www.sierrabullets.com
There’s a significant ballistic difference between all the match 155’s on the market, even without adding an extra grain. Shape matters.
It may be hard to believe, but I've shot the Berger 168 Hybrid for years, and believe me, it IS waaaay better than the 168 SMK. The 168 Hybrid does not suffer the boattail angle issues that plague the 168 SMK past 700-800 yd. It's also one of the few .30 cal bullets I'm aware of that has a high enough BC that it can provide equal or better performance than the next higher weight class of bullets (175s-185s) due to the higher velocity attainable with the lighter bullet. Because of its relatively high BC for its weight, the 168 Hybrid can be pushed fast enough with the appropriate length barrel to overcome the BC deficit as compared to something like a 185 Juggernaut. That can be useful feature to individuals with rifle that are not throated long enough to load 185+ gr bullets optimally.
I do not doubt that. There can be significant differences between brands and styles, etc, but my point was meant toward comparing what appears to be the same bullet, just one grain heavier. Shape can make a difference, but one grain difference is going to have to "show me".
I understand. The one grain difference in weight is likely a small contributor to the increased BC, along with the 169s being pointed at the factory. The overall 14% increase in BC is significant, as is the change in the boattail angle. However, these factors may not still be a "night and day" difference. That is, unless someone was going to shoot these regularly past 700-800 yd, I'm sure the difference would be noticeable over time, but perhaps not in a single outing. Nonetheless, if it can be loaded to similar precision, the 169 is clearly an improvement over the 168, and the improvement is much more than just a single grain weight increase. From the little bit of pricing information I could find, it looks like the 169s will run about the same price as the 168s. I will probably give them a try in one of my rifles that is throated short, just to see how they compare to the 168 Hybrids. It will be interesting to see whether any commercial ammunition that is currently loaded with the 168 SMKs gets switched over to the 169s as time goes by.
I've been running the 168 Hybrids over H4895 in Lapua Palma brass at ~2900 fps from a 30" barrel. I have an F-TR rifle still chambered with .085" freebore, which is perfect for the 168 Hybrids, and I suspect will work very well with this new 169 SMK. Juggernauts tuned in at around 2725 from that rifle, partly due to the relatively short freebore, and the 168s will actually outperform the Juggernauts in that particular setup due to the higher velocity attainable. You really want a 30" barrel to push the 168s that fast. I have another rifle chambered with the same reamer, but that only has a 28" barrel, and the load I worked up with the 168 Hybrids came in at ~2820 fps. I'm suspect I could have hit the 2900 fps region (node) using Lapua Palma brass, but predicted pressures were higher than I like to run in matches, and brass life might have been shortened because of it. I will likely give the 169 SMKs a try in the 30" barrel rifle and see how they shoot. My guess is that with the tangent ogive, they ought to be fairly forgiving to tune, and a one grain difference in weight shouldn't have much of an impact on velocity in a tuned load, maybe around 10 fps. In my hands, the 168s were simply a means to keep using those rifles in [local] F-TR competitions and remain competitive, without having to re-barrel them with a much longer freebore chamber to shoot 200+ gr bullets. Even at 2900 fps, the 168s are giving up some windage to the heavier bullets, but the loads I worked up with the Hybrids were stupidly accurate/precise, and fun to use in matches as a change from 200s.
Laurie - a lot will hinge on the actual BC of the new 169 bullet. If it measures up to the reported value, a 14% increase in BC over the old 168 SMK is substantial. I would estimate that somewhere around 4% of that increase would be the result of pointing the bullets at the factory. Nonetheless, even a 10% increase in BC would be significant, especially at 800-1000 yd. If nothing else, it would be satisfying not to see 168 SMKs going sideways through the target board at 1000 yd. It seems like someone almost always brings a 168 SMK load to a 1000 yd match.
