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Following Prof. Hale’s instructions, I started testing my ammo at 100m range. All shots were fired from the bench using the collapsible bipod, holographic sight with 5x magnifier.
Let’s start with the weak stuff first.
MFS (Russia) Zinc-plated FMJ 55gr. $7.39/20:
The Brass Kings (Reloads) “Metal Piercing” FMJ 62gr. $27.95/50:
WPA (Russia – Wolf, I think) HP 62gr. (don’t have the price, but it was probably cheap):
TulAmmo (Russia) FMJ 55gr. (don’t have price, but probably around $.30 per):
I had written previously that the Russian ammo gave solid performance for the price, but I’m not seeing it today.
CBC FMJ 62 gr. I don’t have the price again, but I think I paid to much, maybe $.45 per:
Barnaul FMJBT 55gr. $6.95/20. This one is missing a couple off the right side.
Brown Bear (Russia) HP 62 gr. $7.29/20 when I bought it, but it’s less now. Also missing a couple off the right side.
The others did better. Here’s a new one:
Silver Bear (Russia) bi-metal HP zinc-plated 62 gr. $6.95/20.
That’s not terrible, but what I really want is to find a not-too-expensive 62 grain hollow-point that shoots a consistent 4-inch group at 100m. This might be it, but I’ll have to test it again. This was my next-to-last test of the day, and I was getting tired.
The Brass Kings (Reloads) FMJ 55 gr. $31.95/100:
Considering the price, not too bad a plinker.
Aguila (Mexico) FMJ 55gr. $174.95/500 (pre-Newtown prices).
Still shooting way off to the left while almost everyone else shoots to the right. Probably failed the 4-inch test.
Colt FMJ 62 gr. zinc-plated $7.49/20:
Inside a three-inch group! Too bad it’s not a HP.
PMC Bronze FMJ 55 gr. Probably paid $.35 per.
That’s not too bad for PMC Bronze.
Here’s another new one. Hornady Match BTHP 75 gr. $17.95/20:
So, well inside a 3-inch group. I’ve been looking for a match-grade HP to replace the Korean PMC Precision, which is no longer sold in the U.S. This might be it. That was my last test of the day, and as I said, I was getting tired.
But the day’s winner is still . . . the DRS FMJBT (Reload) 55gr. at $36.95/100: match-grade performance at plinker prices!*
Dam, if the internet ever finds out how awesome this ammo is, it’ll bid the price past what I can afford!
Oops, wait . . .
Moving on, my perception is that I have trouble maintaining a consistent "cheek weld" through a group. Now, the alleged benefit of a holographic sight is that it is supposed to be "parallax free" -- in other words, the reticle should at distances 50m or greater consistently line up with the target regardless of what aspect the shooter has on it through the viewfinder. But I'm not sure that's really the case, at least with my $100 Sightmark.
* I've been singing the praises of DRS for a while now, but since writing this post, I opened my second 100 round bag, purchased much later. I may have to add some nuance, so don't run out and buy it just yet.
1 comment:
You have my permission to go back to shooting at closer ranges. Haha.
The paralax-free idea is an interesting concept that I would not trust without some personal testing to see if it is true. You could easily do this without ammo if you have a bore laser. But you likely won't see the difference at shorter ranges than 50m.
I understand the idea behind cheek weld but I dispute it's real value. the point behind it is getting a consistent eye-to-sight alignment. If you can do that without cheek weld then you should see no difference.
Even with a holographic sight, you should try to keep the red dot near the center of the sight because that is where the paralax differences will be smallest.
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