Winchester USA Ready Defensive Ammunition

PDN Contributor Jerah Hutchins tests some handgun ammo, the USA Ready defensive ammunition from Winchester. It’s a 124-grain load that will be tested through an FBI standard 10% gel block.

This is not a bonded bullet, which is one of the reasons we want to test it. We want to look at uniform distribution and to see if it penetrates 12 to 15 inches. We also want to look at the hex-vent technology of this Winchester Ammunition USA Ready round. It has a rigid insert inside the hollowpoint. This protects the hollowpoint from obstruction while channeling forces in there for more uniform expansion.

TESTING

The front of the gel block is wrapped in fabric to test if the hex-vent design does prevent this material from clogging up the round. Jerah fires one round into the 16-inch gel block, and it penetrates 15½ inches, which is what we wanted. The trajectory is slightly up, partially due to Jerah’s firing from a low angle.

Looking at the gel block from above, we can check the linear penetration, which is near perfect for defensive handgun ammo. The round goes straight to the back, with no veering to either side. The round reaches its point of widest expansion a few inches into the block. This is where the wound channel is the widest. After that is a debris area where part of the jacket fell off, which is natural, then the hex-vent, meaning that did its job too. Finally at 15½ inches is the remainder of the projectile, which Jerah will extract and examine later.

Handgun ammo is one of your most important self-defense tools. This Winchester USA Ready round does exactly what we need it to do.

Jerah Hutchins also owns Clearing the Chamber, a Texas-based firearms training company that focuses on women and youth.