ptsdvet
Well-Known Member
.256 Newton and 6.5-06
History
Charles Newton has often been described as the father of high velocity. As a cartridge designer, Newton was born well ahead of his time in an era lacking in slow burning powders for his large capacity cases. Nevertheless he designed some very potent cartridges as well as patenting several experimental bullet designs. During the period in which Newton was involved in designing the .22 Savage Hi Power, it appears that Newton had doubts about the Hi Power's suitability for the medium game it was intended for. With it's 70 grain bullet at 2790fps these doubts became well justified.
Newton continued to experiment with case design and in the same year (1912) that the Hi Power was released, Newton developed a hotter wildcat. The .22 Newton was based on the .30-06 case shortened by 1/4 inch and necked down to fire a 90 grain .228 caliber bullet at 3100fps. But the wildcat would not satisfy Newton and he immediately had other ideas for a high velocity small bore deer cartridge. The .22 Newton was put on the back burner and received no further attention until his friend, gunsmith Jerry Gebby started to explore its possibilities (see .22-250). Within a year, Newton had developed a cartridge based on the .30-06 necked down to 6.5 (.264") with a 23 degree shoulder. In 1913 Newton released his new cartridge the .256 Newton.
Initially ammunition was loaded by the Western Cartridge company who offered a 129 grain bullet at 2760fps. This was about as fast as powders of the day could drive bullets in the .256 and it would not be until the 1940's when slow burning powders would come onto the scene. The .256 was well received by the shooting public but in 1914 a new and more pressing situation arose - war. Committed to the First World War, the American army was forced to take over Newton's factory. By December of 1917, Newton had used the last of his stock of shells and projectiles and with no components or access to machinery, there was no market for his rifles. Newton eventually managed to borrow more money for extra machinery and by January 1918 had retooled up. In April of the same year the bank foreclosed on the loan and Newton's company went into receivership. The .256 remained factory loaded by Western until it finally dwindled into obsolescence in 1938.
