77gr Sierra Matchking question

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

I’ve got some 77gr SMK’s that appear to have notches or skives cut into the jacket. Is this something new? I’ve mostly loaded Hornady .224 bullets so I’m not that familiar with them but I’ve never seen this. Last time I loaded SMK’s was several years ago.

These are factory loads from a small loader but the description and box both indicate they’re SMKs.

I changed the light a bit in the second photo to make the notches more visible. I thought they could be marks from the seater plug but that’s not what they look like.

Anybody know?

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2

Normal.

3

Is this a newer change? I did some troubleshooting a while back and bought a couple boxes of factory ammo with the SMK’s. The Black Hills loading didn’t have the jacket cuts.

Do you know why the change was made? Terminal performance maybe?

Thanks.

4

I think it’s just part of the manufacturing draw of the jacket.

Our 77 SMKs with Cannalure have the lines on them too.

5

Could it be from the seating die ?

6

No. My bullets are still in the box. A seating die will leave a halo ring, not skives.