Sierra Offers New Ultra-High-BC 197gr 7mm (.284) MatchKing
Get ready for a revolution in the F-Open, ELR, and Long-Range Benchrest games. Sierra just introduced a new 7mm bullet with a stunning 0.780 G1 BC. This new 197-grain HPBT MatchKing is one of the highest-BC, jacketed .284-caliber projectiles ever offered to the public. By comparison, Sierra’s own advanced 183-grain 7mm Matchking has a .707 G1 BC. That means the new 197-grainer has a 10% higher BC than the already slippery 183-grainer. That’s an impressive achievement by Sierra.
We expect top F-Open and long-range shooters will be trying the new 197-grainer as soon as they can get their hands on this new projectile. They may need new barrels however, as Sierra states: “This bullet requires a barrel twist rate of 1:7.5″ or faster”. Sierra expects to start shipping these slippery 7mm 197s very soon. You can order directly from Sierra’s website, stock code #1997, $54.20 for 100 bullets.
Factory Uniformed Bullet Tips
Sierra has officially announced that the 197gr SMK will come “pointed” from the factory. These impressive new 197s will have a “final meplat reducing operation” (pointing). This creates a higher BC (for less drag) and also makes the BC more uniform (reducing vertical spread at long range). Our tests of other factory-pointed Sierra MKs have demonstrated that Sierra does a very good job with this pointing operation. The “pointed” MatchKings we’ve shot recently had very nice tips, and did hold extremely “tight waterline” at 1000 yards, indicating that the pointing process does seem to enhance BC uniformity. Morever, radar-derived “real-world” BCs have been impressively uniform with the latest generation of pointed Sierra MKs (such as the new 110gr 6mm MatchKing).
Here is the statement from Sierra about the new bullets:
New product tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.Shooters around the world will appreciate the accuracy and extreme long range performance of our new 7mm 197 grain HPBT (#1997). A sleek 27-caliber elongated ogive and a final meplat reducing operation (pointing) provide an increased ballistic coefficient for optimal wind resistance and velocity retention. To ensure precise bullet to bore alignment, a unique bearing surface to ogive junction uses the same 1.5 degree angle commonly found in many match rifle chamber throats.
While they are recognized around the world for record-setting accuracy, MatchKing® and Tipped MatchKing® bullets are not recommended for most hunting applications. Although MatchKing® and Tipped MatchKing® bullets are commonly used for varmint hunting, their design will not provide the same reliable explosive expansion at equivalent velocities in varmints compared to their lightly jacketed Hornet, Blitz BlitzKing, or Varminter counterparts.
Similar Posts:
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- NEW — Ultra-High BC 150-Grain 6.5mm MK from Sierra
- NEW Sierra 6mm 110-Grain MatchKing with Claimed 0.617 G1 BC
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Tags: .284, 7mm, ballistics, F-Class, F-Open, Hybrid Ogive, Long-Range, Sierra MatchKing, SMK
‘A sleek 27-caliber elongated ogive…’
If the 7mm is a 27 caliber what is the .277″ like the .270 Win.?
The ogive is 27-caliber, not the bullet.
Kurz, It means the ogive is approx.
27x.284 = 7.67″ radius
Factory pointing is a very nice offering and I don’t know any shooters that have thought, if they tried it, that they could improve on Sierra’s performance by retipping.
I guess I needed some coffee before I read this…
I think it is too heavy for calibre again (like the new 6mm offering). Fast twist barrel and heavy projectile equals a lot of torque on the bags or in your hands and translates to fliers.
A lot of internet experts will say hooray for the figures but never shoot competitively or will be disappointed in their real world results. This is a specialised bullet for specialist shooting and the equipment needed will be niche.
It would have been a breakthrough had it been lighter than the previous 183 grainer. No wonder the bc is boosted with such a high sectional density.
Plus they could have forgotten about trans sonic and subsonic behavior and made a shorter boat tail, maybe they would have worked in a standard 8″ twist.
These would be awesome in a 300 Norma magnum case necked down to 7mm. Such as the 284 Piper.
Im sure to see this bullet on the line during LR matches in 7mm short mag
I just left the 100 yard range testing them in the same 8 twist barrel that I use for EOL 195’s. They group just as expected through my .284 using H 1000, meaning just like the other heavies. Yes there is torque and recoil, and lighter bullets group slightly better at 100 yards. But these days long range matches are almost exclusively from 1,000 yards and shooting the heaviest bullets in 2016 I think helped me get HM.
For David Joe:
Could you tell me more about your load data for .284 Winchester ?
I just tested these in my .284 win 7tw 28in 1.25 straight Krieger barrel. I used RL26 and worked up to 53gr. The 52.2grain load was very precise in the .1 to .2 range and it chono’d at 2550 fp/s. I showed no pressure signs up to 53 so I’ll keep loading up. My testing was done from a bench free recoil style so I have yet to go in the prone with these but I imagine the recoil may be a factor once I go prone…we will see.