U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Winchester Super Unleaded Ammo

NCJ Number
156474
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 22 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1995) Pages: 56-60
Author(s)
E Sanow
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article presents the specifications and performance of Winchester Super Unleaded ammunition.
Abstract
Excessive exposure to lead in indoor and outdoor firing ranges poses a health hazard to shooters, instructors, and personnel who work in or near the ranges. The sources of this lead exposure at the firing point include lead styphnate primers, all-lead bullets, and jacketed bullets with an exposed-lead bullet base. This latter group includes all conventional full metal jacket bullets and some jacketed hollowpoint bullets. Released in mid-1994, the patented Winchester Super Unleaded primer also includes a milder, nitrocellulose-based secondary explosive, a common sensitizer, and the proven igniter pyrotechnic combination, boron, and potassium nitrate. Independent velocity and pressure tests conducted by the Navy's Crane NSWC confirm the Winchester lead-free ammo exactly duplicates the ballistics of the Winchester lead styphnate primed ammo. The muzzle velocities, chamber pressures, slide impulse, and bullet trajectory are the same. Winchester developed a solution to the exposed-lead base of the conventional full metal jacket bullet. They added the "gas check," which is a brass cup that is usually wrapped around the bullet base on all-lead, magnum-velocity bullets; this reduces both gas blow-by and barrel leading.

Downloads

No download available

Availability