Handgun Heaven

Handgun shooting is dominating the shooting market, and of course Winchester has answered the call with an expansive lineup

Looking for bright spots within the shooting sports arena? Take a hard look at handgun shooting. According to recent research by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 20 million people spent 16.9 billion (yeah, billion-with-a-B) dollars annually, and 37% of those people and their money were devoted to handgun shooting. That group outpaced rifle aficionados (32%) shotgun nuts (25%) and black powder fans (6%) handily.

And of course, Winchester was already positioned to meet the needs of those eager handgun shooters, with an extensive lineup of ammo to handle everyone from the beginning plinker to the hardcore hunter. “By far the most popular offerings are those designed for people coming into the shooting sports for the first time,” said Ben Frank, product specialist for Winchester Ammunition. “While many may have an ultimate goal of getting training for personal defense and conceal/carry, plenty of people just want the thrill and enjoyment of target shooting and of course if they never carry their passion any further than that, it’s perfectly fine and we’re here to help!”

Frank points to Winchester’s “White Box” ammo as a highly popular offering with new shooters. “It’s very competitively priced, which of course gives people the chance to shoot a bunch without spending a ton of money,” he said. “And we offer White Box in a pretty diverse array of calibers. 9mm probably constitutes 80% of our pistol ammo market, as guns and ammo are widely available. It’s also relatively low recoil. Finally, there’s been a lot of research and development in the 9mm arena, which has helped it maintain its popularity with the personal defense and law enforcement markets. Of course you don’t have to shoot 9mm to enjoy the advantages of White Box; we offer it in several popular calibers and it remains our volume driver in this category.”

One of the newer offerings in the Winchester handgun ammo lineup is “Big Bore”, a deep penetrating round offered in 10mm, .357 magnum, .44 Remington magnum and .45. The semi-jacketed hollow point design is designed to control and delay expansion, which results in massive shock and produces incredible wound channels. Frank notes that the round was designed for dependable performance in personal defense and hunting situations, but they’ve noted an interesting customer base since the round was introduced. “We’re seeing a lot of people that are carrying sidearms for personal protection while in hunting situations,” he said. “For example, I was mule deer hunting recently and we downed a buck. When we started to haul out meat, carrying a rifle was a bulkier alternative to having a handgun chambered with a caliber and a Big Bore load, and with more encounters with bears occurring, a defense sidearm is definitely worth considering.”

For shooters who have moved beyond target shooting and are more serious about personal protection, Frank points to “USA Ready Defense”, Winchester’s line of top-performing handgun loads. Offered in calibers 9mm Luger, 10 mm, .40 Smith and Wesson, and .45 ACP, USA Ready Defense rounds feature a “hex-vent” polymer ridge insert in the tip, which shields the hollow point from obstruction and results in more consistent and positive bullet expansion. Also standard on USA Ready Defense loads are match-grade primers, as well as a ballistics report from each batch that’s available on the Winchester website.

Easily the most comprehensive line of high-quality personal defense ammo, the Winchester Defender line features top-notch components offered across an impressive array of calibers, Frank said. “All Defender ammo features a hollow point that expands to 1.5 the original size, ensuring stopping power that’s tough to beat,” he said. “The notched jacket is designed to separate into six separate components of uniform size. We also utilize a proprietary bonding process that produces a solid weld between the bullet’s jacket and the core that results in excellent penetration and retained weight.” As noted, this is one of the company’s most extensive handgun loads, offered in calibers 9mm Luger, 10mm auto, .38 Special, .357 magnum and Sig., .380 auto, .40 S&W, .45 auto and Colt.

For shooters looking for performance similar to the USA Ready Defense and Defender lineups but have economy on the brain, Frank points to the “Silvertip” offerings which feature a lead core construction and plated copper jacket. “Silvertip bullets achieve great penetration and stopping power, thanks to a hollow point, but without the polymer tip of the USA Ready Defense line,” he said. “The jacket profile is engineered for precise accuracy and consistent expansion.” The Silvertip line is impressively diverse and comes in 9mm Luger, 10mm automatic, .32 auto, .357 mag, .38 Special,  .380 auto, .40 S&W, .44 Rem. mag., and .45 auto and Colt.

Regardless of a shooter’s expertise or interest, there’s certainly a cartridge in the Winchester lineup to suit their need. “There have been a lot of improvements in technology and manufacturing that have resulted in better bullet performance,” Frank said. “While it’s always exciting to come up with a new caliber, it takes a lot of time, effort and testing to introduce something. To me, it’s just as exciting to see a big improvement to existing technology that we can turn around more quickly and give shooters a type of performance to a gun they already own that wasn’t possible before.”