Day at the Range 110gr PPU vs 123gr ELD-M

[LRRPF52]

I went out with my youngest boy to confirm zeros on some Grendels and a Block II SOPMOD 5.56 carbine.

I haven’t put the 110gr PPU on paper yet so I wanted to see what it would do.





My boy shot this at 200yds with the 17.6” Grendel using 123gr ELD-M for his first time at 200.



I shot this at 200yds, only a 3-round group. This carbine has a 2.5-10x32mm Vortex scope on it I’ve used since about 2014.



The PPU 110gr FMJBT seems to be basically a military service rifle load, maybe 2-3 MOA.

I got a sanity check to make sure it wasn’t me by testing it next to the 123gr ELD-M, which did about 1.1 MOA for me at both 100yds and 200yds.

The main thing was to get out and confirm zeros, teach the boy base rifle fundamentals (PAB-TF), and let him get some trigger time on paper where he can see results through the spotting scope.

[LRRPF52]

Here’s 100yds:



You can clearly see the difference between the 110gr FMJ and 123gr ELD-M.

I’ve shot a lot of the older 120gr PPU MPT, and it was slightly more accurate than 123gr A-MAX for me across multiple 16” and 18” Grendels.

I really like that 120gr MPT load.

110gr is good blasting ammo or for shooting steel within 300-400yds on medium sized targets.

[COLOR="#0000FF"]I recant this statement after several range trips and courses now shooting it at distance.

It shoots really flat and fast and is easy to hit things with at much longer ranges than I expected.[/COLOR]

Everything ran fine through several different types of magazines.

We did a bunch of initial zero-conformation at 50 and 75yds.

One thing I wanted to test was the newer ASC 25rd mags, which ran great for me as well.

In the pics you can see the Amend2 polymer mags. No issues with them to-date either.

[JASmith]

Looks like he is doing very well.

[65Carcano]

PPU does seem to be the best option for factory plinking ammo at the moment. Wolf steel-cased is just a bit too inaccurate to be fun, and not cheap enough to offset that.

I hope PPU start selling their soft points again. The soft point projectile they use on their 123 grain Carcano load seems like it would be much better suited for Grendel than Carcano, where it tends to feed poorly.

[stonehog]

I've also had good luck with the PPU 120gr loads. They surprised me compared to my handloads and other factory - often surpassing them. Looks like your boy is off to a great start!

[LRRPF52]

Even though I haven’t been able to get the 110gr PPU to shoot under 3” at 100yds, I’ve been making crazy 1st-round hits with it at distance from the 12” Grendel.

Yesterday, I made 3 consecutive hits at 780yds on the buffalo steel TGT cold turkey after my boy was shooting, and then I made a 1st-round hit at 900yds on a 12” steel plate with it. Go figure.

Here’s my boy shooting it at 400yds on steel:

[video]https://youtube.com/shorts/FZopMtBHkQ8?feature=share[/video]

I kept having to adjust the dope because it was hitting noticeably higher than predicted, even with all my atmospheric data correct for the conditions.

It was 2 mils at 400yds with the 17.6” Grendel on the turret with high center hits on the plate.

Very flat-shooting and easy to hit steel.

[LRRPF52]

Factory numbers claim 2756fps mv with a .411 G1 BC for 110gr FMJBT, which I believe now.

For 17.6” barrel, it should be doing about 2622fps.

12” will be around 2436fps.

I’m glad I bought a lot of these.

[LR1955]

Even though I haven’t been able to get the 110gr PPU to shoot under 3” at 100yds, I’ve been making crazy 1st-round hits with it at distance from the 12” Grendel.

Yesterday, I made 3 consecutive hits at 780yds on the buffalo steel TGT cold turkey after my boy was shooting, and then I made a 1st-round hit at 900yds on a 12” steel plate with it. Go figure.

Here’s my boy shooting it at 400yds on steel:

[video]https://youtube.com/shorts/FZopMtBHkQ8?feature=share[/video]

I kept having to adjust the dope because it was hitting noticeably higher than predicted, even with all my atmospheric data correct for the conditions.

It was 2 mils at 400yds with the 17.6” Grendel on the turret with high center hits on the plate.

Very flat-shooting and easy to hit steel.

LRRP52:

I would imagine you would hit a buffalo size silhouette at 700 yards with the 110 PPU stuff. Although not gigantic, the ones I have shot were pretty big. I would say average size of a grown buffalo.

Sounds like you have some pretty reliable ball ammo there. I still have four or five hundred rounds of the original PPU MPT and it shoots OK.

LR-55

[LRRPF52]

LRRP52:

I would imagine you would hit a buffalo size silhouette at 700 yards with the 110 PPU stuff. Although not gigantic, the ones I have shot were pretty big. I would say average size of a grown buffalo.

Sounds like you have some pretty reliable ball ammo there. I still have four or five hundred rounds of the original PPU MPT and it shoots OK.

LR-55

That buffalo is only 36x24”, so 4.6x3 MOA at 780. I had a new shooter make a hit on the 900yd 12” steel with that same 110gr PPU a few weeks ago as well. It isn’t loud when it hits, like a 6mm, but it has surprised me as to the hit rate at distance.

I get more of a dopamine hit when I hear louder impact on the steel, but the 110gr makes great training ammo for new shooters and kids.

The older 120gr MPT has shot really well for me at 100yds, even a bit better than Hornady, but I don’t have any of it anymore.

I’m going to lean on the 130gr RDF I think from a hand-loading approach now, since I have stupid amounts of brass.

[Zeneffect]

I put some 110 PPU over chrono and got some wild results. It was over my old caldwell optical chrono so I suspect that velocity accuracy was being weird but I would get the occasional 2800+fps reading which made me stop shooting that ammo. I'll run it over the magnetospeed to see if i get the same weirdness as I have a box or 2 left over for dark days.



This is data I have from 22" barrel. Chrono was about 5 yards in front of barrel

Only reason I keep this stuff is because of how well it performs shooting through solid objects like car doors

[LRRPF52]

Holy crap...276fps ES. That is wild.

I haven’t chrono’d mine. I do know that with the 12”, it was easy for me to hit 780yds consecutively going cold turkey on that target.

Maybe I will weight-sort them since propellant mass variations would be the main culprit in those kinds of Extreme Spread. 2633-2898fps spread is kinda out of control.

[Zeneffect]

It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for those 2 or 3 speedy rounds and the 1 slow one... but given that accounts for nearly 25% of shots fired one has to wonder.

[vaguru]

I bought a couple boxes of PPU 110 gr just to get some rounds through new 20" upper. Sent over chrono on 2 different days. Day one 58*F, AV 2803.6 ES 47, and AV 2746.2 ES 83, 2 ten shot strings beginning and end of day. Day 2 48*F, AV 2775 ES 28, and AV 2804 ES 23, again 2 ten shot strings beginning and end of day.

Didn't group that well, maybe 2 MOA, and that's all I had so no more testing and decided not to buy more.

[Zeneffect]

Well I guess that says a bit about the lot to lot.

[LRRPF52]

I bought a couple boxes of PPU 110 gr just to get some rounds through new 20" upper. Sent over chrono on 2 different days. Day one 58*F, AV 2803.6 ES 47, and AV 2746.2 ES 83, 2 ten shot strings beginning and end of day. Day 2 48*F, AV 2775 ES 28, and AV 2804 ES 23, again 2 ten shot strings beginning and end of day.

Didn't group that well, maybe 2 MOA, and that's all I had so no more testing and decided not to buy more.

Maybe the manufacturer mv data is for a 20”, because those numbers match up to their stated 2756fps much better.

[Zeneffect]

What chronograph, and how old is the ammo?

Asking because those are the 2 main issues I would look at with the data I have. My velocity results were from a chrono I used for less than a year before replacing because I never really trusted it. The ammo I have was produced shortly after the recall and was the new "safe" srp stuff, which makes it pretty old today.
manufacturing and loading tolerences may have improved since then.