7MM 160 HPBT Sierra GameKing

[dakor]

I am wondering if anyone has used these bullets on Deer and Elk and How did they hold up? I have shot them in my 7MM STW and they are going 3276fps with a 3 shot group of .274 inches at 100 yards. Shots that I will be taking will be anywhere from 30 yards to 500 yards on Elk and Deer.

 

[Guest]

[ 03-15-2004: Message edited by: 338-378 ]

 

[dakor]

Thanks for the input I was just worried that the bullet might come apart on a close shot on a Deer or Elk cause about the time you count on a 500 yard shot is when one walks in at 30 feet.

 

[COBrad]

I have used the 200 gr gamekings out of my .300 jarrett for several years. Started at 3k fps, they have never failed to come apart on shots at elk under 200 yds. They do shoot well out of my rifle though. For these kinds of velocities, at shorter ranges, the bonded and partition bullets hold together better. I'm going to use the Nosler Accubonds this year. My $.02

 

[CER]

I used the 175gr Gameking in my STW on a small blacktail @ 60yds, the bullet came completely apart after hitting the spine. I used a 9mm to dispatch the animal. My brother shot a small blacktail with a 160gr Speer Hotcore, which completely shrapnelled after hitting a leg bone. We then tried Barnes 160gr X-bullets, the next four deer dropped like rocks, very little meat damage. The fifth deer though ran off after the X-bullet had broken its front leg, took out one lung, and perforated his abdominal cavity and exit'd. (one tough little deer) After chasing the deer over hills and streams for two hours, finding blood and chunks of bone along the way a second X-bullet through the neck finished him off. On all five deer we shot with the X-bullet the bullet kept on going. Since the blacktail deer are fairly small we decided to go back down a step in bullet toughness. I think the 160 X-bullet (with the blue coating) might be the best choice for elk out of the STW. Last year we tried two new bullets for deer. My brother chose a 160gr Swift A-frame, which had mushroomed perfectly in our water testing. It dropped the largest blacktail we've shot so far on a broadside shot, but failed to exit, it was mushroomed beautifully up against the far hide. I was supprised it didn't exit. (the only weakness the A-frame has is that its B.C. is an average .450 instead of the .500+ most of these other bullets, which would only make a difference out past 300yds) I went with the 154gr Hornady Interbond SST. I chose this bullet over the 150gr Swift Scirocco because the Scirocco didn't hold together very well in water testing. I didn't get a deer last year, but I did use the 154gr on a 300lb blackbear. At 100yds the bullet completely passed through the bear (lung&heart), he ran about 20-30yds and collapsed. I just got in some 160gr Nosler Accubond, but haven't loaded them up yet. I'll water test them soon. I take plastic milk jugs with water and line them up and shoot into them. If the bullet comes apart or fails to penetrate 3 milk jugs (each jug is about 6" wide) I won't use it for deer. I prefer and honest 4-5 jugs of destruction. The X-bullet has passed through 7 and kept going.(a couple times) In fact we've never been able to keep the bullet in line with the jugs long enough to stop it. I hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

CER, I shot a mulie and an antelope last October in Wyoming with my 7STW and 140 Barnes XLC. Both dropped in their tracks. Mulie 216 yards, Lope 48 yards.
The barnes are definitely the deadliest bullets but the accuracy is not that good.
Some guys have reported good results with the Barnes Triple Shock (TSX), I have not tried them.

I passed up a 315 yard shot on a monster antelope because of the p*ss poor accuracy of the barnes. I now shoot 156 cauterucio. These bullets have a BC of .615 and have great expansion. Cauterucio also makes a 176 grain that has a 750 BC, but they are very long bullets and Bob Cauterucio says that a 7 or 8 twist is required. I've never tried the 176, but I know Len uses them as does Speedbump and other guys as well. They are SUPER accurate bullets!

Good Shooting!

 

[Guest]

Cauterucios are $28 or $28.50 per 100.

Bob Cauterucio's number is 650-583-1550.

 

[CER]

Thanks for the information.

 

[Guest]

Your welcome.

You'll love the cauterucio's.

My 7stw was shooting the Barnes 140 XLC's all over the place. It shoots the 156 Cauterucio's 1/2 inch.

 

[CER]

Where can I get a hold of the 156 cauterucio's? I reload for my brothers Rem. M700 Sendero and my Ruger #1 stainless (traded my Win. M70 Laredo for it), both have factory barrels so I'll have to pass on the bullets that require a really quick twist. The LostRiver bullets have a very high B.C. but also have a very high pricetag, so I haven't tried them. The accuracy we got with the 160gr XLC's was about 1 MOA in my old Winchester and maybe a shade better in the Remington. One problem I ran into was that I couldn't load the bullets out very far and still have them fit into the magazine. So we sacrificed accuracy for portability. Happy hunting.

 

[dakor]

You need to try the Barnes TSX I have a 7MM STW in a Rem Sendero. With the 140 TSX's I was shooting 3613fps with a 3 shot group of .294 at 100 yards. I have decided to use the 160 TSX's because I want one bullet for everything and that shoots 3351 fps with a 3 shot group of .734 at 100 yards. You have to try the new Barnes TSX they rock and a friend of mine who shoots a 30/06 used the 150's last year shot 5 deer and a antelope ranges from 50 yards to 400 yards and they all dropped where he shot them. He also shot them into a clay mold cleaned them up and I put them on the scale out of 3 bullets 2 were a 150 grains and 1 was 149 grains that is pretty good cause the bullet was a 150 grain to start with.