Winchester Ammunition has been a trusted name in hunting rounds for many years. For 2017, the company expanded several of its hunting ammo lines including the Deer Season XP with a pair of new calibers and the Varmint X with the addition of lead free bullets.

Deer Season XP

This year, Winchester Ammunition will offer two new calibers in this popular hunting line: the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .223 Rem. (Sidebar: the 6.5 Creedmoor support from all of the manufacturers this year is incredible.) As one would expect, both of these loads are designed to work in modern sporting rifles.

The 6.5 Creedmoor uses a 125 grain polymer tipped bullet and is rated at 2,850 fps at the muzzle. At 300 yards, the bullet is still moving at 2,364 fps.

The .223 load uses a lighter polymer tipped bullet: 64 grains.This load is clocking in at more than 3,000 fps at the muzzle. At 300 yards, velocity drops to 2,103 fps.

Varmint X Lead Free

Serving the needs of varmint hunters in areas where lead core projectiles have been banned, Winchester offers the Varmint X Lead Free line. These loads use a zinc core technology that is designed to comply with various hunting regulations and be affordable. Winchester does not list a MSRP for these rounds, but a check around the internet shows the .223 load priced around $21 for a box of 20.

Four loads will be available:

• 17 WSM: 15 grain bullet (no velocity information available)
• 223 Rem: 38 grain bullet @ 3,800 fps
• 22-250 Rem: 38 grain bullet @ 4,350 fps
• 243 Win: 55 grain bullet @ 3,910 fps