Has anyone tried this bullet for rams? Looking for replacement for 7mmk 168 gr MK.
Thanks,
Ferret Master

I was talking to top PA. HP shooter last month and he is using this bullet. He said it is a better ram killer than the 168. Why ? Lighter and pointier ? How does a paper punching bullet with less weight and a plastic tip improve performance on static steel plate? I may try a box over the winter months at our home matches. I am in no hurry to switch with 2K 168's in the house.

How does a paper punching bullet with less weight and a plastic tip improve performance on static steel plate?

Ballistic Coefficient!!!!!!!

.488 for the 168MK vs .600 for the 160 TMK

Al Foust

Al, a .112 BC advantage difference to me shows flatter shooting, less wind drift and higher remaining velocity at 500 meters. Clearly this projectile was built for long range paper shooting ala F Class competition and steel gong long range rested shooting. It will still vaporize upon striking hard steel.

We have been down this rutted road many times before. There is no purpose designed bullet for our game of knocking down steel animals. There are no "magic" bullets, either. Sorry JB. Use the heaviest bullet for the diameter of cartridge chosen. Keep the speed just right, not too slow, not too fast. It is a matter of bullet placement , ram to rail dynamics, and a pinch of good luck that tips that heavy beast over.

Bob, I ran these two bullets on my ballistics program the 168 at 2500fps has 920fpe at 500 meters' while the 160 at 2500 will have 1115 fpe at 500.

Might be a moot point when the top sticks are using 6mm 108-115 Gr bullets. All I know is the new Sierra TMK's are extremely accurate. I think you'll be pleased with the results when you try them. But by all means don't let your 168's go to waste.

By the way, IMO the best ram bullet is the 7mm 175 SMK.

Al Foust

I miss Dan T., he would be all over this thread with his HP wisdom. My own 168 load is running 2550 +- and could go 75 fps faster safely. But no need for more shoulder punishment. I am very satisfied with this load, lost animals are infrequent. I have not tried the 175 SMK thinking my 9" twist might not be quick enough for decent accuracy. I tried 175 Hornady Interlocks but accuracy was not up to snuff. That 6 mm pee wee round just shouldn't work on rams, but it does in the right hands.

I miss Dan T as well. Speaking of things that shouldn't work on rams the 143 ELDx out of Marlene's 6.5 TCU should never work as well as it does but yet \they fall with boring regularity.

When I was using the 7mm 168, I would sometimes get a starburst pattern when I rang a ram. I switched to the 162 A-Max and still rang some rams but no longer got the starburst pattern. The 6mm success must be all about bullets. What bullets were they using?

Jask, some years ago I did a ram knock down test and reported about it here. I c-clamped HP chickens to one of our perfect condition rams. Using one of my 7-08's I was firing 168 SMK's off the bench into the center of the ram. I wanted to see just what would it take weight wise to finally ring it. One chicken and light duty clamp added 13 lbs. to the ram. Over it went. I repeated this two more times with same results. I added another chicken and clamp, one in front and one in back. Again, three times hit and all fell over. I added a third chicken and clamp and that finally was too heavy to fall with repeated hits. I have long deleted and lost the pictures with that posting. I put about two miles on my car going back and forth. I am very confident using that bullet on any ram anywhere.

I spoke with the Sierra techs this afternoon and they say that the majority of their MK bullets have a 3% Antimony core and comparable jacket thickness. They suggested that I try their 160 grain HP hunting bullet since it has a thicker jacket. I would have to say that the biggest advantage I can see for the 160 is that it takes less wind so you would have a better chance of hitting the Ram. I agree with Al about the 175, I've never lost a Ram using that bullet. I'm just looking for a good bullet that might be a little easier on an old shoulder.
Ferret Master

Some time ago---like last year...I posted results of an informal ram knock down test with the 160 TMK. Its somewhere in these pages. Nevertheless that bullet has a different shape vs the 168 and is akin to a Berger Hybrid; its faster, less recoil, and is about the same length as a 168. The real issue with some bullets and rams is their rapid jacket failure (blow ups)...a millisecond slower collapse and the ram is down and of course if the rams have a wind from behind one has a more difficult time. I like the 160TMK a lot...its 2700fps strong and superbly accurate