short barrels and long range

[LR1955]

Hi LR,
How have you been? I generally agree with what you said, the faster the velocity, and the higher the BC the better for 600 yards and certainly beyond... However there are more 80 grain Sierra Match Kings shot at 600 yards competitively than any other bullet by a huge margin. The 80 SMK has a BC of .420 and is fired at 2,700 fps out of a 20" service rifle. Service rifles outnumbered match rifles 4:1 at the National Matches this year. I've seen several cleans (200 out of 200 points for those not familiar) shot with this load under tricky winds so it can be done.
But the obvious issue is that this is the number one load because of rules not because of choice. None the less I find the 123 A-Max fired from a 16" Grendel to be as easy to dope wind with as the 80 grain SMK out of a 20" service rifle. If I were to compete in a full course mid range prone match (300, 500, and 600) with anything other than my service rifle then yes I would shoot a more capable caliber such as a 6BR, 6XC .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor out of a 28 or 30" barrel Tubb 2k or Ellisio tube gun. My friend Jorge Puignau just shot a new national record 200-20X+1X using a 6XC at 600 yards. That is a testament to the shooter not the equipment but it does play to your point of choosing a more capable caliber for that purpose. I would just not short sell the 600 yard performance of a 16" Grendel.
PS Jorge outshot several 6.5X284's even shot from Open F-Class, not just from score but by group size as well, and he was shooting metallic sights from a sling. So skill is still king.

Bob

Bob:

Good to see you back and I hope you did well at Camp Perry this year.

I think you already know what I am about to say. So far, it is a toss up between hot loaded 77 grain and hot loaded 80 grain bullets for the "Service Rifle" category in High Power competition. The fact is that without going into an exotic core or lathe turned solids -- both are against the rules -- there is nothing else to choose from.

So, the reason why High Power guys shoot the 80 grain load is that nothing else currently exists that is better for 600. My bet is that if someone would make something that equaled a 6XC loading in 5.56 that the 80 grain loads would disappear as fast as the M-14 / M-1A disappeared from High Power when the AMU broke the code about making a M-16A2 clone competitive.

I would say that your 80 grain load for the AR-15 is probably real close at 600 to the 123 A-Max load you are using for your Grendel. Not enough difference to mean much. On the other hand, I wonder if a decent 77 grain VLD hot loaded the way guys hot load those 80 grain loads wouldn't give an edge over that 123 A-Max load? Not sure but I bet you probably have tried?

LR1955