“winchester super magnum”

In this, its 150th year in business, the history of Winchester firearms is well known. After all, “The gun that won the west” was a Winchester, the Model 1873. The Winchester Model 70 is known as the “Rifleman’s Rifle” and the Model 1894 is perhaps the most successful sporting rifle in history. The company also shook up the scattergun market with classic shotguns like the Model 1897, Model 21 and Model 12. The raw truth, however, is that none of these guns could have made their mark in history without ammo to shoot out of them. It’s kind of the red-headed stepchild in terms of glory and glamor, but Winchester has been in the ammo business as long as they have been in the gun business.

The .17 Hornet, son of the classic .22 Hornet, is a well-balanced design. Sharing the rimmed design of the parent case, it feeds nicely in a bolt-action repeating rifle, provides pinpoint accuracy and minimal recoil, and checks all the boxes for varmint hunting.

Hornady’s dive into a .17-caliber rimfire was met with fanfare, as it truly was—and still is—a decided improvement over the long-range ballistics of any of the .22 rimfire cartridges.

Although it has been largely forgotten by all but a dedicated faction of hunters, the .17 Mach 2 remains a first-rate option for small-game and varmint hunting.

The 400 Legend takes the 350 Legend concept a step further, giving hunters a straight-walled cartridge fully suitable for both bolt-action rifles as well as the AR platform, conforming to the collective statutes set forth by a number of Midwestern states.

Introduced in 1965, the .350 Remington Magnum could be considered the original short magnum. Using the belted Holland & Holland case responsible for so many excellent designs from the 40s, 50s and 60s, but shortened to be wedged into a short-action magazine, the .350 Magnum would mimic the performance of the .35 Whelen.

Generating just over 3,200 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy, the .405 Winchester was—at the time of its release in 1904—the most powerful lever-action cartridge available.

Contributor Philip Massaro examines the pros and cons of two of the most popular magnum rimfire cartridges. Which comes out on top?