Sierra Pro Hunter Hunting Bullets

[Greg Duerr]

Has anyone used the Sierra Pro Hunter bullets on big game and what is your experiance, how did they hold up perform.

They really shoot in my .243 AI and will be using them this fall on Antelope, Mule Deer, Black Bear, and Cow Elk.....................

G

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I ran a 140 grain 7mm ( from a 7mag) through the hip into the body on a whitetail doe on a raking shot at 300 yards 6 or 7 years ago; It held 60% even going through heavy bone. I've killed a lot of other critters with them also(most have been pass-through).
They aren't perfect ballistically with the flat base, but they will do the job if you put them in the right place. Can't say much better about any pill I guess.

 

[deaddog]

I have never used the pro hunters but have used the game kings in 6.5 at 140 grains and they have been nothing less than perfect in my opinion. From my understanding the pro hunter and the game king are very similar except for the boat tail so i would expect good results. Any sierra bullet is a good one in my book.

 

[Greg Duerr]

They reason I asked is because The Pro Hunters shoot better in my .243AI than any boat-tail.....................the best groups I was getting with the boat tails was around .8-.9 Shooting the flat base Pro Hunters........ .404-.416 Thats before experimenting with bullet seatin depth...........

Im afraid to change ..................it is works dont fix it.

Greg

 

[RT2506]

You can read my experience with the Sierra bullets in your post in the reloading thread. One thing I will add to that post is this. I have noticed that the Sierra boat tailed Game King bullets seem to expand a little quicker than the Pro Hunter flat based bullets.

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Greg,

In almost all cases, they're exactly the same as the SGKs, differing only in the BT where the SPH are FB designs. Otherwise, same jackets (exactly) same core material, etc.. The Pro Hunters are usually a bit better than the SGKs about core/jacket separations, but again, that's sort of the nature of the design. With the exception of their 30-30 bullets (which use a dual-tapered jacket design), there's really no mechanical locking mechanism to retain the core upon impact.

If your rifle is shooting the flat based bullets better, you may have a tight/loose spot (or spots) within the bore. This is one of the common problems we found when BT bullets (be they SMKs or SGKs) aren't shooting, but FB designs like the SPH are.

 

[Salar600]

For more then 15 years I shot every thing from deer, caribou and moose with ProHunters

 

[lloydsmale]

ive been loading for over 35 years and the first bullet i ever loaded was a 6mm prohunter and that was before they were even called prohunters. Ive used them to kill more deer then all the other bullets ive used combined. Its a great deer bullet. Some who dont know where to place a bullet or cant badmouth them for meat damage but i dont shoot deer in the meat and in all actuality any bullet placed in the meat does meat damage. What the sierras do is deck deer! probably better then any other bullet with the possible exception of a ballistic tip. There also the bullet i compare them all to when it comes to accuracy. If a gun wont shoot a prohunter into a one inch group it probably will never shoot a one inch group.

 

[Greg Duerr]

Ive tried a lot of bullets this spring trying to get my .243 to shoot and was recomended to try the Pro Hunter. I tried ballistic tips, A-Max, Accu bond, but not until I tried the Pro hunter did I get the groups I thought I would never see. .404, .414, .527 I will try a few more load this week then settle on one and be done with it.
I will be hunting Black Bear this fall, maybe Mule Deer and Antelope, have not received tags through the draw system. Will be hunting Cow Elk , and will be shooting the .243 AI with the 100gr Pro Hunter. What you said is so true, bullet placement. People lived off the land with 30-30's in Alaska and Canada shot Moose and Bear and Im sure they learned that bullet placement was what its all about. With all the modern high powered cartridges we have to day the 30-30 looks pretty dismal, yet when thats all you had you made it work.

Thanks for the great reply and for sharing your experance.

 

[elkaholic]

Greg.....I make bullets and you have received quite a bit of good advice. I may have missed this in a previous post. What range do you intend to shoot? You might compare the flat base against the boat tail at 300-400 yards and see if there is the difference in accuracy that you experienced at 100. If not, use the gameking for the higher b.c. (higher energy/velocity). Also, I would suggest that a 100 grain thin skinned .243" diameter bullet is mighty light for elk! Yes, it will kill them but it will also wound them if things don't go EXACTLY as planned! Not very much room for error.....Rich

 

[Greg Duerr]

Rich

I was told that with a .243 400 yards was the maximum range.................Thats safe enough for me since I dont think I have shot anything over 250yards, if I was to be honest with myself. I hunted for 15 years with a Muzzle loader shooting roundball and patches. 54cal. I learned one thing hit right behind the shoulder into the lungs within 100 yards and the .54 pure lead ball was a killer, few if any big Mule Deer went over 50 yards.
I realize that even hunting Cow Elk a 100gr .243 bullet is on the light side but within 200 yards right behind the shoulder using a 100gr Speer Grand Slam..............Well you get my point. When I hunted Black Bear last year with my son I was shooting a 95gr Berger ...................Caleb shot his bear at 211 yards right behind the shoulder and he rolled a couple times and never moved .............that bullet did some real time damage.
Im happy right now because my .243 AI is shooting consitant groups at .4 I have not crono them yet but hope to before the fall.
When I drew a Bull Elk tag here in Nevada I borrowed a 300 Win Mag. I walked away from that experiance with a HUGE respect for big Bull Elk. One 180 gr bullet right behind the shoulder exiting and breaking the other shoulder and he still limped up the hill 100 yards looked back and then went down.
Rich for me I will keep my range under 100 yards on Cow Elk and wait for a good right behind the shoulder shot.................I will let everone know the outcome.............Who knows if I draw what I put in for ...........a doe antelope, and a Mule deer in area 041.....The Mule Deer will be my primary hunt. Two years ago I had a Buck Antlope tag in that area and glassed some really huge Muley Bucks right up behind my camp.................
When everything settles down here I will try shooting at 200 yards and see what happens.........

Greg

 

[lloydsmale]

greg i shoot more deer a year then some do in there lives and get a good chance to see what the effectiveness different rounds have on them. You may read of 400 yard kills on deer with 243s and if all the stars are aligned it will do it but in my opinion 300 is a much more realistic max range for it. I guarantee you tha if you shoot enough deer at 400 with a 243 your going to need your tracking shoes on eventually. From my experience about all the standard rounds fall a little short on killing power at 400. If I know when i go out that the range is going to possibly be that far i will about allways take a mag rifle of some sort. Im not saying it cant be done. Ive done it myself but your pushing you luck doing it and its kind of silly when theres better guns available.

 

[Greg Duerr]

Your right .....................I do know that its that for now the .243AI is all I have. Like I said a few post ago that I have never shot anything over 250yards. After hunting with a 54cal round ball for 15 years its hard for me not to try and get as close as possible........................I enjoy hearing about guys taking deer at 800 yards and when shooting .338 Lapua's that understandable with tons of practice. For me right now a coyote at 400 yards would be a mile stone. That's my goal............................I do realize that if I do draw all my tags I will end up shooting my antelope at under 200 and my Mule Deer also. My elk will be no more than 200yds.

In the Future I have always had a facination with the .280AI

This first time gun project was to get a long range Marmont and Jackrabbit gun.............and if and when I drew a tag I could use it to hunt with.

Greg

 

[lloydsmale]

sure should work for those purposes Greg