Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Yes, I have observed a professional hunter with hundreds of kills under his belt take down even trophy whitetail with a .220 Swift and a medium Winchester 55-grain pointed softpoint bullet. However, now we’re getting back to range, bullet placement, and just plain know-how, which in turn moves us into the second phase of this discussion: the suitability of heavy-hitting .22s beyond the .223 Remington or even the .22-250 Remington as big game harvesting tools.

INCREASED FIREPOWER, OBVIOUS RESULTS

Staying with the .224 caliber bullets in weights well below 100 grains, I undertook several hunts at one point in my rather detailed study of the newer Winchester Super Short .223 WSSM. Targets were antelope and deer in combination, with an additional goat hunt in western South Dakota.

Moving to the .223 WSSM gave me the opportunity to experiment with several variables. In addition to increased velocity and energy, different bullet designs were employed in the field, such as a Barnes 62-grain TSX and a 53-grain TSX flatbase, thereby increasing accurate range and retained energy. I could have turned to the new Norma 55-grain soft point ORYX pills loaded in the .220 Swift, which moves at about the same velocity as the .223 WSSM, but I didn’t have a Swift on hand, and I did have a .223 WSSM in a Winchester Model 70 Feather Weight. That rifle and those paired cartridges had already chalked up positive history of several goats and whitetail deer.