Winchester 22lr 45gr subsonic aunition accuracy.
- Thread starter thelongranger
- Start date
Is the ammo shown below the Winchester .22LR 45 grain Subsonic ammunition in question?
If this is the same ammo, it's ballistic coefficient is .141, as provided by the manufacturer. It doesn't appear to have a BC significantly better than some 40 grain standard velocity ammo.
Equally or even more important than wind drift when shooting .22LR at long distances, is vertical spread caused by muzzle velocity variation. Match quality ammo will have a smaller ES than any currently produced Winchester .22LR ammo. For standard velocity ammo, each 10 fps velocity difference between rounds causes .25" of drop at 100 yards. At 200 it's about 1", about 2.4" at 300. To illustrate, a 40 fps velocity difference between two rounds, the vertical spread at 100 would be 1"; at 200 it would be 4" and at 300 about 9.6".
While wind drift is an important consideration, ballistics calculations indicate that the Winchester 45gr ammo drifts more in the wind than something like SK or Lapua standard velocity rifle ammo, which has a BC of .161.
Winchester .22LR 45gr ammo will drift .49" for every 1 mph of crosswind. For each 1 mph it drifts 1.71" at 200 and 3.58" at 300 yards.
SK or Lapua 40gr ammo will drift .44" for every 1 mph of crosswind. For each 1 mph they drift 1.50" at 200 and 3.15" at 300 yards.
For a 10 mph crosswind, multiply each figure by ten. To illustrate, at 200 yards the 45gr round would drift about 35.8" and the SK/Lapua round would drift 31.5" -- a difference of about four inches less for the SK/Lapua.
For the Winchester 45 gr chart, see http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=ef27c069
For SK/Lapua 40gr chart, see http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=2560bbe7
The bottom line is that this Winchester .22LR 45gr ammo is not likely to perform better at long range than other available ammo.
Below are the charts linked above, showing wind drift for the Winchester 45gr ammo first, the SK/Lapua beneath.
If this is the same ammo, it's ballistic coefficient is .141, as provided by the manufacturer. It doesn't appear to have a BC significantly better than some 40 grain standard velocity ammo.
Equally or even more important than wind drift when shooting .22LR at long distances, is vertical spread caused by muzzle velocity variation. Match quality ammo will have a smaller ES than any currently produced Winchester .22LR ammo. For standard velocity ammo, each 10 fps velocity difference between rounds causes .25" of drop at 100 yards. At 200 it's about 1", about 2.4" at 300. To illustrate, a 40 fps velocity difference between two rounds, the vertical spread at 100 would be 1"; at 200 it would be 4" and at 300 about 9.6".
While wind drift is an important consideration, ballistics calculations indicate that the Winchester 45gr ammo drifts more in the wind than something like SK or Lapua standard velocity rifle ammo, which has a BC of .161.
Winchester .22LR 45gr ammo will drift .49" for every 1 mph of crosswind. For each 1 mph it drifts 1.71" at 200 and 3.58" at 300 yards.
SK or Lapua 40gr ammo will drift .44" for every 1 mph of crosswind. For each 1 mph they drift 1.50" at 200 and 3.15" at 300 yards.
For a 10 mph crosswind, multiply each figure by ten. To illustrate, at 200 yards the 45gr round would drift about 35.8" and the SK/Lapua round would drift 31.5" -- a difference of about four inches less for the SK/Lapua.
For the Winchester 45 gr chart, see http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=ef27c069
For SK/Lapua 40gr chart, see http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=2560bbe7
The bottom line is that this Winchester .22LR 45gr ammo is not likely to perform better at long range than other available ammo.
Below are the charts linked above, showing wind drift for the Winchester 45gr ammo first, the SK/Lapua beneath.
I think the bigger question to consider is; how accurate is the ammo @ 50 yards? If there is a consistently "accurate", Winchester-made 22LR round out there...I'm not aware of it. Not trying to sound smarmy, there might ACTUALLY be one...and I've never even heard of "Winchester Suppressed" for the record.
I HAVE had reliably, poor performance from every Winchester-branded 22LR, 22WMR and 17 HMR I've ever had the misfortune of trying. Winchester White Box (Bulk 22LR) can do about 3/4" @ 50 yards out of 1 gun I own, but that one was the first...and that ain't stellar. lol
Hoping the OP has better luck. Only CCI, SK and Eley come to the range with me these days.
I HAVE had reliably, poor performance from every Winchester-branded 22LR, 22WMR and 17 HMR I've ever had the misfortune of trying. Winchester White Box (Bulk 22LR) can do about 3/4" @ 50 yards out of 1 gun I own, but that one was the first...and that ain't stellar. lol
Hoping the OP has better luck. Only CCI, SK and Eley come to the range with me these days.
Indeed. It's worth noting that Winchester hasn't produced notably accurate rimfire ammo in decades.
I wasn't sure that this was ammo that was made for guys with semiautos who like to spray and pray, or whether it was af reasonable quality. The hope was that it was good ammo. Having a heavier bullet usually indicates a higher BC. I definitely agree with ammo with the lowest extreme spread as being necessary. I intend to chrony all the better 22 ammo and try to tune the action to the selected ammo with the smallest extreme spread. The one which groups best is the ammo I'll use keep the rifle tuned to.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
"Equally or even more important than wind drift when shooting .22LR at long distances, is vertical spread caused by muzzle velocity variation. Match quality ammo will have a smaller ES than any currently produced Winchester .22LR ammo. For standard velocity ammo, each 10 fps velocity difference between rounds causes .25" of drop at 100 yards. At 200 it's about 1", about 2.4" at 300. To illustrate, a 40 fps velocity difference between two rounds, the vertical spread at 100 would be 1"; at 200 it would be 4" and at 300 about 9.6"."
I would be curious about how well the bullets flew subsonic. Or, is the transition from supersonic to subsonic significant enough to induce an instability?
I would be curious about how well the bullets flew subsonic. Or, is the transition from supersonic to subsonic significant enough to induce an instability?
The ammo referred to, that is the Winchester 45gr and the SK/Lapua, spend their entire time beyond the muzzle at subsonic velocities.
lol
Are you sure you're not talking about Winchester's Super Silhouette 42 gr?
I still have 2 bricks of those, decent ammo.
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Posts on RFC indicate it was discontinued quite a while ago. A 2006 thread says it hadn't been made for years. User comments on its performance was not encouraging.
See, for example, h t t p s://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138008
h t t p s://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252102
h t t p s://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=493620
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
You are very correct sir!
- Location
- Saskatoon Saskatchewan
Not true. Win dynapoint gt has proven very reliable and accurate in all of my 22's. Of course its discontinued but I still have roughly a case.
I have found the CCI and Federal (AE, suppressor, quiet semi’s) loads using a 45gr bullet at subsonic speeds to be the most accurate ammo (@50y) in my 22 bolt guns over any other type or speed of ammo. The Winchester version I’ve tried was the 42gr “subsonic max”. It was ok, but nothing worth noting.
I’ve also observed some decent accuracy with the 60gr Aguila “Super Sniper”.
I’ve also observed some decent accuracy with the 60gr Aguila “Super Sniper”.
What's the definition of accurate?
Dynapoint GT (and white box Dynapoint) is 1150 fps bulk ammo. Among a variety of bulk .22LR ammos it may be among the most accurate, but bulk ammos generally don't have a reputation for accuracy. No doubt it's sufficiently accurate for hunting and plinking, but that's not a high bar. With regard to the purposes of this thread, it can be expected to have a wide ES, making it a poor candidate for long distance shooting.
