Spark Munitions-heard of them?

AKMarty

AKMarty

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Jul 2, 2019
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#1
I’ve been shopping for ammo and I found this company called Spark Munitions out of Cranberry, PA. Prices seem somewhat reasonable.

1-Have you heard of them/used them with regards to long range precision?
2-If you bought ammo from them, how did the ammo perform?

the 6.5 CM loads with Hornady ELD-Ms seems slow out the gate at 2604 fps.

thanks

sparkmunitions.com

6.5 Creedmoor 147gr Match

sparkmunitions.com sparkmunitions.com
 
#2
Sister company of Peterson? Believe that's where Peterson brass is made too....?


Edit-. Checked. Same contact address for both companies. Wonder if they are using Peterson brass...I didn't see brass make listed.


Right down the road from me... actually grew up within 15mins of there. Never heard of them till now...(or Peterson) till recently.
 
#3
AKMarty said:
I’ve been shopping for ammo and I found this company called Spark Munitions out of Cranberry, PA. Prices seem somewhat reasonable.

1-Have you heard of them/used them with regards to long range precision?
2-If you bought ammo from them, how did the ammo perform?

the 6.5 CM loads with Hornady ELD-Ms seems slow out the gate at 2604 fps.

thanks

sparkmunitions.com

6.5 Creedmoor 147gr Match

sparkmunitions.com sparkmunitions.com
Click to expand...

I’m fairly certain prime was/is using them to load some of their ammo.
 
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#4
Spark Munitions and Peterson Cartridge share building space but they are two separate companies. I've toured their facility.
Spark does the manufacturing for Peterson's loaded ammunition - and it is fantastic. Single digit SD's, Sub MOA accuracy. I recently shot a group prone with a sling at 100 yards - 20 shots - sub MOA. The furthest I've shot is 600yards (NRA High Power Match) and the water line was sub-Xring at that distance. From watching them load the Peterson ammo I can tell you that it is mass produced carefully handloaded ammunition.

I did see some Prime ammunition boxes in the facility last couple times I was there as well.

For Spark's own ammunition they use different brass for different types of ammo. For example, I believe the 223 uses once-fired Lake City. But the 243 uses Peterson. Don't quote me on that, they could have easily changed things with all the shortages lately. The Spark ammo that I saw being loaded last time I was there was pistol ammo, so they were running those on machines. I can't speak to what processes Spark uses for their rifle ammo, but I know several good shooters who have tried it and they said it was accurate.

Regards,
Ross
 
#7
I've shot it in 6.5cm. Uses large primer Peterson. First batch of 200rnds in 140 ELD-M I bought last year were 2800 fps. Second batch I got last fall was 2690fps (10 rnd sample) with acceptable SD (8.6). I think it shoots good and I'd buy from them again. Stand up company that was very responsive in emails too.
 
#8
I use Spark Munitions ammunition in all my rifles. The stuff flat out shoots. I always get consistent SDs and don’t have any temperature issues. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.
 
#9
Wannabeinotc said:
I've shot it in 6.5cm. Uses large primer Peterson. First batch of 200rnds in 140 ELD-M I bought last year were 2800 fps. Second batch I got last fall was 2690fps (10 rnd sample) with acceptable SD (8.6). I think it shoots good and I'd buy from them again. Stand up company that was very responsive in emails too.
Click to expand...
What rifle you shooting it with?
 
#11
I use their ammo a lot too and really like it. The owner, Anthony, is good people. Yes, he did tell me they had to slow the load down a bit. That's why I have some of their older boxes which list MV as 2800 but the new boxes say 2700. Ammo still shoots well.

I was kinda hoping to keep Spark ammo a secret haha but now that the word is out, I might as well just comment how good they are...
 
#13
As an addition to this thread:

I was able to go out yesterday and test some sparks 65CM ammo using Berger 140 Hybrids and Lehigh 121 solids in a Tikka T3X TAC A1.

While the primers did not show signs of high pressure, the bolt was hard to operate.

As such, the Sparks ammos could not be used due to classic signs of high pressure.

The boxes absolutely show very high FPS ratings (2850 / 3100 ish, but I'll get some pics).
 
#14
GBMaryland said:
As an addition to this thread:

I was able to go out yesterday and test some sparks 65CM ammo using Berger 140 Hybrids and Lehigh 121 solids in a Tikka T3X TAC A1.

While the primers did not show signs of high pressure, the bolt was hard to operate.

As such, the Sparks ammos could not be used due to classic signs of high pressure.

The boxes absolutely show very high FPS ratings (2850 / 3100 ish, but I'll get some pics).
Click to expand...

I've been shooting spark for a while now and it's been the complete opposite for me. Usually on the slower side but very accurate and dependable.

I remember the first purchase i made from them. The ammo box listed MV as 2800 but i got 2717. Their newer MV listing is now 2700 but i have not tested that one as i have not gone shooting in a while. These are for their 140 ELDM and Peterson brass loads. I was not aware they were loading hybrids and lehighs.
 
Last edited:
#15
Another option is custom reloads of Dallas, they are also very high quality and not sticking it to people like some of the others.
 
#16
GBMaryland said:
As an addition to this thread:

I was able to go out yesterday and test some sparks 65CM ammo using Berger 140 Hybrids and Lehigh 121 solids in a Tikka T3X TAC A1.

While the primers did not show signs of high pressure, the bolt was hard to operate.

As such, the Sparks ammos could not be used due to classic signs of high pressure.

The boxes absolutely show very high FPS ratings (2850 / 3100 ish, but I'll get some pics).
Click to expand...
Please send us an email to [email protected]. I can assure you that every single lot of powder and every load is tested in a pressure barrel. This way we are certain to fall within Saami specs for pressure. We stand by our products and are happy to assist. Thanks -Anthony
 
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#17
GBMaryland said:
I was able to go out yesterday and test some sparks 65CM ammo using Berger 140 Hybrids
Click to expand...
Wow, I don't see 140 hybrids on their website. I do see Berger 135 VLD (and my understanding is that Berger VLD are secant and not hybrid ogives).

But when I click on it and go to the description, they say that they are 135 Classic Hunters which are hybrids.

I'm guessing that their offering varies frequently depending on what components they can get???
 
#18
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#20
GBMaryland said:
So Yep those were 135s my mistake I think the other box of ammo I went through was a Hornady box of 140s
Click to expand...
Yes, my friend...but even those are, I believe, mismarked. Beger doesn't make a 6.5 VLD bullet in 135. 140 gr, yes.

They do make 135 in Classic Hunter which is a hybrid.

My understanding of Berger VLD is...well, from Berger's site:

"VLD Hunting Bullets incoporate a secant ogive design"

Happy Easter....oh, and may the angel of death pass over our sorry asses one more year 😄
 
#22
What kind of data have you all been getting on the Spark ammo? I've been shooting 144gr Sierra MatchKings of theirs through my 6.5 CM and have been getting pretty significant extreme spreads. Over multiple testing sessions, removing any outlier shot data (pickups from shooters next to me, etc.), I'm getting ES >85 FPS over most 20 shot strings. Curious to know if anyone else is seeing similar results?
 
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#23
CWik said:
What kind of data have you all been getting on the Spark ammo? I've been shooting 144gr Sierra MatchKings of theirs through my 6.5 CM and have been getting pretty significant extreme spreads. Over multiple testing sessions, removing any outlier shot data (pickups from shooters next to me, etc.), I'm getting ES >85 FPS over most 20 shot strings. Curious to know if anyone else is seeing similar results?
Click to expand...
I have definitely not gotten anywhere near that. My SDs are single digits and the ES isn’t far behind.
What rifle are you using?
 
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#24
Poorboyr said:
I have definitely not gotten anywhere near that. My SDs are single digits and the ES isn’t far behind.
What rifle are you using?
Click to expand...
Hmm....I'll have to return to the range and triple-check everything on my end. Anyone else, please do speak up if you're not seeing very low ES from your Spark tests.

For reference, I'm using a custom build. Defiance Deviant action w/ a Bartlein barrel.
 
#25
The 135s were fantastic...

I need to return and test out the 121s, but I’m probably gonna try those in my benchmark 24 inch barrel.

Just waiting for a new scope mount to arrive so that I can test it properly.
 
#26
CWik said:
Hmm....I'll have to return to the range and triple-check everything on my end. Anyone else, please do speak up if you're not seeing very low ES from your Spark tests.

For reference, I'm using a custom build. Defiance Deviant action w/ a Bartlein barrel.
Click to expand...
@CWik what method are you using to measure velocity? What sort of accuracy are you seeing? At 100 yards and at distance. Please feel free to email us at [email protected]. Thanks
 
#27
Oh, and I spoke to Dan at Warner tool today about the solid copper is not doing as well in my tikka...

Dan, indicated that the majority of factory barrels just won’t be able to pull it off because the rifling is not consistent and allow for a fair amount of blow by.

Based on that criteria it’s actually fairly impressive that the Sparks ammunition did as well as it did with the 121 grain solids.
 
#28
I just came by some Sparks 6.5 Creedmoor with 140 ELD-M and 142 SMK in a trade I did. I'm excited to try it in my AI with SJA 26" barrel. Also nice to see @Anucc who appears to be with Sparks represented here on the Hide! Hopefully you'll be getting more ammo in stock soon...
 
#32
I've been buying from Spark for several years with great results. I primarily shoot the 140 ELDM loads in 6.5CM, but I buy multiple calibers from them whenever they have inventory and I've tested pretty much every load they offer in 6.5CM with pretty similar results across all the various loads. My primary rifle is is a Defiance Deviant Elite action with a 26" Bartlein MTU LH Gain Twist - 1:8.25" to 1:7.5" in a MPA Matrix Chassis and Trigger Tech Diamond trigger. I haven't checked the velocity spreads on my Spark loads in a while, but last time I did they were in the high single digits to low teens and I can consistently shoot 1/2 MOA or better with the Spark 140 ELDMs. An ES of 85+ seems fairly unlikely to me based on my experience over a few thousand Spark rounds down range most of those at 500+ yards, but hey if you guys are concerned about the quality of Spark's ammo please feel free to take a pass and leave what inventory they have alone :)!
 
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#34
Anucc said:
@CWik what method are you using to measure velocity? What sort of accuracy are you seeing? At 100 yards and at distance. Please feel free to email us at [email protected]. Thanks
Click to expand...
@Anucc – I'm using a LabRadar. Seeing good accuracy/grouping at 100yds but noticing some larger than expected ES. Going to head back out to the range this weekend and completely retest my setup. Will report back in. Thanks for reaching out – speaks volumes of Spark's efforts!
 
#37
@tsp3355 – Certainly, but with the caveat that these results don't seem to be the usual highly-consistent MV and ES others have described from Spark Munitions. Just a quick shoutout that this may just be a higher-variability sublot of ammo. I shot 4 strings, two with 144gr SMK Spark and then two more strings with Berger's factory loaded ammunition (140 Hybrid Target and 156 EOL) – all with the same, consistent LabRadar setup. Keep in mind that these are coming out of an 18" Bartlein barrel, so the lower MVs are expected due to the length of the barrel. Here are the results:

String 1 - Spark Munitions 144 SMK
  • No. of rounds: 20
  • Averager MV: 2,596 fps
  • Extreme spread: 104 fps
  • SD: 25.8 fps
String 2 - Spark Munitions 144 SMK
  • No. of rounds: 15
  • Averager MV: 2,604 fps
  • Extreme spread: 85 fps
  • SD: 26.8 fps
String 3 - Berger 140 Hybrid Target (SKU: 31011 )
  • No. of rounds: 17
  • Averager MV: 2,720 fps
  • Extreme spread: 31 fps
  • SD: 11.7 fps
String 4 - Berger 156 EOL (SKU: 31070 )
  • No. of rounds: 11
  • Averager MV: 2,483 fps
  • Extreme spread: 37 fps
  • SD: 11.0 fps
 
#38
I wonder if the Spark ammo is maybe too long for your chamber? If the bullets are up against the lands when you chamber them, that would likely cause inconsistent velocities. If not, I'd say its a bad lot of ammo. I have never seen anything close to those spreads with any of my Spark ammo.
 
#39
tsp3355 said:
I wonder if the Spark ammo is maybe too long for your chamber? If the bullets are up against the lands when you chamber them, that would likely cause inconsistent velocities. If not, I'd say its a bad lot of ammo. I have never seen anything close to those spreads with any of my Spark ammo.
Click to expand...
@tsp3355 – really appreciate the help in trying to diagnose the issue, and interesting thought. Took a moment to put the Spark 144 SMKs side-by-side to a Berger 156 EOL....the Berger 156s are noticeably longer and didn't show the same issue. I certainly want to be getting the results out of the Spark that you all are – I have plenty of it! Always open to any other ideas you may have
 
#40
If its too short, that could also cause inconsistent velocities, but normally less so than if its too long. Ammo that is too short for the chamber making the jump to the lands longer than necessary normally causes inconsistent accuracy even at shorter distances. If you have a 6.5 bullet comparator measuring the cartridge lengths at the bullet ogive and comparing the different loads would be helpful, but if the COAL of the Spark is shorter than the other loads, I think its more likely that that the ammo is bad. Maybe the powder or primers were somehow contaminated or out of spec. It's definitely strange.
 
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