swiper
Well-Known Member
works good
Serria Matchking
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I got crop damage permits, so now that you guys helped me develop a 77 grain TMK load for my RRA-Varmint A4, I'm gonna try it on a doe. I'm using a 23.4 grain charge of TAC out of a 20" bbl. Will it suffice out to 250 yards?
pickens72
Well-Known Member
Whats ur fps? Iv only run them 3400 and up and they kill like lighting!
Dunno yet. Just settled on the load (which is a published max by Ramshot) based on group size and didn't want to strap the Magnetospeed to the barrel because like a girlie-man, I was ascared that it might mess with the harmonics. Now that I got 50 of them loaded up uniform, I'll strap the bayo to it and find out. I'm guessing high 27's low 28's but I could be way off. I assume you are pushing them at 3,400 out of a fast twist .22-250?
pickens72
Well-Known Member
22/250 at 3400 220 ai at 3600 and 223 wssm at 3450
In the words of George Takei: "OH My!!"
COBrad
Well-Known Member
Have you considered the Hornady eld-m? I've used them for around 15 years now... they used to be called amax. I'm now shooting 75 grain out of a 22-250 and they are still destructive past 1100 yards on pdogs.
COBrad
Well-Known Member
SMK1000plus
Well-Known Member
.224" 69 SMK @ 3033fps
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We have used them on mule deer doe with the same results. And I have killed a bunch of coyotes and jackrabbits with them. They are not as explosive as a varmint bullet, but nothing that I put the bullet in the right place walked away.
Mirrors my experience with the very few animals I've taken with the 69gr SMKs.
Shooting from stands or blinds, I've killed a lot of management deer, mostly does, and a considerable number of hogs with the 77gr SMKs though. Neck shots on deer and head shots on hogs. The 77gr SMKs performed excellent. All DRT. Deer had wounds much like lancetkenyon's photos depict. Total penetration, no bullets recovered. Most of the bullets stayed in the hogs heads but, we didn't bother digging them out.
SMK1000plus
Well-Known Member
I should have mentioned that I was shooting 223 Rem. Didn't bother to chronograph the 69gr loads as they were factory Black Hills Match. The 77gr cartridges were mostly my handloads which only run around 2,760 fps from my various 223 Rems. Excellent accuracy in seven of my eight 223s with that load though. Four are custom AR-15s the other four are bolt guns.
The one 223 Rem that doesn't shoot the 77gr SMKs, or the 69grs for that matter, is a Browning Micro-Hunter. It has a 1 in 12-3/4" twist and keyholes the 69gr and up, at 50 yards. With Black Hills Match 52gr SMKs at 100 yards, it shoots in the .3s!
The one 223 Rem that doesn't shoot the 77gr SMKs, or the 69grs for that matter, is a Browning Micro-Hunter. It has a 1 in 12-3/4" twist and keyholes the 69gr and up, at 50 yards. With Black Hills Match 52gr SMKs at 100 yards, it shoots in the .3s!
RegionRat
Well-Known Member
I'm not surprised. The 77 SMK and TMK are really at their best with a 1:7 twist bbl. A 1:12 really doesn't have any stability up there in the weights and lengths of 69 or 77. I doubt most would even stabilize a 62 for that matter. In a 1:12, why not consider something from 35 to 50?
SMK1000plus
Well-Known Member
Yes, it shoots the 52gr SMKs so well that I couldn't bring myself to rebarrel it. I have a 21" SS Bartlein Featherweight 1 in 8" twist 5R barrel sitting here for it. Probably never will shoot the original barrel out though, far too many other 223s that I shoot much more often.
