The subject line pretty much says it all.
Winchester has had a few gun writers hinting about a new "ultra fast" rimfire cartridge, for a few months. At least one has finally spilled the beans:
New Raging Rimfire: .17 Winchester Super Magnum
.17 Winchester Super Magnum will soon be the new kid on the block.
Vital statistics:
.17 caliber
3,000 fps with a 20 gr bullet
Based on the cases for .27 caliber 'powder-actuated' ("Hilti") gun blanks.
High pressure (for a rimfire) - 33,000 psi
First factory loads: 20 gr bullet @ 3,000 fps / 25 gr bullet @ 2,600 fps
First rifle will be from Savage.
Likely official roll-out: SHOT Show.
I have to give some credit to Cornbush, at this time. He and I had a pretty in-depth discussion, about a month ago, about what we thought this cartridge would be. While I thought it would be a .20 caliber, high-pressure, bottleneck cartridge, pushing 3,000 fps with a 25 gr bullet, and first offered in a Savage; he was pretty firmly set on .17 caliber and the use of the .27 caliber blanks as the 'parent' cartridge (and agreeing that 3,000 fps was the target to hit, and Savage would be the first to offer a rifle.).
I have to say... we were both on the right track, but
HE nailed it.
