User Panel
Posted: 1/9/2016 12:12:45 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Molon]
SnapShots
Attached File Snapshots are brief . . . looks at a variety of ammunition loads commercially available for use in the .223/5.56mm AR-15 platform. A typical “Snapshot” will include a short description of the load, chronograph data from a single barrel and the accuracy (technically precision) results of one 10-shot group fired from a distance of 100 yards. The reviewed loads were chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel with a 1:7” twist, chrome lining and NATO chamber. 10-shot strings of each load were fired over an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “proof screen” technology. All velocities listed are muzzle velocities as calculated from the instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program. Attached File Attached File Attached File Accuracy testing was conducted from my bench-rest set-up from a distance of 100 yards following my usual protocol using semi-automatic AR-15s. The free-floated fore-ends of the weapons rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest and the butt-stock rode in a Protektor 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 used. Naturally, the wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below. Attached File The Wind Probe . . . Attached File Prior to the firing of the factory loads, control groups were fired using hand-loaded, match-grade ammunition. In every case the control groups had significantly smaller extreme spreads and mean radii than the factory loads tested. A representative 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15 using hand-loaded the 62 grain Berger HP bullet is pictured below. Attached File ..... INDEX post #02 - Australian Outback Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing post #03 - Federal Tactical 62 grain Bonded SP LE223T3 post #04 - Winchester 223 Remington PDX1 post #05 - Hornady 223 Remington 55 grain GMX Superformance post #06 - American Eagle 223 Remington 55 grain FMJ post #07 - IMI “Razor Core” 77 Grain OTM, LR, Mod 1 post #08 - Wolf Military Classic 55 Grain FMJ post #09 - PMC Bronze 55 Grain FMJ post #10 - Hornady Steel Match 55 grain HP post #11 - Hornady Steel Match 75 grain BTHP post #12 - Speer LE 5.56mm 64 grain Gold Dot post #13 - Winchester 64 grain PowerMax Bonded with "Protected Hollow Point" post #14 - Hornady 223 Remington 50 grain GMX "Full Boar" post #15 - Hornady 5.56mm 55 grain GMX Superformance post #16 - Prvi Partizan 69 grain Match post #17 - COR-BON 69 grain Performance Match HPBT post #18 - Fiocchi 77 grain Exacta post #19 - Prvi Partizan 62 grain FMJ BT post #20 - CORBON 62 grain DPX (Barnes TSX) post #21 - Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded post #22 - Federal 62 grain FUSION post #23 - Hornady 60 grain TAP post #24 - Remington 62 grain HP Premier Match post #25 - American Tactical 5.56 x 45mm 62 grain post #26 - Nosler 77 grain Custom Competition HPBT post #27 - Hornady 223 Remington Superformance 53 Grain V-MAX post #28 - Winchester Q3131 post #29 - Hornady 223 Remington 75 grain Superformance post #30 - Federal 62 grain XM223SP1 post #31 - Federal XM556FBIT3 post #32 - American Eagle 50 grain Tipped Varmint AE223GTV post #33 - Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier post #34 - Hornady 223 Remington 55 Grain GMX TAP Barrier post #35 - Hornady 55 grain FMJ Training post #36 - Hornady American Gunner 55 grain HP post #37 - Federal XM556SBCT3 62 Grain TBBC post #38 Winchester 64 Grain Defense Tip post #39 Hornady Black 223 Remington 62 Grain FMJ post #40 Hornady Critical Defense 73 Grain FTX post #41 IMI M855 2021 post #42 Sierra 69 grain Prairie Enemy (69 grain BlitzKing) post #43 Sierra 55 grain Prairie Enemy (55 grain BlitzKing) post #44 Sierra 64 grain GameChanger (64 grain Tipped GameKing) .... *No animals were harmed during the testing of this ammunition. Attached File ...... |
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Australian Outback Sierra 55 Grain BlitzKing
Attached File When chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel over an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “Proof Screen Technology”, the Australian Outback Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing load had a muzzle velocity of 2972 FPS with a standard deviation of 20 FPS. A 10-shot group fired off the bench at a distance of 100 yards from one of my AR-15s with a Krieger barrel that has a 223 Remington chamber and a 1:9" twist had an extreme spread of 0.98". Attached File I also fired another 10-shot group of the Australian Outback load from one of my AR-15s with a Krieger barrel that has a 5.56mm match chamber and a 1:7.7" twist. That group had an extreme spread of 0.92". Attached File ..... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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#03
Federal Tactical 62 grain Bonded SP LE223T3 Attached File Attached File The Federal Tactical 62 grain load uses a bonded soft point bullet with a cannelure (62 grain TBBC). (All the better to shoot your auto-glass with, my dear!) There is a scant amount of lacquer sealant at the case mouth (mostly in the cannelure.) The primers are also sealed and crimped. As you can see from the picture above, the components come loaded in a shiny nickel plated Lake City case. This load had a muzzle velocity of 2978 fps. The smallest 10-shot group had an extreme spread of 2.13” and a mean radius of 0.54”. Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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#04
Winchester 223 Remington PDX1 60 Grain "Split Core" Hollow Point Attached File Attached File This load had a muzzle velocity of 2975 FPS and a standard deviation of 37 FPS when chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired at a distance of 100 yards from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s had an extreme spread of 1.77" with a mean radius of 0.65". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#05
Hornady 223 Remington 55 grain GMX Superformance Attached File The load is topped with the Hornady 55 grain GMX bullet and is charged with the progressive "Superformance" propellent. Because this bullet is a monolithic gilding metal projectile, it is significantly longer than a standard copper jacketed/lead core bullet. Attached File This load had a muzzle velocity of 3105 FPS with a standard deviation of 17 FPS from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my 20" Lothar-Walther barrel at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.59". Attached File ..... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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#06
American Eagle 223 Remington 55 grain FMJ Attached File This load had a muzzle velocity of 3104 FPS with a standard deviation of 23 FPS when fired from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 2.4". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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#07
IMI “Razor Core” 77 Grain OTM, LR, Mod 1 Attached File This load is topped with a 77 grain OTM bullet with a cannelure. The case mouth is sealed and the primers are crimped and sealed. When chronographed from the 20” Colt barrel, the load had a muzzle velocity of 2866 FPS with a standard deviation of 21 FPS. A 10-shot group group fired off the bench from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.95”. Attached File …. |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
PMC Bronze 55 Grain FMJ
I evaluated the accuracy (technically, the precision) of the PMC Bronze 55 grain FMJ ammunition using my 20” stainless-steel Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15. This barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1:8” twist. Three 10-shot groups fired in a row from the bench at a distance of 100 yards had the following extreme spreads: 2.22” 1.82” 2.15” for a 10-shot average extreme spread of 2.06”. The 30-shot composite group had a mean radius of 0.72”. Unfortunately, my cocker spaniel chewed-up my chronograph data for this load. Attached File The smallest 10-shot group . . . Attached File ..... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
Winchester Q3131
Attached File This load had a muzzle velocity of 3279 FPS with a standard deviation of 24 FPS when chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired off the bench at a distance of 100 yards from a free-floated Colt 6721 barrel had an extreme spread of 4.08" Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#30
Federal 62 grain XM223SP1 Attached File Fired from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2719 FPS with a standard deviation of 34 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.24". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#31
Federal XM556FBIT3 Attached File This ammunition is loaded with the 62 grain Tropy Bonded Bear Claw bullet. Attached File Attached File When chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 3116 FPS with a standard deviation of 20 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 3.14". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#32
American Eagle 50 grain Tipped Varmint AE223GTV Attached File This load had a muzzle velocity of 3085 FPS with a standard deviation of 28 FPS when chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walter barreled AR-15 from a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.32". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#33
Hornady 223 Remington 62 Grain TAP Barrier Attached File This ammunition is loaded with a 62 grain soft-point bullet. Contrary to erroneous information that has been posted on the Internet, this bullet is not a bonded projectile. This bullet has the largest amount of exposed lead at the meplat of any of the barrier-blind loads that I've tested. Attached File Attached File When chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 had an extreme spread of 1.84". Attached File ... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#34
Hornady 223 Remington 55 Grain GMX TAP Barrier Attached File Attached File This ammunition is loaded with the same 55 grain GMX monolithic HP bullet found in three other Hornady loads. When chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 3081 FPS and a standard deviation of 17 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.96". Attached File ..... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#35
Hornady 55 Grain FMJ Training Attached File This load is topped with Hornady's 55 grain FMJ-BT bullet; the same bullet that is available as a reloading component. This ammunition is loaded in steel cases. When chronographed from the 20" Colt Barrel, this ammunition had a muzzle velocity of 3008 FPS with a standard deviation of 24 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.25". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#36
Hornady American Gunner 55 Grain HP Attached File Hornady American Gunner 55 grain HP on the left; Berger 55 grain HP on the right for comparison . . . Attached File When chronographed from the 20" Colt Barrel, this ammunition had a muzzle velocity of 2968 FPS with a standard deviation of 17 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.85". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#37
Federal XM556SBCT3 62 Grain TBBC Attached File This ammunition is loaded with the 62 grain Tropy Bonded Bear Claw bullet. Attached File Attached File This load has crimped and sealed primer pockets as well as a crimp and sealant at the case-mouth. The round is charged with a flattened ball powder. When chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 3125 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.89". Attached File .... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#38
Winchester 64 Grain Defense Tip Attached File This is Winchester’s latest addition to their self-defense lineup of ammunition. It utilizes a 64 grain polymer tipped bullet with a heavy collet crimp at the case-mouth. The base of the polymer tip of this projectile has the largest diameter of any 223 Remington/5.56mm load that I’ve tested and of course the bullet is nickel plated. Attached File Attached File A 10-shot group of this ammunition fired from my Lothar Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.17”. When chronographed from a 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2892 FPS with a standard deviation of 26 FPS. Attached File … |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#39
Hornady Black 223 Remington 62 Grain FMJ Attached File Hornady has produced at least two different versions of their all-lead-core 62 grain FMJ projectile, which I’ll refer to as Gen 1 and Gen 2. Both versions are standard construction copper-jacketed (gilding metal), lead core bullets. They do not have a steal “penetrator” like M855. This lot of factory loaded ammunition is topped with the Gen 2 version of the 62 grain FMJ bullet. The Gen 2 version (pictured on the right below) is longer than the Gen 1 version. The Gen 2 version has a longer boat-tail than the Gen 1 version and the Gen 2 version has a narrower diameter of exposed lead at the base of the bullet than the Gen 1 version. Attached File Attached File I tested the accuracy (technically precision) of the Hornady factory loaded 223 Remington 62 grain FMJ ammunition using a free-floated Colt M4A1 barrel. This is a 14.5” chrome-lined, NATO chambered barrel with a 1:7” twist. Attached File Attached File A 10-shot group fired off of sand bags at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.32” and a mean radius of 0.35”. Attached File When chronographed from a 20" chrome-lined, NATO chambered Colt barrel with a 1:7" twist, the 223 Remington 62 grain Hornady Black FMJ load had a muzzle velocity of 2961 FPS with a standard deviation of 24 FPS. ................................................................................................................... #40 Hornady Critical Defense 73 Grain FTX Attached File This Hornady load is topped with one of their "flex-tip" projectiles. Hornady states this load was designed for short-range defensive use. Chronographed from a 20" Colt barrel this load had a muzzle velocity of 2703 FPS with a standard deviation of 29 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.74". Attached File ........................................................................................................................................................................ #41 IMI M855 2021 Attached File For those who might not beware of this, IMI has been “down-loading” their 5.56mm ammunition for the last few years. The lot tested for this post is from 2021. Legacy lots of IMI M855 have had muzzle velocities in the neighborhood of 3110 FPS when fired from a 20” Colt AR-15. This lot of M855 had a muzzle velocity of 3015 FPS with a standard deviation of 15 FPS, fired from a 20” Colt A4. A 10-shot group of this ammunition fired from my Lothar Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.95”. Attached File ….......................................................................................................................... #42 Sierra 69 Grain Prairie Enemy (69 grain BlitzKing) Attached File One of Sierra’s more recent factory loads for the 223 Remington is the 69 grain Prairie Enemy, loaded with the 69 grain BlitzKing. This round is loaded in nickel-plated cases with a head-stamp that reads: Sierra 223 Rem Attached File The bullet and case-mouth of this load have a large dose of asphalt sealant and the primer pocket has a healthy amount of lacquer sealant. The case mouth has a rather heavy taper crimp on it which cuts a crease in the 69 grain BlitzKing and the primer pocket is also crimped. Attached File When chronographed from a 20” Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2787 FPS with a standard deviation of 23 FPS. When fired from one of my precision AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards, the 69 grain Prairie Enemy produced a 10-shot group that had an extreme spread of 0.980”. Attached File ….................................................................... |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
#43
Sierra 55 grain Prairie Enemy With The 55 Grain BlitzKing Attached File The Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing bullet was introduced in 1999. While it was marketed as a varmint bullet, I soon discovered that this projectile was capable of delivering outstanding precision when fired from my semi-automatic AR-15s. By the spring of 2000, I was using my match-grade handloads topped with this bullet as one of my primary loads for accuracy evaluations of AR-15 barrels. These handloads have shot well in almost every AR-15 barrel that I have owned over the last two decades. Attached File My hand-loads topped with the 55 grain BlitzKing have produced sub ½ MOA 10-shot groups when fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s. Attached File Sierra is now producing factory loaded ammunition using the 55 grain BlitzKing in their Prairie Enemy line. The case mouth of this load is sealed with asphalt sealant. This load is charged will ball powder and is loaded in nickel plated brass with crimped and sealed primer pockets. The case-head reads: Sierra 223 Rem Attached File When chronographed from a 20” Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 3044 FPS with a standard deviation of 18 FPS. When fired from one of my precision AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards, the 55 grain Prairie Enemy produced a 10-shot group that had an extreme spread of 0.73”. Attached File ======================= #44 Sierra 64 Grain GameChanger Attached File As the name indicates, the Sierra 64 grain Gamechanger ammunition is intended to be a hunting load, but obviously it has the potential to be adopted for other uses. This 223 Remington GameChanger ammunition is topped with the Sierra 64 grain Tipped GameKing bullet with Sierra’s translucent polymer tip. Attached File Contrary to erroneous claims that have been posted about this bullet, it is not a bonded projectile. The Tipped GameKing bullet has a thicker jacket than a MatchKing of the same caliber and is also reported to use a harder leady alloy. When fired from a 20” Colt barrel, the Sierra 64 grain GameChanger load had a muzzle velocity of 2797 FPS with a standard deviation of 20 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s had an extreme spread of 1.62” with a mean radius of 0.50”. Attached File … |
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
Reserved seat. Thanks for the best show on the interweb
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Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out.
General education should not be mere job training, but training of the mind to reason. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/ |
I love you, Molon.
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Awesome work, Molon. Keep the information following! flowing!
ETA: I can haz spelling lessons? |
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Member of Team Ranstad
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All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data. |
This is the most useful thread on arfcom in my opinion!
Molon, your presence and hard work is greatly appreciated! |
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*Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*
JAFOM |
Subscribed. Thank you Molon!
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Geissele Kool-Aid is best Kool-Aid
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Molon, have you had the chance to compare the Fusion MSR 62 with the Fusion you posted in this thread? I bought some recently but have not had the chance to sight in with it.
As everyone else here says, Thanks for your time and effort that you put into the test you share with us. I know we all appreciate it and benefit from your efforts. |
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Originally Posted By SafetyFirst:
Molon, have you had the chance to compare the Fusion MSR 62 with the Fusion you posted in this thread? I bought some recently but have not had the chance to sight in with it. As everyone else here says, Thanks for your time and effort that you put into the test you share with us. I know we all appreciate it and benefit from your efforts. View Quote He did. Check here and Here |
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Originally Posted By Linc5870:
Originally Posted By SafetyFirst:
Molon, have you had the chance to compare the Fusion MSR 62 with the Fusion you posted in this thread? I bought some recently but have not had the chance to sight in with it. As everyone else here says, Thanks for your time and effort that you put into the test you share with us. I know we all appreciate it and benefit from your efforts. He did. Check here and Here Got it, thanks for providing the links! . |
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Would love to see you test the CBC(Magtech) 77gr and a post of your results.
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"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." - Plato
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