Sierra 155 Palma vs 168 SMK vs Speer 168 match 30 cal.

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Light Infantry

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So Im just starting to reload the above. My go to is the 155, however looking to move to 168. Sierra overall is my go to manufacturer. However starting to look a the Speer 168 as the cost is much cheaper. I'm looking at some precision shooting. Nothing extreme, more for just for fun and practice purposes for my son. Eventually we may move into competition. Hell, even now, he will be doing a lot of shooting with milsurp 762 nato just to get him used to the rifle.

What are your opinions on the Speer's?
 
My buddy (CDN forces guy)shoots 155gr Berger Palmas out to 600yds ,no problem.. Beyond that the heavier bullets do better.( I have a load with 185 Bergers that work great for me out as far as I can hit (8-900yds.) Nosler 155 Custom Competition are not too pricey and my favourite 155 bullet..Speers are not as consistent bullet to bullet ( weight)as Sierra, Berger, and don't forget Lapua bullets.
 
The Sierra 168gr was designed for 300m precision shooting. It goes wonky beyond 600. The Sierra 155gr was designed to stay stable further than the NATO 147gr FMJ in DCRA matches. The American fullbore shooters were not confined by Bisley rules, and therefore the 175gr bullets prevail at the longer ranges.

If you have enough 147gr FMJ, shoot perfect shots perfectly. The more consistent the shooter's muscle memory and wind judging, the better they'll be when their putting better bullets down better barrels. It is the same as shooting .22 prone rifle consistently through the winter; you'll only get better prepared for the outdoor ranges.
 
Is (or was) two Sierra 155 grain Palma bullets - #2155 was older - #2156 is "newer". Is hard to follow when people refer to it as if there was only one of them - which was true for many years. I think the older one sort of G1 B.C. .450 or so above 2,600 fps, newer one like .504 above 2,700 fps - are not the same, at least from Sierra's website write-up. Sierra gives different B.C. values for different velocities that the bullet is going. I have used neither, so I do not know how they perform compared to each other. I notice at the lowest velocities listed by Sierra, the "new" #2156 has lower G1 B.C. than is listed for #2155
 
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The new 2156 Palma is better than the old 2155 (formally known as the 155 Palma) Confused yet? The 2156 has a better BC and is pointed at the factory. (smaller opening in the tip). 156 gr bullets are the max weight for shooting Target Rifle (jacket and sling with iron sights) both the 2155 and the 2156 bullets work out to 1000 yards. Nosler 155 Competition used to be my go to as I believed they shot better than the old 2155, however supply was the problem. I had problems getting the 155 Hornady AMax bullets to shoot in my rifle when they first hit the market. After a few years they changed the design and I picked up a couple hundred. They shot very well at 300m but I ran out before I could test them at long range. I shot Berger 155.5 Fullbore for a couple seasons that are a little more expensive but didn't get any better results than with SMK 2156 Palma bullets.
I also tried 155 Barnes Match burner bullets. That was a huge waste of time and money. They would not hold the bull at 300m. Barely held the 4 ring at 500 and 600yards and was lucky to hold the black (42 inches) long range. Needless to say I will never shoot those again.

Buy whatever bullet you can get 500-1000 of at a time.
 
What is the end goals? What is the barrel twist?

What is the max distances?

Why the 168gr bullets specifically?

There is a direct relationship between price and quality... if you are just plinking away at large steel at moderate distances, all works. If you want to dial in some LR precision, define the goals as there are alot of purpose built bullets for the 308WIN that excel as distances extend.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
What is the end goals? What is the barrel twist?

What is the max distances?

Why the 168gr bullets specifically?

There is a direct relationship between price and quality... if you are just plinking away at large steel at moderate distances, all works. If you want to dial in some LR precision, define the goals as there are alot of purpose built bullets for the 308WIN that excel as distances extend.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Well as stated previously, mostly for fun for now. Being in Southern Ontario, most of the shooting will be around 300 yds max, but eventually 1000 yds possibly. 1:10, Savage 10 Ashbury. 168, because there seems to be quite a selection.

No one has answered the question about the Speer bullets.

As for the direct relation between price and quality. Im too old to buy that crap. Sure generally speaking it can be applied in general terms, but there is a lot of high priced crap out there, and vis a vis, there are lower cost deals out there. Marketing spin is what drives a lot of pricing.
 
Seems you want to stay in that bullet weight range. So I'd recommend the 175 SMK. They are easy to tune, relatively cheap and are available most the time. Also recommend the Berger 168 hybrids. They are a little better bc but more expensive.

The 168 SMK is an exc bullet but offers no advantage over the 155gr smk peformance wise.
 
Light Infantry said:
Well as stated previously, mostly for fun for now. Being in Southern Ontario, most of the shooting will be around 300 yds max, but eventually 1000 yds possibly. 1:10, Savage 10 Ashbury. 168, because there seems to be quite a selection.

No one has answered the question about the Speer bullets.

As for the direct relation between price and quality. Im too old to buy that crap. Sure generally speaking it can be applied in general terms, but there is a lot of high priced crap out there, and vis a vis, there are lower cost deals out there. Marketing spin is what drives a lot of pricing.
Click to expand...

In my experience (limited compared to some of the competition shooters in this discussion)the Speer 168gr bullet does not perform as well as similar bullets by Sierra, Berger and Lapua (when shot in my SSG PII and Accuracy International rifles. When I weighed the bullets in the boxes I tried the weight variance was greater than the other brands. Out to 300yds, I suspect the difference doesn't matter much.Given supply issues you should probably buy I box whatever you can find and give it a try. Then go from there and get 500-1000, same lot of what makes you happy.
 
Light Infantry said:
Well as stated previously, mostly for fun for now. Being in Southern Ontario, most of the shooting will be around 300 yds max, but eventually 1000 yds possibly. 1:10, Savage 10 Ashbury. 168, because there seems to be quite a selection.

No one has answered the question about the Speer bullets.

As for the direct relation between price and quality. Im too old to buy that crap. Sure generally speaking it can be applied in general terms, but there is a lot of high priced crap out there, and vis a vis, there are lower cost deals out there. Marketing spin is what drives a lot of pricing.
Click to expand...

Well, I guess you will find out how price affects quality in "match" bullets.

have fun.

Jerry
 
The Sierra Palma was designed for, guess what, the Palma match which is shot to 1000 yards. The Sierra 168 was designed by Lou Palmisano(PPC) for 300 metre shooting and it performs well at shorter ranges. Due its stubby design it goes transonic at longer ranges and tumbles and in any case has a low B.C., and is affected more by wind than the 155 match bullets. Maynard has useful comments as do a few others.

Regards,

Peter
 
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OP,
Each barrel shoots different,each barrel cleans differently.
Don't waste time/powder/primers attempting to shoot 168gr past 600 yd.

I've fired thousands of Speer 168gr Match bullets thru M1A & M1 Garand NRA OTC/CMP EIC Match Service rifles @ 2,3,600yd.
Same exact load of IMR powders used when shooting Sierra 168 HPBT MK's.

Most of my M1A &/or 40XB,40XC 7.62x51 Match Rifle bullets were Sierra 155 HPBT MK Palma's.
155gr 90% of the time,but 175gr HPBTMK'sor 190gr HPBTMK's occasionally for LR Comp's(8,9,1000yd)

When shooting 30-338 or 300WM Match Rifles,190gr-220gr bullets were used.
 
The Sierra 155 and the 175 would be the go-to match bullets for you. Both work well in most rifles.

But each rifle is different and your rifle may not like one (or both) of these. If you can source the cheaper Speers, try them. They may work well in your rifle, or at least well enough for your needs.

The Sierra 175 is a 168 with a longer boattail, so it would shoot 1000 yards. Some where I have a box Sierra sent me during the development of that bullet.
 
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