opinions on sierra game kings

[Wildhog]

Was wondering about there performance on deer, hog, medium sized game. do you get complete pass throughs and good wound channel damage for quick kills. I started reloading a few months ago and was thinking about trying these. thanks for any input

 

[Derek M.]

For that style of bullet, I would buy Speer first, Hornady second, then Sierra. That's based on about a decade of experience shooting all 3 in 3 states and killing many deer. Sure they all worked but for whatever reason, I found the Sierras hardest to get to group and I don't have a clue why that is. The Speer and Hornady did much better, much quicker. This is in 5 different rifles at the time and 2 additional that belong to my brother and his friend. I got complete pass throughs with most.

HOWEVER....... I really do like the Sierra HPBT hunting bullets, a lot. But I'd still buy Speer boat tails and spitzer flat based bullets first.

 

[Gunpoor]

I will say this from personal experience, some rifles will shoot boattail bullets and some just don't seem to like them. Shooting Sierra GK bullets in a rifle that digests BT bullets has always proven to be very accurate. I will say up front I have never shot any animal with GK's, and that is just because I just don't trust them as they are a thin skinned bullet and I have also heard too many horror stories of failure with them. I like Speer BTSP and all of the Hornady Interlock bullets and have shot many deer with them and Rem Corloct bullets without any bullet failure. If I were to shoot at deer with a Sierra bullet it would be the Pro-hunter, but I believe they are being discontinued although I could be wrong about that. It seemed that every time I would try to buy some prohunter bullets in a certain caliber they wouldn't offer the partricular bullet weight I was looking for so I always ended up buying another brand. I never saw the need to buy the so called "premium bullets" when the standard cup and core swaged bullets have always got the job done.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The gamekings are guaranteed to do two things. If your gun likes boattail bullets they are extremely accurate. They will blow into a zillion pieces at first contact with whatever they hit. Extremely thin jackets. Except for these which have a stronger antimony lead core and a stronger jacket. 7mm-175, 30-200, and calibers 8mm and above. The others will blow apart. There is the odd one that happens to work but 90% will fail. For shooting deer you should be fine. But nothing bigger than deer. I will not and have not in 30 years let anyone come elk hunting with me if they shoot sierra gamekings unless it is one of the above mentioned.

 

[santee116]

I have killed several hundred deer and hogs throughout my lifetime with Sierra Gamekings and Pro Hunters and I would say that 99% of them have dropped in their tracks. If you shoot them in the sholder, they will drop. Most will be complete pass throughs.

Not saying I would shoot an elk sized animal with them (would probably go with an Accubond or Barnes), but deer and hog you will be more than fine.

In .243 I have shot the 100 grain SGK.
In 30-06 I shot the 150 grain SGK.

Currently I shoot a .260 with 120 grain Sierra Pro Hunters and in my .300 mag I shoot the 180 grain SGK.

So far this year I have killed three hogs and one buck with the .260, all DRT. With the .300 I have killed four does all DRT.

In my, personal experience, they have performed outstanding. The only game that has ever run on me, with Sierra Bullets, were poor shots (behind the sholder).

One thing I always say though, shoot whatever hunting bullet your rifle groups the best. An accurate shot is more important than anything else.

 

[Boss Hoss]

The gamekings are guaranteed to do two things. If your gun likes boattail bullets they are extremely accurate. They will blow into a zillion pieces at first contact with whatever they hit. Extremely thin jackets. Except for these which have a stronger antimony lead core and a stronger jacket. 7mm-175, 30-200, and calibers 8mm and above. The others will blow apart. There is the odd one that happens to work but 90% will fail. For shooting deer you should be fine. But nothing bigger than deer. I will not and have not in 30 years let anyone come elk hunting with me if they shoot sierra gamekings unless it is one of the above mentioned.

I have not shot a lot of anmials with the Game Kings because all of my loads use the SMK's now but never did I experience a failure shooting deer or feral hogs. Some of the rounds did not exit the hogs but then they were at longer ranges out of a 308 and no 308 will exit when hit in the shoulder (bad shot) on a 250lb hog at extended range of 300-400 yards.

 

[mgdhunter]

As with all things, it comes down to opinion and experience. My father has used game kings exclusively for 50+ years, and has had great success with them. And I also believe that much of the responsibility lands on the shooter to put the bullet in the right place. I have used them with no complaints in many rifles. I believe they are one of the most accurate bullets on the market, and that plays into putting the bullet where it needs to be. I have used other bullets when called for, but would not hesitate to use them on most game unless it was dangerous game that called for a premium bullet.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

With deer and low velocity rounds you should be fine. But the gamekings are notorious for complete jacket/core seperation and completely blowing apart on impact. Untold numbers of animals lost to these bullets. Just telling you what the history is so you know. Why take the risk when you don't have to. Lots of animals have been killed with them. Plenty lost with them also. I have seen many of them blow up on the shoulder of a deer or antelope and not penetrate the vitals leaving a nasty wound but an animal that can get away without a finishing shot.

I am not here to hurt anyones feelings. I am glad a few people have had success with them. I hope you continue to. I am just telling what I know about these bullets. They will fail on a regular basis. As the game gets bigger and tougher the failures get more alarming.

 

[kiwi3006]

When I had my 30/06 I used Sierra 165 Gameking boattail and found it a good bullet on red deer at close range and wild goats. If anything I though they were a bit tough, especially on the goats. Often the goat would take a second shot to go down, on inspection there was not much expansion.
I then switched to Speer 165 boattails. These seemed to be a bit softer. The goats would go down a lot quicker, usually only one shot.

Stu.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Thanks Kiwi for your experience with them. That is why a forum is good. So people can see everyones experience with them. Red deer are tough. Maybe they have changed the bullets during the past 30 years. I haven't shot one in over 30 years. During the 70's they were popular but the word got out quick they were very thin fragile jacket and most quit using them because of it. Maybe they have corrected there problem. I saw way to much in the 70's to know never to use one.

 

[roninflag]

wildhog does not say caliber. i have shot a lot of deer(20+) with the 85 bthp in 243. a couple deer with 100 grain. and a couple elk with 175 7mm mag. i have hunting partners who have shot deer AND cow elk with the 100 grain 243. and another partner who has shot over 30 deer with the 120 flat base out of a 7mm stw sendero.

 

[Barstooler]

I find Sierra bullets to be very accurate in most of my rifles.

I have hunted for 40 years and find Sierras are great for punching paper if you are reluctant to buy match grad bullets.

For game (and I have taken a lot of game), I never use them on anything bigger than a White Tail, and even then if you are pushing them above 2800-2900 fps watch out.

I have killed White Tails with Sierra GKs using 243 Win, 256 Newton, 30-40 Krag, and 30-06.

If you are planning on driving your bullets over 3000fps, even for White Tails, I would consider Hornady, Speer, or Nosler.

Just MHO

Barstooler

 

[renegadelzard]

Was wondering about there performance on deer, hog, medium sized game. do you get complete pass throughs and good wound channel damage for quick kills. I started reloading a few months ago and was thinking about trying these. thanks for any input

I shot at a deer with my 308, 168 gr SGK..either the deer did not notice it was hit, or about 20 yards of sparse high grass suffiently deflected the bullet...it was enough for me to become very angry and go back to hornady SST's...another good bullet for deer are CT ballistic silvertips..ive always had good luck with them...Im going to give the SGK another try this year in my 243...ill let you know how that works out..

 

[Topshot]

In the .25-06 I have found the 100gn Gameking to be excellent on Pigs, Goats and medium sized deer.

On large Sambar deer the 7mm 175gn Gameking works well but seems a bit soft. Last two I recovered started out at a M.V. of only 2650 fps and killed Sambar at 150 and 200 yards weighed 107gn and 105gn. They left a large wound channel.

They would in my opinion make an excellent choice for longer ranges where the velocity would be low.