New Sierra 169gr SMK (.30)

[IowaGeologist]

Probably could have put this in the reloading section as well, but Sierra just released the new 169 gr SMK. Looks like a much needed update to the 168.

169 G1 BC - 0.527
168 G1 BC - 0.462
175 G1 BC - 0.505

https://www.sierrabullets.com/product/30-caliber-7-62mm-169-gr-hpbt-match/

 

[Bradv86]

Ordered 500. Why not for $215 shipped these days.

 

[smoothy8500]

Hopefully you will give us a range report!

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

And they're supposed to stabilize in a 12 twist. I'm placing an order if I can find some.

Edit:. God damn, Sierra. $12 to ship 100 bullets?

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Creedmoor Sports has them and their shipping was $0.25 on a 100 of these bad boys.

Creedmoor Sports - Precision Reloading and Shooting Gear

Shoot and Reload with the Pros! Creedmoor Sports has served the Precision Shooting Community for over 40 years in Centerfire, Small-bore, Air Rifle and Pistol Disciplines.

www.creedmoorsports.com

 

[IowaGeologist]

Yeah, no longer have a 308 but would have definingly tried these. Highly doubt they'll be as easy to tune as the 168s.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Yeah, no longer have a 308 but would have definingly tried these. Highly doubt they'll be as easy to tune as the 168s.

Why do you think that they'll be hard to tune?

 

[IowaGeologist]

Why do you think that they'll be hard to tune?

I would assume they've messed with the ogive to milk that BC. Part of the reason I've always heard the 168s and 175s are easy to load for is because of their modest but reliable tanget ogive. Maybe that's bullshit, but I've always heard that.

Disclaimer - I'm also a shitty reloader most likely.

 

[Bradv86]

And they're supposed to stabilize in a 12 twist. I'm placing an order if I can find some.

Edit:. God damn, Sierra. $12 to ship 100 bullets?

Same shipping price for 500.

 

[BoilerUP]

Sierra's banded G1s for the 169gr SMK look even to a tenth better at distance than the 168 ELD-M's Litz G7 of 0.261.

 

[308pirate]

About time, Hornady's 168 ELD-M has been doing that for quite some time. And they're cheaper.

 

[blbennett1288]

Picked up 500

 

[Steel head]

They seriously needed these!

 

[stewarmy01]

Snagged some up as well from Sierra. $12 flat shipping no matter how large or small the order it appears. I will let you all know how they do out of my Bergara HMR 308. It surprisingly is capable of .5-.75 moa with FGMM 168 and 175 SMK’s.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I received an email from Creedmoor Sports stating they are on backorder.

Glad I saved $11.75 on shipping.....

 

[jbuck88]

Been meaning to pick up some more 308 bullets. My last box of 168gr ELDM was starting to get low. Ordered 500 of these to compare.

 

[Krob95]

Ordered some as well. Gonna order another 500 on Friday. Hoping the 2 week lead is generous and they ship sooner.

 

[3-0-hate]

They released these the day I received my latest order of 175 SMKs.. SMH.. DOH!

 

[sheepdog697]

I ordered 500 as well. Looking forward to seeing how the behave vs the 175s.

 

[NukeMMC]

Lengthening the boattail ... now where did I see something about boattail length?????

Old-school .30 bullets

I was pulling apart some .30-06 ammo my dad put together back in the late 50s. Kind of apprehensive the primers are corrosive, but more so the brass (FA32NM) was pretty tarnished. Bullets are the pre-war M1 ball bullets, the predecessor to the M72/M118 match bullet. I figured I would share...

www.snipershide.com

 

[yej0001]

It’s certainly an improvement but at a similar price point, is there a real advantage of these 169 bullets over their trusted 175SMK?

 

[Krob95]

Launch them faster, along with their better BC. Win win

 

[epeet]

I would assume they've messed with the ogive to milk that BC. Part of the reason I've always heard the 168s and 175s are easy to load for is because of their modest but reliable tanget ogive. Maybe that's bullshit, but I've always heard that.

Disclaimer - I'm also a shitty reloader most likely.

I think there is something to that because I've really struggled to get the Nosler VLD style bullets to shoot well in 308, something I've attributed to the very steep ogive. But, maybe we get surprised and these shoot well in a bunch of guns. The fact that they would work in a 1:12 opens some pretty interesting possibilities up for guys out there with older guns - maybe it is feasible to hit 1000 supersonic out of an old 1:12 22" or 24".

ETA - using that G1 and Hornady's calculate, at sea level and assuming a MV of 2500, the round is going 1207 FPS at 1000. If true, that is pretty crazy. For comparison, the standard 168 SMK would be doing 1108.

 

[stewarmy01]

Says it still has a tangent Ogive so should still jump ok. It says the hollow point is closed, likely to assist in the BC.

 

[5RWill]

I’ll be running em in my 16.5” for sure.

 

[Aussieusa]

I ordered 500 of these the day they were available. Haven’t received shipping info yet, as they said 2 week behind...money has been withdrawn from my account, so should have them soon

 

[NukeMMC]

The Sierra website wasn't accepting credit card info so I called them and placed an old fashioned phone order for 500. They had 100ct boxes not 500 and they're sold out everywhere else.

 

[MOUNTIC]

I ordered 500 as well. Looking forward to seeing how the behave vs the 175s.

I shoot all factory 175s. Thinking avout some of these after my stash runs dry. The 175s just shoot really well out of my 16" SR25 out to 1k. Wonder if these are the ticket for the short 308 gassers.

 

[blbennett1288]

I shoot all factory 175s. Thinking avout some of these after my stash runs dry. The 175s just shoot really well out of my 16" SR25 out to 1k. Wonder if these are the ticket for the short 308 gassers.

I’ll let you know I picked up some for a 16” LMT MWS

 

[MOUNTIC]

I broke down and ordered 1000 just now. Might as well give it a go, but will be a while til I actually workup a load. Ill be interested to see your results.

I’ll let you know I picked up some for a 16” LMT MWS

 

[cruze5]

Midwayusa has cheaper shipping options but a limit of 200 rounds

 

[sheepdog697]

I broke down and ordered 1000 just now. Might as well give it a go, but will be a while til I actually workup a load.

I broke down and ordered 1000 just now. Might as well give it a go, but will be a while til I actually workup a load. Ill be interested to see your results.

Im regretting only ordering 500. If they end up being what they claim to be, im gonna be upset if they are OOS and hard to find by the time i get a load dialed in... Oh well.

 

[madangler1]

My Tikka T3x prefers 168 SMKs to 175s. I bet it would love these 169s. Too bad I don’t reload (no time, no space).

 

[blbennett1288]

Has anyone received these? It has been 2 weeks since I placed my order and still no shipping notification.

 

[MOUNTIC]

Has anyone received these? It has been 2 weeks since I placed my order and still no shipping notification.

Got my 1000 a few days ago.

 

[stewarmy01]

Ordered mine on Jan 25, still nothing

 

[blbennett1288]

Got my 1000 a few days ago.

When did you order? I placed my order Jan 22.

 

[MOUNTIC]

When did you order? I placed my order Jan 22.

29th. Over the phone as the web ordering system didn't work.

 

[padom]

Me personally, I just cant see how these make sense... The TMK's are superior in accuracy and BC.... I shot the SMK and the TMK's in my Bartlein vs Krieger 308 barrel testing a few months back and man those TMK's straight hammer. Measurably smaller groups consistently across the board with the TMK's vs the SMK's. They shoot great in my 20" Krieger/MEGA AR as well. I was a SMK guy for a long time, but these TMK's straight hammer for those of you that havent tested them.


169 SMK - 0.527 BC
168 TMK - 0.535 BC
175 TMK - 0.545 BC



Here is my 175 TMK seating depth test with 2 different charge weights in my 24" Bartlein 5R

 

[blbennett1288]

29th. Over the phone as the web ordering system didn't work.

Well that’s infuriating.

 

[blbennett1288]

For anyone who order 500 counts and have not received an update. Sierra is waiting for product labels. As soon as they get those the 500 counts will start shipping out.

 

[Krob95]

For anyone who order 500 counts and have not received an update. Sierra is waiting for product labels. As soon as they get those the 500 counts will start shipping out.

Terrific news. Thanks for the update

 

[308pirate]

Me personally, I just cant see how these make sense... The TMK's are superior in accuracy and BC.... I shot the SMK and the TMK's in my Bartlein vs Krieger 308 barrel testing a few months back and man those TMK's straight hammer. Measurably smaller groups consistently across the board with the TMK's vs the SMK's. They shoot great in my 20" Krieger/MEGA AR as well. I was a SMK guy for a long time, but these TMK's straight hammer for those of you that havent tested them.


169 SMK - 0.527 BC
168 TMK - 0.535 BC
175 TMK - 0.545 BC

Not only that, Hornady ELD-Ms and ELD-Xs provide stellar accuracy, comparable BCs, and cost on average $10 per hundred less than Sierra TMKs

 

[NukeMMC]

Me personally, I just cant see how these make sense... The TMK's are superior in accuracy and BC.... I shot the SMK and the TMK's in my Bartlein vs Krieger 308 barrel testing a few months back and man those TMK's straight hammer. Measurably smaller groups consistently across the board with the TMK's vs the SMK's. They shoot great in my 20" Krieger/MEGA AR as well. I was a SMK guy for a long time, but these TMK's straight hammer for those of you that havent tested them.


169 SMK - 0.527 BC
168 TMK - 0.535 BC
175 TMK - 0.545 BC



Here is my 175 TMK seating depth test with 2 different charge weights in my 24" Bartlein 5R

No doubt the TMKs are an impressive bullet. I have used the 168 and 175 TMK in 308 and the 130 TMK in 260 and the only issue I had with them was they are slightly more jump sensitive that the SMK, but only slightly.. All perform exceptionally but are noticeably more expensive than the Matchking. These new Matchkings are also available, and the .008 difference in b.c. is well ... actually insignificant. At 800yd, Strelok calculates a 0.1mil difference in elevation and 0.0 windage at 5mph. At 100, elevation goes to 0.2 and still no windage difference. Sounds like the 1gr difference in weight is the only attributable difference. That bears experimentation at some point, but at $0.06 per bullet ... there would have to be some significant difference.

Not only that, Hornady ELD-Ms and ELD-Xs provide stellar accuracy, comparable BCs, and cost on average $10 per hundred less than Sierra TMKs

Again, excellent bullets, but I find they are, like the TMKs, more jump sensitive. When running the same ammo between my 20" Proof barreled Mega gasser and my 22" Tooley/Bartlein AIAX, that is important.

 

[padom]

No doubt the TMKs are an impressive bullet. I have used the 168 and 175 TMK in 308 and the 130 TMK in 260 and the only issue I had with them was they are slightly more jump sensitive that the SMK, but only slightly.. All perform exceptionally but are noticeably more expensive than the Matchking. These new Matchkings are also available, and the .008 difference in b.c. is well ... actually insignificant. At 800yd, Strelok calculates a 0.1mil difference in elevation and 0.0 windage at 5mph. At 100, elevation goes to 0.2 and still no windage difference. Sounds like the 1gr difference in weight is the only attributable difference. That bears experimentation at some point, but at $0.06 per bullet ... there would have to be some significant difference.

Accuracy was the biggest thing that stood out over 2 barrels (Bartlein 5R and Krieger 4G) was the biggest difference. Was it monumental, no. But it was consistent with 2 differenct barrels with 2 different rifling.. 6x5 AGG tests were 0.1" smaller with TMK over SMK in both barrels at 100yd. My groups at 500 and 600yd were smaller with the TMK as well with the same loads.

I would say it depends what you're after....

 

[padom]

No doubt the TMKs are an impressive bullet. I have used the 168 and 175 TMK in 308 and the 130 TMK in 260 and the only issue I had with them was they are slightly more jump sensitive that the SMK, but only slightly.. All perform exceptionally but are noticeably more expensive than the Matchking. These new Matchkings are also available, and the .008 difference in b.c. is well ... actually insignificant. At 800yd, Strelok calculates a 0.1mil difference in elevation and 0.0 windage at 5mph. At 100, elevation goes to 0.2 and still no windage difference. Sounds like the 1gr difference in weight is the only attributable difference. That bears experimentation at some point, but at $0.06 per bullet ... there would have to be some significant difference.


Again, excellent bullets, but I find they are, like the TMKs, more jump sensitive. When running the same ammo between my 20" Proof barreled Mega gasser and my 22" Tooley/Bartlein AIAX, that is important.

Ive done extensive testing with TMK's in 223 and 308. I did not find them jump sensitive at all as shown on my above seating depth tests. I shoot them in both bolt guns and AR's and both shoot very very good for me.

 

[5RWill]

Me personally, I just cant see how these make sense... The TMK's are superior in accuracy and BC.... I shot the SMK and the TMK's in my Bartlein vs Krieger 308 barrel testing a few months back and man those TMK's straight hammer. Measurably smaller groups consistently across the board with the TMK's vs the SMK's. They shoot great in my 20" Krieger/MEGA AR as well. I was a SMK guy for a long time, but these TMK's straight hammer for those of you that havent tested them.


169 SMK - 0.527 BC
168 TMK - 0.535 BC
175 TMK - 0.545 BC



Here is my 175 TMK seating depth test with 2 different charge weights in my 24" Bartlein 5R

Hell i didn't realize the 168gr TMK had a .535 BC you're right. Is the 168gr TMK a new TMK or has it been out?

 

[stewarmy01]

Been out for a couple years at least I feel like

 

[5RWill]

Been out for a couple years at least I feel like

Damn i guess i just missed that? It's hard to keep up with sierra's releases because they'll literally redesign a bullet under the same moniker and suddenly the BC jumps because they've changed the ogive. But yeah the 168gr TMK kind of makes the 169gr SMK moot. I suppose the SMK is a little cheaper.

 

[stewarmy01]

A couple pros of the 169 I anticipate;
Shorter than a TMK so more easy to mag feed in say an AR10 and more tolerant jump window than the TMK.