Maybe 4 years back, or maybe in one of those politically-induced buying panics, I bought four bricks of SM-200 from one of the big internet order places, maybe Midway. The stuff is reasonably accurate. Much the same as CCI Target Shorts. Most interestingly, it has copper cases, not brass. I was in the midst of trying the stuff at 50 yards in my Winder, in our sorta dark shooting shed. All of a sudden, there was a loud crack and a bright flash that lit up the shed. My friend said "what was that?" only with a lot more enthusiasm and with a couple of extra words. We dropped the block and out came the SM-200 cartridge, with the bullet still crimped in the case mouth. The top 1/4 of the cartridge case, between the rim and the bullet, had vaporized. While experimenting, I pulled 5 of the bullets, using a Waltz shell holder in my C press and holding the bullet with bent nose pliers. #s 1, 2, 3 & 5 worked OK, with the bullet popping right out. With #4, the cartridge case pulled in half. I wound up with the bullet still crimped in the front half of the case. When I run a patch through the barrel after an afternoon's shooting, I think I see ground glass on the patch. Chronograph results, mid point 10 feet from the muzzle: Avg velocity = 797.4 fps. Standard Deviation = 16.7 fps. Extreme spread = 65 fps. Data for 55 shots. I have also tried Fiocchi Normale, the pre-SM-200. None of the above happened with that stuff. If you are looking for an alternative to CCI, I would recommend the military surplus stuff from Poland.
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