Black Hills 5.56mm 77 Grain Tipped MatchKing Ammunition


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The Black Hills 5.56mm 77 grain Tipped MatchKing ammunition is loaded with the same Sierra 77 grain Tipped MatchKing projectile that is available as a reloading component (#7177), with the addition of a cannelure.  The Black Hills ammunition was actually brought to market before the reloading component was.


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The 77 grain Tipped MatchKing is the longest bullet (that I’m aware of) that is currently being loaded by a major manufacturer to magazine length for the 5.56mm cartridge.


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With a nominal length of 1.070”, the 77 grain Tipped MatchKing is 0.335” longer than a 55 grain FMJ bullet and 0.085” longer than the standard Sierra 77 grain MatchKing.


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Not only is the bullet itself long, but the ogive section of the 77 grain Tipped MatchKing is also extremely long for a bullet loaded to magazine length in the 5.56mm cartridge; so much so, that the grooves of the cannelure extend into the ogive of the bullet, as evidenced by the “arrow head” shaped cannelure grooves.  


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The Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing ammunition is loaded in 5.56mm WCC brass that has the annealing iris still visible.  The primer pockets are crimped and sealed.  The case-mouth is crimped but has no sealant.  The load is charged with “ball powder.”


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Velocity


I chronographed the Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing ammunition from a semi-automatic AR-15 with a chrome-lined, NATO chambered 20” Colt M16A2 barrel with a 1:7” twist.


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Chronographing was conducted using an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “proof screen” technology. The Oehler 35P chronograph is actually two chronographs in one package that takes two separate chronograph readings for each shot and then utilizes its onboard computer to analyze the data to determine if there is any statistically significant difference between the two readings. If there is a statistically significant difference in the readings, the chronograph “flags” the shot to let you know that the data is invalid. There was no invalid data flagged during this testing.

The velocities stated below are the muzzle velocities as calculated from the instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program. The strings of fire consisted of 10 rounds over the chronograph.


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Each round was single-loaded and cycled into the chamber from a magazine fitted with a single-load follower. The bolt locked-back after each shot allowing the chamber to cool in between each shot. This technique was used to mitigate the possible influence of “chamber-soak” on velocity data. Each new shot was fired in a consistent manner after hitting the bolt release. Atmospheric conditions were monitored and recorded using a Kestrel 4000 Pocket Weather Tracker.



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Atmospheric conditions

Temperature: 72 degrees F
Humidity: 44%
Barometric pressure: 29.64 inches of Hg
Elevation: 950 feet above sea level

The muzzle velocity for the 10-shot string of the Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing ammunition fired from the 20” Colt barrel was 2808 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS and a coefficient of variation of 0.50%.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the coefficient of variation (CV), it is the standard deviation, divided by the mean (average) muzzle velocity and then multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. It allows for the comparison of the uniformity of velocity between loads in different velocity spectrums; e.g. 77 grain loads running around 2,650 fps compared to 55 grain loads running around 3,250 fps.

For comparison, the mil-spec for M193 allows for a coefficient of variation of approximately 1.2%, while one of my best 77 grain OTM hand-loads, with a muzzle velocity of 2639 PFS and a standard deviation of 4 FPS, has a coefficient of variation of 0.15%.



Accuracy


I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing ammunition following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group-reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).

The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Also, a control group was fired from the test-rifle used in the evaluation using match-grade, hand-loaded ammunition; in order to demonstrate the capability of the barrel. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.

All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The barrel used in the evaluation was free-floated. The free-float handguards of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25x magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the top of the free-float hand-guard. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.



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The Wind Probe.

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The test vehicle for this accuracy evaluation was one of my semi-automatic precision AR-15s with a 20” stainless-steel Lothar-Walther barrel. The barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1.8” twist. Prior to firing the  Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing, I fired a 10-shot control group using match-grade hand-loads topped with the Sierra 77 grain Tipped MatchKing (without a canelure). That group had an extreme spread of 0.68”.



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the control group . . .

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Three 10-shot groups of the Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKings ammunition were fired in a row with the resulting extreme spreads:


1.26”
1.14”
1.37”


for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.26”. The three 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.41”.



The smallest 10-shot group . . .

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The 30-shot composite group . . .

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MK262 Comparison

The table below compares the test results from this article to my previously obtained test data for Black Hills MK262 Mod 1 ammunition, which is loaded with the standard Sierra 77 grain MatchKing (with a cannelure.)



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A.E.S = average extreme spread for three 10-shot groups at 100 yards

M.R. = mean radius for the 30-shot composite group

M.V. = muzzle velocity

S.D. = standard deviation of muzzle velocity

C.V. = coefficient of variation of muzzle velocity


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Thanks for the review of this round, Molon.

I just recently learned of it's existence, and have 100rds in route to me as I type this.

It's not cheap by any means, but it looks like the next new thing in long range ammunition.

Also thanks from me Molon, I am amazed at the time and effort you put in to these and it really helps point me in the right direction.

Thanks for running these. I had a similar result when I tried their factory loading. When I measured mine, the COAL was around 2.235" which I thought was awfully short for this bullet. Going back to the other thread, this makes me wonder if accuracy would have improved if loaded longer.

Thank you!

I've had a blast hand loading these, they shoot well from all the barrels I've tried them in. My 1:9 twist bolt action Savage hog hunter even shoots them well.

Very interesting. Kind of surprised by the accuracy.

A lot of hand loaders have expressed the view that they are not seeing the same type of accuracy as with the standard SMK.

 
Molon's hand loads above sure shot good...

Are they saying that Black Hills has a magic recipe they're not sharing to get factory accuracy, or something else?

Just from the anecdotal reports I've seen (I haven't experimented with them myself, and as seen above in Molon's post, they are clearly capable of extreme levels of accuracy) it may be that they require more tinkering with to find an accuracy node.

My experiences mirror what sasha grey is stating. It took a lot of load development for me to settle on a 77tmk load. I've even had to switch to specialized mags that allow me to load longer. And even then, it's not quite as accurate as the 77smk. However it's close and performs better down range so I've stuck with it.

Thx Molon.

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This is pretty decent accuracy wise, but honestly I was hoping for about 1/4 MOA better based on similar high end match bullets. I guess to its credit it ought to buck wind and maintain fragmentation better over range, but still.

Have you shot any yet?

De rien.


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No. It just arrived last night.  Plus, it's 25' out and still trying to snow.

Now, I'm waiting on my LaRue stripped upper to arrive to finish my build.

good stuff.  I run it in my suppressed 12" SBR for hunting coyotes and paper punching.  Ordered a 500 round case a while back.  should last me quite a while....

Have you thought about adding the 69gr TMK to your (very long) list?

I need to get some of this to run through my SBR, for some reason I the rifle will like it.

ETA: Double tap

I'd like to see this one as well, specifically for the 1/9 twist crowd. Excellent review as always Molon.

The 69 grain Tipped MatchKing is actually a few thousandths of an inch longer than the 77 grain MatchKing.








According to Ballistic Performance of Rifle Bullets by Bryan Litz, "the recommended twist for optimal performance" for the 69 grain Tipped MatchKing is 1:8.3" or faster.



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That's interesting. Sierra says to use a 1:10 or faster twist



 

Unfortunaetly, I don't have a 1:10" twist barrel to test that hypothesis, but my money is on Bryan Litz.  


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The List overfloweth.


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Thanks for catching my typo.  That should read 1:8.3".


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Probably not.  From a terminal ballistic standpoint, the 69 grain TMK fails to meet the FBI minimum penetration requirement.  From an accuracy/precision standpoint, at this point in time I'm just not enamored with the fact that the ogives of the Tipped MatchKings sit below the case-mouth.



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Good stuff Molon.  If you had to pick between TMK and MK262 what would be your choice?

I, personally, have no applications for MK262.



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Molon,

I have shot about 500 rounds of the CBC 77 grain SMK at 1,000 yards and it is worth a test report.

2870 fps out of my 20 inch Lothar Walther barrel.

Half the price of BH Mk262 and as accurate as my Remington 40X with 175 SMK's.

Verified dope only 35 MOA at 1,000.  Very close to what Litz predicts once you factor altitude and temperature.  

Extra velocity extends fragmentation range out to about 200 yards on coyotes.

If and when you decide to handload some of these bullets i suggest that you try a standard seating die.  The 69 and 77 TMKs are not compatible with my Foster BR dies; you have to adjust the seating stem too far down to seat them and when this happens your starting to seat the bullet from a seating plug thats so far down that there is no support for the bullet.  Standard Redding and RCBS dies worked better.

I've already have hand-loaded the 77 grain Tipped MatchKing.  From the original post of this thread . . .



Prior to firing the Black Hills 77 grain Tipped MatchKing, I fired a 10-shot control group using match-grade hand-loads topped with the Sierra 77 grain Tipped MatchKing (without a canelure). That group had an extreme spread of 0.68”.







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I don't want this to turn into a reloading thread, but I used a Redding Competition Seating Die without any issues.


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oh wow

Thank you.

Da nada.


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Any results to report?


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I just found some at Cabelas in Allen last week, hopefully I'll get out soon and test some of this.

I am using the same die as Molon and MY 77 tmk load is averaging out almost exactly what he shot for his test baseline, .635 is my running average. I am using 8208 in a compressed load

Haven't tested the 5.56 77gr TMK I picked up yet, as I'm building a new upper to replace my worn out 11.5" SS upper (18K rds and the groups have opened up considerably).

One thing I noticed on my BH 5.56 77gr TMK ammo is that the brass is new LC 14 with sealed primers, as opposed to the WCC (13 I think) brass in Molon's initial evaluation.

Has anyone confirmed come ups at 1,000 yards?

I'm getting 2" groups at 454yds with my 18" .223 wylde spr platform.

WOW!!!

I am wondering if testing these heavier bullets at 100 might be giving a less than complete result . In other words has the bullet "settled down"

I have some friends with some serious long range competition trophys and their advise is to always try and test ammo at the ranges you intend to use it at as shorter ranges can give some funky results.Some of their favorite top loads gave some fairly unremarkable results at 100 and 200 yards

Still I would like to thank the OP for him takeing the time to share his results

Bryan Litz has publicly offered to pay all expenses for anyone to travel to his shooting range and scientifically prove that the "bullet settling down" has an effect on precision at varying distances.  To date, not one single person has taken him up on his offer.




The first target pictured below shows a measured 5-shot group that was fired by Bryan Litz at a distance of 100 yards on his “shoot thru” target set-up.  The group has an extreme spread of 2.46 MOA.











The next target shows the impact at 300 yards of the exact same 5 shots that were fired at the 100 yard target.  The extreme spread for the resulting 5-shot group at 300 yards is 2.49 MOA.









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William C. Davis has reported on tests conducted at Frankford Arsenal on this subject matter also.  Using machine-rested, bolt-actioned, heavy test-barrels, one such test that was conducted on an indoor-range involved firing EIGHTEEN 10-SHOT GROUPS on targets at 100 yards and 300 yards.  The average extreme spread for the groups at 300 yards was 3 times as large as the average extreme spread of the groups at 100 yards.




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In another test that was conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground using .30 caliber match-grade ammunition, thirteen 10-shot groups were fired simultaneously through paper screens at different distances.  The mean radius for the groups at 300 yards was 1.0”.  The mean radius at 600 yards was 2.1”.


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Long/heavy bullets can shoot just fine at 100 yards . . .

























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