Sierra 63gn SMPs in .223

Deanot2000

Well-Known Member
Hi gents. Has anyone had any experience with these bad boys? I only ask as I've cooked up a batch which I've chrony'd at 3050ish fps out of my 24" barrelled cz527. Groups beautifully at (if I drive it properly) 1/2 MOA.

However I'm having quite a few cases of apparently zero expansion on targets. I've had a munty dropped (like a stone) at 100yds with a boiler room shot but on inspection tiny entry and very small (1/2" dia) exit.

Last night 165 yd dog fox exactly the same. Now the effect was both definitive and effective and due to shot considerations the subsequently exiting projectile went straight into the more than adequate backstop. This is happening perhaps 75% of the time (based on about 25-30 shots).

Cant say say I'm very happy with this and looking for any ideas as to why??

All the best


Deano
 
I've never used these bullets but reading the Sierra write up https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/1370/224-dia-63-gr-SMP it sounds like these may not be the best bullet for what you are asking of them Deano.

I am thinking in particular of the last sentence.
"This bullet will not give explosive expansion at longer ranges, but due to the wide jacket opening and generous exposed lead tip can be useful at shorter ranges for fur bearers whose pelts are to be preserved."
 
Hi Deano ... I have been using the 63gr Sierra Semi Point bullet for some 14 years in a little custom 22-250 AI as my go-to Roe rifle for Scotland. Outstanding accuracy out of a 1 in 12 twist Border barrel and dependable knock down results meant that I have stayed with the recipe from day one. Although classed by Sierra as a "varminter" bullet it does not have the expansion on a V-Max scale but it does get the job done in a dependable fashion with minimal meat damage. If big exit holes are a requirement then consider something along the lines of a V-Max otherwise enjoy your current success levels with a great wee performer.
 
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Hi gents. Has anyone had any experience with these bad boys? I only ask as I've cooked up a batch which I've chrony'd at 3050ish fps out of my 24" barrelled cz527. Groups beautifully at (if I drive it properly) 1/2 MOA.

However I'm having quite a few cases of apparently zero expansion on targets. I've had a munty dropped (like a stone) at 100yds with a boiler room shot but on inspection tiny entry and very small (1/2" dia) exit.



Last night 165 yd dog fox exactly the same. Now the effect was both definitive and effective and due to shot considerations the subsequently exiting projectile went straight into the more than adequate backstop. This is happening perhaps 75% of the time (based on about 25-30 shots).

Cant say say I'm very happy with this and looking for any ideas as to why??

All the best


Deano


When you say zero expansion, are you meaning because the entrance and exit are the same size? What were the internal organs like, was there a pencil like wound channel or a lot of damage? I have seen very frangible bullets come to bits internally but a small fragment such as the solid base from a nosler BT produce a small exit wound

What effect are you wanting? perhaps a lighter bullet may better suit your needs??
 
Since your rifle shoots this 63-gr Sierra so well ( and killing game in its tracks ) you might want to try a 60-gr Nosler, or the Winchester 64-gr ammuntion which is made for Whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, feral hogs, wolves. The game wardens in my state use of for control shooting out of an AR-15 platform.

I must add that this past Spring, a farmer I know had a big wild boar eating oats and other supplements put out for his horses, in a small pasture by a creek in some dark woods. He set up a high tree stand where he could shoot down into the ground for safety, and on the second night shot the trespasser in the neck, behind the skull, with that Winchester 64-gr Power Point ammunition. It was a complete pass through the neck with a 1 inch exit hole, after severing the spine and dropping the 340 pound boar in his tracks.
 
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65gr Gameking is a good bullet, if you can find it and push it enough to stabilise
The SMP's I've used tend to fragment a great deal but I've never used them beyond 100yds other than on bunnies.

To be clear though, a .22 entry and a .50 exit is still more than 100% expansion which is a good effort for any bullet.
 
Thanks for the opinions gents. I have to agree I'm loath to lose this load as it's very accurate and does exactly what I broadly need from it. I think I'll still work up the 50gn load but several areas I shoot are open welsh hillside with 1 million tonnes of backstop and no other living creature for kms so it has a place. And bloody hell does it drop stuff!! The munty I harvested recently was walking broadside on to me, when I hit him in the boiler room he actually face planted and his snout dug a little furrow he dropped that quick!


All the best.

Deano
 
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