8 replies to this topic

[Rimrock]

The brown truck just left Cabela's shipment of .22 non-lead ammo. It just been a little over a year since I order it. Now to see it it will shoot accurately. I have had .17 HMR non-lead on order from Midsouth for some time. Maybe it will show up one of these days.

[ShooterJohn]

I'd sure like to hear how it performs. I haven't seen any reports on how the stuff shoots. I hope it groups well.

[autocrosser78]

1650 FPS 26gr bullet I hope it groups.

[Camoghost]

Yes, please share the info on how it shoots.. Inquiring minds want to know! Thank you!

[Yateswell]

The brown truck just left Cabela's shipment of .22 non-lead ammo. It just been a little over a year since I order it. Now to see it it will shoot accurately. I have had .17 HMR non-lead on order from Midsouth for some time. Maybe it will show up one of these days.

What's item# for the non-lead 17hmr? I'd like to give it try on my Savage.

[Rimrock]

What's item# for the non-lead 17hmr? I'd like to give it try on my Savage.

Order # 003-83171. I have had this on order since 12/17/09.

[highplainsdrifter]

1650 FPS 26gr bullet I hope it groups.

I bought a pack of this but why 26 grains when the others that are 30 - 32 grains like CCI Stinger or Aguila rated at 1,750.

[ratassassin]

I tried Winchester's 26 grain HP non-lead .22LR in my Savage Mark II BTVSS. It's absurdly expensive for .22LR ammo, very fast and not too accurate. I shot two 50-yard 5-shot groups and my results were (1) a 1.409" center to center group of which 4 shots were in 0.63" and the 5th shot was a high flyer and (2) a 1.462" ctc group. This was using a bipod with no rear rest on a bench, so I might have gotten somewhat better groups using a Tack Driver bag and rear rest. But I wanted to simulate something closer to field conditions. Sadly, it sprayed all over the place at 100 yards. I think I had 6"-10" groups at 100 yards. It was so bad, I didn't bother to measure it. Still, it's good enough to kill ground squirrels with at 50 yards. Although its performance isn't too good, I'm glad Winchester at least came out with it so we have something we can use in Condor territory besides slingshots and marbles. RA

[ratassassin]

Here's an update on the Winchester 26 gr hollow point lead free (tin) ammo based on my ground squirrel hunt at Tejon Ranch this week. Before heading out, I zeroed my Savage Mark II BTVS .22LR with the lead free ammo at 50 yards. This time, there was no wind. My best 5 shot group at 50 yards benchrested was 0.85" and I got a 4" group at 100 yards. At Tejon Ranch, I had numerous shot opportunities at ground squirrels from 50-75 yards. The ammo was accurate enough at these ranges and I didn't have very many misses. But I noticed that, despite the hollow point, the tin bullet doesn't seem to expand very much. And it is going so fast (1650 fps muzzle velocity) that it just "ice picks" the ground squirrel. Twice, I had solid body hits at 50 and 60 yards, yet the ground squirrels kept crawling away. I put 4 shots into one of them (including 3 solid hits in the neck and head) and still the ground squirrel kept crawling away. One ground squirrel I shot at 75 yards looked at its belly like "WTF was that?!!" and then started running for its hole despite having been solidly gut shot. Exit wounds with this ammo were small holes, unlike the CCI Minimag HP's which I've seen knock the guts out of 'em. So my conclusion is that this Winchester lead free tin hollow point .22LR is accurate enough to hunt with but lacks the expansion and knock down power of lead rounds. The tin is too hard and the bullet is traveling too fast to offer much expansion. I much preferred using my friend's Marlin .22WMR with CCI TNT Green on the ground squirrels, which always produced devastating results.