November 25th, 2015

New 6mm and 6.5mm Tipped MatchKings from Sierra

Tactical 6.5x47 Lapua

Sierra has released two new Tipped MatchKing (TMK®) bullets that should find favor with PRS competitors and tactical shooters*. Sierra is producing a new 95 grain 6mm projectile and a new 130 grain 6.5mm bullet. Both feature acetal resin tips that lower drag by improving the ballistic coefficient (BC) and making the BC more uniform from bullet to bullet. The 95-grainer should work well as a higher-speed option in the .243 Win, 6mm Creedmoor, 6mm Dasher, and 6mmBR. We were able to push other 95gr bullets nearly 100 fps faster than 105gr bullets from a 6mmBR. For those shooting the 6.5×47 Lapua and 6.5 Creedmoor, the new 130gr TMK should be a near-ideal bullet weight. We know that Berger’s 6.5mm 130gr VLD works great in those mid-sized cartridges, so Sierra’s new 130-grainer should be in the “sweet spot”. Also, in the .260 Remington the 130gr TMK should be capable of velocities that hit predicted accuracy nodes with ease. The 6mm 95 grain TMK requires a twist rate of 1:9″ or faster to stabilize while the 6.5mm 130 grain TMK requires a twist rate of 1:8″ or faster to stabilize.

We expect the 130gr 6.5mm TMK to find favor with Tactical Shooters
Tactical 6.5x47 Lapua

* In addition, Sierra plans to add a 7mm 160gr TMK to the line-up, product #7660, but we don’t expect this to be used for tactical games because of the heavier recoil.