what kind of luck have you had with Sierra Match King bullets.

kdad73

kdad73

New member
I just bought a Remington 700 VSSF II in a 22-250 and have been started to work up loads for it. I live not to far from Sierra's Sedalia, MO plant and have an opportunity to get some bullets pretty cheap.
 
I have a bit different opinion. I have literally bought thousands of there factory seconds. Used to get great deals. Now you get OK deals.

My friends and I have save lots of money this way and the bullets were great, from hunting to match bullets. The only problem bullet we had were the Blitzkings. Some would come without the polymer tips, or the tips would be not pointy.

You may want to call them first to see what they have in stock.
 
So what is wrong with Sierra blems and bulk bullet's? I've used Nosler blem's and the seem to work alright. Matter of fact if you mix up some blem's with the good bullet's I'd bet no one on here could seperate them.
 
I have bought blemished bullets from Hornady, and the only thing I can find is some discoloration to the jacket...shoot great. I'm sure that every once in a while you will get a batch of bad ones, but you run that risk with the regular bullets as well...just a lower percentage I am sure. Just inspect them when they come in for obvious defects like coyotejunki mentioned. Heck, even wiegh a few if you feel the need. I did, and all of them were within a couple tenths of a grain with 154gr 7mm interbond bullets from Hornady. Can't speak personally for Sierra blems though, but have never had a problem with thier regular bullets.
 
I have a friend who used to shoot the 52 grain match bullet out of his Ruger in .220 Swift. The bullet shot very well, but it was a real dangerous bullet to use where ricochets were a problem.

I set up some cardboard at the 200 yard mark on a range, in the grass just in front of the back stop. We each shot at the ground immediately in front of our own cardboard, him with the Swift and 52 grain Sierra match bullets and me with my .22-250 with 55 grain Nosler BTs. Where I hit the ground, you'd see little bare streaks in the grass, then a round softball sized bare round spot where the bullet blew up, with jacket and core fragments in the cardboard. With his, you see a streak in the grass, then a nice round bullet sized hole in the cardboard, because the bullet failed to blow up.

Use them for target shooting or where ricochets are not a problem.
 
I used to work a couple of blocks away from the Sierra plant when it was in Santa Fe Springs, Ca and I used to buy the 52 grain bullet seconds by the pound. You couldn't tell the difference between them and factory firsts and I weighed them to see if there were differences in weight. There wasn't. I shot some of those bullets out of a 222 and shot very tiny groups with them. I wouldn't recommend hunting with them in a lower velocity cartridge but of my 22-250 I killed several hundred coyotes with them. I shoot 52 grain Sierras out of my 220 Swift and 22-250 and they still kill coyotes with authority. I've never had a problem with ricochets.

I wish I could still get Sierra factory seconds. The spitzers have a little ring of lead just above the copper jacket but you could make them perfect with a flick of your thumbnail.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: pk1I used to work a couple of blocks away from the Sierra plant when it was in Santa Fe Springs, Ca and I used to buy the 52 grain bullet seconds by the pound. You couldn't tell the difference between them and factory firsts and I weighed them to see if there were differences in weight. There wasn't. I shot some of those bullets out of a 222 and shot very tiny groups with them. I wouldn't recommend hunting with them in a lower velocity cartridge but of my 22-250 I killed several hundred coyotes with them. I shoot 52 grain Sierras out of my 220 Swift and 22-250 and they still kill coyotes with authority. I've never had a problem with ricochets.

I wish I could still get Sierra factory seconds. The spitzers have a little ring of lead just above the copper jacket but you could make them perfect with a flick of your thumbnail.

+1

I used to live 45 Minutes away, no telling how many hundreds of pounds of seconds I bought from Sierra. Accuracy was great from the seconds, but then again, poly tip bullets did not exist back then.
 
If your 22 cal 1-12 twist doesn't like a 52 Sierra MK I'd try a 52 Berger Varmint. If that doesn't work sell the gun. On a side note, try some 4064 and Varget for powder.
 
It has a 1-14 twist and I am currently loading 52 Berger Varmit in front of Varget with great sucsess. But I can get the Sierra Match Kings cheaper.
 
I shoot 77 and 80 grain Match King bullets year-round in my Service Rifle competitions. 24 gr. of Reloader-15 with both of them. It's what 95% of the top Service Rifle shooters use.
 
I used to live about 40 minutes away from the Sierra plant and bought a lot of their 39gr and 50gr BlitzKings seconds... even the ones where the tip is deformed, shoot well..

I'd get about 800-1,000 of each and usually only set aside a dozen or so as "not shootable" .. many were just discolored..

I just finished loading the last of my 50gr Spitzers and will be calling to see if they have more in the Factory Store...Now I live about 2-1/2 hours away, but it's still worth the trip, from a cost standpoint..
 
Back
Top