[Nork1911A1]

Last week, I found two magazines that I thought I had lost a year ago.
They were in the back of my truck, under some target boards I keep in my truck. One mag was loaded with 7 rounds of Win Ranger Bonded 230gr, the other was loaded with 7 rounds of Win WB JHP, 230gr.

Both mags looked pretty rough but I cleaned them up & oiled them. After a week, they're looking better & are probably usuable.

The ammo, OTOH, was likely ruined (powder & primers anyway).
So, I pulled them apart, figuring I'd keep the bullets & cases for future use.

But I wanted to maybe learn something besides.......I measured the cartridges.
The Win Boned averaged 1.234" COAL, the Win WB averaged 1.237" COAL.

Also measured the powder (which surprisingly enough was dry).
The Win WB powder was a small flake looking powder & weighed 6.7grs average.

The Win Ranger was a ball looking powder & weighted 7.3grs average.

I had chrono'd each of these loads in the past.
5 round average of the WWB was 920fps, The Rangers were 901fps, also 5 round average.

I'm sure that Winchester uses their own proprietary powder for making these rounds and us reloaders have no access to their powder but, from past studies, I'm pretty sure I can rebuild these rounds using 6.8grs of Power Pistol.

I'm sure this is common knowledge to most here but like the header stated, I thought this was interesting & thought I'd share my finding here.

 

[Cappi]

The ammo, OTOH, was likely ruined (powder & primers anyway).
So, I pulled them apart, figuring I'd keep the bullets & cases for future use.

.

Me being "me", I'd of shot it just like i found it
(rusty/cruddy mag 'n all)

Just to see if it would shoot

i figure the worst that could happen would be a squib.
which wouldn't be a big a deal as I'd be looking for anything out of the ordinary from the get go


never chrono'd WWB 230HP
But have chrono'd plenty Ranger T 230gr JHP
it chrono's at 930 fps thru my 5" guns

..L.T.A.

 

[Nork1911A1]

I figured being in the bed of my truck for a year, suffering rain, snow, heat & cold that the powder & primers were a non starter. Kinda surprised me that the powder was dry when I pulled the rounds.

I only had 100 rds of each & used most of those checking reliability in my pistol (this was before I got my chrono) so, five rounds each was all I could check.

 

[Cappi]

I figured being in the bed of my truck for a year, suffering rain, snow, heat & cold that the powder & primers were a non starter.

.

That's exactly why I'd want to "try" to shoot them, Nork
Just to find out



since you pulled the bullets and checked/weighed powder, it would be interesting to know if same findings from a different lot 2-3 years apart




..L.T.A.

 

[Nork1911A1]

That's exactly why I'd want to "try" to shoot them,
Just to find out



since you pulled the bullets and checked/weighed powder, it would be interesting to know if same findings from a different lot 2-3 years apart




..L.T.A.

I guess it would have been a testament to how well Win ammo holds up under extreme conditions.

I guess I could leave a few of my Golden Sabers or HydraShoks outdoors for a couple of years
Maybe when I win the powerball, I'll buy a box or two for just such an experiment :rock: