what's wrong with Winchester ammo?

[Fumbler]

Olympic Arms has a posted a rather harsh opinion of Winchester ammo
on its website.

That didn't sound harsh to me. He's just saying the bulk ammo has problems that Winchester needs to fix and once they're fixed everything will be ok. It's not like he was bashing the company itself or telling anyone to completely stay away from them for no good reason.

I am a hand loader but have found, over the years, that WW brass is of high quality and durable. The best brass I have used is Lapua but WW is just fine once you prep the cases.

I agree. He could be speaking about handloaders looking for the most accuracy. IMO Win brass is ahead of Remington and a few others, but it's definitely not the best. I don't need the best all the time though so Winchester's my preferred brass for most of my reloading.

Personally I've shot thousands of rounds of WWB in 9mm, 38 Spl, 357 mag, 45ACP, and 223/5.56. I've never had a single Winchester centerfire cartridge that didn't go bang. If there was a feed/extract problem it was the gun or magazine's fault.
Honestly I've really only had one problem in metallic cartridges and that was with one Rem UMC 223 that had its neck folded in from a misaligned bullet during seating. I sorta had bad Rem ammo. I had some Rem UMC 45ACP that wouldn't feed reliably in a 1911. I think it was due to oversized necks or simply the necks were pretty sharp. A little more crimping probably could have fixed it. The ammo worked in other guns so I don't absolutely know the ammo was the problem.

 

[HUNTINANDFISHINADDICT]

Wow I have never had a serious problem with Winchester ammo, however I am not all that brand loyal, and I usually just shoot what’s on sale or cheapest out of Winchester, Remington, and Federal. They all work great for me. I have the common jam up here or there, but very rare. Lately I have been reloading a lot, and I think I have shot reloads the past year in everything except my 45 which I shot Remington when I shot it, so maybe it is something Winchester has done in the past year?

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

My dad's Beretta 92FS once jammed on WWB, the spent casing didn't even leave the chamber. At that point plus seeing how dirty the stuff is during shooting and what it looks like in the box, I've written it off unless I have no other choice. I use Remington as the stuff is much higher quality.

 

[Justin Holder]

All I can say is you can't expect economy target ammo to perform just as well as the premium stuff.

Winchester is my preferred brand.

 

[Bovice]

I've never had a single problem with any factory winchester ammunition in a fairly wide range of calibers, rifle and pistol. Same with remington UMC. The accuracy wasn't as good as a tailored handload but it did what was expected of it.

I'd be highly suspicious of the gun, magazine, or the shooter if you have repeated trouble.

 

[kyletx1911]

I just broke in my rock tac ran 500 through it no problems at all ran 500. .223 in my cheapie(cough cough) del- ton nary problem there either

 

[jmstevens2]

Ive "GENERALLY" had a good experience with winchester silver box. In certain calibers ive had real issues tho. My .223 wouldnt print much better then 2" groups with ANY winchester ammo, yet the 64grn powerpoints in handloaded went into less then an inch. Another rifle wouldnt shoot the plain silver box ammo worth a damn, but shot the supreme bst great.
Function wise ive never had a problem with wincester, with UMC .223 ive had issues with cycling on my mini, not enough juice.

Comparing mass produced cheap ammo to handloads is hardly fair.

 

[LoonWulf]

That also included the supreme line from winchester at 40 some bucks a box lol. With remington cheap o ammo, and federal american eagle the rifle would shoot into 1/2-1". I just wanted to point out that i got good results with the EXACT same bullets but from handloads....that i threw the powder charges for.

 

[wojownik]

Never had an issue with WWB in 9mm or 45acp. Dirtier, and somewhat less tight groupings compared with some other brands, but just fine IMHO for plinking and practice. Haven't tried WWB rifle calibers, though...

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I shoot a lot of .22 rimfire in my rifles in the warmer months. Winchester PowerPoint is my #1 ammo choice. I have purchased several rifles of a particular brand until I found one that likes PowerPoints. I buy it by the case lot.

I do believe I'll buy just a brick of new production LR22PP to test it in guns I know will deliver flawless performance with my existing stock.

900F