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Transitioning from 77gr SMK to 77gr TMK

towerofpower93

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Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 11, 2010
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Finally burned through all my 77gr SMKs and picked up 2,500 of the TMKs for DMR and long range 3 gun going forward.

My 77gr SMK load with 8208 falls right in the 23.0-24.0gr sweet spot (23.6gr, to be exact) nearly everyone running 77s at ~2.260" OAL seems to also find in their load development.

For those who've made the transition, did you end up at the same charge weight or have to go up/down a tenth or two to get back in the velocity and accuracy node?
 
Down slightly. 22.4gr @ 2550 is where I ended up. 18" barrel. This is out of an AR...I've never shot them from my bolt .223s.
 
Thanks.

Loaded up 100 last night as I have three different rifles I'll be using these new 77s in: an 18" DD, a suppressed 10.3" Colt 6945, and a 5.56 Saiga I had chopped down to 12.5" for an AK102 clone build.

The 77gr SMKs shot great in all of those previously, so we'll see how the TMKs do in a few weeks when I get back to the range. Assuming no pressure signs I'll re-zero, get a descent sample size of velocity data, and adjust accordingly.