Ok, simple question:

Will the Black Hills 77gr SMK round stabilize in a 1 in 9" twist barrel?

If the Gods have smiled on you, yes.  If not, no.

Hmm, I know some Us military units are moving to this round.  I guess the round stabilizes in their 1 in 7" twist rifles.  

I guess I will stick to Federal 62 grain JHP or Winchester Ranger 69gr JHP.

Thanks, folks!

Federal 62 gr JHP.....I've heard this round mentioned in certain circles numerous times yet I have never seen any of it. Is this a special LEO type ammo or what? Also, who sells this stuff? Just wondering.

If you have a rifle with a 1 in 8.5 twist it probably will. If you have one with a 1 in 9.5 it probably will not. Both will meet the specs for an 1 in 9 twist. The Hornady 75 grain bullet seem to work great out of an 1 in 9 twist Bushmaster rifle with free float tube a friend of mine is shooting in highpower competition. He also shoots pretty good scores at 600 with the 75 Gr A-Max. I was down in the pitts pulling for him, and saw no signs of keyholing.

Like he said.

went to the range yesterday to answer that question for myself. lo pro classic upper, 20 in 1-9 twist. leupold 2.5x8 scope. 77 smk handloads with 24.5 gr varget shot 1.8 inch 5 shot groups at 200 yards. blackhills 68 gr blue box shot shot 1 inch 5 shot groups at 200. although 69 gr loads shot better there aint nothing wrong with moa 77 gr loads. after i get a match trigger i'm going to test both at 300 and 500 yards.

Guess the real question is "[b]at what speed[/b]" as my 77 grn. SMK reloads shoot 0.5 MOA out to 800 yards in good air outta my 24" CR-6724, 1/9" twisted Elite barrel. (their zippin along pretty hot though, about 2850 FPS).

I have also shot them (my 77grn. SMK reloads) out to 400 yards out of a Colt M4 chrome barreled 16" and one of the new RRA Chrome-moly 16" M4 barrels and they both shoot better groups than I'm getting w/ my SHTF M193 ammo.

So although disagreeing w/ Troy is not something I'm really comfortable w/ perhaps it's the [b]speed/FPS[/b] their movin, that has some bearing on how well they'll shoot out of a 1/9" barrel.

YMMV,
Mike  

The faster the bullet is driven the better the chance of stabilization.  I stick by my first post as a short, adequate answer for factory ammo.