Winchester Subsonic

[pistolero45]

I did some ammo testing today and thought the results were interesting enough to share with my fellow shooters.

The temperature was 66 degrees, and there was a 10 mph wind gusting to 17 mph. I would have preferred a calmer day, but this was the only day I had available to do the testing.

Previously, my daughter had done ammo testing with a chronograph for a physics project. One of the ammunitions tested was the new Winchester Subsonic, which features a 40 grain hollowpoint bullet. I was impressed enough with the consistency of that round that I decided some additional testing was warranted. She did all of her shooting with a CZ 452 American. The average velocity of the Winchester Subsonic was 1035 fps, and the average velocity of SK Standard Plus (what we shoot for Metallic Silhouette) was 1059 fps.

So I decided to use SK Standard Plus as my control cartridge in testing the Winchester Subsonic. The distance was 100 meters and I had a very solid concrete shooting bench to work with. I also decided to use three rifles for the experiment: a stock Ruger 10/22, a stock CZ 452 American, and a customized Remington 540 XR. The barrels were cleaned and 5 fouling shots fired before firing a 20 shot group with each ammunition.

I know the wind did not do me any favors, and on a calm day my Remington 540 XR will shoot sub MOA groups (I could actually see the bullets being blown off course whenever there was a bad gust).

But the results were interesting.

Rifle, SK Standard Plus, Winchester Subsonic

Ruger 10/22, 3.21 inches, 3.02 inches

Rem 540 XR, 2.75 inches, 2.20 inches

CZ 452 American, 2.45 inches, 2.35 inches

The cost of SK Standard Plus is $4.50, and the cost of Winchester Subsonic is $2.99 per box. If buying by the case, these prices should be cheaper.

[xpilot]

Mark, Do you have a picture of the box? where are you getting this ammo? Thanks, Jim

[Dee]

Are you talking about Winchester T22 ammo? I often wondered how it shot never have got around to trying it out.

Dee

[pistolero45]

This is not Winchester T22, which I have also tested and found to be lacking for our game.

The ammo I am speaking of is Winchester Super X Subsonic, with a 40 gr. lead truncated cone HP bullet. The part number is X22LRSUBA. It is a fairly new offering and is manufactured in Australia. Our local Bass Pro Shop (Columbia, MO) carries it, and I have seen several places on the internet, such as MidwayUSA, which lists this ammo.

[fwt1712]

I can confirm the positive results reported. Many of our club shooters have used this ammo here in Tasmania very successfully. It is quite consistent and works in a variety of the usual rifles used here (mainly CZs/Brnos/1710s and 1712s). Plus it works well on game for those who are interested. Regards Nigel.

[Jerry G]

All I see here are some real bad groups. I'm not sure why you would even shoot for groups in that wind. Some data on the spreads from the velocity tests would be nice to know.