Winchester – A Lifetime of Family Tradition
As Winchester celebrates their 150th anniversary it's amazing to see all the Winchester memory videos shared on their website. Winchester has been a part of so many families and helped create so much happiness over the last 150-years. Winchester's iconic brand has touched so many families, including my own. After sitting down with my dad and discussing my grandpa's incredible love of the Winchester brand, he showed me a lever action 30/30 that's been passed down through the generations of the Bachman family. The stories that go with this gun are truly amazing, and it's fun to just sit back and listen to the memories this gun has made for my family. Wanting to add to the tradition, I've been shooting it with my dad and plan to take it on an upcoming hog hunt later this summer
Shooting a lever action is a big change from the Winchester XPR I'm used to shooting, but I'm incredibly excited about the new challenge and think it will be the perfect medicine on some of those big Texas hogs. For me, this isn't about how many hogs I get to shoot, but it's joining in my family's long history & tradition. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wanted to use this time as an opportunity to show off to everyone how good my shooting is. I even thought about getting something like a Hornady Kestrel 5700 Ballistics Weather Meter so it could measure the weather around me to calculate a perfect aim for long-range shooting. Amazing, right? But whilst it was a brilliant idea, I think we will leave this for another day. To be honest, I was just looking forward to making a name for myself in my family's history.First, this gun doesn't have a scope on it so I'm back to square one with shooting iron sights.
Next the fact that this gun is a lever action is something totally new for me. The first thing we went over was the safety measures and started out shooting targets at close range. I realized very quickly this would be great for hogs because it allows for really quick target acquisition because I don't intend on taking shots past 50-yards. The gun is extremely accurate, but the two things that take a little getting used to it are shooting without a scope and the lever action. After a little practice I found it really fun, but still have a little work to get as quick and accurate as my dad!
The ammo I've decided to use for this upcoming trip is Winchester Super X 30-30 in a 170-grain. The Power-Point Bullet will be great on hogs as it assures quick and massive knock-down power. It also has an alloyed lead core for increased retained weight for deep penetration.
Whenever I'm shooting a new caliber I am always interested in seeing the ballistics for the round. A quick way to do this anywhere you may have a spare
moment is by using the Winchester Ballistics Calculator. I entered in my information and could quickly see all the ballistic info specific to my setup. I put in hot weather conditions, a slight crosswind, and set the sight-in distance to 50-yards. At 125-yards I'd have a 1.8-inch drop and at 150-yards I'd have a 3.7 inch drop. Again for this specific setup I probably won't be shooting that far, but it's something that's always of interest to me and the Ballistics Calculator is an easy way to access information.
By August I'm hoping to be pretty handy with the lever action, and I'm sure with my dad's help and a lot of practice that will be a reality. In the end it's helped bring me even closer with my own family history and traditions and I'm just proud to have the chance to use this gun as well. My hope is with the Winchester 150th anniversary being celebrated all year that this will help other families share their stories & traditions and keep the memories alive all the while making new ones.
