the legendary aa

AA SHOTSHELL G A M E & TA R G E T
THE LEGENDARY AA
®
Fifty years of innovation and
performance continue to bring
shooters together on the range
and in the field.
By M.D. Johnson
if memory serves me. Or perhaps
it was 1968 or maybe even 1972.
It’s been quite awhile. What I
do remember vividly is watching the Old Man, a fanatical
shotgunner since his return
from Vietnam in 1966, work the
handle of the reloader bolted to
the top of his workbench. At his
side—always at his side—was an
old wooden crate filled with red
Winchester AA hulls. Atop the
table sat an array of the same
hulls representing the various
stages of the loading process.
Wads, primer trays, a cotton
bag of No. 5 lead shot. They
were there, too. And while the
components might have changed
with the times, the red AA hulls
have remained the same.
“Like gold,” I remember
hearing my dad say referring to
his precious crate of AA empties.
“You can load ’em forever.”
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150 YEARS OF LEGENDARY EXCELLENCE
Birth of a Legend
I was but a year old when the
folks in East Alton, Ill., introduced their now-legendary AA
shotshell in 1965. By the time I
began hunting 9 years later, the
boxes of the AAs predecessor,
the Mark 4 and Mark 5 paper
hulls, so commonplace around
the Johnson household, were
replaced, albeit slowly, by this
revolutionary modern plastic
convenience. Universally, the
new AA shotshells were almost
immediately accepted by target
shooters and hunters, thanks in
large part to performance innovations like Winchester’s onepiece hinged plastic wad system.
Brad Criner, Winchester’s Senior
Shotshell Product Manager, in an
interview with American Rifleman, spoke of the advancements
in the Mark 4 shotshell over
earlier company offerings.
“In 1964, Winchester
introduced a paper sleeve, the
predecessor to the plastic wad,”
Criner said. “What this did was
protect the shot during in-
PAUL SHERAR
The year
Was 1970,
Like gold,”
ILLUSTRATIONS: RYAN KIRBY; AA PHOTOS: PAUL SHERAR
I remember hearing my dad
say referring to his precious
crate of AA empties.
“You can load ‘em forever.”
bore acceleration, which
improved pattern density;
it put more shot into that
30-inch circle at 40
yards. It also helped
cushion the shot and
that kept the shot more
round and produced much
better patterns down-range.”
Technology marched on,
and just a year later, Winchester
incorporated a one-piece plastic
wad into a revamped AA design.
“This hinged wad system
reduced felt recoil on the shooter,” says Criner more recently.
“It also cushioned the setback
forces on the shot itself, and
that helped keep the shot more
round.” The plastic petal on the
new AA wad design were, as
Criner says, “leaps and bounds
above the paper wadding” originally used in the Mark 4 and
Mark 5 shotshells.
“These petals opened up as
the shot charge left the muzzle,” he says, “and it was at that
point that the AA shotshell was
really born.”
Innovations in
technology and
packaging have
changed over
time, but not the
quality for for
which AA shells
are recognized.
Over the following decades,
the versatile AA shotshell would
see additional improvements.
New polymers, superior to
anything previously available,
enhanced both the one-piece
wad and the AA hull itself; a
fact about which shooters would
be eternally grateful.
“[With these new polymers],
shooters could get a lot more
reloads out of the hulls,” says
Criner. Some of the hardest shot
in the industry, combined with
improvements in powders and
primers, have propelled Winchester’s AA shotshell into the
21st Century.
“The AA line is the most
extensive line we have at Winchester,” says Criner. “There’s
every possible combination available.” Some would think once
you’ve made the best, what’s left?
But Criner stresses how Winchester engineers are obsessed
with innovation and want to continually improve even something
deemed “best in class.”
AA Today
These days, Winchester’s traditional and very much recognized AA shotshell line includes
familiar configurations ranging
from offerings in No. 7½, 8 and
9 lead shot for 2¾-inch 12-, 20and 28-gauge, to a diminutive
½-ounce charge in a 2½-inch
.410 hull. A low-noise/low-recoil 12-bore load metered at 980
feet-per-second is also available.
“The Low-Noise/Low-Recoil
‘Featherlight’ is absolutely a
good choice for young or new
shooters,” says Criner. “This
load was a direct result of
feedback from our consumers.
The challenge was (to engineer)
a load with the low noise and
reduced recoil, but with ontarget performance equal to our
AA loads. And we did that. It’s a
phenomenal training tool.”
paper to
plastic
P
rior to the mid-1960s, shotgun shells were made with
rigid paper hulls that were more
susceptible to moisture and
damage from being crushed.
Then, in 1964, under the Mark
5 banner, Winchester changed
the game with the introduction of compression-formed
plastic hulls. These hulls were
stronger than paper, could fire
when wet and allowed for more
consistent and more frequent
reloads. In 1965, the AA plastic
shotshell line of target loads
was introduced—a legacy that
continues to today.
Mark V Paper Hull, circa 1961
AA Hinged Plastic Wad
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AA SHOTSHELL G A M E & TA R G E T
In their endless quest to
meet consumer demand and
expectations, the folks in East
Alton now offer their AA hull
filled with the shooter’s choice
of No. 7½ or No. 8 steel shot.
Throwing an ounce of steel
where required or preferred,
these shotshells are ideal for
doves, pigeons, woodcock, snipe
or even grouse. Their perfection
transfers seamlessly from the
uplands to trap and skeet ranges
across the country.
“We’ve come a long way in
25 years with steel technology
and load specifications,” says
Criner. “With more and more
shooting ranges going lead-free,
our customers wanted a steel
load that was range-specific.
They didn’t want a dove on the
box, but a load that was ‘theirs.’
AA Steel features the same No.
209 primer and AA wad as our
traditional AA loads. We did
engineer the (steel) wad to be
thicker and sport longer petals, as barrel protection was
a concern. What we got was a
consistent load, with AA equivalent on-target energy capable of
breaking birds in warm or cold
weather conditions.” He notes it
is also a phenomenal dove load.
A recent (2013) addition
to Winchester’s AA lineup, the
AA TrAAcker, combines old
school tracer-round theory with
modern-day conceptualization
and design.
“AA TrAAcker,” says Criner,
“is the ultimate training load.
TrAAcker has given coaches—
even the shooter—the ability to
see the shot pattern and make
The AA line
is the most
extensive
line we
have at
Winchester.
There’s every
possible
combination
available.”
— BRAD CRINER
Winchester Senior Shotshell
Product Manager
adjustments where and when
necessary. One target can be the
difference between winning and
losing, and who isn’t looking for
an edge, either on the range or
in the field?”
AA TrAAcker allows an observer, shooters included, to see
the trajectory of the shot string,
thanks to several major technological aspects of the load.
First, is the color of the wad—it
comes in two. Orange is for
low light, dark backgrounds or
night events; black is for sunny
days or light backgrounds. The
second technological advance is
what Winchester calls the shot
trap, a post in the center of the
wad that contains 1/8-ounce
of shot and serves as ballast—
weight—for the wad itself, that
helps the visible wad travel in
perfect alignment with the shot
string out to 35 to 45 yards. Also
aiding wad flight are a system
of helical cuts that stabilize the
wad in flight.
“AA TrAAcker” says Criner
“is a textbook case of excellent
engineering and design.”
Chances are, despite all the
innovations in the AA line since
their creation more than 50
years ago, Winchester isn’t done
tweaking this legendary shell,
and new generations of shooters
will continue to put more birds
in the bag and bust
more clays and,
maybe even reload
the ubiquitous red
hulls, just like
my old man
did so many
years ago.
AA FEATHERLITE
AA Steel
AA TRAAcker
The AA Featherlite is a low-noise,
low-recoil target load designed
for recoil sensitive shooters, yet
is still capable of delivering the
same downrange performance
of standard AA shells.
Winchester’s AA Steel offers clay
shooters a nontoxic option of their
own made specifically for the
range.The proven steel shot
boasts AA wads and best-in-class
primers and powder.
AA TrAAcker loads feature a
specially designed wad that
tracks the shot column in flight
making it easy for shooters to
see and determine the right
lead for every shot.
GAUGE
LENGTH
SHOT
SIZE
GAUGE
LENGTH
SHOT
SIZE
GAUGE
LENGTH
SHOT
SIZE
12
2 3⁄4”
26 gm.
8
12
2 3⁄4”
1 oz.
7 1⁄2
12
2 3⁄4”
1 1⁄8 oz.
8
20
2 3⁄4”
7
⁄8 oz.
8
12
2 3⁄4”
1 oz.
8
12
2 3⁄4”
1 oz.
9
12
2 3⁄4”
1 1⁄8 oz.
7 1⁄2
20
2 3⁄4”
7
⁄8 oz.
7 1⁄2
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150 YEARS OF LEGENDARY EXCELLENCE
AA and Winchester
Supporting Today’s
Shooting Champs
and Families
W
Competitor Kim Rhode is one of the most
successful shooters in Olympic history having won five medals including three golds.
inchester’s ties to the
members. It makes our kids feel
shooting community go
better knowing when they reach
far beyond merely offering an
in their vest, they have that Winincredibly diverse line of sport- chester name behind them.”
ing ammunition. Since 1999,
It’s no secret that the past
ing team member and holder
the company has served as the decade has seen a tremendous
of more than 27 shooting titles
official shotgun ammunition for upsurge in the popularity of
Frank Thompson have, to many
the USA Shooting Team. And
shotgun shooting, both formally
shooters in the know, become
during that tenure, the team
and informally. Today, comhousehold names.
has racked up some mighty
petitive shooters like five-time
But Winchester is much more
impressive statistics, including
Olympic medalist Kim Rhode,
than high houses, low housfour Olympic champions, eight
2010 International Shooting
es, vivid patchwork shooting
Olympic medalists, nine
Sport Federation (ISSF)
vests and the word “PULL!” My
World champions, 19 World
champion Staff Sgt. Josh
championship medalists
Richmond and USA Shoot- own formative shotgunning
and an incredible 164
World Cup medals.
people have confidence in the
“As our shotshell
sponsor, Winchester
Winchester name. No other
provides practice, training
shotshell instills such
and competition ammunition for our national and
confidence in our team.
developmental teams,”
says Robert Weekes, chief It makes our kids feel
marketing officer for USA
better knowing when
Shooting, based in Colthey reach in their
orado Springs, CO. “This
relationship is so meaning- vest, they have that
ful to us on so many levels.
Winchester name
But what’s more, people
buy brands they trust and
behind them.”
people have confidence in
— ROBERT WEEKES,
the Winchester name. No
other shotshell instills such Chief Marketing Officer for USA Shooting
confidence in our team
experiences from 40 years ago,
always in the company of my dad,
grandpa and uncles, feature little
more than a case or two of White
Flyer or Blue Rock clay targets,
an old school spring-loaded
hand-thrower and a mountain,
or so it seemed, of red shiny AA
shotshells. It brought us together
then and, more than four decades later, Winchester and the
AA shotshell line continue to
unite shooting enthusiasts—and
more significantly, outdoor families—from coast to coast.—M.D.J
4
olympic
CHAMPIONS
8
olympic
medalists
9
World
champions
19
World
championship
medals
164
World Cup
medals
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