Factory Ammo?

[Shanerbanner10]

Hey guys,
I have been shooting nothing but fgmm 175gr. smk's out of my brux 1:10 24" barrel. it shoots real well (3/8 moa) pretty much all day long. However, I am looking at exploring and shooting some different ammo and was curious to see what you guys have had luck with. I don't reload so here is what I am thinking about

Btw, the intended purpose is ringing steel, buckets, paper, anything else I can think of that would be fun to shoot from as far away as possible.

So far on my list is:
Southwest 175's
Southwest 155 scenars
Coppercreek 175's (if I can find them)
Also thinking about getting this load development package.
HSM 175's?? dunno anything about these
ASYM Match 175's??
Hornady 178 a-max
Blackhills if i can find it

Any other suggestions?
I'm interested to see how the 155's do at some distance. So far I've taken the 175's out to 1012 yards.

 

[phillipjr]

Southwest makes good ammo, 175 SMK. I would choose southwest over anything else on your list.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

which one would you prefer? Match or Premium? I was thinking match but whats the real difference?

 

[phillipjr]

I've only ever used match and it shot very well in my rifle! The premium is new lapua brass.

 

[bluto51]

I'd have to say that if you're getting 3/8" accuracy then I don't understand why you're looking for something else unless it's to save money.

I've done some testing of commercial match ammo. All of them are MATCH. They've included:
Copper Creek 175s SMK (Lake City Brass)
Lapua 167 Scenar (Lapua Brass - of course)
Norma 168 SMK (Norma Brass - many consider it to be right up there with Lapua)
ASYM 175 SMK (Lapua Brass)
FGMM 168 and 175 (Federal Brass)
HSM 168 (I forget.)
Applied Ballistics Munitions (formerly Litz) 175s (Lapua Brass)

All have produced multiple 5 shot groups under 2" at 300 yards out of both my bolt guns. Some more than others.
(See my entries in the 300 yard challenge on this forum using ASYM, ABM 175s and FGMM 168s)

For consistency and accuracy, I'd have to say ABM 175s are tops by a noticeable margin. I've had some on order for 4 months. Next are ASYM and Lapua. Norma and the Federals are very close behind the ASYM.
Then HSM and Copper Creek, which have both proven to be very accurate at good prices.

My overall choice as a slightly less expensive and completely equal substitute for FGMM has been the Norma 168 match ammo. IMHO, it's as consistent, accurate, and usually a bit less expensive than Federal - YMMV. You know, American Eagle 7.62X51 168s are also pretty good.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

I am basically looking for something a little less expensive. A box of Federal 175's are 39.99 around here whereas I can go online and wait it out a little bit. I would also like to see if there is anything out there that is cheaper for the time being and give me similar or maybe just maybe better results.

The rifle is still really new (coming up on 100 rounds down the tube) and I've only had Federal through it so I figure if not for any reason... simply why not try some other stuff?

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Dick D]

Bluto, Have you ever run any of these commercial loads thru a chrono and do you any 10 shot ES figures for them?

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Just placed an order for some southwest match 175's. I will let you guys know how it goes next weekend.

 

[Fred @ Bison Tactical]

I just ordered (bout a week back) 2 cases of FGMM 175's at $26 - $27 can't remember a box. I think Palmetto had them.

I have the 155-L's from SWAmmo - and the SWAmmo has an SD of around 16 while the FGMM is 10. Both shoot well so far for me, but I am still in pretty close.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

Definitely pretty close. I need to get my hands on a chrono.

 

[bluto51]

Bluto, Have you ever run any of these commercial loads thru a chrono and do you any 10 shot ES figures for them?

Dick D,

No I haven't. There are some old figures out there on the net if you Google "match ammo comparison test". My opinions are based on results shooting a minimum of 100 rounds of each type of ammo for 5 shot groups primarily at 300 yards. I've done the same thing for my other rifle caliber - .223/5.56.

 

[Fred @ Bison Tactical]

I just ran 2 groups of 20 through the chrono for SWAmmo 155's -- ES = 57 on both SD = 16 - very consistent
FGMM (14) ES = 36, SD = 10

will have more from the same lot after this weekend...