The elk shot with the Sierra 180gr. have all been their spitzer boat tail. I have not used the match king on elk. I have contacted the techs at Sierra and spoken to them, and they all say the expansion is unreliable. Although they may perform well, they may fail to open up or fragment. The SBT gameking has a high enough BC that except at extreme ranges you would not have any real advantage. I live in New Mexico, and both guided and hunted elk for a large portion of my life ( I am now 58). The vast majority of elk are shot under 200 yds, and quite often under 100 yds. There is no way I would take a chance on shooting an elk and risk a foul up by choosing a bullet not designed for the type of hunting I am doing. There are numerous bullets which will perform well. The Sierra SBT is acccurate, has a high BC, and performs well on game. As an aside, I went out with reloads and was sighting in a new scope I was placing on my 300 Win mag. I shot some 180 gr. SBT I had reloaded 4 years ago and with a cold barrel shot a 0.4 in. 3 shot group at 100 yds.