Is Sierra Ammunition Any Good?

Origins of Sierra Ammunition

Country of Origin – United States

Founded – 1947

Headquarters – Sedalia, Missouri

Website – sierrabullets.com

Sierra Ammunition was founded in California in 1947 by Frank Snow, Jim Spivey, and Loren Harbor, a group of hunters who were dissatisfied with the quality of the bullets that were available at the time. They set out to make a better bullet, and it is safe to say that they succeeded.

Sierra quickly became known for their high-quality products and innovative designs and has since proven that good things from the firearms industry can indeed come from California. Over the years, they continued to expand their product line and refined their manufacturing processes. In the 1950s and 1960s, the company began producing bullets for the growing sport of bench rest shooting, which requires extremely precise and consistent ammunition. In the 1970s, Sierra began using computerized manufacturing processes to produce its bullets, which allowed for even greater precision and consistency.

This made the company’s bullets even more popular among competitive shooters and hunters alike. In 1990, they moved their factory headquarters to Sedalia, Missouri where they built one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the industry that included a 300-meter underground test range, which took the title for the longest underground privately owned bullet testing range in the world.

Sierra Bullets Product Line-Up

In terms of product offerings, Sierra produces a wide range of bullets for rifles and pistols. Their hunting rounds are designed to deliver consistent accuracy and expansion for a quick, humane kill, while their match rounds are optimized for precision, with features like boat-tail designs and hollow points to reduce drag, improving its center of gravity and overall performance at longer ranges. Their self-defense rounds are engineered to deliver maximum energy transfer and expansion for maximum stopping power.

Sierra is also known for its commitment to education and safety in the shooting and hunting communities. They offer a wide range of resources for shooters, including instructional videos and articles on everything from reloading to shooting techniques, as well as a toll-free tech line that allows consumers to talk directly with a ballistic technician in order to provide answers for any questions they might have, even if they are not using products from Sierra. Sierra Outdoors ammunition series below:

Sports Master Ammunition Series 

Sierra have been producing and supplying customers with high quality self-defense ammunition for some time. This ammunition gives the feel and ballistic performance of expensive self-defensive ammunition that is very affordable.

The terminal performance of these bullets is in line with general purpose hunting bullets, making it an even better option for self-defense purposes. This line-up comes in JHP (jacketed hollow point) with each bullet having specially placed skives in the jacket around the tip of the bullet providing positive uniform and controlled expansion. The Sports Masterline-up comes in 9mm 115 & 124 grain, .380 AUTO, 40 S&W and 45 AUTO.

MatchKing Competition Series

The MatchKing line-up remains consistent with producing accurate and reliable ammunition for competitive shooters. These cartridges provide tight tolerance and multiple-platform performances that produces results. This is one of Sierra Outdoors longest production series that many loyal customers swear by. This series comes in 223 Rem 69 & 77 grain HPBT, 308 Win 168 & 175 grain HPBT and 6mm Creedmoor 107 & 140 grain HPBT.

Prairie Enemy Ammunition Series

You can probably guess what this series of ammunition is used for, but that’s not the important part. This ammo line-up solves the problem and main concern of Varmint hunting. Many hunters want to know if their bullets will hold up with the velocities they’ll push them to. This is where Sierra Bullets comes into play with their Prairie Enemy ammunition. Many consumers have preached that they are to make predictable, precise, and devastating shots at ranges from 10 to 300 yards. With Sierra’s high-performance bullets, this line-up exceeds expectations for small game. The Prairie Enemy Series comes in 204 Ruger 36 grain, 224 Valkrie 69 grain, 223 Rem 55 & 69 grain, 22-250 Rem 50 grain, 243 Win 70 grain, 6.5 Creedmoor 105 grain.

Looking for some bulk Sierra ammo?

Shop 9mm, 40 S&W, 38 Special, 380 AUTO for handgun ammo.

We have .223 Rem, 30-06 Springfield, 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Win in stock for rifle ammo. 

Sierra’s Warehouse Process

Sierra has prided themselves on creating and performing manufacturing ammunition in a professional manner. They continually achieve consistency in their manufacturing methods.

Quality manufacturing process 

The quality begins with the raw materials they use. They ensure only the most uniform materials are used. During this process, they check the grain size of the raw materials with their sophisticated metallurgical equipment. One of the biggest demands of buying ammunition is the consistency of performance. This is what Sierra Bullets takes very seriously and integrates into their quality control line. They are dedicated for their design, manufacturing, and quality control to provide a high-quality round for the consumer.

Production of The Bullet Jacket

Sierra bullet jackets are all made from gilding metal, a copper alloy which is composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc. The company buys nineteen different strip sizes of gilding metal. These require three times more quality control that is considered standard in the copper manufacturing world. Sierra uses Olin Brass which has a special alloy for Sierra bullets. This allows Sierra to build extremely high uniformity for every bullet that is finished in production.

The bullet will begin to take shape during the manufacturing process when the bullets jacket material is first blanked. They use special tooling to make sure the jacket is drawn evenly, and that uniform wall thickness is maintained for accuracy. The jackets that have been drawn to the proper specs are then trimmed to a length with a tolerance of +/-0.001. This will ensure the consistent weight and property forming when the bullet is assembled in the warehouse.

The bullets are then washed using one of Sierra’s special cleaning processes. During each phase of production, roving quality control inspectors check all of the specifications to ensure everything is going smoothly.

Producing The Cores & Assembling The Bullet 

Sierra uses 6% antinomy, 3% antinomy, 11/2% antinomy and pure lead for the core. They select the proper lead alloy for each bullet to produce the best combination of accuracy and expansion in the finished projectile. Lead is purchased in billets which are then individually extruded into spools of lead wire.

Once the jackets and lead wire are brought together, they are fed into a custom bullet press. After the bullets have been formed in the bullet presses, they are tumbled in the front wash-and-polish system to remove any surface blemish and to polish the bullets. Of course, these finished bullets are examined with detail to make sure the best bullets are packed up for the consumer.

Is Sierra Bullets Ammo Clean or Dirty?

Yes, very much so!

Though Sierra is relatively new to the loaded ammunition market, they are constantly developing and innovating new products. They are developing new technology with every new caliber they add to their catalog. This produces clean and reliable ammo that will show through time and time again. Sierra ammo uses no corrosive primers meaning that their ammo will not cause harm to guns. Their high-quality pistol and rifle cartridges use clean burning smokeless powder which is known to be consistent and clean. You can trust Sierra Bullets to deliver reliable and clean ammo that will show you positive results downrange or out on the field.

Should I Use Sierra Ammunition?

Today, Sierra offers a wide range of bullets for almost every type of firearm and shooting application. The company is known for its commitment to quality and its dedication to constantly improving its products and manufacturing processes. Throughout its history, Sierra has remained a family-owned company, with the same commitment to quality and innovation that its founders had more than 70 years ago, from the raw materials used to the packaging that carries the finished product to the consumer. Every bullet undergoes a rigorous inspection process to ensure that it meets the company’s high standards for consistency, weight, and performance, using only the finest materials, including custom-designed jackets and cores. Sierra also invests heavily in research and development to ensure that its products remain at the cutting edge of bullet technology. The company’s Ballistic Technician team works tirelessly to develop new bullet designs and improve existing ones, using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques.

Here at True Shot Ammo, we are proud to carry a wide range of products from Sierra for rifles and handguns alike, so whether you are looking for the perfect hunting round or a round that will create the tightest groups possible, you should most certainly give Sierra a try.

Need bulk ammo? At True Shot Ammo, we have a wide variety of handgun ammo and rifle ammo available to purchase. Please visit our website trueshotammo.com, call us at (888) 736-6587 or, you can email us at [email protected] for more rifle ammo options.