opinions on sierra game kings

[royinidaho]

My only experience is with the 130gr Sierra BT out of a 270 Win at a consistent 3200 FPS.

Complete pass through on all muley broad side rib cage shots over about 30 years of hunting them. However any shots taken under about 250 yards nearly ruined the entire front half. Thus all shots were taken at beyond that distance.

Got two complete pass throughs on a 800+# bull moose @ about 70 yards. First shot through the ribs/heart. Had little affect on the big animal. But I did see the bullet strike the hill on the far side.

Second shot was through both shoulder blades about 3" up from the joint. I saw the bullet strike the hill on the far side also.

The second shot wasn't really needed but I didn't learn that until after we opened him up.

If they had a decent bc I'd still be using them.

 

[jasonprox700]

I have killed at least 20 whitetails with the 140grain SGK out of my .280. Out of those deer, I only had one pass through. I think they are better suited for longer range hunting. Anything under 200 yards and you are asking for an explosion. At close range, they explode on impact, but the longer the shot, the better they penetrate.

Last year was the final year of using SGK for deer. I shot a running doe at about 75 yards. 4 shots behind the front shoulder, and not a single bullet made it into the rib cage. It slowed her down long enough for a texas heart shot (didn't want to, but I knew she was already hit and I needed to get her down). By then, she made it out a ways, and again the bullet slowed down enough enough for adequate penetration.

I switched to Accubonds. I've shot a few deer with 100% pass throughs. I even was able to shoot a small buck at a mere 30 yards with it. He was quartering towards me and I put the bullet into the near shoulder and it exited with about a 1" hole. Inside was mush, so the bullet did it's job.

I picked up a boat load of 140 GMX bullets for cheap, so maybe I'll give them a try also...Not enough deer in the area to do testing though (between the wolves and the DNR)!

 

[jlamb]

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.

I'd have to agree here. I think Hornady's are more accurate than Sierra bullets. That being said, I just shot an elk with a sierra .338, 250 SPBT. I performed perfectly. I retrieved the bullet in the off-side hide and it weighed 190 grains after hitting a few ribs.

 

[newhornet]

I load a 6.5 X 284 Remington 700 Custom Build with a Benchmark 27 1/4 inch #7 contour barrel (HEAVY) 1-8 twist with the SGK 140's at @2900 fps. and have taken neck shots only on @100lb Whietail Does at ranges from 100 yards with a complete pass through (golf ball size exit wound) up to 295 yards with complete pass throughs and the wound channel looked to be VERY similar to the 100 yard shot. The animals moved ONLY vertically. I am very pleased with this bullet configuration in this particular rifle, as the barrel was removed from a bench gun and rechambered to clean up the throat. It shot the 142 SMK's prior to my purchase and I am using the same load with the 140's and have yet to "tweak" it for single hole accuracy at 100, but will after the deer season as it is not necessary on deer sized game IMHO.

 

[Bravo 4]

I have shot GameKings in a couple different rifles/calibers, both higher velocity chamberings. They were very accurate and as stated earlier "soft" or thin skinned. With higher impact velocity they do seem to shed a lot of weight or seperate so I would use the heavy for caliber bullets, also the heavies usually have a higher BC then the lighter variants. These are one of my favorite deer bullets, behind a heavy for cal Hornady SST.

 

[rmorgan9718]

Each of the 6 guns I load for has a preference. Only one, an old Rem. 721 in .280 really likes the 160 gr. Game Kings. It shoots (when I'm doing my job right) about .500 at 200 yds. Have not chronographed it, just shoot it.

I tried the same load in my Rem. 700 Mountain Rifle, also in .280, and it will not group under 2" at 100 yards. Believe it or not, the best group to date is with Nosler 160 gr. Partitions, about .400" at 100 yrds, opening up to about 1.09" at 200. Good enought to take 6x6 Bull Elk in Idaho at 325 yrds, in 15 mph cross wind.

In 308., the game kings are so-so in my Rem. 600. About 1" at 100 yds.

 

[340Shooter]

Here is my 8mm RM shooting 220gr Sierra over 87grs of RL25. I would say the rifle likes them

 

[Marine sniper]

I shoot 200 gr. GK's in my .308 at 2350 fps, I have killed deer out to 300 yards with this set up and it is an excellent killer. Passes all the way through a whitetail deer (shoulders, high shoulder, etc) exit wound of approx. 2"

I think the reduced velocity I shoot them at is a good thing considering the bullet construction.

 

[MSU Marksman]

I've been using the 30 cal 165 HPBT and SBT, as well as the 270 150 SBT with excellent success through a range of velocities.


Now if they would just get their act together and make a 120-130 grain HPBT or SBT for the 6.5 sized rounds ........

 

[el si]

I shot a mule deer with the 30-cal 200gr GameKing this year. I got quite the surprise.

The previous day the deer were at 680 yards, so I traded the 30-06 with 180gr Partitions for the 300 RUM expecting long range shooting. Well a buck walks out at 132 yards so I drill him. With a MV of 2990 fps, I was expecting bullet fragments but what I got surprised me -- big holes in the deer. One going in and one going out. No jacket or lead fragments. No bullet recovered as it passed through.

I will say that the exit point also surprised me. I hit him square on the left side behind the shoulder and the bullet exited by the spine. Broke his back and he tried to paddle away on two front legs.

I was using the Sierras because all other 200gr bullets were out of stock earlier this year when I was load developing. I had planned to use AccuBonds, but I may just stick with the Sierra 200gr GameKing especially after reading what LTLR said about them.

 

[Casing]

I shoot 85 gr. Sierra HPBT's in 6mm Rem and get 5 shots inside a dime at 100 yards. I also worked with a stubborn Weatherby 257 and all I could get to group inside 1/2'' at 100 yards was the Sierra Pro Hunter 117 grain. If your rifle will shoot the pro hunter bullets give them a try. The work great on whitetail size animals. Much like the Nosler partition. Nice hole going in and a better exit hole. They are a flat base bullet and do a great job.

 

[BigSkyGP]

Growing up, dad and grandpa both used 165gr spbt sieras, in their .308 Norm Mag's, I can't count, or don't know how many Idaho elk they dropped with them.

I was playing with the speer 168 match, for my .300 Win Mag, and couldn't get them to group as well as the hornady match. At the time I couldn't get the SMKs that I wanted, to try.

Then started using 168gr STX Barnes. All my hunting loads, for rifles are now Barnes. They are accurate, and they open all the way at all velocities, and never recovered. Even out of my 6.8 SPC at 110gr, always pass through.

I've always wondered about the SGKs. This is a great discusion. I have thought about SMKs for antelope, probably won't try that now. Since I havn't shot one under 250, SGKs maybe. Sounds like too many IFs.

 

[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 have a little crow to eat concerning my earlier post here...i decided to use Sierra Gamekings again this year after a dismal failure a few years back...apparently, shooting through high grass isnt the best medicine for these, but if you have a clean shot, they drop deer in their tracks. I shot 2 deer yesterday with the Sierra Gameking 150 gr Boat tail spitzer and they performed admirably, even at extreme close range...i shot a buck at about 8 yards, through the top of the neck and out through the shoulder...severed the windpipe, broke his neck and shoulder...next was a doe at 60 yards...spine shot....clean pass through..hit her hard enough to drive bits of spine down to liquify a lung...im prety impressed with these bullets and probably wont change anytime soon...