Winchester Supreme "Platinum Tip" ammunition - Out Of The Box

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2004 by Glenn Barnes

Winchester, a name long associated with quality rifles and shotguns, is equally famous as a manufacturer of super accurate handgun ammunition Generations of hunters have relied on the Winchester name to bring home the venison season after season, and with good reason. Never content to rest on their laurels or reputation, Winchester has designed a new bullet that should quickly gain fame as one of the premier big game projectiles on the market.

Wearing the sobriquet "Platinum Tip[TM]" this latest offering from Winchester is only available in their Supreme line of handgun ammo. Initial calibers for the Platinum Tip will include the .41 Magnum, listed as pushing a 240-grain bullet at 1,250 fps, a .44 Magnum launching a 250-grain pill at the same velocity, and a 260-grain .454 Casull loading at 1,800 lids.

Micah Vaninger, new product engineer for Winchester ammunition, was the brains behind this successful new bullet. I phoned him the other day to get the scoop on the Platinum Tip ammo and it was readily apparent he was proud of his latest creation.

He informed me the new Platinum Tip bullet is a hollow point design utilizing the conventional cup and draw process for the jacket. Jacket thickness is a hearty .036" to .038" and is reverse tapered creating a wedge effect that locks the core and virtually eliminates jacket separation. For comparison, an average "off the shelf" JHP bullet only manages around .015-inch jacket thickness.

The heavy jacket does not affect the Platinum Tip's ability to expand or upset. An ingenious two part hollow point cavity effectively allows the bullet to perform its job and hold together from point blank range to any distance a handgun hunter is likely to encounter game.

So how does this new ammunition shoot? I grabbed three .44 magnum revolvers to find out--a Ruger Super Redhawk wearing a 9 1/2-inch tube and a 2x Nikon scope, a Ruger Super Blackhawk sporting a 7 1/2-inch barrel, and a Freedom Arms model 83 also sporting a 7 1/2-inch tube. Testing was performed using an Outers Pistol Perch on a solid bench, and groups were fired from 25 yards. The day was scorching hot and relative humidity was 100 percent in case you were wondering.

The Super Redhawk gave an impressive average of just over one inch, with several groups managing to break the one inch barrier. Velocity was equally impressive, averaging 1,448 fps. Next in line was nay Ruger Super Blackhawk, which provided groups of 1 1/2 inches on the nose and delivered 1,364 fps. The big Freedom Arms gave me groups averaging a hair under 1 1/4 inches and produced the highest velocity at 1,449 feet per second.

Winchester lists the .44 magnum Platinum Tip ammo at 1,250 fps but my revolvers were shoving them out quite a bit faster. This concerned me, so I double-checked some of my favorite handloads through my chronograph to insure it was functioning properly. It was, so either I received a batch of high voltage ammo or just plain old got lucky, I'm not sure which. No pressure signs were visible and extraction from all three handguns was smooth and flawless. I'll take some extra speed for free any time.

It looks like Winchester has done it again, quality handgun ammunition for the discriminating hunter who demands the best. Keep up the great work Micah!