First thanks for allowing me to participate in the bullet test - what an honor!
Upon receiving the bullets I first inspected the noses of the bullets as this is the point that causes me the most concern with Sierra MatchKing bullets - result was that all noses were perfectly formed and no misshaped bullets were found. I then weighed the bullets and using my electronic scale, none were off even.1 grain. Then I measured the length from the case to the ogive - again all were the same. This is very different that I have experienced with the Sierra MatchKing bullets,
I loaded the test lot of ammunition with 46.5 grains of Varget with a Winchester match prepared case using Federal 210Match primers. All the bullets were seated to a fit of .010" jam into the rifling. The reason for this load and seating was that this is the load I use with 155 gr, Sierra MatchKing bullets. My impression at this point was that the Berger bullets were much more uniform that the Sierra Palma bullet and when seated to the the same depth in relation to the ogive of the bullet vs the lands of the barrel, the resultant rounds was approximately .25" longer than the Sierra's - this is a good thing as it allows for more case capacity with the same seating depth.
The weather finally turned good today after blustery and rainy days here in Arkansas, and my wife and I took our rifles to our Club's 600 yard range,conditions were initially calm with a temperature of 35 degrees) with high expectations for the new Berger's. I initially fired a test 5-shot group with the Sierra MatchKing's at 100 yards to confirm zero and get a feel for the exact state of the rifle, a custom built Palma rifle built by Larry Racine with a Krieger 30" 1:13 twist barrel with a Leupold 8.5x25x50 scope with target dot) and shooter,me) prior to testing the new bullets. The 5 shot group at 100 yards measured slightly under .4".
I then settled in to test and fired a 10 shot test group with the Berger 155.5 grain bullet which measured 3.00" CTC,center to center) at 600 yards,see in next post). Then I fired a like number of 155 grain Sierra MatchKing's with a group measuring the same 3.00" CTC. The velocity average for the Berger was 2936 fps and for the Sierra the average velocity was 2956 fps and each had a standard deviation under 10 fps. All pressure signs appeared to reflect a very slight increased pressure with the Berger BT bullet. Also, both groups impacted to the same point on the target. As far as I am concerned, a 1/2 MOA is GREAT at 600 yards as this performance would allow for a maximum possible score with all X's in NRA F-Class competition. At this point advantage did not go to either bullet, but looking at the groups, the Berger's definitely had a majority of the bullets grouped tighter than the Sierra MatchKing's.
Next we worked with a Junior shooter new to reloading and long range shooting as well as tested loads for another gun, a 6mmBR. While this was taking place, the wind came up to 3-6 mph at 3 o'clock relative to the firing direction and the temperature rose to 55 sunny degrees.
I then fired two 10 shot groups each with the Berger 155.5 grain BT bullets and with the 155 grain Sierra MatchKing's with no attempt to hold or adjust for wind. The rationale being to determine if either round held an advantage over the other with respect to wind "bucking" ability. The Berger bullets shot into a 6" group that was 2.5" high and 5.5" horizontally. The Sierra bullets did not fare as well, grouping into 7.5" CTC area that was 3.5" high and 7 " wide. Results indicate the the Berger held up better in the wind that the Sierra BT bullet.
My overall impression of the new Berger 155.5 grain BT bullets is that it is superior to the respected 155 Grain Sierra MatchKing BT Palma bullet. Great job Berger!
Will I buy the Berger bullets over the Sierra MatchKing? Yes!
I certainly hope that this report will help Berger make the decision to produce this bullet for retail sales as I would want to be one of the first few in line for them.
George
Upon receiving the bullets I first inspected the noses of the bullets as this is the point that causes me the most concern with Sierra MatchKing bullets - result was that all noses were perfectly formed and no misshaped bullets were found. I then weighed the bullets and using my electronic scale, none were off even.1 grain. Then I measured the length from the case to the ogive - again all were the same. This is very different that I have experienced with the Sierra MatchKing bullets,
I loaded the test lot of ammunition with 46.5 grains of Varget with a Winchester match prepared case using Federal 210Match primers. All the bullets were seated to a fit of .010" jam into the rifling. The reason for this load and seating was that this is the load I use with 155 gr, Sierra MatchKing bullets. My impression at this point was that the Berger bullets were much more uniform that the Sierra Palma bullet and when seated to the the same depth in relation to the ogive of the bullet vs the lands of the barrel, the resultant rounds was approximately .25" longer than the Sierra's - this is a good thing as it allows for more case capacity with the same seating depth.
The weather finally turned good today after blustery and rainy days here in Arkansas, and my wife and I took our rifles to our Club's 600 yard range,conditions were initially calm with a temperature of 35 degrees) with high expectations for the new Berger's. I initially fired a test 5-shot group with the Sierra MatchKing's at 100 yards to confirm zero and get a feel for the exact state of the rifle, a custom built Palma rifle built by Larry Racine with a Krieger 30" 1:13 twist barrel with a Leupold 8.5x25x50 scope with target dot) and shooter,me) prior to testing the new bullets. The 5 shot group at 100 yards measured slightly under .4".
I then settled in to test and fired a 10 shot test group with the Berger 155.5 grain bullet which measured 3.00" CTC,center to center) at 600 yards,see in next post). Then I fired a like number of 155 grain Sierra MatchKing's with a group measuring the same 3.00" CTC. The velocity average for the Berger was 2936 fps and for the Sierra the average velocity was 2956 fps and each had a standard deviation under 10 fps. All pressure signs appeared to reflect a very slight increased pressure with the Berger BT bullet. Also, both groups impacted to the same point on the target. As far as I am concerned, a 1/2 MOA is GREAT at 600 yards as this performance would allow for a maximum possible score with all X's in NRA F-Class competition. At this point advantage did not go to either bullet, but looking at the groups, the Berger's definitely had a majority of the bullets grouped tighter than the Sierra MatchKing's.
Next we worked with a Junior shooter new to reloading and long range shooting as well as tested loads for another gun, a 6mmBR. While this was taking place, the wind came up to 3-6 mph at 3 o'clock relative to the firing direction and the temperature rose to 55 sunny degrees.
I then fired two 10 shot groups each with the Berger 155.5 grain BT bullets and with the 155 grain Sierra MatchKing's with no attempt to hold or adjust for wind. The rationale being to determine if either round held an advantage over the other with respect to wind "bucking" ability. The Berger bullets shot into a 6" group that was 2.5" high and 5.5" horizontally. The Sierra bullets did not fare as well, grouping into 7.5" CTC area that was 3.5" high and 7 " wide. Results indicate the the Berger held up better in the wind that the Sierra BT bullet.
My overall impression of the new Berger 155.5 grain BT bullets is that it is superior to the respected 155 Grain Sierra MatchKing BT Palma bullet. Great job Berger!
Will I buy the Berger bullets over the Sierra MatchKing? Yes!
I certainly hope that this report will help Berger make the decision to produce this bullet for retail sales as I would want to be one of the first few in line for them.
George
