Extreme Reloading: Speer Gold Dot vs. Sierra Tipped Match King (ep. 12)

We have been working on the 168 gr. Speer Gold Dot for my Ruger Precision Rifle and have a very nice load that looks promising. Today, we are going to see if this bullet can outperform the 168 gr. Sierra Tipped MatchKing that has been so successful for me in the past. I call this video, Challenging the King.
Timeline
1:24 - Explanation of the load and upcoming test
4:29 - Range time
11:01 - Discussion of the results
14:48 - Bullets settling in or settling down
Links:
Season 7 playlist • Extreme Reloading Seas...
Past seasons of Extreme Reloading • EXTREME RELOADING

[@briansupermag3918]

Nice work. I have to say I have NEVER had a speer shoot anywhere close to a sierra, especially a TMK.

[@sdkweber]

Same here. At 100 yards those Speer bullets really shoot well. Thanks for watching and posting.

[@guardianminifarm8005]

Excellent detail, description & info overall. Thank you.

[@sdkweber]

You are welcome and thank you very much for taking the time to watch and post.

[@427SuperSnake1]

TMK’s no matter in what caliber are longer than their non tipped counterparts. So if your rifle does better with shorter projectiles then the standard SMK should do the trick over the TMK.. For me my rifles like the longer TMK.

[@sdkweber]

I shoot the Match Kings some also but just recently found the Nosler Custom Competition bullets which my rifle does very well with.

[@leea5123]

I think that a better comparison would be a 168 Speer Match bullet. I mean match bullet vs match bullet. Against either the 168 SMK or the 168 TMK

[@sdkweber]

Thanks for watching Lee. I did a test with the Speer Match bullet earlier in the same season of Extreme Reloading. I chose the Speer Gold Dot for this test based on results from a bullet shape and structure test (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWmym4Gfr6eZntE)

[@usabaker1]

Great video! It would be interesting to compare the Speer Target Match 168gn to the Sierra Tipped Match King. I think they are closer to eachother

[@sdkweber]

Correct, they are more similar. I did that test and the Speer Target Match just couldn't compare to TMK. The Nosler Custom Competition did pretty well but still the TMK remains King in this rifle. You might be interested in our 30-shot group video also kzbin.info/www/bejne/b37bdGugdrKAbcksi=2c-IOfOLCYug5sI- Thank you for watching and posting.

[@usabaker1]

@@sdkweber Thanks for the response! heading over to the video you sent now :)

[@sdkweber]

@@usabaker1 I think you will like our 30-shot group tests. I did a few of these with what I thought were my best bullets in the RPR.

[@justice1327]

You should get a magnet trigger for the Lab

[@sdkweber]

I am not familiar with that. Is that an accessory for the Labradar? Is it sold by the same company? Thanks for watching DW None

[@johnnymossville]

Your rifle seems to love the speer.

[@sdkweber]

Yes, until I tested at 200 yards. I was actually pretty disappointed. I shot a second test the other day and while the Speer did better it did not beat the Sierra. Thanks for watching.

[@sdkweber]

@@UserAccountID My RPR does not do well with bullets much longer than the Sierra TMK. In fact the Nosler 168 gr. Long range bullet shot horribly (and it is quite long). That by the way is the reason I started loading the Speer (it is short). I am thinking about trying those Noslers again and adjust the bullet seating to be much closer to the lands. I will need to use the bob-sled to feed these though as they won't fit in the mag.

[@kevinoffer5618]

Very new to reloading did lots of research and purchased the 168 Speer gold dot for hunting but I think I bought the last 2 boxes in Canada and unable to find anymore noooooooooo

[@sdkweber]

That is too bad. In Canada can you order directly from Speer? I have ordered directly from them in the past. There are other excellent 308 bullets for hunting. Take a look at the Barnes TTSX 165 gr. I have tested this one and it is excellent.

[@evanhart5537]

Try a 168SMK or 169SMK. They should be shorter than the TMK.

[@sdkweber]

Thanks for watching. This made me starting looking around a bit more and I found I have some 168 gr. Nosler Custom Competition here that are shorter plus have the shorter boattail which this rifle seems to do better with. I am going to give these a try.

[@sabrestitman9148]

Greetings If I may ask, how are you measuring your groups? I understand measuring the bullet holes outside edge then susbtractiing .308 and that should be your group size. However, you seem to use a different calculation. could you pleae explain? thanks in advance

[@sdkweber]

Hello Sabre, Thanks for watching and good question. I always measure rifle precision using MOA (minute of angle). That is a good way to compare groups regardless of the range (100 yards, 200 yards, or 1000 yards). One MOA = 1.047" at 100 yards, 2.094" at 200 yards, etc.. I hope this helps.

[@sabrestitman9148]

@@sdkweber thanks I still don't get it:) for example on your speer 100 yard group you calculated a 0.63 if 0.966 - .308 = 0.658 isn't that your real group size? where does 0.63 come from? I am sure I am missing something and thanks again

[@sdkweber]

@@sabrestitman9148 Hello, the 0.63 is the group measured in MOA while 0.658" is the group size measured in inches. Since this was shot at 100 yards, to convert, divide inches by 1.047 and that will give MOA. In precision shooting we measure in MOA because it allows us to easily compare groups at any range. I think I will do a video on this topic as you are not the only person with this question.

[@michaelarthur5026]

What is the twist rate of the barrel?

[@sdkweber]

1:10 on this Ruger Precision Rifle.

[@michaelarthur5026]

Thank you. I wonder if a 1:9 would give different results?

[@sdkweber]

@@michaelarthur5026I bet it would.

[@davidleblanc7445]

What caliber gun

[@sdkweber]

.308 Winchester

[@ragnarrloobrok70]

The king is the HPBT not Tipped!

[@sdkweber]

:) No way, the inconsistencies of the HPBT meplats give the advantage to the tipped bullets (of course whatever shoots best in your rifle is king). Thanks for watching.

[@ragnarrloobrok70]

@@sdkweber Never said the tipped wasn’t a better projectile. The tipped is the new kid on the block and as I said the HPBT is king hands down! You can’t even compare the tipped to the hpbt when it comes to trophies won and sub MOA shots made! The king IS the HPBT! Just because it’s a better projectile due to advances in technology doesn’t make it king 😉 An example, Just because the 6.5 is flatter shooting doesn’t make it better than the 308 as long as the task at hand is accomplished! The 6.5 is the new kid on the block and is a product of advances in technology does the job more efficiently but the 308 is still king with more records, awards and kills than the 6.5! I hope you get my point here. I enjoy your content and look forward to more 👍

[@sdkweber]

@@ragnarrloobrok70 Thanks for watching and the fun conversation. Take care.