Never using Winchester White again...... CCI u my girl!

[Yo Mama]

I was given a box of the Winchester white as a gift. It was thoughtful, but I may slap the gift giver after how long it took to clean up from the filthy powder. I shot 2 guns yesterday, one a xd mod 2, and one a S & W Victory (both great shooters!). The xd took the wwb, and the victory took the CCI which are well regarded as perfect ammo in a 22 for a few reasons, one being how clean they run.

After 50 rounds in the xd, it took me an hour and a half to get almost everything cleaned out of the gun. Every single wipe came up with more crud. I keep them very clean, so this was only from the 50 rounds I had just shot. Every one of the rounds went bang and were accurate, so that was about the only positive.

The Victory ran 100 flawless rounds, and with the CCIs I didn't even see anything to clean! Took 20 minutes flat, and it's shiny and perfect.

It's been years since I ran a box of Winchester white, now I remember why. Don't do this to yourself, stick with .......... anything else! For the price also I'm surprised they can still get 20 bucks a box in the store for it, when for the same price you can get many better options.

 

[CraigC]

I don't reload some cartridges and use WWB all the time for those. Never had an issue and never understood why people care about ammo being dirty. But then, I don't clean my guns every time I shoot them either.

 

[huntsman]

WWB has always been good in .380, .45acp, .40S&W but the bulk(100 pack) 9mm was junk with bad brass. But regardless I never had to do excessive cleaning, normally I just run a boresnake and wipe with remoil.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I don't use WWB because I can buy Blazer cheaper from Ammoman.

 

[bannockburn]

Never had a problem with WWB in 9mm. Always went "bang" when it was supposed to and always managed to hit the target, though not always the tightest of groups. Just decent, affordable practice ammo. The dirtiest centerfire ammo I have used is Remington Green Box , Remington-UMC, and just about anything from Aguila.

 

[bnolsen]

It seems that wwb jhp's are far more than adequate for both 40 and 9mm, showing good consistent expansion (maybe not pretty) even with denim.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Too funny when I started shooting ammo was insanely expensive if you could find it. WWB was usually what Walmart had.

Now that I have a nice supply of brass and load my own, I can say that factory stuff is ok, but my own is a lot nicer to shoot. So while I have nothing against factory, I really like shooting ammo that I know is exactly the same round to round and can be adjusted if I like.

 

[X595]

I shoot WWB .45 ACP 230 grain extensively and have never noticed it running dirty.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A little soot doesn't bother me.

 

[Duster340]

Like some of the others, I have also used WWB without issues, or subsequent cleaning problems. Fired lots of their 40 and 44 mag when I started reloading. The brass has also held up well after a good number of loadings.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

I don't shoot much factory pistol ammo these days but, when I do it's usually Herter's, PMC, PPU/PRVI, or Blazer (brass cased) because it's the cheapest decent quality stuff that Cabela's has on the shelf. And I'd take any of those over WWB if it's still as bad as I remember it. Back when I was young and dumb I'd shoot a lot of WWB and Remington because they were the cheapest Walmart had, and I always walked in hoping that the Remington would be cheaper that day.

 

[huntsman]

Never had a problem with WWB in 9mm. Always went "bang" when it was supposed to and always managed to hit the target, though not always the tightest of groups. Just decent, affordable practice ammo. The dirtiest centerfire ammo I have used is Remington Green Box , Remington-UMC, and just about anything from Aguila.

I was loading up a mag when I noticed the bullet of the last cartridge was at a funny angle, I pushed on it with my finger tip and the brass gave way splillng powder in the mag. Found two others with what looked to be damaged brass at the crimp.

WWB jhp is my carry ammo in .40 and .45acp and fmj in .380acp, all appear to be better quality than bulk 9mm.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I don't see what the issue is? The gun was dirty after a box of ammo, did it malfunction or do anything unusual?

FYI, if you think WWB is bad, I recommend avoiding shooting any cast-lead ammo. My revolvers get so grungy throwing lead reloads your hands will turn gray from holding the cylinder. Never bothered me; I wash my hands at the club house and wipe down the gun when I get home. I've never noticed cleaning to take any longer after 20 rounds or 150 rounds.

 

[hdbiker]

I've used Winchester white in both 9mm and .45 apc, never found them any dirtyer than other brands. hdbiker

 

[GunnyUSMC]

You have to remember that WWB is low end practice ammo. Just about every manufacturer has low price point practice ammo. You don’t think that they are going to load it with top shelf powder, do you?
For those that reload, you could load a lot of 38 Spl. with a lbs of Bullseye powder, but it was dirty. Winchester 231 burned a lot cleaner but you couldn’t get as many loads from a lbs of powder.
So if cost is a factor and you don’t reload, buy the cheap stuff and be ready to clean. If cost is not a factor, buy better ammo.
But remember, free ammo don’t cost nothing. And if anyone ever gives you another box of WWB, just regift It like you would your mother in law’s fruitcake.

 

[dirtman]

I reload for accuracy…. But love to buy cheap ammo just for plinking…. My wife has a 1911 22 black label that can shoot WWB (555 rnds 36 grn) all day long no issues, just a blast (pun intended). My Rem 700, 223 1 in 9” has done better than .25” at 100 yds with Rem umc 55gr which is plenty good for a truck varmint gun.

It is all about your application and the need thereof. Most of the time I am very happy to take out a skunk at 50 yards with cci 22 mag, especially in restricted areas. Cheap can be fun…..

 

[chicharrones]

I was given a box of the Winchester white as a gift. It was thoughtful, but I may slap the gift giver after how long it took to clean up from the filthy powder.

At least you weren't gifted 9mm reloads with non-jacketed lead bullets. I had that happen to me years ago. I only shot 25 rounds out of curiosity at the end of a range session. Geez, that stuff leaded up my pistol barrel something awful. There was no quick clean of that gun that day.

 

[cslinger]

As much crap as I have heard about Winchester White over the years I have had great luck with it. I shoot more blazer brass these days.

The one issue I have seen with WWB over the years is an out of spec rims now and again that may not play well with certain extractors. The old HS2000 / early XDs had some issues with this.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

No love for Federal? I use it almost exclusively as plinker ammo, aluminum and brass cased.
Don't know if they still use it, but I gave up on Winchester White back when they were pimping that Winclean powder. I found it to be horribly sooty, and seemed to be down on power, resulting in short stroking, stovepipes and other functional problems. I will say the soot wiped off easily enough. That was at least ten years ago.
I do use PowerPoint silver and other higher end Winchester ammo, haven't had any issues.
I also really like S&B when I can get it. The Czechs make damn good ammo.

 

[RA40]

WWB has not bothered me. The 9mm Men bought recently burns quite clean. Aside from that I don't readily notice a significant difference in gun cleaning between the Blazer Brass, Magtech, CCI Lawman, WWB that I shoot. This may translate into a few more or less passes of the brush not like I spent an hour+ on one gun cleaning.

.22LR, most of that is pretty dirty. The recent Aguila standard velocity has been a bit cleaner in my .22's. Picked up some of the Browning stuff which was decent too. Debating some Federal Eagle .22 now.

 

[Salmoneye]

I shoot a lot of Red Dot...

I doubt I would even notice if WWB shot 'dirty'...

 

[buck460XVR]

You have to remember that WWB is low end practice ammo. Just about every manufacturer has low price point practice ammo. You don’t think that they are going to load it with top shelf powder, do you?

If cost is not a factor, buy better ammo.

^^^This. Within the confines of the gun world and beyond, the phase, "you get what you pay for", rings loud and clear. Considering the ammo was free, you got much more than what you paid for it. Recently in these forums, I have see folks whine about the finish on their inexpensive J-Frame EDC, the accuracy of a $250 dollar Handi Rifle, the looks of a $150 Hi-Point .45, and now the dirtiness of free WWB ammo. Just SMH. What is it folks expect? Silk purses for the price of sow's ears? While I don't buy much factory ammo anymore, there are times when I buy factory for when someone I don't know well wants to shoot my firearms. WWB works well for than and many times the cost of it, is not much more than what I can reload the same ammo for. When I'm done shooting it, I have quality brass to reload. If someone gave me free WWB, the effort of cleaning my firearms afterword, is well worth the brass itself.

Every one of the rounds went bang and were accurate, so that was about the only positive.

Seems very positive to me. Cleaning firearms is not than big of deal, and getting dirty from ammo is not rare, especially when using plinking grade ammo.

 

[JohnKSa]

If I can get clean ammo for the same price as dirty ammo then I buy the clean ammo. If the dirty ammo is a lot cheaper then I buy the dirty ammo as long as it works and is accurate.

1. Guns don't have to be spotless to work perfectly.
2. Guns don't have to be cleaned every single time you use them.
3. If you're going to clean a gun, you might as well clean a really dirty gun. Cleaning a gun that's already almost clean is a waste of time.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

You have to remember that WWB is low end practice ammo. Just about every manufacturer has low price point practice ammo. You don’t think that they are going to load it with top shelf powder, do you?
For those that reload, you could load a lot of 38 Spl. with a lbs of Bullseye powder, but it was dirty. Winchester 231 burned a lot cleaner but you couldn’t get as many loads from a lbs of powder.
So if cost is a factor and you don’t reload, buy the cheap stuff and be ready to clean. If cost is not a factor, buy better ammo.
But remember, free ammo don’t cost nothing. And if anyone ever gives you another box of WWB, just regift It like you would your mother in law’s fruitcake.

I laugh when people make a big deal over powder cost in cases like this. I’m pretty frugal but I’ll spend an extra buck or two a pound if it shoots better and meters good. In the big picture for a pound the cost difference isn’t much when you’re loading 1000 or more with it.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

If you think WWB is bad try shooting some Tula.

I don't shoot anything but Federal aluminum or brass any more. The cheapest by far around here.