AAC "SABRE BLADE BLACK TIP"

[JBoomhauer]

Starting a new thread instead of taking over another.

American Ammunition Company 77gr SMK HPBT

Has anyone ran PSA AAC ammo? They have their 77 gr at .75cpr. https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-matchking-hpbt-20rd-box.html

www.snipershide.com

Has anyone tried these out yet? Results?

 

[Riverlife87]

My brother just ordered 500 ill shoot some groups and chrono some. Was thinking of maybe trying the ballistic gel with it as well

 

[TACC]

Would like to hear if any of the QC issues were resolved since the older thread was created.

 

[JBoomhauer]

I have some 75s on the way. Hopefully. @BurtG Unfortunately, I turned my .223 trainer bolt into a 6BRA match gun so no bolt accuracy testing from me on these.

My brother just ordered 500 ill shoot some groups and chrono some. Was thinking of maybe trying the ballistic gel with it as well

Gel tests would be awesome if you can manage.

I also grabbed some of the 77 TMKs. With any luck those shoot.

 

[Triggerman_D]

I bought both the SABRE and the 77gr TMK. I bought the 75 gr precision but got crazy groups.

 

[JBoomhauer]

I bought both the SABRE and the 77gr TMK. I bought the 75 gr precision but got crazy groups.

Are we talking 1/4” crazy or 4” crazy?

 

[BurtG]

I ordered 75s they sent 62s. I need to chrono and accuracy test before I exchange. Too much work 16/7

 

[JBoomhauer]

Well at least mine are 75s.

Much less dents and dings conpared to the 77 OTMs I received.

 

[DangerRanger]

i wanna see what one does to a coyote

 

[JBoomhauer]

i wanna see what one does to a coyote

I can try to help you out with that… just suck at coyote hunting.

 

[Triggerman_D]

Are we talking 1/4” crazy or 4” crazy?

It was just crazy flyers but I’m going back out next week to do more testing.

 

[Mocamo]

Ups dropped off black tips today. Accuracy testing this weekend. Currently shooting the AAC 77grn otm, and have had a chance to take a couple of hogs with them. Both hogs were bang flop. Very happy with their performance and price. The description on the Sabre black tips caught my attention. If they group well I will see how they perform on hogs.

 

[towerofpower93]

Any idea what projectiles they're using in the 62gr and 75gr tipped offerings?

One of the responses on PSA's Q&A section says "Willing to bet it is a Bonded Lead Core Ballistic tip like the Swift Scirocco which comes in the exact same weights as the AAC Sabre" but I'm not as well versed in hunting/SD bullets in .224 as I am match offerings.

 

[DangerRanger]

Bummer if it’s bonded, I just want a cheaper knock off tmk

 

[JBoomhauer]

I doubt it is bonded at that cost.

The projectile has a similar profile to a 55gr Vmax bullet down to the cannelure.

 

[BurtG]

Bummer if it’s bonded, I just want a cheaper knock off tmk

Correct ima vmax / eld / amax kind of guy myself

 

[bfoosh006]

Any idea what projectiles they're using in the 62gr and 75gr tipped offerings?

One of the responses on PSA's Q&A section says "Willing to bet it is a Bonded Lead Core Ballistic tip like the Swift Scirocco which comes in the exact same weights as the AAC Sabre" but I'm not as well versed in hunting/SD bullets in .224 as I am match offerings.

Jamin himself has said it is not bonded, but is similar to the TMK.

 

[BurtG]

Groups would probably be half the size with a decent shooter. I’m rusty af and been work 5-8 or 9 7 days a week and was shooting in the rain rapid fire with magneto attached. Excuses excuses I know. Il try and get better groups and more guns used when I get more rain

 

[JBoomhauer]

77 TMK, 75 Sabre, 55 Vmax, 75 ELDM.

Looks kind of like a 55 Vmax with a BT, Different angle on the BT than a 77 TMK… So not a direct copy.

 

[JBoomhauer]

25.2 of a TAC looking powder for the 75gr load.

 

[bfoosh006]

View attachment 8167517
77 TMK, 75 Sabre, 55 Vmax, 75 ELDM.

Looks kind of like a 55 Vmax with a BT, Different angle on the BT than a 77 TMK… So not a direct copy.

Same charge weight in my 75gr SBBT ammo. What lot # if you please.
Mine is SCL2CF081

Those are respectable velocities for the 62gr SBBT, I have the same lot #.

Here is the 62gr as well...( all pulled from AAC loads ) next to the 77gr TMK, and the 75gr SBBT.

 

[JBoomhauer]

 

[towerofpower93]

Jamin himself has said it is not bonded, but is similar to the TMK.

View attachment 8167419

Thank you. So they're a TMK-like polymer tipped bullet they're making in house? Very cool if so, as more match bullet manufacturers is always a good thing for us consumers.

 

[M4orturnate]

Not a very good looking bullet. Bet it had the bc of a brick.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Not a very good looking bullet. Bet it had the bc of a brick.

.334 G1 according to PSA. Puts it right between something like a VMAX and an ELD-M.

To be fair the vast majority of these will be shot inside of 300y where BC wont matter a whole lot.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Here is a cutaway.

77TMK, 75 Sabre, 55 Vmax.

I cut to the same depth on all 3, so jacket thickness should be comparable.

 

[JBoomhauer]

 

[JBoomhauer]

 

[JBoomhauer]

 

[JBoomhauer]

Jacket thickness on the above measured on an Optical Comparitor.

 

[rlsmith1]

Jacket thickness on the above measured on an Optical Comparitor.

This is cool to see and thanks for the info! Do you know the jacket thickness of a 77gr SMK by chance? I would suspect this won't fragment to quite the same ranges at the TMK but for typical distances it probably doesn't matter

 

[JBoomhauer]

I do not have any 77 SMKs to cut.

 

[bfoosh006]

Jacket thickness on the above measured on an Optical Comparitor.

You the man.

Thank You for sharing.
How did you cut them ?..../ As in, is this something a dimwit like myself could readily do at home ?
And the optical comparator , please tell me more... hand held ? Inexpensive enough for its purpose ?
How does it work ?

 

[JBoomhauer]

You the man.

Thank You for sharing.
How did you cut them ?..../ As in, is this something a dimwit like myself could readily do at home ?

Milling machine and an endmill. Sanded with some 3M superfine to remove burrs.

The TMK tip spun and got ripped out as it was not held by much.

 

[bfoosh006]

Made it to the range this AM, chrono'd some various rounds and shot groups.

ZERO function issues, 100% reliable

The AAC / PSA Sabre Blade Black Tip bullets are similar in construction to the Sierra TMK.
This thread isn't about the SBBT's terminal performance. Ballistic gel tests concerning that are coming as/per Jamin w/ PSA

Rifle is a 20" 1n7.7 twist Krieger barrel. ( I consider this to be a "fast" barrel, so YMMV ) 100yds, Benched , bagged, scoped, etc.

The 75gr AAC SBBT ( lot # SCL2CF081 ) chrono'd at an average of 2704fps, ES of 39fps, SD of 11.0

The first 10rd group is great, I must have aligned all the Shooting Gods stars. Lol

Next 11rds..( oops ) still darned good for the price.

Next 9rds, again oops...

The AAC 62gr SBBT ( lot # SCL1CF062 ) chrono'd at an average of 2997fps, ES of 90fps, SD of 32.3

10rds

10rds... much more horizontal group, I will blame some of that on me.

All in all, I am quite happy with both. ESPECIALLY concerning the price. ( Thank You @JMan_JJE )

I will order more of the 75gr SBBT for sure, I like heavy for caliber 5.56 ammo.

 

[Gtscotty]

Looking pretty excellent velocity and terminal performance wise for $10.99 a box on sale. Haven't shot any of mine yet, but I'm kind of thinking the 75gr or maybe even 62gr might make a competent shorter range deer load out of an easy carrying 12.5" sbr.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Forgot to grab the 75 Sabres but here is the AAC 77 TMKs that were sectioned above. 13.9 P&W

Around a 1.25” group.

 

[tylerradke]

I'm gonna have to chrono my aac 77 otm. Hopefully they run as good as the Saber and boomhauers tmk loads. That Saber load s-d was super impressive for cheap factory ammo.

 

[JBoomhauer]

I'm gonna have to chrono my aac 77 otm. Hopefully they run as good as the Saber and boomhauers tmk loads. That Saber load s-d was super impressive for cheap factory ammo.

Same rifle as above. Similar groups.

 

[towerofpower93]

View attachment 8176784

Same rifle as above. Similar groups.

Damn, that's moving from a 13.9 pin and weld. Does it say on the box or website what barrel length they got the 2700fps from? Based on your data, I'm guessing a 16".

Thanks for the info.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Never looked at the brass yesterday.

It is certainly on the hot side.

Interesting note. It looks like 77 otms have brass colored primers and the TMKs have silver.

 

[gopherslayer]

Looking pretty excellent velocity and terminal performance wise for $10.99 a box on sale. Haven't shot any of mine yet, but I'm kind of thinking the 75gr or maybe even 62gr might make a competent shorter range deer load out of an easy carrying 12.5" sbr.

I used a 60gr NBT from a 10.5” and had good results on a fat doe at a bit over 100 yards. Would use again. 62gr Sabre should work as well with the reduced velocity.

 

[wvfarrier]

Damn that was A LOT of weight loss

 

[Gtscotty]

Damn that was A LOT of weight loss

58% and 51% weight retention for the 62gr and 75gr respectively for non-bonded bullets fired into gel at 30 yds didn't seem to bad at all to me. Both kept their cores, I've seen worse out of much larger caliber hunting bullets.

 

[DangerRanger]

I think weight retention ranks high with the most pointless metrics to look for

 

[wvfarrier]

I think that depends on what you place value on. I want as much mass punching though my target as possible. In a "home defense" scenario it may not be as big a deal but if you are stock piling this stuff for the proverbial SHTF where targets may be wearing armor or for harvesting food......it matters. That being said, out of a shorter barrel or at longer ranges (his test was only 28 yards) these may hold together quite a bit better. I ordered a couple hundred to play around with and will try some at different ranges. If they pan out, great...if not, I still have quite a few Speer 75 GD's

58% and 51% weight retention for the 62gr and 75gr respectively for non-bonded bullets fired into gel at 30 yds didn't seem to bad at all to me. Both kept their cores, I've seen worse out of much larger caliber hunting bullets.

 

[DangerRanger]

I want as much tissue trauma as possible in my target, from my personal experience shooting animals that is not correlated well to retained weight

 

[bfoosh006]

IMHO, there really isn't a consistent do it all 5.56 round, readily available for purchase. M855A1 is as close as I have seen. Fragments, penetration depth, and has good Armor defeating qualities.
I should add.... Speer GD bullets are also frigging awesome. Heck they work great at typical .223 speeds.
And have a good balance of Blind Barrier / rapid expansion qualities.. but little Armor qualities .
At this point Blind Barrier bullets tend to be better at their task, and Two footed bullets are great at their task.

That said, I think the AAC SBBT bullet design has its place in the AR world. And the various bullet weights could be "adapted" to use for various barrel lengths and associated velocities.
IE, 55gr / 62gr faster from SBR barrel lengths , 75gr for longer barrels... etc... you'all get what I mean.
Then if you factor in the cost of the AAC loads, it becomes a ( for me ) I get a + 95%ish as good as load for half the price of a another more expensive brand comparable load.
So I get twice'ish the ammo, with very comparable performance.
I have to give PSA/ AAC praise for selling their ammo for a very low price. And they stepped up to the plate, doing something about ammo prices and availability with GTG bullets.
I just ordered some of the 70gr TSX AAC loads for a price that is about 1/5th less then On-Sale Barnes brand 70gr TSX ( shown as 30% off, and is typically 45+% more than the AAC cost. )
I can live with 2"ish MOA ( we will see ) if the AAC load is fast enough and typically 2/3 the cost.

 

[5RWill]

I’ll be ordering some the Barnes too for hunting season

 

[JBoomhauer]

75 sabre groups at 300 and 500.

Counted wrong and shot 9 @ 300 and 11 @ 500.

Optic was a Burris 1-6 on the 13.9 P&W.