Ready, aim, rimfire!
Con Kapralos tests four loads from Winchester and Browning
The ubiquitous .22 Long Rifle (LR) would have to rate as the most popular metallic rifle cartridge on the planet, with billions of these little rounds made for countless rifle and handgun actions, makes and models. It just keeps on coming and surviving all before it and looks certain to prosper well into the future.
Winchester Australia was a prolific manufacturer of the rimfire round for as many years as I can remember before production was moved to the Olin parent company in the US. Many Australian shooters and hunters lamented the loss of the locally-made product, though the rimfire ammunition coming out of the US continues the legacy for quality and accuracy.
As for Browning rimfire ammo, my earliest memory of this was in the mid-1980s with the cream-coloured cardboard boxes and brown ‘Browning’ logo indicating a premium load within. In recent years, supply from Browning USA has seen several quality rimfire loads from the Buckmark brand available to Australian shooters and hunters.
Winchester Australia sent Australian Shooter four of its current .22LR loads suited to general-purpose target shooting and hunting, two each from Browning and Winchester USA. What was immediately evident was the three differing packaging configurations in a 400-round bulk-pack, 100-round pack and the normal 50-round pack, purely dependent on the specific load being marketed.
- Browning Performance Rimfire (BPR) target and hunting 40-grain lead solid (round-nose), pack size 400 rounds, velocity 1255fps
This bulk-pack will appeal to the casual range shooter, plinker or hunter after an affordable but high-quality load. The loads have a highly-polished brass casing with the black, oxide-coated 40-grain lead round-nose projectiles neatly loaded into each case. I randomly checked a dozen rounds for weight and overall length with minimal deviation in both measurements.
At the range these rounds were tested in several rifle platforms and shot as expected out to normal rimfire ranges. The oxide projectile coating is touted to improve cycling in self-loading rimfire rifles and in the bolt-action test rifles, chambering was flawless with no misfires across the 100 rounds fired. Some rifles really liked this load and others not so and this included some high-end brands but, as is the case with rimfires, they can be finicky.
- Browning Performance Rimfire (BPR) target and hunting 40-grain lead hollow-point, pack size 100 rounds, velocity 1435fps
This rimfire load from Browning is a serious hunting option with muzzle velocity of 1435fps. It uses a projectile of similar weight to the bulk-pack load but is of hollow-point construction, vital for hunting applications, while retaining the black oxide coating. It can also be used for general plinking but its forte is in the field. Random checks on weight and overall length were consistent.
Cases were highly polished and together with the oxide projectile coating, chambering loaded rounds and extracting fired cases was uneventful and positive. All test rimfire rifles shot this ammunition very well indeed with five-shot groups all inside 25mm at 50 metres. The odd flier was present but this wasn’t a regular occurrence. For hunting small game such as rabbits, hares, feral cats and foxes out to 75 metres, this one is well worth a look.
- Winchester USA subsonic pest control and small game 40-grain hollow-point, pack size 50 rounds, velocity 1065fps; subsonic 42 MAX pest control and small game 42-grain hollow-point, pack size 50 rounds, velocity 1065fps
These two subsonic loads were tested side-by-side as they’re almost identical on all counts, the exception being projectile weight and construction. It’s a known fact most rifles in .22LR seem to shoot standard or subsonic velocity ammo more accurately than high or hyper-velocity loads. These two are marketed as being ideal for pest control and small game. Looking more closely, both rounds are neatly assembled though the brass cases aren’t as highly polished as the Browning loads tested. Random samples of both did show minimal deviations in overall length and weight, which is reassuring.
The projectile tips looked to be coated with a paraffin wax-type lubricant which seemed to clog the hollow-point tips, though this shouldn’t affect performance one iota. It begs the question as to why Winchester would offer two identical subsonic loads with projectile weights of two grains difference? From memory, I recall the 42-grain MAX hollow-point projectile being offered on quite a few Winchester USA rimfire loads, so it’s natural this would be incorporated into their subsonic load.
The 42-grain MAX is of the Power Point design with a truncated hollow-point for maximum expansion. The 40-grain projectile on the other load is still Power Point yet sports a smaller hollow-point profile. For years I’ve used Australian-made Winchester subsonic load in my Weihrauch HW66 Production with tack-driving accuracy and still have a few hundred rounds left. It would be interesting to see how the US brands performed in my own rifle as well as the other test rifles.
Similar to the Browning BPR bulk-pack load, both Winchester subsonics favoured some rifles over others. My own, which loves the old Aussie-made Winchester subsonics, shot both US loads extremely well and they also performed admirably in other rifles including a CZ452 and Tikka T1X. Proof if needed that it pays to find a load your .22LR rifle likes and stick with it.
With muzzle velocity of 1065fps these Winchester USA subsonics are an excellent hunting load, especially where minimal noise is warranted and I certainly wouldn’t feel under-gunned using either on Australian small game and pest control. All loads tested are available from Winchester Australia dealers nationwide. More at www.winchesteraustralia.com.au