Winchester Power-Point Bullet

The Winchester Power-Point is a classic softpoint with five decades of big-game kills to its credit. In my youth, Winchester's premier bullets were the Silvertip and Power-Point. A 1963 magazine ad hailed the Power-Point as "the greatest softnose bullet ever made." It delivered "fast mushrooming at all hunting ranges with better than double diameter expansion and virtually no lead loss." Western Super-X and Winchester Super-Speed ammo included Power-Point loads in "17 calibers…for everything from varmint to trophy heads."

Winchester lists Power-Point bullets only in Super-X rifle ammo, not under Supreme and Supreme Elite labels, reserved for more costly designs, including bullets developed with Nosler. You'll find 37 Power-Point loads, from a 64-grain .223 to 200-grain options in the .338 Winchester Magnum and .375 Winchester.

Power-Points bullets have a core of swaged lead, with a half-percent of antimony added to boost hardness. The gilding metal used in the jacket comprises 95 percent copper, 5 percent zinc. A pass through a die squeezes core and jacket together and shapes the bullet. A cannelure (crimping groove) is standard on Power-Points. The jacket comes almost to the bullet's tip. Visible notches help initiate upset.

Looking for an accurate, versatile softnose that leaves you with change at the counter? The Power-Point--loaded or as a component--delivers. If you think you need a tougher bullet than the Power-Point, you probably need a bigger one, too.