Author Topic: hornady and sierra (Read 917 times)

swhunter · « **on:** April 18, 2006, 04:14:00 PM »

How are hornady and sierra bullets?I want to try a 220 grain for my 300 ultra mag for elk.

mjbgalt · « **Reply #1 on:** April 18, 2006, 04:24:37 PM »

both are excellent.

i have had zero problems with either and both are reputable companies with good products.

-Matt

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #2 on:** April 18, 2006, 04:51:37 PM »

Sierra bullets are exellent. Hornady bullets on the other hand.... I hate em I've gotten too many boxes of bullets for diffrent calibers that the distance from the point where the seater stem seats the bullet to the tip of the bullet varies by as much as .040 :?
I just gave up on buying them. Speer bullets are also very good

goodconcretecolor · « **Reply #3 on:** April 19, 2006, 04:49:58 AM »

I have loaded and shot one box each of Sierra, Speer, Nosler and Remington bullets in 19 years of reloading. All the rest have been Hornady. I have gotten the best accuracy out of Hornady. Once I put a 150 grain Spire point through the shoulder joint of a 150 lb buck at 20 yards(mv 2700fps). That shoulder looked like it had been hit by a cannon but I found the bullet in one piece under the skin on the far side. It still weighed 118 grains. The ed bullet looked like a bullet company ad. With the best accuracy out of my rifle and that kind of terminal performance, Hornady will always be my first try in a new hunting load.

PA-Joe · « **Reply #4 on:** April 19, 2006, 05:02:05 AM »

For elk go with the Hornady Interbond. They will cost a little more but retain more weight post entry.

longwinters · « **Reply #5 on:** April 19, 2006, 04:28:28 PM »

Funny how people's experiences vary. I shoot mostly Sierra and Nosler. The only bullets I have had bad luck with, accuracy wise, were Hornady Interbonds. In 3 different rifles they did not shoot worth a hoot. I have always had great accuracy and performance with Sierra and Nosler and that is where I will continue to put my money.

Long

mountainview · « **Reply #6 on:** April 21, 2006, 05:25:58 AM »

I agree that individual rifles can give different results using the same bullet. My experience has been excellent using Hornady in all my rifles except my 7-08 which gives decent accuracy with Hornday 139 grains but really shines with the Speers. Another reason I like Hornady bullets is their price which lets me save enough to get an extra range session or two in each year with the "savings".

bluebayou · « **Reply #7 on:** April 21, 2006, 03:36:39 PM »

I have used 160 Sierra Game King in 7mm and 165 in .30. Outstanding accuracy. I haven't shot any game with them. I have some relatives that really like the Nosler Partition for big game.

The Hornady 120 soft points are my go-to for the 7mm-08. They are cheap, consistent, and accurate.

You will have to buy a few different bullets to find the most accurate load anyway. You might as well buy a box of each an work them up. I pay $12 or so for the Hornady/100 and $17 or so for the Sierra/100.

Nosler factory seconds:
http://www.noslershop.com/cgi-bin/virtualcatalog/CatalogMgr.pl?cartID=b-8702&template=Htx/sample6.htx&SearchField=category&SearchFor=Partition+2nds&hdr=Partition+2nds&displayNumber=55

Not sure if that link will work. But it is worth taking a look.

Muskie Hunter · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2006, 03:42:13 AM »

You just have to experiment and find what your rifle likes.I,myself,would much prefer a hornady iterlock or interbond bullet over the siearra bullet for hunting as I feel the hornady offers better constuction for inpact velosities both,up close and out far where as the siearra is to thinly constructed for up close shots.The siearras are a very accurate bullet,as I have discovered in all my rifles but then,so have the hornadys.I care not,if there is a .040 difference because of a bullet uniformity problem.I have done a lot of experimenting over the 30 plus years of reloading to truthfully say that I may only see a very slim difference,if any at all in the accuracy of say a bullet just touching the lands or .040 off the lands.Actually,I prefer a little bullet jump to the lands for stabilization.We can all reload clone like cartridges for our day at the range but least we do everything a like at the bench,such as breathing,positioning the rifle the same way,holding the rifle the same,sitting the same,it's all going to be for not.You'll have more of a difference in POI ,then if a bullet's dims are a little off or you col is different from one cartridge to another.Pick the bullet with the best constuction for terminal performance on game.You have no bench in the field and it matters not if your .500 grouping bullet hits where it is suppose to then blows up on impact.I'd rather be a half inch off and have a bullet do it's job.Remember,we are not trying to place three shots inside an inch on an elk,just one well place bullet to cleanly take that animal.

Questor · « **Reply #9 on:** April 24, 2006, 03:39:28 AM »

I wouldn't pick brands like that. The reason is that each bullet maker makes a variety of bullets for a variety of purposes. For example, Ford makes tractors, but you wouldn't buy a tractor to use as a road car. Focus on the attributes you need. For example, what's available in premium bullets today?

My choices would be to focus on the bullets with proven big game performance. Swift and Barnes would be top contenders for any large game applications.

PaulS · « **Reply #10 on:** April 24, 2006, 04:03:17 PM »

I pick bullets that fit the game. You don't need premium bullets to shoot tin cans or for 90% of the game on the North American continent. Speer bullets fit the game for me most of the time. When the game is tough or dangerous I choose Nosler. They have many years of proven use and they don't carry the premium price tag of Barns or swift. You don't need an electron microscope to study butterfly wings why pay extreme prices for something that you can do with a product at half the price?