in a revolver. Have the problems been solved? Is anyone making something fun?

I had a S&W Model 14 converted to .25-20 about 1981 or so. I've never had any trouble with it, and have shot some pretty hefty loads (for a .25-20).

I always wanted to convert one to .256 Win.

What troubles are we speaking of?

I always thought a Colt Diamondback converted to 25-20 would be cool but never dug any further into it.

cf

Didn’t Smith and Wesson’s Model 53 in 22 Jet have ejection problems or perhaps cartridge setback issues?

I have a Taurus Raging Bee in .218 Bee that has worked just fine since I bought it, which was about 25 years ago. 😎

Bowen does K frames in .256 win.

That's the one I remember.

Had a Ruger in 256, but of course the Hawkeye single shot. 218 Bee would be alot of fun.

Good luck finding brass now. I have a Winchester 43 rifle in 228 Bee. I need to dig it out and shoot it sometime.

I think the "bottle neck issue" is more of a user issue. Locking of the cylinders can sometimes happen when there's a lot of oil in the chamber. I think the early issues that S&W had were related to primer flow, which was solved when S&W did another dash iteration (but I don't recall which). In shooting .22 Hornet and .256 Winchester, I have never had any issues at all.

Back in the late 80's i had a nickel 4", S&W M27, chambered in 357/44 Bain&Davis. I tried every method, dry, clean chambers, light oil chambers, nothing kept the brass from sticking after the third cylinder full. Interesting caliber, but ended up moving down the road.

For a long time, I thought a "complete" S&W .22 Jet kit would be great: Revolver, inserts for .22 LR, the whole nine yards. I've only handled a couple, shot one. Right up there with .30 Carbine as far as unpleasantly intense concussion etc. I've since lost interest. Still, if the right one showed up at the right time and price, it would come home with me. For a long time, also, I was kind of enthralled by the idea of a .25-20 revolver. Over time, I've kind of come around to the philosophy that handguns are most useful with straight-wall cartridges in calibers and bullet weights from .22 long rifle to .44 magnum. I still can't get myself to send my .500 S&W down the road, however, and if that nice .22 Jet came along....

I’ve had a 256 since my dad died in ‘75. I pretty much had it in my possession since about 1960 (closest guess) though. A guy came to our place with a trunk full of 1892 Winchesters, which dad bought, at a very low cost. One was a 5 digit serial number 25-20, he re-barreled it and did some repairs to the action. The old barrel evidently had been shot with black powder loads, it was a mess. I still have the Herters dies dad bought for the 256 back then. I had an early contender in 256 to go with that model ‘92, which I bought in the 70’s if I remember right.

Dad made 256 brass from 357 brass. I’ve done the same. All you need to do is reform the brass in steps and fire form, not difficult. As I recall he may have started the necking down process by entering the 357 brass into a 32-20 die, just enough the form the shoulder.

I’ve shot a lot of rabbits, skunks, squirrels, crows and various varmints with that ‘92. It has a side mount base and a J4 Weaver scope on it. The 60 grain Winchester ammo was the most accurate in that rifle, but I got close with 60 grain flat point Hornady bullets.

If you form 256 brass from 357 you’ll find to much lube is your enemy.