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y and large, predator hunters are perfectionists. They have to match wits with a group of animals occupying the top spots on the food chain. And, like all perfectionists, they’re incredibly picky when it comes to the

guns and gear they carry into the field. From souping up factory rifles into custom sharp-shooting fur takers, to dialing in just the right sounds on their digital callers, predator hunters obsess over everything in their kit. That passion for perfection extends to the ammo they choose, which invariably leads them to Winchester. ››

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VA R M I N T X™ • .17 W S M

The Authority in Ammunition for Predator Hunting

From bullets that refine popular chamberings to developing completely new calibers for the task, Winchester leads the way when it comes to shooting critters.By David Draper

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WINCHESTER.COM31P H OTO BY W Y M A N M E I N Z E R WINCHESTER.COM31

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Whether it’s due to rising fur prices, popular outdoor media or just a new generation of adrenaline junkies looking for a fix, predator hunting has seen a surge in popularity in recent years. The high that comes with fooling such wary predators is quickly addicting. It’s easy to get hooked on the pulse-pounding excitement of seeing a coyote, fox or bobcat sneaking into the perfect set-up and more than one experi-enced hunter has lost his cool at the sight of a face full of fur charging in at a run.

When settling the shaky crosshairs requires concerted effort, having the best equipment is a must. From an accurate rifle to the right optics to the best camo, suc-cessfully fooling predators and putting them down can be an extreme challenge. Thank-fully, choosing the right ammunition is

made easy, and affordable, with Winchester Varmint X predator hunting ammunition

Like the popular Winchester Razorback XT hog-hunting ammunition, Varmint X is designed as a game-specific load, dedicated to hunters who want to get in on the fur-flying action predator hunting provides. As experienced hunters know, it’s how the bullet performs that matters, and that’s where Winchester Varmint X ammunition excels. In the field, Winchester Varmint X stands out from the crowd by delivering the perfect blend of precision and stopping power. The brass-jacketed bullet flies straight and retains plenty of energy at long distances to drop the biggest of coyotes in their tracks, yet it’s designed to expand violently at a wide-range of terminal velocities, eliminating any chance

of a pass-through. The pelt-protecting design is especially appreciated by those who rely on the price of fur to fuel their ongoing predator addiction.

For such a performance-driven load, Varmint X ammunition is surprisingly friendly to hunters’ finances. The attention-grabbing box figuratively jumps off the shelf, making it simple for new and field-proven hunters alike to pick out Varmint X among the ever increasing and always confusing choices that make up a modern ammo aisle. Predator hunting is a challenging enough game, shopping for ammunition shouldn’t be. To give predator hunters the edge, Winchester offers Varmint X—ammo that is easy to shoot and a load that always works.

VA R M I N T X™ • .17 W S M

Long known as a top-shelf provider of accurate, reliable ammunition, Winchester has more recently built a formidable reputation as the authority in predator hunting bullets and ammunition. Over the course of the last few years, the company has staked its claim in the predator-hunting world through the introduction of two hard-hitting products for both experienced hunters and those new to the heart-pumping world of chasing fur—affordable, accurate Varmint X™ ammunition and the game-changing 17 Winchester Super Magnum caliber. VARMINT X AMMUNITION IS

DESIGNED AS A GAME-SPECIFIC LOAD, DEDICATED TO HUNTERS WHO WANT TO GET IN ON THE FUR-FLYING ACTION PREDATOR

HUNTING PROVIDES.

The pelt-protecting design is especially appreciated by those who rely on the price of fur to fuel their ongoing predator hunting addiction.

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As a biologist and hunter, I know that it’s important for predator and prey relationships to be kept in balance. This rarely happens “naturally.” – DR. GRANT WOODS

Offering a complete line of species-specific ammunition for predators is one thing, but introducing a whole new caliber to the hunting industry is something different altogether, especially when that caliber is cloaked in a rimfire round. The list of long-dead rimfire calibers is several pages long, but that wasn’t daunting enough to deter Winchester’s engineers from successfully bringing a blistering new chambering to the industry—the 17 Winchester Super Magnum caliber.

A predator hunter’s dream round, the new 17 Win Super Mag is capable of top-ping the 3,000 feet per second (fps) mark with a 20-grain bullet, a full 600 fps faster than its companion 17-caliber cartridge the .17 HMR. This top-end speed makes the 17 Win Super Mag the fastest rimfire round available and the most powerful, retaining nearly 200 foot-pounds of energy at the 200-yard mark. In fact, the little rimfire is so big on performance that it beats the ballistics of the centerfire .22 Hornet round, too.

When the .17 HMR was introduced a decade ago, it quickly became a darling of the predator crowd. Like the .22 Win-chester Magnum before it, the .17 HMR elevated

the rimfire to a serious cartridge for hunters who pursued predators such as foxes and bobcats, as well as similar sized small game and varmints. Now, with its hard-hitting downrange energy, the 17 Win Super Mag takes the rimfire to the level of larger predators like coyotes, espe-cially when loaded with a 25-grain polymer-tipped bullet busting out of the muzzle at a searing 2,600 fps.

The reasons for picking a perfor-mance-driven rimfire cartridge for the predator world are numerous. Quiet and easy to shoot, they deliver such minimal recoil that getting off a quick second shot on target is effortless. Additionally, most rimfire rifles are lightweight, cost effective and easy to tote afield, especially for those hunters covering sometimes miles of territory by foot. Rimfire

There are many reasons to enjoy hunting coyotes, but one of my favorites is the more than 100-plus percent increase in

the survival of whitetail fawns it allows in an area. That’s a surprising number I know, and it comes from a scientific study I was involved in just a few years ago.

It all started when a friend began noticing a significant decrease in deer sightings on his property. He was so concerned that he convinced me to conduct a research project to determine the cause of the herd’s decline.

Beginning in October 2006, Dr. Karl Miller from the University of Georgia, Cory VanGild-er a graduate student and I studied predator abundance on the property every other month for approximately two years. During that time, 22 coyotes and 10 bobcats were removed from the 2,000-acre farm. We also monitored the difference in fawn survival be-fore and after the predators were removed.

Following the removal of predators, the February 2008 fawn-to-doe ratio increased to 1.2 fawns per doe (a 193-percent in-crease). Hunter observation data collected in November 2007 following the predator removal indicated that the fawn-to-doe ratio increased 217 percent, rising to 1.11 fawns per doe. Any way we looked at the data,

the number of fawns significantly increased after the removal of coyotes and bobcats.

Similar results have been achieved on larger properties in Texas and Oklahoma as well. Clearly, removing predators can increase the number of fawns that survive, which can translate into better deer hunting.

Predators, especially coyotes, quite simply, eat a lot of deer. They also cause deer stress, which can keep whitetails from achieving their full potential in weight, fawn production and even antler size.

So should all coyotes be killed? Of course not. I enjoy hearing coyotes carry on as they are part of the wild experience I crave. However, as a biologist and hunter, I know that it’s important for predator and prey relationships to be kept in balance, and this rarely happens naturally. There are plenty of records of predators doing extreme damage to prey populations. Just look to the West, where some elk popula-tions have been hammered because wolf numbers have gone unchecked.

So this fall, don’t pack that rifle away after deer season. Extend your time afield by hunting predators. Not only is it an adrenaline-fueled hunting experience, it can be a great deer management tool, too.

Hunting Coyotes Will Help Your WhitetailsBy Grant Woods

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17 Winchester Super Magnum: Put to the Test By Allen Treadwell

I was fortunate enough to be one of the first people to be able to take the new 17 Winchester Super Magnum in the field on a hunt. My goal was to call in and shoot a few coyotes, and to say I was a bit skeptical would be right on track. But I had to see if this new round would stand up to the challenge so I decided to put that caliber through the ringer and see how it would perform. The 17 Win Super Mag is available in a 20-grain bullet that travels

at an amazing 3,000 feet per second (fps) and a 25-grain load that flies at 2,600 fps. Since I was pursuing larger coyotes, I opted for the heavier 25-grain bullet to give myself more energy downrange. Testing

the round at the range before going hunting, I was instantly amazed at how accurate the load was and how quickly I was able to sight in the gun. At 50 yards, I was cutting bullet holes and at 100, groups were coming in at well under an inch. I was getting centerfire accuracy with rimfire prices, something every hunter will appreciate.

The real test however would be to call a coyote close enough to get a shot and see how the gun actually performed for its intended purpose. The first coyote my hunting partner and I called in came barreling to within 50 yards of our setup. As quickly as the sound of the 17 Win Super Mag cracked the still air, the coyote went down like a ton of bricks. No tracking was needed. Upon examining the critter up close, I was impressed with the lack of damage to the fur. With prices going up for quality hides, its important to have a bullet that is extremely fur friendly and in that area, the 17 Win Super Mag certainly delivered.

The next coyote we called in was approaching when it caught us moving. The animal came to a screeching halt, just over 150 yards away. With my crosshairs already settled on his shoulder, I squeezed the trigger and watched as this varmint dropped in his tracks as well. Both at close range and at a longer distance, the 17 Win Super Mag had performed flawlessly.

Looking to put the load to a real accuracy test, we went looking for prairie dogs during the middle of the day, after the wind had picked up quite a bit. I switched over to the 20-grain bullets that travel 3,000 fps and went to work on the dogs. I was amazed at how easily I was able to kill dogs even beyond 200 yards with a rimfire. Its accuracy matched and even surpassed some of the more expensive cen-terfires I have used in the past. The 15 mph crosswind had little effect on the small, quick bullet. By the end of my hunt I was sold. This 17 Winchester Super Mag was the real deal for coyotes and other small critters, and since that time, it has quickly become one of my favorite varmint rounds.

rounds are also cost effective for fur hunters; not only are they af-fordable when put up against sim-ilar-sized centerfire calibers, the small bullets make small holes for minimal damage to valuable pelts. The traditional rimfire’s main downside was its limited effective range—until now. With its true 200-yard pelt-collecting performance, the new 17 Win Super Mag leaves no predator out of reach and gives rimfire fans a devastating new tool.

When shopping for ammunition a lot of hunters are often just looking for a good round at a good value. Predator hunters on the other hand, put a lot of that passion in picking just the right ammo for their needs. They know that often the only thing between them and a hungry predator coming into a call is the bullet in their gun. Winchester has recognized this passion and packaged

it into two accurate, hard-hitting lines of ammunition—the all-new 17 Win Super Mag and the game-specific Varmint X line. The fact that both of these bullets are affordable is just an added bonus for hunters who aren’t afraid to pay for the best performance available to put crafty predators in their place.

VA R M I N T X • .17 W S M

With its true 200-yard pelt-collecting performance, the new 17 Win Super Mag leaves no predator out of reach and gives rimfire fans a devastating new tool.

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