CCI has long been king of the shotshell for handguns, but its engineers had been working on the next generation of products for some time. The idea was simple: deliver more power than the company's standard offerings. It's what customers wanted. As you might have figured out, the name "Big 4" was born straight from the new line's main selling point: Each cartridge is loaded with No. 4 lead shot.
There's no doubt about it, Winchester's Shot-Lok technology has been a full-fledged revolution. Though originally designed with turkeys in mind, the concept has expanded to upland loads and, for 2016, will enter a not-so-feathered market. Coyotes, hogs and varmints the world over will be testing their luck against Varmint X shotshells going forward.
Hornady has announced that it will be expanding it's .17-caliber line with the addition of its own version of .17 Win. Super Mag. Neil Davies took a moment to discuss the new release during a varmint hunt earlier this year.