Winchester vs Other Factory Ammo: Preliminary Comparison

[pitted bore]

Late last fall a couple of posts alerted forum members to the production of 450B factory ammo by Winchester.

• New Ammo 2018?
• Winchester Deer Season XP 450 Factory Ammo

I cannot find that there have been any reviews of performance of the new Winchester ammo, so I shot a few rounds over a chronograph at some target paper. I shot some Hornady and Remington factory ammo in the same range session because a comparison seemed appropriate.

(In 2011 I posted a brief comparison between Remington and Hornady factory loads for the 450 Bushmaster: Chronographing Remington & Hornady Ammo.)

This report is light on data and preliminary, but some mild surprises surfaced during the test. Hopefully some other forum members will do a more thorough check soon. For the time being this is an attempt to "light one small candle rather than sit around in the dark" about the Winchester ammo.

The rifle I used was the 13-pound bench rifle described in a thread in May 2011: A Second Bolt Rifle. I mounted a Leupold 12X scope for this test and fired the rifle from a bench using front and rear sandbags. The barrel is 26" long. Persons with shorter barrels may make their own velocity extrapolations ammo with my Remington and Hornady results as calibrators.

Range conditions were very good during the test: 75°F, sunny, occasional fluffy clouds, sunlight on target face, wind <5 mph from 6 o'clock.

The ammo:

• Winchester, Mfr #X450, Lot #470814 (purchased 2018). Velocity per manufacturer - 2200 fps from 20" barrel
  Nominal 250-gr "Extreme Point" bullet, nominal B.C.=0.210.
  Plastic tip with 6 crimping folds in jacket, resembling Hornady bullet.
  Plastic tip, length 0.18", very hard, opaque, color dark greyish brown.
  C.O.A.L.: 2.2335 ± 0.0005" (based on five measurements)
  Diameter of case mouth, loaded round: 0.475"
  Headstamp "WIN" over primer, "450 BUSHMASTER" under primer.
  Primer color: brass
  
  
• Hornady, Mfr #82244, Lot #3080153 (purchased 2011). Velocity per manufacturer - 2200 fps from 20" barrel
  Nominal 250 grain bullet, plastic tip w ith six crimping folds in jacket.
  Plastic tip, exposed length 0.19", somewhat flexible, opaque, reddish color.
  C.O.A.L.: 2.2255 ± 0.0005" (based on five measurements)
  Diameter of case mouth, loaded round: 0.475"
  Headstamp "HORNADY" over primer, "450 BUSHMASTER" under primer.
  Primer color: chrome
  
  
• Remington, Mfr #PRA450B1, Lot #L08 NAI6L (purchased 2011). Velocity per manufacturer: 2180 fps, barrel length not stated.
  Nominal 260-grain bullet, "Core-lokt, Ultra Bond" with plastic cap ("Accutip" with "Power Ports")
  Plastic cap secured with six spiral crimping folds/cuts in jacket
  Cap exposed length 0.29", hard, translucent emerald green plastic
  C.O.A.L.: 2.257, +0.008, -0.007" (based on five measurements)
  Diameter of case mouth, loaded round: 0.480"
  Headstamp "R - P" over primer, "450 BUSHMASTER" under primer.
  Primer color: brass

I got the rifle on target with the Remington ammo, and then fired two three-shot groups at 100 yards, first with the Remington ammo, then the Winchester, and finally the Hornady. Both the Hornady and Remington ammo were about six years old. Sky screens for my older Pact I chronograph were located 12 feet in front of the muzzle. I did not clean the barrel between ammo types, nor did I alternate ammo brands from shot to shot.

Some numerical results:

Code: Select all

Remington      Winchester    Hornady
                                           
vel.  group    vel  group    vel  group    |
fps   size     fps  size     fps  size     |  Summary - Average Velocities   
------------------------------------------ | --------------------------
2077           2303          2198          |  Average Velocities (std dev.)
2134           2396          2257          |    Remington -  2128 (30) fps
2135  0.9"     2383  0.9"    2276  1.9"    |    Winchester - 2350 (41) fps
                                           |    Hornady -    2255 (30) fps
2152           2349          2250          |
2109           2374          2273          |
2159  1.7"     2299  1.0"    2273  0.5"    |


Initial observations:
The average velocities of the three ammo types differ notably. Despite identical specifications, the Winchester ammo average was 100 fps faster than the Hornady average. Remington ammo is specified at only 20 fps slower than the Hornady and Winchester, but in this test the Remington ammo average velocity was 125 fps slower than the Hornady. All three brands showed the variability in velocity that seems almost inherent in the cartridge.

The Hornady group sizes were both the largest and the smallest in the test. (See photos below). Hornady ammo has a reputation for good accuracy. In this test the larger Hornady group was caused by a single flyer, the first shot, which may be related to the velocity reading of that shot, which was well below the average for the other five Hornady shots. However, I can't rely on this variability for an explanation of the flyer because the Winchester ammo displayed considerably more variability than the Hornady ammo but showed no flyers. If you wish, chalk the flyer up to a wobble by the shooter, although I discarded a couple other shots that I called out. The Hornady flyer shot felt and looked good when it went off.

Lots of words for very few shots -- apologies. The images of the groups are posted below
--Bob
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[Al in Mi]

nice report Bob.

[Hoot]

Interesting! The weird part is the velocities from a 26" bolt action barrel. Imagine what the guy with the 16" AR would be getting.

Thanks Bob.

Hoot

[Escape Pod]

Something of a zombie thread here. But it sounds like the Winchester is running a touch hotter than advertised. Might make a 16” barrel shoot like a 20”…

Has anyone done hunting with the Winchester XP? Wondering if it’s a good alternative to the Hornady. Same balístics, similar accuracy, more dependable bullet dynamics in terms of entry/exit?