Hello everyone, Happy Thanksgiving! With ammo prices at all-time lows I decided to do a range test of some budget-friendly steel case 55 grain loads. This report includes: SG Ammo/Barnul mil-spec 55 FMJ, SG Ammo/Barnul mil-spec 55 soft point (SP), Wolf WPA 55 copper-plated, Wolf WPA 55 FMJ, Hornady 55 steel training and Brown Bear 55 FMJ.

The weather is turning cold. Temps were 40 - 45 degrees with bright sun and moderate wind.

The test rifle is an SPR-ish homebrew with a Rainier 18” ultra match barrel; wylde chamber, 1:8 twist. It has a Mega monolithic free float upper and a Timney 3 lb trigger.

I recently upgraded the optic to a Nikon Prostaff 5 3.5-18x 40mm. As mentioned in my previous report, I’m having some difficulty adapting to the finicky eye relief but it’s getting better.

The test was performed with the scope set at 14x.

My protocol is to shoot a set of four 5-shot groups (20 rounds) with each ammo.   At the start of each set I shoot a “control group” with Fiocchi 50 grain V-Max. This ammo always delivers MOA (or near MOA) groups with this rifle so I use it to ensure that the rifle is holding zero through the entire test.

SUMMARY
Here is a summary of the results: Note the cost-per-round is in 1000 quantity and does not include shipping.

Ammo _________________Avg Max MOA ____Avg Mean Radius ____Cost
Horn 55 steel ..................... 1.447 ................. 0.487 ..................... .40
SG 55 FMJ ......................... 1.777 ................. 0.650 ..................... .20
WPA 55 FMJ ....................... 2.245 ................ 0.774 ..................... .20
Brown Bear 55 FMJ ............. 2.401 ................ 0.868 ..................... .21
SG 55 SP ........................... 2.594 ................ 0.883 ..................... .22
WPA 55 Copper .................. 2.638 ................ 0.906 ..................... .24

As expected, the Hornady steel training ammo is excellent. In fact, it performed better than most of the brass-cased 55 FMJs that I tested a few weeks ago.  However, at .40/rnd it is overpriced.

The SG/Barnul was a pleasant surprise.  Although it was the least expensive ammo in this test it delivered better than 2 MOA. And it has sealed cases and primers for long-term storage.


DETAILED RESULTS

Here are the details for every group.

Hornady 55 Steel Training - 8 groups / 40 rounds
MAX MOA _______ MEAN RADIUS
0.759 ................... 0.297
1.148 ................... 0.389
1.334 ................... 0.520
1.768 ................... 0.569
2.268 ................... 0.609
0.994 ................... 0.294
1.205 ................... 0.579
2.097 ................... 0.639

SG/Barnul 55 FMJ - 12 groups / 60 rounds
MAX MOA ______ MEAN RADIUS
1.204 ................. 0.445
1.362 ................. 0.434
2.662 ................. 0.989
2.470 ................. 0.783
1.890 ................. 0.605
2.174 ................. 0.804
1.136 ................. 0.462
2.889 ................. 1.100
0.720 ................. 0.321
1.962 ................. 0.913
1.331 ................. 0.379
1.519 ................. 0.570

Wolf WPA 55 FMJ - 4 groups / 20 rounds
MAX MOA _______ MEAN RADIUS
2.167 ................... 0.787
1.243 ................... 0.456
3.177 ................... 1.063
2.391 ................... 0.791

Brown Bear 55 FMJ - 4 groups / 20 rounds
MAX MOA _______MEAN RADIUS
2.026 ................. 0.830
3.355 ................. 1.067
2.151 ................. 0.773
2.072 ................. 0.801

SG/Barnul 55 SP - 12 groups / 60 rounds
MAX MOA _______MEAN RADIUS
0.994 .................. 0.376
2.084 .................. 0.819
3.352 .................. 1.241
2.214 .................. 0.845
2.305 .................. 0.907
3.149 .................. 0.883
3.251 .................. 1.212
3.073 .................. 1.025
2.996 .................. 0.880
3.691 .................. 0.994
2.087 .................. 0.706
1.935 .................. 0.708

Wolf WPA 55 Copper Jacket - 4 groups / 20 rounds
MAX MOA _______MEAN RADIUS
1.636 .................. 0.658
2.886 .................. 1.105
3.716 .................. 1.186
2.314 .................. 0.675

Attached File


Attached File

Sorry, I'm having trouble making the tables come out right.  I'll have to do some editing on the post.

First and foremost, thank you for the data.

The SG Barnaul contract ammo has been excellent for training purposes. Cheap, accurate, consistent, non-corrosive. I avoided steel for ages but have become a convert thanks to that particular loading.

Thanks for the work!

I am loving the SG FMJ stuff. It runs in all of my rifles (except for my 3gun rifle which is tuned to specific ammo).

it is great for training.

Great writeup!

Ive got a ton of the Wolf WPA and glad to see it didnt do too horrible

Thanks for the info.  I have some CBC and IMI 77 SMK to test next.  I'll order some of Horn, PPU, TULA and Fed 75 to include in the comparison.