Why the 155? Higher BC from the shorter barrel than 168 or 175's? I know the 168SMK does good on pigs in the shoulder and head, haven't tried a neck shot yet bc I think it offers a very small target for a bully that won't expand.

155 to regain some velocity loss due to 16" and being a gas gun.

168 gr SMK, BC .462
175 gr SMK, BC .500
155 gr tipped MK, BC .519

Lighter than the old SMKs so it'll go faster, but has a higher BC. Win, win.

I have only caught 1 Amax and it was a very large pig in the 200+ range and it broke the off shoulder. This was with the 7mm 162gr Amax which I'm pretty sure has a higher sd and that might be a factor.

My thoughts are 155 TMKs will kill hogs fine. They will expand violently because of the tip and at 308 speeds will penetrate fine. Hard to gauge what their performance will be based on a normal Matching with a small HP. The tip and massive HP makes a big difference. I would expect it would behave a lot like an AMAX.

Jason, any update? Wondering where you are at on this. I was thinking Varget and a suppressor might be a bit hard on the gas system. I am going play with the 155 TSMK and some 3031 in a couple weeks in an M1A.

This evening,

Loaded a ladder test of 8208 43.2 gr - 45.2 gr.
O.A.L. 2.825" to give .015" mag clearance
Win LR primer loaded in Remington brass

I'll probably shoot it on Tuesday.

I ladder tested the loads at 300 yards yesterday. DPMS Recon 16", with free float tube. Atlas bipod, SS 5-20X Mil/ Mil FFP. Tiger Shark suppressor.

50* F
DA -50' (600' A.S.L)
Wind 8 o'clock 4-8 mph
Medium mirage

155 gr. Sierra TMK
IMR 8208 XBR 42.3gr to 44.7 gr
Rem second fired brass (not in this rifle)
Trim length 2.007"
O.A.L. .0015" less than mag length
Win LR primer

I put ten rounds down this clean barrel prior to load development. The first 7 were at 100 yards and I was concerned as it shot about .5 Mil at 100 yards. I fired two at 300 to get on steel, then proceded with the ladder test on paper. The results got better as I went along. 43.5 gr. and 43.8 gr are almost touching, 43.8 gr chronoed at 2605 fps MV, as I had hoped I would reach.

44.1, 44.4, and 44.7 vertically (all that really matters) are 1", but 44.4, and 44.7 had extractor marks. I had 45.0, and 45.3 gr also ready to shoot, but decided to not shoot them since I got an early sign of pressure in very mild environtmental conditions. Running with that node in hot weather or wet weather may significantly overpressure, so I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I plan to group shoot 43.5, 43.8, and 44.1.

Looks good, especially for a 16" barrel. What trigger are you using?

Dangit Tim! I meant to text you and Kyle to tell yall I had zero malfunctions during this session with the AR. Maybe the gremlins have fallen off me.

The factory trigger and it is awfull!!! I need recommendations on a good three pound replacement trigger, that doesn't feel like it has an eighth inch of creep.

Good you got rid of the bad mojo! I've got spare Timney and CMC triggers you can try, I like them both. For precision, I like 2 stage triggers.

Note, you can polish the stock trigger and run an allen screw up through the grip thread to reduce the over travel...will likely require some filing on the safety though. I've done this with good success. Youtube has many examples.

I'm a DIYer from way back. I may try some tuning on the factory trigger. If it doesn't end up satisfactory I may take you up on the loan.

Just get a geisel and be done.

300 yards. 5 shots, 1is partially covered by the tape measure.

Evidently this is as good as the load and rifle can do. I hoped for half this, but I'm used to precision bolt actions. It'll kill a hog.

What barrel? what type of ar?

DPMS Recon, factory stainless barrel.

Jason, look at Velocity triggers, just put one in my budget AR and it's phenomenal. I got a 3lb single stage, but they have 2 stage of you prefer.

Glad to hear the Recon is working out, looking for an AR10 myself. Have you considered an adjustable gas block? My dad is running one on his PSA-10 and it really helped with ejection issues.

No two stage triggers for me. I'll look into the Velocity triggers. I'm gonna try to tune my trigger, if that doesn't work I'll swap it out. It is ejecting at 2 o'clock so an adjustable block is on the list as well.

You need to shoot this at The Challenge

I'm not shooting that match.

Small pig, less than 50 yards, destroyed the heart immediately. Exit is about grapefruit sized.

Need a bigger hog to test on now.

Did you get the Timney installed? Like it?

Heck no. Still have the junk factory trigger in it. I will make the swap today.

looks like a big rat