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Posted: 12/26/2009 1:30:20 PM EDT
| Is this stuff any good? How about the 77gr? Match quality or what? |
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How about the 77gr? Match quality or what? Silver State Armory 77 grain OTM 
Silver State Armory is now producing a 5.56mm NATO pressure, 77 grain OTM load with velocities on par with the Black Hills MK262 load. This makes SSA the fourth commercial ammunition manufacturer to currently offer a 5.56mm heavy OTM round loaded to NATO pressure; the other three being Black Hills (MK262), Hornady (5.56 TAP) and HSM (5.56-17T). The SSA 77 grain load comes in simple brown boxes with nothing more than a “5.56” designation on it to give you a clue as to what’s inside the box. There is no indication of the bullet weight found anywhere on the box. This round is loaded with a 77 grain Sierra MatchKing without a cannelure. 
The cartridge is charged with ball powder. The primers are crimped in place, although some of the crimps are so shallow that I needed magnification to see them. The primers are not sealed. As mentioned, the bullet does not have a cannelure, but there does appear to be a slight taper crimp on the case mouth that leaves a small indentation on the bullet. There is no sealant at the case mouth. 
The SSA 77 grain load was chronographed using an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “proof screen” technology. All velocities listed are muzzle velocities, as calculated from instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program. All strings of fire consisted of 10 shots each. Colt barrels in the lengths of 20”, 16” and 14.5’ were used as the test vehicles. All barrels used were chrome lined, NATO chambered and have 1:7” twists. Atmospheric conditions were recorded using a Kestrel 4000. Temperature: 74 degrees F Humidity: 58% Barometric pressure:30.15 in Hg Elevation: 950 feet above sea level 
The SSA 77 grain cartridges had a nominal length of approximately 2.250”. All rounds used in this test session fed, fired, extracted and ejected without any malfunctions. There was definite primer flattening noted on the fired caseheads, but no significant ejector or extractor brass flow marks. 
Finally, here’s the data! 
At one point during the test session I noticed an unexpected visitor on the range. The big guy pictured below was sitting on the berm about 10 feet above the target frame watching me. 
Accuracy Report Following my usual procedures, an accuracy evaluation of the Silver State Armory 77 grain OTM NATO load was conducted shooting from a concrete bench at a distance of 100 yards. The test vehicle used for this evaluation was a Noveske barreled RECCE. The 16” Noveske Recon barrel is made of stainless steel and has the 5.56 Noveske Match Mod 0 chamber, a 1:7" twist and polygonal rifling. The barrel is free-floated in a LaRue Tactical railed handguard. 
The fore-end of the RECCE was rested in a Sinclair Windage Bench Rest with the aid of a modified Sinclair fore-end stabilizer. The butt-stock was stabilized in a Protektor bunny-ear bag. Sighting was accomplished using a Leupold VARI-X III with a mirage shade attached. Magnification was set at 25X and the scope was adjusted to be parallax free at 100 yards. The lower receiver used during testing has a Geissele match rifle trigger in it. 
Atmospheric conditions were recorded on a Kestrel 4000. Skies were sunny and the winds were breezy. Wind conditions were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe which was positioned approximately 33 yards from the muzzle. Temperature: 77 degrees F Humidity: 51% Barometric pressure: 29.87 inHg Elevation: 950 feet above sea level 
Prior to firing the SSA 77 grain load, I fired a 10-shot control group from 100 yards using a hot hand-load seated with Sierra 77 grain MatchKings (the same bullet used in the SSA load). That group had an extreme spread of 0.97”. 
Three 10-shot groups of the SSA 77 grain OTM NATO load were fired from 100 yards using the described set-up. Those groups had extreme spreads of: 1.92” 1.60” 2.03” for an average extreme spread of 1.85”. Those three groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius of the composite group was 0.54”. For comparison, three 10-shot groups of Hornady’s 75 grain 5.56 TAP previously fired from the same Noveske barrel had extreme spreads of: 1.03” 1.42” 1.20” for an average extreme spread of 1.22”. The 30-shot composite group formed by over-laying those three groups on each other had a mean radius of 0.37”. The composite groups of the two different loads are shown below for visual comparison. 
Lastly, for the Internet Commandos in our viewing audience I fired a 3-shot group of the SSA 77 grain load from 100 yards. That group had an extreme spread of 0.80”. 
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Wow...nice report.Where would ya reccomend to buy some of that SSA 5.56?
who has the brown box...found this.. http://palmettostatearmory.com/428.php |
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Cabelas has it for $17.99 right now. They also have $20 off of a $100 order too. My closest store does not stock it but shipping to the store is free.
SSA at cabelas |
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So the consensus is not as accurate as the TAP load, but plenty accurate? I wonder how it is out of a LaRue Stealth? If we didn't have winter up here I could tell you. I just got 200rds a week ago but it has been pretty cold, snowy, and holiday-ee so I haven't had a chance to shoot. If I make it out to the range anytime soon I post up my results. |
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Quoted: Don't think they use the brown box anymore. All mine have that new tacticool ninja box. I like the ammo. Hot, accurate and reliable so far (200rds of the SMK so far). edit to add- They use the cannelure SMK now and all mine is LC 09 brass. ORLY, very cool. |
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Quoted: Picked up one box at Cabela’s Fort Worth. SSA10075-77SIERRA 5.56mm 77gr Sierra OTM. Box is black. LC 09 NATO cross case. Primer not crimped and does not appear to be sealed. Cannelure seems a lot heavier than my 500 box of 77gr SMK bullets w/ cannelure. Hmm, not cool. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Picked up one box at Cabela’s Fort Worth. SSA10075-77SIERRA 5.56mm 77gr Sierra OTM. Box is black. LC 09 NATO cross case. Primer not crimped and does not appear to be sealed. Cannelure seems a lot heavier than my 500 box of 77gr SMK bullets w/ cannelure. Hmm, not cool. Yeah, but how critical is that unless shooting from a machine gun? Doesn't worry me much for HD use. |
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Quoted: I know I saw one guy on here mention his trigger locking up and finding a fired primer under it. Seems like a good feature in business ammo just in case, both to prevent wild stuff like that and a primer from simply falling out fully or partially before it gets to the chamber.Quoted: Quoted: Picked up one box at Cabela’s Fort Worth. SSA10075-77SIERRA 5.56mm 77gr Sierra OTM. Box is black. LC 09 NATO cross case. Primer not crimped and does not appear to be sealed. Cannelure seems a lot heavier than my 500 box of 77gr SMK bullets w/ cannelure. Hmm, not cool. Yeah, but how critical is that unless shooting from a machine gun? Doesn't worry me much for HD use. |
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Brown delivered 1K 2 weeks ago, LC09, w/cannelure and crimped primers (very light crimp) Last 1K (about 2 months ago), LC09, No cannelure, crimped primers (again very light) Good ammo, Always usually easy not TOO hard to find. Except for cannelure, which I'm sure is due to component supply problems we've all encountered, it is very consistent. GTG for any use, foreign or domestic. Best performance out of 1:8, 1:7 barrel. As always YMMV. |
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IMO at 5.56 pressures they certainly need to be crimped at the primer and I also think a cannelure is reasonably important. I know they can get good neck tension on a bullet that is not cannelured, but a cannelure is an easy visual cue that the bullet has not set back.
I think 2k trumps one 20rd box for sample size, but I inspected mine under some pretty decent magnification and the ones I have show a distinct radius at the primer pocket edge not the step one normally sees with a crimped primer. Personally I find it somewhat disturbing that details vary so much. I think I will stick to Hornady 75gr T2 TAP for the time being. I am wondering if a 77gr Sierra OTM bullet w/ cannelure is the same as a 77gr SMK bullet w/ cannelure. |
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