First experience with match type bullet on game

[okie man]

Sierra makes a "match" grade hunting bullet! Maybe try that!

 

[elkaholic]

My son shot a whitetail deer last weekend, and it's the first time I've used a match type bullet on a game animal. Just wondering what everyone's experience with this is and if what happened to us is typical? He was shooting a semi custom .308 that I traded for using factory federal premium ammunition. The bullet was a 175 grain Sierra match king.

The deer appeared about 300 yards away, and I was ranging him to tell him how much to dial, he started walking towards us. He ended up stopping at 110 yards, quartering hard to us. My son made a perfect shot, hitting him in the point of the right shoulder. The bullet broke the shoulder blade in half, liquefied the heart, clipped a lung, and came to rest in the paunch.

The deer actually turned and ran about 15 or 20 yards and tipped over and fell. He kicked a few times and jumped back up, stood broadside, and just as I told my son to send another one, the deer fell back down and died for good. All my hunting experience has been with some type of tipped bullet, and I've never had this happen. All well placed shots have been DRT. This bullet did it's job as the bone and vitals were destroyed, but I'm not happy that the animal was able to run off. Is this typical for an SMK bullet, or did this deer just have an extreme will to live?

I think the bullet worked BECAUSE you hit the point of the shoulder! My experience with smk is it may well have penciled if had just been shot through the rib cage. At any longer distance, they often bend and tumble (banana bullet) The tipped matchking may be a better choice over all but maybe not for the shot you took?

 

[Canhunter35]

I should read closer, I read smk and thought tmk lol.
There are plenty of match bullets that are killing machines.
N. Foster at terminal ballistics website has collected a lot of data on most bullets and how they perform. It's really worth reading.

 

[Overkill338]

Pe

People jump out of airplanes there chute doesn't open they hit the ground but don't die so statistics says sometimes animals don't die as quick as you think they should you had a deer not travel very far after the shot be happy thousands of animals have been shot with that bullet most times when animals go right down the central nervous system has been compromised and they drop the heart and brain function is still there for awhile but they can't move and dead quick heart shot deer fueled by adrenaline can travel a ways sometime. David

A cop hit a guy 14 times with a .45 ACP, in known "vital/lethal" areas. He was only stopped when he looked under the car to see where the cop went and took one to the head. You can't always expect a one shot drop stop.

 

[dennisinaz]

I have not had the greatest luck with Sierra Match Kings on deer; tipped Match Kings are more reliable. I have had great luck with Berger orange box bullets and to some degree, the hybrids also. A point of the shoulder shot is NEVER a guaranteed DRT with a 308.

 

[Cuz]

I had a video from doe culling one year where a doe was shot broadside through the top of the heart with a 30/06 and ran about 100 yards before slowing down and falling over. On every jump you could see blood spraying from the holes. They don't always just tip over.

 

[kiwikid]

Sierra states the following in their reloading manuals,
"Sierra does not recommend MatchKing bullets for hunting applications"
Nathan Foster in
https://www.ballisticstudies.com/
is often seen to suggest that Sierra MatchKing projectiles are erratic performers on game.

Every hunter should have the right to decide what bullet they are going to use.
Personally I think with the vast array of bullets we can now access there are better choices than the MatchKings when it comes to medium and large game hunting.

 

[BigSky112]

Why use them when there are hunting bullets that do the job very well?
Facing toward you guys and hitting to the "left" on the point of the shoulder is not a "perfect shot". Don't know the circumstances but maybe waiting for the deer to turn more broadside would of been more appropriate ?

 

[440coronet]

I concur with KyCarl and kiwikid….
Why..... That's not what they are intended for.

 

[Mike6158]

There was a time when I would have said the SMK is fine for hunting. The deer died (nobody lied? Reminds me of a famous football player / murderer ) so theres that. But running off sucks. On my last hunt I shot two deer with a 7mm Rem Mag (legally, of course, one was a permit doe). The doe, maybe 40 yards away, went down on two broken front legs and ran a good 100 yards (that sucked). The buck, shot in the point of the shoulder, reared up on its hind legs, blood shot out both sides, and it hit the ground. Those two were shot with Barnes TSX. Prior deer were shot with SMK's and they always ran some distance.

 

[Mike6158]

Facing toward you guys and hitting to the "left" on the point of the shoulder is not a "perfect shot".

Try it sometime. A bow hunter / guide suggested I try it and if you hit the mark it'll be over. The same can be said for most any good shot but there is minimal meat damage and maximal internal destruction (for the few times I've used that shot placement)

 

[Gater]

I shot a Elk twice with 175 game kings at about 250-300 from a 7mm mag both shots in the boiler room I have both and he just stood there not one step third was in the spine he went down on that I just couldn't believe it didn't move that gun is now a .338 mag

 

[Stephen Orleski]

I am with @KyCarl if it says match it is not made to expand and while this may have been a successful hunt I would worry about the consistency of expansion. Also @Canhunter35 if you are shooting Hornady, they make matching hunting ammo for each of it's match rounds, you can shoot these hunting https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/308-win-178-gr-eld-x-precision-hunter#!/ and these for match https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/30-cal-.308-178-gr-eld-match#!/#specs

 

[thwatson2]

I had the "dis" pleasure of using match-king bullets once. Read how they do expand and are very deadly. Shot big doe with a front shoulder shot hoping the bone would expand bullet quickly. Deer flipped than got up, but stunned. Sent another in the upper neck to hopefully paralyze it. Once again it dropped but kicked and flopped, finally I went down with a 9mm and took it out with head shot. Very disturbing and will never use one for hunting again. By way the bullets went clear through on both shots. Exit hole was about the same as entrance. This was done with a 308. Accubonds, sst, and blitzkings are all I use now.