PDX1 Defender from Winchester Ammunition

As you walk into the gun store to look for a box of ammunition for your CCW or home defense weapon, you find yourself overwhelmed. The selection on the shelves raises more questions than answers; you find yourself in an analysis paralysis state and leave the store with doubt and confusion.

The folks at Winchester Ammunition have developed the PDX1 Defender line, not just ammunition for handguns, but an entire line of ammunition for many different calibers and types of firearms from rimfire to shotgun, handgun to centerfire.

PDX1 Defender handgun ammunition, which utilizes the same bullets as Winchester’s law enforcement ammunition in service with the FBI, has become the ammunition of choice for many law enforcement agencies. In 2012, to complement this wildly popular and effective handgun line of ammunition and other PDX1 Defender products, Winchester is introducing another PDX1 Defender shotgun load, expanding their PDX1 Defender centerfire lineup and is introducing a PDX1 Defender rimfire round.

A new slug

The PDX1 Defender Segmenting Slug is designed to segment or break into three equal pieces when the slug encounters what the FBI calls, “protocol barriers” in plain English; heavy cloth, wallboard, and plywood into ballistic gelatin. This slug gives the advantage of a slug and buckshot in one shell therefore eliminating the need and expense of both and reduces the chance of a slug over-penetrating interior walls as rifled slugs have a tendency to do.

Currently, the PDX1 Defender Segmenting Slug is only offered in 2 ¾ inch, the one ounce load boasts a respectable 1600 fps.

Centerfire Offerings

With more and more folks relying on ARs for their home defense needs, the problem of over penetration is a very real scenario. Winchester’s PDX1 Defender centerfire loaded with the Split-Core Technology bullets are designed to deliver energy when needed and expand rapidly to prevent over penetration.

New for 2012, is the 77 grain .223 Remington and the 120 grain .308 Winchester offerings.

The new 77 grain round can be fired from any .223 Remington, it is best stabilized in a barrel with a 1-7” or a 1-9”rate of twist. The 77 grain bullet exits the barrel at 2,850 feet per second.

The .308 Winchester offers owners of a .308 chambered AR the same advantages PDX1 Defender fans have come to rely on. The 120 grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 2500 feet per second.

Both of these rifle loadings have been designed for use in close encounters like those in a home invasion.

A rimfire home defense round?

While I wouldn’t call a .22 magnum handgun an ideal home protection cartridge, the fact remains; the best home protection firearm is the one in your hand when you need it most. If the 22 magnum, which does enjoy brisk sales as a home protection firearm, is that firearm, why not have it loaded with the best designed bullet? Enter the PDX1 Defender 22 – A .22 magnum rimfire cartridge which delivers from a two inch barrel, according to Winchester, a 46 grain jacketed hollow point at 1,200 feet per second, like other PDX1 offerings the bullet is designed for optimal penetration and fast expansion.

I have seen arguments and comparisons of the .22 magnum head to head with the .380, .25 ACP and the .32 ACP. It will be interesting to see how these cartridges stack up against one another once the smoke clears.