Winchester hunting ammunition: Let's examine a recent development by the US manufacturer in the series of high performance cartridges, equipped with the bonded bullet for use on game of good structure where a decisive release of energy is required.
di Emmanuel Tabasso
Every level manufacturer in the rifled barrel cartridge sector has one or more very accurate manufacturing series that we believe are suitable for those looking for an intrinsic precision suitable for long-distance shots, say around ½ MOA, useful for exploiting the yield of equally accurate rifles and the latest generation optics with ballistic turrets and anything else allows you to push the distance a little further, but above all, and this is important to say, to ensure the distance suited to one's abilities and due ethical sense, to place the ball confidently in the spot where it is aimed. The commercial scope of these special cartridges must be seen in those hunters who do not like to start reloading, shoot the few shots they need, including those for the annual calibration check, then the matter ends and we talk about it again the following year. It is understandable how they are not interested in the splendid results of home recharging: the economic advantage, sensitive and appreciable, touches them very little given the number, ultimately small, of shots fired.
We have reached this point, the price, which represents the only negativity of these cartridges and which would be an insuperable obstacle for the regulars of the shooting ranges: from what we observe and with the spread of hunting with rifled barrels, many have now routed to the industrial solution and satisfactions are not lacking. The preamble to observe and examine one of Winchester's recent creations for its Super X line: we almost fatally fell on the .30-06 Sprg caliber. considering how it is also widely used in hunting in the mountains, in the hilly areas for the wide range of deer and mouflons, and then represents a huge percentage of the chambers in semi-automatic boar hunting.
The cartridge
Let's take a closer look at this cartridge: very good-looking, well-finished brass case with smooth groove, case back with crisp lettering and burr-free primer pocket, regular fittings in the body, shoulder and collar passages, hardly visible but very firm bullet crimp . It is precisely the ball that contains the peculiarities of this cartridge: of the Power Max bonded type and with a weight of 150 gr it immediately gives an excellent impression: from the maximum circumference, maintained for about half the length, the profile follows a radius curvature open, therefore with walls that seem almost straight to taper into the narrow ogive with an almost conical profile, equipped with a tiny hole that is blocked by a plastic substance. This is what appears to the eye: the inside is very interesting because, as mentioned, the ball is of the bonded type, therefore with the central core in lead, welded to the jacket with a closed base, differentiated thickness and tapering towards the apex. According to the canons, this profile ensures good flying qualities and considerable precision while the structure of the projectile allows the retention of almost 100% of the mass and an upset that doubles the original diameter: first there will be a strong penetration then a very harmful means, with a medium-rapid release of a large part of the energy developed and a decided vulnerable power. The beautiful red box shows, in American sizes, the prerogatives of the product with its specific destination referring to the wild of the place, i.e. red deer and white-tailed deer. The ballistic table usefully displayed indicates in yards and inches the speeds and trajectory drops referred to distances of 0 - 100 - 200 - 300 - 400 - 500 yards which translated into m / sec give V / 0 of 890, V / 100 of 803 , V / 200 of 721, V / 300 of 645, V / 400 of 573 and V / 500 of 507. The variations in cm (always referring to finish lines in yards) go to the aforementioned distances from -3,8 to +4,6, 0,0 to 20,3 to -60,5 to 125,5 to 300. There is therefore a good hold up to at least 392 yards, then, of course, the decline is felt. Equally adequate are the energy values expressed by the charge and which we indicate in kgm at the distances mentioned above: 319, 258, 206, 163, 127 and XNUMX.
{besps} hunting-gallery-photo / winchester-ammunition {/ besps}
To conclude
This Winchester cartridge has all the prerogatives to perform well in terms of precision and lethality: in addition to the classic ungulates for which it is really specific, we would also see it well on wild boar where, at the distances suited to this specific hunt, the structure of the bullet combined with the high speed, again with respect to the caliber, allow penetration and above all hydrodynamic shock adequate to stop the king of the stain.