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American Ammunition Company 77gr SMK HPBT

I believe it just came out. I’d definitely be down to try some.
 
@molan have you had a chance with this?
 
I’ve got 40 coming to compare to the IMI I have here. Never cared about cannelure but it’s nice to have. Also glad they are starting with 556 loads instead of 223 and working up
 
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I have not,

Signed,

Molon
FED999F9-0767-40E0-B15A-6ED9874E4DE8.gif
 
Alrighty...my shipment came in. It might be a while before I can shoot it, but here are my physical observations. And full on respect to Molon...this is a PITA.

Rounds are packaged in the boxes without any separators. Guess they are saving every cent they can. Annealing looks great on the cases and very even from what I see. Stated velocity is 2700 fps (we shall see about that) and Sierra is proudly named on the box:

IMG_20221112_141037 (1).jpg


Brass is head stamped "AAC 5.56 NATO". Primers are gold/brass colored:

IMG_20221112_141404.jpg


And now the bad... Not sure what machine they are using to seat these but it sucks. OAL was all over the place. With the bullet cannelure it's easy to spot just how off the rounds are from each other. I measured BTO to be anywhere from 1.826" to 1.853". Now granted the super short ones were 1-2 per box, but to be labeled as MATCH GRADE I would expect better:

IMG_20221112_141124.jpg


And then we have the damaged rounds. Several per box had small dents that I would not worry about, but at least 2 rounds out of the 100 I opened had some pretty good dings:

IMG_20221112_141249.jpg


I picked 5 rounds at random and tore them down. Power was a smashed ball type and to my surprise all weighed out at 24.5 gr. Case weights were 95.2 to 96.7 gr. Case capacity with water was 29.66 to 29.78 gr. Primers had a red/pink mix in them:

IMG_20221112_141949.jpg


IMG_20221112_142025.jpg



Can't say I have high hopes for how they shoot but we will see....they really need to tighten up on their quality control.
 
Alrighty...my shipment came in. It might be a while before I can shoot it, but here are my physical observations. And full on respect to Molon...this is a PITA.

Rounds are packaged in the boxes without any separators. Guess they are saving every cent they can. Annealing looks great on the cases and very even from what I see. Stated velocity is 2700 fps (we shall see about that) and Sierra is proudly named on the box:

View attachment 7997626

Brass is head stamped "AAC 5.56 NATO". Primers are gold/brass colored:

View attachment 7997627

And now the bad... Not sure what machine they are using to seat these but it sucks. OAL was all over the place. With the bullet cannelure it's easy to spot just how off the rounds are from each other. I measured BTO to be anywhere from 1.826" to 1.853". Now granted the super short ones were 1-2 per box, but to be labeled as MATCH GRADE I would expect better:

View attachment 7997628

And then we have the damaged rounds. Several per box had small dents that I would not worry about, but at least 2 rounds out of the 100 I opened had some pretty good dings:

View attachment 7997629

I picked 5 rounds at random and tore them down. Power was a smashed ball type and to my surprise all weighed out at 24.5 gr. Case weights were 95.2 to 96.7 gr. Case capacity with water was 29.66 to 29.78 gr. Primers had a red/pink mix in them:

View attachment 7997631

View attachment 7997632


Can't say I have high hopes for how they shoot but we will see....they really need to tighten up on their quality control.

Great preliminary analysis!

Someone will have to help me out here, but long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away some dude somewhere said something about “get what you pay for…” or some such thing.

I probably imagined it.
 
Alrighty...my shipment came in. It might be a while before I can shoot it, but here are my physical observations. And full on respect to Molon...this is a PITA.

Rounds are packaged in the boxes without any separators. Guess they are saving every cent they can. Annealing looks great on the cases and very even from what I see. Stated velocity is 2700 fps (we shall see about that) and Sierra is proudly named on the box:

View attachment 7997626

Brass is head stamped "AAC 5.56 NATO". Primers are gold/brass colored:

View attachment 7997627

And now the bad... Not sure what machine they are using to seat these but it sucks. OAL was all over the place. With the bullet cannelure it's easy to spot just how off the rounds are from each other. I measured BTO to be anywhere from 1.826" to 1.853". Now granted the super short ones were 1-2 per box, but to be labeled as MATCH GRADE I would expect better:

View attachment 7997628

And then we have the damaged rounds. Several per box had small dents that I would not worry about, but at least 2 rounds out of the 100 I opened had some pretty good dings:

View attachment 7997629

I picked 5 rounds at random and tore them down. Power was a smashed ball type and to my surprise all weighed out at 24.5 gr. Case weights were 95.2 to 96.7 gr. Case capacity with water was 29.66 to 29.78 gr. Primers had a red/pink mix in them:

View attachment 7997631

View attachment 7997632


Can't say I have high hopes for how they shoot but we will see....they really need to tighten up on their quality control.
Great post and breakdown. They won’t be getting my money.
 
Meh, how does it group at 300+ yards is more important. Considering the Sierra are fairly jump tolerant in an AR they might be good enough with consistent powder and case weight.
 
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39F, 8-14mph winds
77gr AAC

26” Bolt gun, 5 shot and 10 shot group. There was a bit of mirage after the first 5 shots when shooting the 10 shot group, and shot 8 is the one to the left that opened things up a bit. Overall, not bad for as quick as I was shooting (<4 minutes for all 15shots). I fired the 10x group first, then the second 5x group.

diIQrEA.jpg



Velocity data; 10 shots w/ Magnetospeed

11.5” Ballistic Advantage w/ suppressor

Min. 2281fps
Max. 2437fps
Avg. 2339fps
Std. Dev. 45.6fps
ES 156fps

18” Rainier Match
Min. 2641fps
Max. 2708fps
Avg. 2668fps
Std. Dev. 21.6 fps
ES 67fps

26” Bolt gun, Bartlein 1:8t
Min. 2818fps
Max. 2910fps
Avg. 2863fps
Std. Dev. 32.5 fps
ES 92fps
 
Previous testing from a week or two ago…


Forgot my magnetospeed at the house, so no velocity data.

Tested using 3 of my Rainier Arms barrels. All 18”.
RA Match- Around 1-1.3moa (I mic’d the groups but didn’t bother measuring since it obviously didn’t like this ammo.)
RA, Rock Creek blank
RA Ultramatch (Shilen blank)

After the second group with the Rock Creek barrel, I adjusted down 0.2mil. Wind was 3-8 mph, which may have had some effect, but overall, it seemed like only 1 of these three truly liked the ammo. It’s good for the price, but I’ll need to review my notes to see how it compares against the IMI 77razorcore in these barrels.

kQT38ul.jpg


JEdOPtJ.jpg
 
Previous testing from a week or two ago…


Forgot my magnetospeed at the house, so no velocity data.

Tested using 3 of my Rainier Arms barrels. All 18”.
RA Match- Around 1-1.3moa (I mic’d the groups but didn’t bother measuring since it obviously didn’t like this ammo.)
RA, Rock Creek blank
RA Ultramatch (Shilen blank)

After the second group with the Rock Creek barrel, I adjusted down 0.2mil. Wind was 3-8 mph, which may have had some effect, but overall, it seemed like only 1 of these three truly liked the ammo. It’s good for the price, but I’ll need to review my notes to see how it compares against the IMI 77razorcore in these barrels.

kQT38ul.jpg


JEdOPtJ.jpg
looks like cjrpc
 
Those numbers are atrocious.

Shoots half decent at 100 though.


Curious how 20 rds group at 600…… 🙄
 
Probably close to the SMK variant... High ES and spotty BTO measurements. Maybe that was a specific lot, I haven't opened my 40 rds yet to gather data. Hopefully it's just a variation for that lot
 
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39F, 8-14mph winds
77gr AAC

26” Bolt gun, 5 shot and 10 shot group. There was a bit of mirage after the first 5 shots when shooting the 10 shot group, and shot 8 is the one to the left that opened things up a bit. Overall, not bad for as quick as I was shooting (<4 minutes for all 15shots). I fired the 10x group first, then the second 5x group.

diIQrEA.jpg



Velocity data; 10 shots w/ Magnetospeed

11.5” Ballistic Advantage w/ suppressor

Min. 2281fps
Max. 2437fps
Avg. 2339fps
Std. Dev. 45.6fps
ES 156fps

18” Rainier Match
Min. 2641fps
Max. 2708fps
Avg. 2668fps
Std. Dev. 21.6 fps
ES 67fps

26” Bolt gun, Bartlein 1:8t
Min. 2818fps
Max. 2910fps
Avg. 2863fps
Std. Dev. 32.5 fps
ES 92fps
The velocity on the 18 inch rainier barrel is very close to what I am averaging with IMI 77 grain out of an 18 inch Daniel defense barrel . my dope chart show's 2661 fps . at the muzzle . I might have to try the aac 77 grain .
 
Given its price, and the fact that is shoots good groups at 100yds... it sure looks like a bargain to me.

ES and SD could be better, velocity is good enough... but again for 100-200yd practice , I would use it.
I might have to give myself a Christmas present.

Dents be damned , Lol
 
Given its price, and the fact that is shoots good groups at 100yds... it sure looks like a bargain to me.

ES and SD could be better, velocity is good enough... but again for 100-200yd practice , I would use it.
I might have to give myself a Christmas present.

Dents be damned , Lol

Yeah. I had good luck with it out to 550yds in a local match. Managed to take top tactical using it.
 
It sucks! Stop buying it!

But seriously, I zeroed my 14.5" at 50 using IMI and threw a few AAC's down and couldn't distinguish POI between the two. Also got first round hits at 300 on an 8" plate which worked for me. I know, not super scientific but a good start for my uses. Have not gotten them over a chrono yet though

ETA: POI and POA are not the same thing...
 
Last edited:
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Ran this some last week.

At 100, between 1.1-1.5 with my centurion recce barreled rifle. Not ideal conditions and a 2-12 optic. Friend shot more like 1.0

He ran some through his 20 inch Douglas SPR barrel with an 3-18 and was .8-1.2.

It was in the teens with lots of wind. Not usual down here.

Was not able to chrony. Both rigs suppressed.

Overall for cost it’s hard to beat. Plus I’m local to SC and it’s nice to support the home team.
 
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75gr is back in stock at 60c a round i picked up 300. Was tempted to go frontier for 67c a round given the much higher velocity. We’ll see I’m going to run it out of the mk12 soon
 
75gr is back in stock at 60c a round i picked up 300. Was tempted to go frontier for 67c a round given the much higher velocity. We’ll see I’m going to run it out of the mk12 soon

Looking forward to your results. It’s averaged around MOA for me. I’ll get some tight groups and then have a few 1.2moa groups that skew the average. For the price though….may be hard to beat for plinking ammo w/ decent precision.
 
Looking forward to your results. It’s averaged around MOA for me. I’ll get some tight groups and then have a few 1.2moa groups that skew the average. For the price though….may be hard to beat for plinking ammo w/ decent precision.
How was your velocity? And what barrel length that’s my only concern. I hope it shoots well but i don’t want it to be anemic
 
Shot some of the 75gr. a couple of days ago out of my CLE 18" upper with a Nightforce 2.5-20x scope. Five shot groups at 100 yards from worst to best were: 1.0", 1.0", .75", .6" and .5". Then shot one 10 shot group of 1.0".

Bipod up front, small Precision Underground bag at the rear. Weather was relatively calm, but temps probably in the single digits.

And I will add that I am generally less than perfect behind the rifle. A more skilled shooter's groups would probably average 0.1-0.3" better than mine - particularly at the upper end.

I would say my group averages for IMI 77gr Razorcore out of this rifle are maybe .1-.2" better. But for .60 per round I think this ammo is tough to beat.
 
How was your velocity? And what barrel length that’s my only concern. I hope it shoots well but i don’t want it to be anemic


I haven’t chrono’d the 75’s yet, but I would expect the velocity to be aligned with the 77’s.


AAC 77 OTM;
Velocity data; 10 shots w/ Magnetospeed

11.5” Ballistic Advantage (5.56?) w/ suppressor

Min. 2281fps
Max. 2437fps
Avg. 2339fps
Std. Dev. 45.6fps
ES 156fps

18” Rainier Match, 223 Wylde
Min. 2641fps
Max. 2708fps
Avg. 2668fps
Std. Dev. 21.6 fps
ES 67fps

26” Bolt gun, 223 Wylde, Bartlein 1:8t
Min. 2818fps
Max. 2910fps
Avg. 2863fps
Std. Dev. 32.5 fps
ES 92fps
 
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75gr is back in stock at 60c a round i picked up 300. Was tempted to go frontier for 67c a round given the much higher velocity. We’ll see I’m going to run it out of the mk12 soon
Don't purchase Frontier unless it is loaded by Hornandy NOT Lake City! I am sitting on a bunch of 75 grain Frontier (Lake City) and had blown primers. I won't use any of it now, as I got lucky and no damage to my rifle (AR-15) or myself, or others at the range. BIG, BIG, CLEAN UP MESS. I have IMI 77 grain and got 300 rounds of the AAC 75 grain Match. So glad to read the reviews on the AAC ammo. I also have the Norma 77 grain match, 69 grain match. ADI 69 grain, and 55 grain "Blitzking" which is great ammo!
 
Do they list a bc? Also seems they still haven’t fixed their QC issues yet