I'm Done w/140gr Sierra Gamekings in my .280!!!

[jasonprox700]

So yesterday, my dad and I were driving a small swamp when he kicked up a nice doe.  It ran towards me, and then at about 75 yards, it turned and ran to my right.  I waited until everything was clear before I started shooting.  I emptied my .280 Ruger MKII stoked with 140gr Sierra Gamekings over 57grains of RL19 (5 rounds).  On the last shot, she dropped.  I could tell that the 1st and 3rd shot hit her from the way she lost her stride, but it seemed #2 and 4 missed their mark. 

So today we skinned her out and I was amazed at what I found.  All 5 bullets hit their mark!  The 1st 4 shots were right behind the shoulder, and the last when entered behind her ribs at a severe quartering shot.  This bullet made it into the boiler room and did it's job.  The 1st 4 rounds literally exploded under the hide.  They didn't even pierce their way into the chest cavity.  I think the reason the last shot made it in was because she had made it out about a hundred yards or so and the velocity dropped off.

I should have known better but I found an un-opened box and I thought I would give them one more try.  Over the last 15 years or so, I have only had one pass through with these bullets, and that was a mule deer at about 150 yards.  Otherwise, anything up close, the bullets explode, but usually in the chest cavity where they cause a huge amount of damage. 

I'm looking for a different bullet to try and I need some recommendations.  Would a 150 or 160 grain Gameking hold up?  The accubonds shoot well, but they don't really seem to open up much.  I thought about Barnes or the new Hornady GMX.  I have also heard a lot of good about the Scirroco. 

We only have tomorrow left for the Wisconsin Gun Deer season, so the .280 with be a safe queen and my .308 will be used for the remainder.  I don't feel very comfortable using the .280 on deer.  I would have a hard time sleeping if I lost a deer.

[fatercat]

nosler partitions. 140 gn for deer. 160 gn for elk or bigger. never had one to fail.

[84Jim]

For the most part, almost all of the bullet failures I have experienced came from Sierra bullets.  .25 117 gr., 6.5 120 gr., .270 130 gr., and .30 125 gr.  The exception, IMO, is the .30 165 HPBT gameking.  I guess the heavier bullet has slowed down enough to hold together.  I figure you'll have better success with the 150 or 160 Sierra if you are loyal to that brand.

My son shoots a .280 Ruger also, and has good success w/ 139 Hornadys.  I bought him a box of 140 accubonds last Christmas, but our rifle deer season doesn't start until Monday so nothing to report yet.

I have pretty much switched over to Hornady's, bulk Core'lockts, and Partitions for big game hunting.

[Luckyducker]

Game King bullets are too fragile for hunting.  I think Sierra should have given this bullet a different name such as Game-killer-wannabe or something.   I believe Speer and Hornady or even Rem Corelokt bullets are enough bullet to take deer with.  I used to hunt deer with an 06 and factory loaded 180 grain Corelokt bullet and never had a bullet failure and every deer I shot with them slid chin first in the dirt where they were shot.   

[jasonprox700]

I'm glad it's not just me.  I thought maybe I was pushing them a little fast, but they seem to group nice when loaded hot.  I'm going to have it re-barrelled this summer in .280 AI, so the bullets will be pushed even faster, so...

I will try out the non-premium bullets first, and then try the Accubonds, Scirrocos, GMX's, and Partitions.  I may even try out the 150 and 160 grain gamekings just to see, but Hornady is slowly becoming my go to brand.   

[thumbcocker]

In 7mm caliber I've had good results from speer 160 gr. hot cor's and also 150 gr. core lokt's.

[Dave in WV]

My son loads Hornady 139gr flat base bullets in his 280 @ 2950 fps and has problems with performance.

[John R.]

Try the Nosler 140 gr. Accubond or the Hornady 139 Interbond. Those Interbonds retain about 90% weight.

[Brithunter]

Hornady 139 grain in either BTSP or Spire Point. I use them to good effect in my 7x57 loaded to 2850fps. I shot my only Whitetails using this load and at about 60-75 yards, Hmmm maybe up to 90 yards, sorry it's a bit hazy on the distance now as it's 6 years ago  but the bullet passed right through the 9 pointer I shot taking out the top of the heart and both lungs and leaving a huge fan spray of blood on the exit side of the trail he was on. The bullet expanded OK but did not fly apart as we found no fragments inside him but it left a nice sized exit wound.



   Whilst not huge he was a decent sized Buck


You can just see the blood over the entrance wound. I was in a stand so the bullet is angling downwards and caught the top of the heart as the Buck was not at right angles to me.

[bobg]

   I have always used 130gr. Gamekings in my 270. Granted i have only shot three deer with this rifle. They were all within 65 yards. One shot kills. The one that comes to mind was a doe angleing  away from me. Hit her just ahead of the left hip. Found bullet just under the hide on right shoulder. Destroyed everything in between. One step and she died. Have killed two with a 12ga. slug. Same shot. They both ran at least 100yds. before they figured out they were dead.
      bobg

[Lone Star]

A hunting buddy and I both had problems with Sierra bullet performance on game in the 1970s and neither of us used that brand again - on game.  For targets and varmints I still like Sierras, but the ones we used on deer and goats in .243 and .277 were just too darned soft.


.

[Casull]

Between myself, my cousin, and my uncle, we have had 7 one shot kills in the last couple of years with my handloads of 165 gn Gamekings loaded to about 2900 fps out of 30-06.  Ranges from 35 yards to about 100 yards.  Not one failure yet.

[Drilling Man]

nosler partitions. 140 gn for deer. 160 gn for elk or bigger. never had one to fail.

  I'm with you...  I do like the 175NP's on moose though.

  DM

[Duckbill]

I have never had a problem with Gamekings on deer and hogs.   I have always loaded them modestly in terms of velocity and they have always performed great.
Back when I loaded for a 7MAG, I preferred the 160gr SPBT's running about 2850-2900fps.  If I dropped to a 140gr I switched to the Nosler Partition.  The Part would hold up better at the 3150fps I pushed it. 

As with any standard cup-n-core bullet, you have to match the speed with the size.

[454Puma]

Duckbill
 Agreed I had to slow up my Speer 165 gr in my '06. Was running them at 2700-2800 . Then I shot a mulely doe at about 80 yards! Perfect broadside and no exist -bullet blowup like a gernade inside the chest!  Slowed them down to 2500-2600 fps and I get complete pass throughs!   Sounds like them 140 gr might be Varmint bullets!!

[BBF]

If you still have those recovered bullets, send them to Sierra with details of your shots and load info.

[mostlyaccurate]

I shot 130 grain Sierra Federal premiums before I started reloading.  When I started shooting them in the mid 80's they gave me exits and performed ok.  In the late 80's or early 90's they stopped giving exit holes and were lodging in the hide on the opposite side (but I didn't lose any deer).  Did something about the bullets change or did I just have beginners luck with them?  I was probably shooting deer at closer ranges in the earlier years......  But they sure will screw up a bobcat or yote!

[GradyL41]

do not know the difference but I load for a friend in the .270 and all he has ever shot were SGK-- 2880-2940 fps just depending on how I loaded- from swamps to beanfields all good on all deer// never recovered a bullet

[mauser98us]

Cheap Hornadys work well on deer and pronghorn. Nosler ballistic tips act like varmint bullets. You get a lot of bloodshot meat on entry. Like Elmer Keith said.with regular bullets,you can eat right up to the hole. Iv'e had good luck with Barnes X on elk,but not quite so good on thin skin game. Just not enough mushroom. They act more like FMJ's on thin skin critters

[jasonprox700]

If you still have those recovered bullets, send them to Sierra with details of your shots and load info.

I would, but all that was left of the bullets were very fine slivers of copper and lead.  I think that the bullet that made it into the chest is still in the gut pile.  I didn't see it when I was gutting her out (I didn't really look either.  I was still on a adrenaline rush.  I'm 28 and shot close to 40 or 50 deer and I still get excited, even if it is a doe!)

Cheap Hornadys work well on deer and pronghorn. Nosler ballistic tips act like varmint bullets. You get a lot of bloodshot meat on entry. Like Elmer Keith said.with regular bullets,you can eat right up to the hole. Iv'e had good luck with Barnes X on elk,but not quite so good on thin skin game. Just not enough mushroom. They act more like FMJ's on thin skin critters

I've heard that about the Barnes.  I wouldn't hesitate to use them on larger game, but I think the Partition or Accubond is about as premium as I would like to go for deer.

[usherj]

I believe the game king is designed to be a longer range bullet, like the ballistic tip. Not successful as an all around performer. For peace of mind, you will be better served by the partition, interlock or tsx. In terms of Sierra being the "bullet smiths", the feedback would strongly suggest this is limited to target work.

[Coyote Hunter]

Jason -

I've been very happy with the Barnes TTSX and MRX and North Fork's solid-shank bonded core SS bullets in a variety of cartridges, from .257 Roberts to .300WM.  Elk, deer and antelope hate them.

7mm 160g Grand Slams treated me very well for over 20 years until I switched to true bonded-core and monolithic bullets.  Took me 20 years to recover one and no game ever went very far - never had to track an animal.

My buddy has had nothing but good results with 7mm 160g A-Frames.

At a minimum I would go with a Partition or a bonded core like an AccuBond.  The new GMX look promising but I have no experience with them.

[rickt300]

I have had good results from the 150 and 160 gr. Gamekings in my 7x57. Thinking about it clearly you are using a 400 yard load on under 100 yard shooting. Lower velocities and heavier bullets will work better for you.

[Drilling Man]

I have had good results from the 150 and 160 gr. Gamekings in my 7x57. Thinking about it clearly you are using a 400 yard load on under 100 yard shooting. Lower velocities and heavier bullets will work better for you.

  EXACTLY, and that's why i use NP's.  They work at all ranges, i don't need one bullet/load for this range, and another for that range.  When i pick up my "go to gun", i know exactly what it will do, because it's the same load/bullet i used the last time i hunted with it, and all the times before that too.

  DM

[Graybeard]

And in another thread we have a fellow talking of how great Sierra Game Kings worked for him in a .223 Remington on several deer complete with photos of perfect mushroom and almost 100% weight retention.

How can it be a perfect choice in .223 and a poor choice in .280 Remington? Strange to say the least.

[84Jim]

How can it be a perfect choice in .223

I wouldn't say that any bullet out of a .223 is even a good choice for deer hunting. 

[Brithunter]

How can it be a perfect choice in .223

I wouldn't say that any bullet out of a .223 is even a good choice for deer hunting. 

Hmmm sorry but I have to take issue with that statement    First define Deer  not everyone is talking Whitetails you know. Are you saying that a .22 cal bullet from a centrefire cartridge is not suitable for all Deer?

  What about these deer:-


Yes it's fully grown and nope I'm not a giant The deer is an Indian Muntjac Doe and they are very fine eating  .  Until recently the law here required a minimum calibre of .240" for all Deer but now .22" calibres such as .222 Remington, .223 Remington etc are legal. I'm nor sure if the 22 Hornet meets the new regulations, I would have to look it up  , as for Sierra's I had issues with a 180 Grain .308 Game King and didn't use Sierra bullets for years. Although it dropped the Roe Doe in her tracks the bullet fragmented and shed at least some of it's jacket as I found bits of lead and jacket in the ribcage. Now that Roe Doe weighed about 35 lbs dressed out and was shot at about 90 yards using a .308 rifle and I didn't think a 180 Grain bullet should have fragmented like that on a 45lbs (est live weight) animal.

[Graybeard]

I'm not saying it is either. Here is the thread tho read it for yourself. The .223 sure seemed to work a lot better for him than the OP says his .280 worked. I'm just wondering why?  http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,190189.0/topicseen.html

How can it be a perfect choice in .223

I wouldn't say that any bullet out of a .223 is even a good choice for deer hunting. 

[Drilling Man]

I'm not saying it is either. Here is the thread tho read it for yourself. The .223 sure seemed to work a lot better for him than the OP says his .280 worked. I'm just wondering why? 

  Because ON THAT DAY one guy was holding his mouth right, and one guy was holding his mouth wrong.  Neither of these two guys would beable to repeat what they had happen EVERY time, and that's why i don't like Game Kings.  I want/need something reliable, that works for me EVERY time, and that means i gave up on Game Kings long time ago.

  DM

[84Jim]

Good one Brit - are you sure that isn't a jackrabbit?

Yeah, I saw that post.  That certainly is a textbook example of a perfect mushroom.  I'm wondering why Sierra would make a 55 gr. bullet, which 95% of their customers would buy for varmits, so well built but build presumibly big game bullets that are so frangible? I dunno, I've never recovered any bullet that looks as perfect as that

And before I get something started, I've no doubt that a .223 can kill a deer.  American deer Brit.  I've even considered trying it myself (I think I'd use the 64 gr. Winchester soft points).  I'd just have to wait for the perfect shot, and sometimes (most of the time) that doesn't happen.

I think in the late doe season up here I might give my old 25-35 a try, its probably one step up from a .223.  At least I know there won't be any bullets blowing up!

Jim