Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 77 grain SMK vs Hornady 75 BTHP?

I personally wouldn't bother with 2520 either. I hate ball powder.

Good intel WE. Thank you.

That is good intel. It seems like the consensus is the 75gr Hornady is less accurate than the 77 sierra in any flavor (SMK/TMK)... I just got some Hornady 75gr HPBT to play around with. I'm anxious to try the load that old guy from my club gave me. He swears by it and he actually shoots that 75gr load pretty well... This has been a good thread with lots of info on some of the heavier bullets.. I'll let you guys know how well my loads shoot. Probably not this weekend, but the one after next. Have a rimfire competition to go to this saturday..

I hit pay dirt with ARcomp and RL 15 the other day.. I do recall now my real bad accuracy with 2520 involved 69gr bullets. One good thing you can always find 2520 in a pinch.

Of course, YMMV, but what I've seen a lot of HP shooters say about 77SMK vs 75BTHP is that the 75 usually has a wider ES, but a better Mean Radius.
In the end, it's what your barrel likes, but the target is big enough that ES vs MR is usually a wash. In my experience, at my skill levels at the time, I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

ETA: One trick of the trade is to seat 75BTHP short, like from 2.15" to 2.23".

I shoot 80s beyond 300

I shoot 80s beyond 300

I guess I am old fashioned. I am going to start with game bullets on game animals until testing shows I can't get the accuracy I want. It shouldn't take much to find a game bullet that will hit a pig sized target at reasonable distances. That's not really a task that demands match grade accuracy. That said, I completely get the infatuation with precision accuracy. I am just getting started on reloading with the goal of a very accurate game load and chose the 223 Accubond as my starting point. I scanned through this thread, was their any mention of it?

What twist rate? In your krieger with CLE chamber, im assuming

Most here are after a bullet with a decent bc that can get them to the 600yd line.

I am really late to the thread but I stocked up on 75 BTHP's and Amax's and tried for many years to shoot at least 1.5 MOA consistently out of multiple 16"-20" rifles, builds, and barrels including a stock LE6920 and a PSA 10.5". Barrels included a heavy WOA, pencil Faxon, Medium AR Performance, BHW and BCA. About a year ago I left the range so pissed off I called a buddy and said I was probably going to lose my A$$ but part out 7 and call it quits.

After I cooled off I searched Molon's ammo accuracy posts on AR15 and one of the most accurate factory rounds was the 68 or 69 SMK GMM so I ordered ten boxes.

Went back to the range and every single fk'n AR shot less than 1.5" five shot groups, even the 10.5" PSA, the best range trip EVER with not just one, but every one I own.

I am not ready to give up the 75 BTHP's but certainly look at other bullets and based on at least one post earlier, make make sure I am not pushing them too hard.

I guess I am old fashioned. I am going to start with game bullets on game animals until testing shows I can't get the accuracy I want. It shouldn't take much to find a game bullet that will hit a pig sized target at reasonable distances. That's not really a task that demands match grade accuracy. That said, I completely get the infatuation with precision accuracy. I am just getting started on reloading with the goal of a very accurate game load and chose the 223 Accubond as my starting point. I scanned through this thread, was their any mention of it?

I would have been pissed too. All of my ar15's shoot better than moa consistently, for 10 shots. Except for my Noveske. But that one hangs right in there a hair over moa. Im wondering if your handloading practices are skewed? Something doesnt sound right.

The 75BTHP and the 77TMK both behave like game bullets on game. I couldn’t care less about BC, I shoot critters year round and targets almost never. I’m not certain on the TMK but the BTHP is cheaper than “game” bullets of the same weight and behaves like it was made to be shot into pigs instead of tiny groups. Just because it doesn’t have a deer on the side of the box doesn’t mean it isn’t a good hunting bullet.