good riddance.

What happened? I know W/W went, or is going, belly up, but not the ammo end of the company....is there more news regarging Winchester?

Old news... Winchester (Olin) is replacing the Fail Safe with its next design iteration called the XP3. Personally I lament the passing of the Fail Safe.

I didn't really mind the passing of the Failsafes, although they shot exceptional in my 7 Mag, but I'll miss the CT Partition Golds. I really like those, tough, good expansion, no silly plastic points and for a reasonable price.

Woody

The Fail Safe was the best premium bullet I have used, very dependable and accurate in all of my rifles. The XP3 is a lower cost alternative that I seriously doubt will be it's equal. The new MRX from Barnes will be the one to try if you liked the Fail safe.

John S, is the XP3 actually cheaper? I hadn't really looked, the fail-safes were pretty high, but like some others they shot really well in my rifles, but I never used them on game much, due to bad feedback and a couple of 'pencil through' experiences. I was thinking the XP3 might be a good new pill to play around with--especially if it is priced more like a ballistic tip or such!

Regards--Don

The articles I've read say the XP3 is cheaper to manufacture. Whether or not that translates into a cheaper price to the consumer is something else! I doubt it will be priced like a Ballistic Tip, my guess is more like an TSX or the new MRX, which it resembles to a degree.
Some of the early Fail Safes wouldn't open reliably but the later versions always worked well for me. I've used them in several calibers and always had great results.

I'll mourn the loss of Failsafes. I had 2 rifles that shot them very well. They were devastatingly effective on the 2 hogs I shot with them. I hope my stash lasts a little while...........DJ

The XP3 lacks the the dual steel cup ($$$) in the rear cavity that set the Fail Safe apart (along with other features)from the original Black Talon. The Black Talon's had the precarious nature of the rear lead core rupturing through the front of the bullet. The steel cup supporting the rear core prevented this in the Fail Safe. Now Winchester took the steel cup out and bonded the rear core to the jacket. Every press release I've seen shows the same exaggerated rear core bulge. Amazingly enough Winchester is touting this as desirable as "secondary expansion." I'll use the TSX in its place. Or just use partitions.

the steel cup to prevent a rear core rupture I can see as a good thing, but I don't know why anyone cared about the rear core expanding anyway...

That wider rear core might prevent the expanded nost from folding back too far, but provided it stays together why does it matter?

AllanD

Personally I cant see any real difference in a fail safe, barnes X or TSX or MRX, or the new XP3 for that matter. All have the exact same front end (expanding portion). They will either open up and pencil through, or break off all their pedals and then pencil through. I seriously doubt the rear portion of the XP3 bulging will do anything (positive or negative) to the bullets performance. Heck that what Swift A-Frames do.

quote:

Originally posted by woody7:
I didn't really mind the passing of the Failsafes, although they shot exceptional in my 7 Mag, but I'll miss the CT Partition Golds. I really like those, tough, good expansion, no silly plastic points and for a reasonable price.

Woody

Are the Partition Golds really going bye-bye?

If so, I better stock up now while I can.

MM