Matchking X

.015-.025

I submit, regardless of the rounding error, my point stands.

Do you disagree?


.015-.025 G1 change isn’t what anyone is talking about. How about a 6mm 107gr with a .477 g1, 70 points lower than the 107gr SMK- and lower than the 95gr SMK (.490)? Or a .277 135gr option? No one asked for that.

Most of the line doesn’t make sense, and certainly isn’t competitive with other offerings.
 
.015-.025 G1 change isn’t what anyone is talking about. How about a 6mm 107gr with a .477 g1, 70 points lower than the 107gr SMK- and lower than the 95gr SMK (.490)? Or a .277 135gr option? No one asked for that.

Most of the line doesn’t make sense, and certainly isn’t competitive with other offerings.
I disagree and I agree.

My point was broader than just the MKX line. It wasn’t just the MKX line bc’s that were compared after all by the previous commenters. My general point is that sometimes we can over-stress bc to a defeee that doesn’t equate to real world results. Sierra can still hang and shouldn’t be overlooked.

You, after all, are probably the biggest proponent of their bullets these days.

Nonetheless, let’s stick to the MKX line.

The .308 offerings are perfectly in line with the bc’s of competitor offerings. As is the 142 6.5.

I’ll cede you the point on the .277 135 being an odd ball. Someone with a .270 win will love it.

Here’s where we really disagree….at least if Sierras marketing holds true. Allegedly the 107 MKX is the same form factor as the 107 SMK. They suggest that you can run your match load, not change your dies, then run the MKX for hunting. I use a 6 BR as a trainer with the SMK, if I could really just pop in the MKX and not have to change anything, that’s pretty useful.

If it shot great and I didn’t have to change my dope too much, I would use it. You’re apparently using 77 TMK’s out to 700 yards on elk out of a .223. The 107 MKX at BR velocity still beats that.

It serves a purpose.

I disagree agree though a high bc 107 TMK would be more appealing.
 
I disagree and I agree.

My point was broader than just the MKX line. It wasn’t just the MKX line bc’s that were compared after all by the previous commenters. My general point is that sometimes we can over-stress bc to a defeee that doesn’t equate to real world results. Sierra can still hang and shouldn’t be overlooked.

You, after all, are probably the biggest proponent of their bullets these days.

Nonetheless, let’s stick to the MKX line.

The .308 offerings are perfectly in line with the bc’s of competitor offerings. As is the 142 6.5.

I’ll cede you the point on the .277 135 being an odd ball. Someone with a .270 win will love it.

Here’s where we really disagree….at least if Sierras marketing holds true. Allegedly the 107 MKX is the same form factor as the 107 SMK. They suggest that you can run your match load, not change your dies, then run the MKX for hunting. I use a 6 BR as a trainer with the SMK, if I could really just pop in the MKX and not have to change anything, that’s pretty useful.

If it shot great and I didn’t have to change my dope too much, I would use it. You’re apparently using 77 TMK’s out to 700 yards on elk out of a .223. The 107 MKX at BR velocity still beats that.

It serves a purpose.

I disagree agree though a high bc 107 TMK would be more appealing.
Dude, the 142 smkX, is a g7 of 278, the standard smk is around 312, I've shot a lot of em. How can the 107smk and smkX have the same form factor but still be 242 g7 VS a 278 g7 of a standard 107? These bullets suck on paper spec wise compared to the standard smk counterparts. Heavy for cal tmk or bust from Sierra, unfortunately that where I sit with this company.
 
Dude, the 142 smkX, is a g7 of 278, the standard smk is around 312, I've shot a lot of em. How can the 107smk and smkX have the same form factor but still be 242 g7 VS a 278 g7 of a standard 107? These bullets suck on paper spec wise compared to the standard smk counterparts. Heavy for cal tmk or bust from Sierra, unfortunately that where I sit with this company.
Correction, the 142 MK has an advertised bc of .303 g7.

The MKX has an advertised g7 of .287….not .278.

If you go g1, its .626 for the MK and .595 for the MKX.

At 800 yards, a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps and an elevation of 6,250 feet (elk country), that is literally one tenth of a mil difference in elevation. Plug it in your calculator and see for yourself.

You are not going to miss a target or an animal over a tenth of a mil (literally 2.88 inches at that range). It is entirely possible (even likely), that those of us who get excellent accuracy and consistency from Sierra bullets now have a great hunting bullet with virtually the same ballistic performance.

Regarding the 107, that’s not clear. If I had to guess, they are calling it the “107 MKX” but it must weigh less. Just like the 143 ELDX is the same form factor as the 147 ELDM.

Dunno, but I’m not going to shit on Sierra over it. Especially when, as hopefully I have pointed out, bc tends to be overrated.

Also, the jury isn’t out on the MKX. We all rave about the TMK…..maybe the MKX performance will be even better. Who knows, maybe it will be a go-to, best in class design once it’s made the rounds.

I for one am going to put my money where my mouth is (already have) and give it a shot.
 
Correction, the 142 MK has an advertised bc of .303 g7.

The MKX has an advertised g7 of .287….not .278.

If you go g1, its .626 for the MK and .595 for the MKX.

At 800 yards, a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps and an elevation of 6,250 feet (elk country), that is literally one tenth of a mil difference in elevation. Plug it in your calculator and see for yourself.

You are not going to miss a target or an animal over a tenth of a mil (literally 2.88 inches at that range). It is entirely possible (even likely), that those of us who get excellent accuracy and consistency from Sierra bullets now have a great hunting bullet with virtually the same ballistic performance.

Regarding the 107, that’s not clear. If I had to guess, they are calling it the “107 MKX” but it must weigh less. Just like the 143 ELDX is the same form factor as the 147 ELDM.

Dunno, but I’m not going to shit on Sierra over it. Especially when, as hopefully I have pointed out, bc tends to be overrated.

Also, the jury isn’t out on the MKX. We all rave about the TMK…..maybe the MKX performance will be even better. Who knows, maybe it will be a go-to, best in class design once it’s made the rounds.

I for one am going to put my money where my mouth is (already have) and give it a shot.
That may been a typo on the 287 VS 278, but I have shot probably 3k of the 142smk pointed bullets from smk line, and they have trued out at at 310-314g7, they're slightly better than a 140 hybrid in flight.

Sierra bullets do shoot well. Any of their pointed varieties are not generally regarded for hunting as their expansion consistency is all over the place.

This is where they brought in this mkX line. We will see the results this season for those bullets hopefully. With their advertised numbers they offer no advantage

This bullet line doesn't bring a lot to the table honestly, in my opinion. Their tmk line is proven on game, we all know this. The tgk line is very a very hard bullet, pretty much a shoot to the shoulder bullet, which isn't a bad thing, but they also have poor for weight class bc. Likely due to the heavy copper jacket.

I'll quit dragging Sierra through the dirt for giving us something we haven't been asking for, they did bring a new line to market, at least they're trying to be innovative.
 
Here’s where we really disagree….at least if Sierras marketing holds true. Allegedly the 107 MKX is the same form factor as the 107 SMK. They suggest that you can run your match load, not change your dies, then run the MKX for hunting. I use a 6 BR as a trainer with the SMK, if I could really just pop in the MKX and not have to change anything, that’s pretty useful.
Or you could just shoot a 108/109 eldm for both and not worry about switching bullets.
 
At 800 yards, a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps and an elevation of 6,250 feet (elk country), that is literally one tenth of a mil difference in elevation. Plug it in your calculator and see for yourself.

You are not going to miss a target or an animal over a tenth of a mil (literally 2.88 inches at that range).
Elevation isn't where you see the biggest gain with a high-BC bullet. Wind drift (and specifically, resistance to changes in wind speed and direction) is far more important.
 
As I remember one of the sierra 6mm tipped bullets had significant variation in BC based on Mach number. I can’t remember if it was the 90, 95, or 100gr TGK or TMK. I wonder if their reluctance to make one particular bullet isn’t because it had such BC variance. Of course now I can’t find their stepped BC numbers.
 
Or you could just shoot a 108/109 eldm for both and not worry about switching bullet

Elevation isn't where you see the biggest gain with a high-BC bullet. Wind drift (and specifically, resistance to changes in wind speed and direction) is far more important.
Yep, that’s .4 inches difference in a ten mile an hour wind at 800 yards.

Less than half an inch…..
 
Yep, that’s .4 inches difference in a ten mile an hour wind at 800 yards.

Less than half an inch…..
It can matter more than you might think.

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As I remember one of the sierra 6mm tipped bullets had significant variation in BC based on Mach number. I can’t remember if it was the 90, 95, or 100gr TGK or TMK. I wonder if their reluctance to make one particular bullet isn’t because it had such BC variance. Of course now I can’t find their stepped BC numbers.
I noticed a while ago that Sierra did away with listing their stepped BC numbers on their website. I find that annoying as I thought it was interesting information. I wish more folks would publish the BCs measured with radar at various Mach values like Hornady does for their ELD-M/ELD-X/A-Tip bullets, though it doesn't seem to really matter a whole lot before one gets out there quite a ways. [ETA: So maybe Berger's single average G7 is more practical. If only everyone could do the same thing!]

I doubt that "variance" in BC at different velocities/Mach numbers is driving whether Sierra makes a bullet or not. All that type of variance really indicates, if I understand BC correctly, is that the bullet's shape is sufficiently different from the shape of the standard projectile (G1, G7, etc.) that the drag model for the standard projectile (on which most BC calculators are based) doesn't match the drag curve of the projectile very well. That is something different from inconsistency in the drag of the bullet itself. So long as the bullet drag is consistent from shot to shot, I don't really see why variance from the standard projectile's drag curve would be an (unpredictable/unsolvable) problem in this day and age. I would expect if you are shooting at a distance where it matters, you are using a CDM, PDM, 4DOF, or a trued G7 BC for the target distance anyway, right?

Regading the new SMK-X bullets themselves: I just learned of them. They are a bit of a head scratcher to me, though I generally have good luck with SMKs shooting well and being easy to load. I'm (moderately) interested to see how these perform.
 
The Ultimate Reloader gel test wasn't terribly convincing. Shot at very high velocity and short range, the neck lengths looked pretty long, probably close to 3". Looks like they may be similar terminally to a Scenar or Berger Hybrid.

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