Snowdog
Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2002
- Messages
- 4,606
After testing a few rounds of Winchester Rangers, I found performance that differed from that of the original Black Talons.
I noticed after testing some recently manufactured Rangers that the "talons" were not protruding at a 90 degree angle from the expanded bullet as they do with the earlier Black Talons. In fact, they were hardly deployed at all, seemingly still folded against the petals and contributing very little to overall performance. Both Winchester loads were tested from the same pistol (Kimber with 5" barrel) against the same medium (Playdough clad with 2 layers of denim). The difference between the two is quite noticeable.
Though I could not find the expanded bullets for the 147gr 9mm Black Talons I tested a few years back to compare against the 127gr Rangers I recently tested, I did manage to find some .45acp Black Talons to compare against the newer Rangers.
The below photo shows an expanded SXT (top), a Black Talon (lower right) and a Ranger (lower left). Notice how pronounced the talons are on both the Ranger and Black Talon, and at what angle they protrude. Included are some of the 9mm 127gr +P+ Rangers. Though expansion was a sure bet even after several layers of denim, they displayed the same "undeployed talons" as found with the Ranger .45acps.
Perhaps I merely have too much time on my hands, but it appears the jackets on the Rangers don't perform as they used to on the Black Talon.
What's the advantage of Rangers over other high velocity premium ammunition if the talons don't deploy?
Here's my question: did Winchester change the design of the jacket any when switching names from Black Talon to Ranger Talons?
I noticed after testing some recently manufactured Rangers that the "talons" were not protruding at a 90 degree angle from the expanded bullet as they do with the earlier Black Talons. In fact, they were hardly deployed at all, seemingly still folded against the petals and contributing very little to overall performance. Both Winchester loads were tested from the same pistol (Kimber with 5" barrel) against the same medium (Playdough clad with 2 layers of denim). The difference between the two is quite noticeable.
Though I could not find the expanded bullets for the 147gr 9mm Black Talons I tested a few years back to compare against the 127gr Rangers I recently tested, I did manage to find some .45acp Black Talons to compare against the newer Rangers.
The below photo shows an expanded SXT (top), a Black Talon (lower right) and a Ranger (lower left). Notice how pronounced the talons are on both the Ranger and Black Talon, and at what angle they protrude. Included are some of the 9mm 127gr +P+ Rangers. Though expansion was a sure bet even after several layers of denim, they displayed the same "undeployed talons" as found with the Ranger .45acps.
Perhaps I merely have too much time on my hands, but it appears the jackets on the Rangers don't perform as they used to on the Black Talon.
What's the advantage of Rangers over other high velocity premium ammunition if the talons don't deploy?
Here's my question: did Winchester change the design of the jacket any when switching names from Black Talon to Ranger Talons?
