SMK's in 69 and 77 grain
- Thread starter rebs
- Start date
XL105
Silver $$ Contributor
Gas or bolt?
RegionRat
Gold $$ Contributor
Get both. (Really four kinds when you add in the TMK versions.)
Shoot both, and do this on many different days in different weather/winds.
Try Varget at magazine length for a starting point.
See which ones work better for you. Till you can say there is a difference, shoot more and worry less.
When you can clean the SR-3 target, then worry about seating depth tuning and trying the MR63-FC target.
You will have to put in some work to get to where you will be able to shoot the difference before you need to play with seating depth.
From there, the higher BC of the 77 TMK will get you a little advantage when you stretch out farther. It essentially splits the difference to the 80 SMK, but can work in magazine lengths.
Shoot both, and do this on many different days in different weather/winds.
Try Varget at magazine length for a starting point.
See which ones work better for you. Till you can say there is a difference, shoot more and worry less.
When you can clean the SR-3 target, then worry about seating depth tuning and trying the MR63-FC target.
You will have to put in some work to get to where you will be able to shoot the difference before you need to play with seating depth.
From there, the higher BC of the 77 TMK will get you a little advantage when you stretch out farther. It essentially splits the difference to the 80 SMK, but can work in magazine lengths.
If anyone is interested in 69gr TMK and SMKs, I have:
726 x 69gr TMKs
267 x 69gr SMKs
-----
993 Total
I would take $200, you pay shipping. That's about $.20/ea, street price is about $.28/ea-$.32/ea when you can find them.
If anyone is interesting, message me. I hear these 69gr TMKs are the bomb in 22 Creedmoor.
726 x 69gr TMKs
267 x 69gr SMKs
-----
993 Total
I would take $200, you pay shipping. That's about $.20/ea, street price is about $.28/ea-$.32/ea when you can find them.
If anyone is interesting, message me. I hear these 69gr TMKs are the bomb in 22 Creedmoor.
rebs
Gold $$ Contributor
bolt gun
what is your barrel twist? Varmint barrels maybe only 1;10 or 1;12" twist which would work with neither of these bullets. Your would then have to use lighter bullets i.e. 52/55's. The 69 will work fine in 1;9" twist, the 77 may or may not
rebs
Gold $$ Contributor
I have a 1 in 8 twist
Pm sent
The 77SMK shot well for me today from a 20” Bartlien service rifle bbl at 300 yards. Very windy here with a 10 mph gusting to 15 from your 7-9 o’clock position. Dunno where the first sighter shot 7 came from, might have been a cross fire cause it whacked my SD. I took it and one sighter for a 10 then 15 for score.
X ring is 2.85”
10 ring is 5.85”
X ring is 2.85”
10 ring is 5.85”
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OpenSpaces
Silver $$ Contributor
77 SMK and IMR8208XBR is a great combo.
Mk262 is ~2850 out of my 20" service rifle
I tried 75 SMKs with 8208xbr and my groups were better with 69s, both TMKs and SMKs.
I'm sure it matters what cartridge one is shooting, I hear the 69 TMKs are tack drivers in the 22 Creedmoor.
Honestly, if I didn't have so many cartridges already, I would seriously ponder a 22 Creedmoor build.
I was shooting 5.56 with a Krieger 1:9 barrel, I still have the barrel. If I had a 1:8 barrel, 75/77s would have grouped better. 55 grain FMJs always shot well for me also.
I haven't shot these bullets for 4 or 5 years, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I do have a pretty good memory when it comes to loads, and I usually keep my load data taped to the lid of my ammo boxes. The powders I used were Varget, 8208 xbr and H335. All of them grouped pretty well for me, using 69s, both TMKs and SMKs.
I recently put together a 6.5 Grendel, and the case is huge compared to the 223/5.56 case.
That said, the 5.56 is a fun cartridge to reload, and the 308 uses the same powders. We could probably have a similar conversation discussing 168/175 308 pills, it is yet another horse beaten to a bloody pulp...very similar to 69/75 for the 5.56.
Cfshooter
Silver $$ Contributor
I would always choose the higher BC 77’s, but, you need to go with the one that you shoot best out of your rifle. I suggest work up a load with both and see which performs better for you. The 77’s perform better for me.
I'm going to throw this out there, but on the basis of my one
Rock River EOP. It has a 20" Wilson 8 twist, full bull with Wylde
chamber. It will shoot under 1/2 MOA groups at 500 yards at
Spartansburg with the 77gr Sierras. The 69gr Sierras were over
0ne MOA. However and a fluke with this 8 twist barrel, the 69's
shot 1/3 MOA groups at 100 yards if I backed them down to
2650 fps when I noted it in my initial work ups. I used this load
in short range steel match's and took a few wins.
Rock River EOP. It has a 20" Wilson 8 twist, full bull with Wylde
chamber. It will shoot under 1/2 MOA groups at 500 yards at
Spartansburg with the 77gr Sierras. The 69gr Sierras were over
0ne MOA. However and a fluke with this 8 twist barrel, the 69's
shot 1/3 MOA groups at 100 yards if I backed them down to
2650 fps when I noted it in my initial work ups. I used this load
in short range steel match's and took a few wins.
18" barrel ar15 with 77smk AA2520-25.0gr seated to 2.255 2725fps. Temp is in the 50s today.
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