M-1 Bullet Weights--Any clear accuracy champ by weight?

[Parashooter]

. . . For whatever reason, the Sierra 175 ball has a HUGE barrel bearing area, and the smart money says this is why you get pressure signs in a Garand. . .but it's hard to beat a Sierra 168 MatchKing for just about anything except Long Range.

A little checking seems to show that the Sierra 175 and 168 are virtually identical forward of the boattail junction. If there's a significant difference in bearing surface, I can't find it in those I have on hand.

[John Kepler]

Point being? Oh.....and I can see a difference in bearing area in YOUR pictures....and that's just with a plain old Mk.I Eyeball. FWIW, the issue is more a case of loading and resistance to acceleration. When you want to, check the 175 against a 178 A-Max.....then shoot it. That's when you find out that Sierra doesn't have all the answers.

BTW.....you still shooting molys?

[Parashooter]

Point being? Oh.....and I can see a difference in bearing area in YOUR pictures....and that's just with a plain old Mk.I Eyeball. FWIW, the issue is more a case of loading and resistance to acceleration.

BTW.....you still shooting molys?

Here's some help for those Mk.I eyeballs and my crummy photo -


Earlier photo zoomed in on tail end of bearing surface.

Near as I can tell from eyeballing and measuring these things up close and personal, there is no significant difference in bearing surface between the two. (Definitely not more than .020".) Now you tell us, "the issue is more a case of loading and resistance to acceleration." Previously it was, "the Sierra 175 ball has a HUGE barrel bearing area, and the smart money says this is why you get pressure signs in a Garand." Oh well, what was it Emerson said about hobgoblins?

I stopped beating myself up with .30 calibers at long-range eons ago (after collecting an unexpected Palma pin with a service mousegun the first year they were allowed at Perry) - but still have a few dozen of those moly-coated 175's gathering dust.

[PhillipM]

I tried the 125 TNT's and may need to do it again since my position and scores have improved. I just couldn't get good accuracy with them until they were driven near max loads and at that point they kicked as hard as anything else.

I've gone through 600 or so of the Nosler 155 custom competitions and have had the highest scores with this bullet and most of my matches are shot at 200.

For sitting undo your pants and loosen your belt, just not enough for your pants to fall off when commanded to rise.

Everyone else posting above has much more experience shooting Garands than I do, but I am in the silver medal range now.

BTW 155's are in stock at Midway by the 1000 as of right now. I just ordered a box, $247 to my door.

[Amanda4461]

Phillip,
Thanks for the loosen the belt idea. definitely don't want to subject the folks behind the line to my tighty-whiteys! Unfortunately, as soon as I read this, I tried Midway. They are out already, so I put a notify-me in for the 155gr Nosler. Hopefully, I won't have to stuff the case full of 4064 to get them accurate in my rifle.
Amanda

[Phil McGrath]

Here's some help for those Mk.I eyeballs and my crummy photo -


Earlier photo zoomed in on tail end of bearing surface.

Near as I can tell from eyeballing and measuring these things up close and personal, there is no significant difference in bearing surface between the two. (Definitely not more than .020".) Now you tell us, "the issue is more a case of loading and resistance to acceleration." Previously it was, "the Sierra 175 ball has a HUGE barrel bearing area, and the smart money says this is why you get pressure signs in a Garand." Oh well, what was it Emerson said about hobgoblins?

I stopped beating myself up with .30 calibers at long-range eons ago (after collecting an unexpected Palma pin with a service mousegun the first year they were allowed at Perry) - but still have a few dozen of those moly-coated 175's gathering dust.

The 168SMK has a bearing lenth of .370 and a BT angle of 12*

The 175SMK has a bearing lenth of .390 and a BT angle of 9*

[Parashooter]

You might want to re-check those bearing lengths. .470/.490" would seem about right, at least for the .300"+ surface.

[George in NH]

Amanda,
I would offer that you try the Sierra 150 gr. match king, if it is still available. Although the Palma bullet may cost less as it seems to be less popular. Also, wearing a medium weight sweat shirt under any reasonable shooting coat will be a great aid in maintaining a proper position. Sure, you will perspire but that is the reason for the sweat shirt, to keep sweat from the shooting coat and launder the sweat shirt. Try not to wear jeans while shooting. They can be too restrictive in position. I also unfasten the top button of my trousers when sitting. HTH

[slamfire]

I shot 168's all the way back to 600 yards. It was nice just to have one type of ammunition to fool with. Sometimes I would use 175's at 600, when I shot Garands at 1000 yards, 168's would tumble, the 175's would not.

I had buds who shot 125's at 200, they shot wonderfully and had less recoil.