E. R. Shaw got their start offering threaded barrels for Mausers, Springfields and other military actions for smiths sporterizing.

[ozark]

Good read Rossman40. I would pay more for a set trigger system in a heartbeat. They are really nice and before setting has a good safe heavy trigger. I remember the Newton required only what seemed like a touch to fire it after the trigger was set. I think it would improve the accuracy of the shooter on most all rifles.

[chuck41]

I have a very old muzzleloader that has a set trigger. I know this one dates back into at least the 1850s so the set triggers go back a long way.

[jims]

My uncle had a .220 Swift in the early 60's with a set trigger. I do not know the brand but it had a Unertl scope, external adjustments I think.

[ozark]

I like set triggers and am surprised that someone in the after market world doesn't offer them for all the popular rifles. I bellieve they would sell even though the price would naturally be steep. We gun nuts have proven that we will put out the cash if we want something.

[rossman40]

I called Canjar before they closed shop seeing if I could get a single set for my 112. After the gal on the phone gave me a quote of like $467 I had to change my pants. In the days before Fred and SSS, and before Timney and Rifle Basic offerings, Canjar was the only aftermarket trigger available for a Savage.

The thing nowadays is making a trigger lawyer proof. I've seen a few guys over adjust double set triggers and have the rifle go off when setting the trigger.

One of the downfalls of double set triggers was many early designs actually increased lock time which is why you do not see any on modern benchrest/target rifles. At one time (late 1800s) Winchester even offered double and single set triggers on their lever guns

Set triggers are still popular in Europe with Mauser and Steyr-Mannlicher still offering double sets or single sets. There has been a increase in single sets. Since CZ started offering a single set Sako started offering one standard on there varminter model. Tikka, Sauer and Blaser offers one thru their custom shop and even Browning started to a offer single set on certain models of the A-bolts but I have never seen one. With Browning coming out with the new "Feather Weight" trigger system on the X-bolt it will be interesting if they change the trigger on the A-bolt.

As far as aftermarket Kepplinger is about the only one offering one for other then a Mauser and then your limited to Remington, Winchester and Ruger. Cost is a factor, why install a $250-300 single set trigger when you can get a conventional target style trigger for a third of the cost. Of course then you end up with guys running thru the woods with hair triggers. I have to agree with Ozark and a single set trigger would be the berries for the serious hunter. The safety of a heavy pull but yet the option of a hair trigger when you want it. Savage started something with the Accutrigger, offering a light (3-4lb) pull in a safe package and maybe more important cheap to make. Now you see other gunmakers playing catch up.

For all the AR guys Williams Triggers offers a set trigger for the AR. It works kinda neat, you just thumb the safety like your going from fire to full auto and the trigger goes to set mode with pull like 1.5-2 pounds. To take it off of set mode just put the rifle on safe. $190 and they install it.

[tcmech]

As I was browsing through my Sierra reloading manual I came across this jewel of information.

"The 6.5-06 is a true departure from the normal wildcat in that it started out as a commercial cartridge and since "attained" wildcat status. Introduced in 1913, the 256 Newton was developed by Charles Newton for his line of proprietary bolt-action rifles."

It seems like a pretty good cartridge, right between the 25-06 and the 270.

[cfvickers]

I scrolled down with the intention of asking "isn't the 256 newton a 6.5-06?" guess tcmech answered my question.

Ozark, if you are familliar with the performance of the 256 newton, you are familiar with the capability of the 6.5-284. You have asked about the caliber before and they have essentially the same powder capacity and performance in a shorter case. Both use a long action and the 6.5-284 usually has the bullet seated out further.

[256newton]

Hello everyone. View www.NewtonArmsCompany.com for load date, case forming, pictures, notes and historical information. This is an online publication/article with lots of good information on Newtons.
Also, www.SuncoastGunClub.com has step by step info for case forming .256 Newton brass.

[petev]

CZ uses a single set trigger in their rifles. I dont like it to be honest, and replaced mine with a Timney (regular) trigger.

[marlowe2nd]

Can someone tell me PLEASE where i can buy .256 Newton cartridges?
I need them badly -- and soon!

Jim Marlowe

[marlowe2nd]

Honest to God!

[marlowe2nd]

Help me!

[youp50]

Midway USA has brass. Buffalo has dies. Hope you have deep pockets.

[tcmech]

I don't believe that 6.5-06 ammo is available commercially, but I am pretty sure that if you can come by the dies that you can use anything based on a 30-06 case.

25-06 you will need to size up, probably one step, 30-06 you would need to size down, probably in two steps and trim to length.

270 you would probably need to size down and trim.

If you don't reload you may want to consider other rifle / caliber options.

If you want to sell and look for more commonly available options I am sure that any number of people on this board including myself would be interested in an original newton rifle.

[cfvickers]

You can do it in one step from 30-06. I can size them down to 25-06 in one step so I see no reason why it would not work with 6.5.