Working on a load with match grade components for an upcoming CMP match with my M1. I decided to use varget powder (because it was in stock), starline brass (because I could find it and reviews are good) and 155gr TMK's (because I already had a couple hundred in my stash). Using Gordon's and keeping my pressures in a safe range.

First round of loads in .5gr increments was unimpressive at best. My ball ammo shoots better.

I've read that a lot of folks like keeping their COAL at 3.3 instead of 3.34 because it gives a little more room for loading errors that could cause feed issues. I suspect that this may have been a mistake with TMK's. Because of their length and profile, I hypothesize that this created too much of a jump to the lands.

I cooked up another test with the same powder loads and a COAL of 3.34 that I will test next week.

What strikes me is the lack of stories from people using TMK, but rather more M1 shooters seem to like SMK's. Coming back to the profile of the bullet, I wonder if there's a good reason for this. I often find that if I think I have a good idea that nobody else uses, it's because they already tried and failed before me!