Winchester has some interesting new additions to their defensive line.
More people than ever are purchasing firearms for self-defense purposes and the number of options available on the market continues to grow. This week, Winchester has announced their new lines of ammunition for 2021 and included in that mix are several specialty rounds for anyone looking to protect their homes and families.
We already covered their new USA Ready Defense handgun ammo, but Winchester wasn't done there. They have new options for shotguns, rifles and even rimfire handguns.
Here's a quick rundown of all the new products to be on the lookout for at your favorite gun dealers in 2021.
Silvertip Rimfire
While the .22lr is traditionally thought to be a plinking or small game round, we're seeing more and more people starting to pick up rimfire handguns for self-defense purposes. Why not? The ammo is cheaper than a 9mm or .40 S&W. It's usually more readily available. It has minimal recoil and the firearms are easily concealable. Enter Winchester's new Silvertip Rimfire is a 37-grain plated, segmenting hollow point. The engineers specifically developed this for tiny, short-barreled concealed carry guns. The bullet segments upon impact to create the most damage possible. Expect muzzle velocities of 1,060 feet per second. The great thing about this is that it is sold in 50-round boxes, meaning you can do some extensive practice with your carry ammo before you trust your life to it.
.222 Remington, 300 Blackout and .308 Winchester Silvertip Centerfire
Knowing that more people than ever are utilizing AR-style platforms for their home defense plans, Winchester is rolling out three new rounds in three popular centerfire rifle calibers. These are alloyed lead core bullets with nickel-plated jackets and a polymer tip for optimal expansion. The .223 Remington is a 64-grain bullet that does about 2,389-fps at 100 yards while delivering 811-foot pounds of energy. The 300 Blackout is a 150-grain bullet that puts out 982-foot pounds of energy while doing about 1,717-fps at 100 yards. Finally, the .308 is a 150-grain bullet that has a velocity of 2,398-fps at 100 yards and delivers 1,915-foot pounds of energy to the target at that distance.
12 and 20-gauge Defender Buckshot
It's hard to beat a good-old shotgun for home defense purposes. Just racking the pump on a scattergun is often enough to make a home invader think twice about their life choices. In case that doesn't deter them, we're sure these new Defender Buckshot shells will. Winchester has two new additions to the line this year. The first is a nine-pellet, 00 buckshot, 2 ¾-inch load in 12-gauge. The pellets are copper-plated and have a muzzle velocity of about 1,145-fps. The other new addition to the line is a smaller 20-gauge option in No. 3 buck. This 2 ¾-inch shell packs in 20 pellets travelling about 1,145-fps. Either option is sure to give you some peace of mind in case of a terrifying home invasion scenario.
5.56mm and .350 Legend Defender
Continuing the Defender line, Winchester has two new offerings here for rifle defense. These bonded bullets have a lead core and a soft point to aid in expansion on the target. The first new addition is 5.56mm and is a 64-grain bullet doing 2,305-fps at 100 yards, delivering 755-foot pounds of energy to the target. While we're excited for that round, most interesting here is the addition of a 160-grain, .350 Legend bullet to the lineup. This round was originally designed with semi-automatic sporting rifles in mind. However, the round found more of a home in Midwestern states as a straight-wall cased round of choice for deer hunting in areas with restrictions on rifle hunting. However, there's not denying this round should get the job done in case of an intruder. It delivers speeds of 1,843-fps at 100 yards and 1,206 foot pounds of energy.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
NEXT: THE 5 BEST HOME DEFENSE SHOTGUNS
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