Sierra Game King
- Thread starter HIGHLANDBEAGLES
- Start date
You know it is quite simple when it comes to bullet effectiveness in games, either they kill quickly that usually mean cup and core lots of fragmentation, more meat lost/waste especially if you hit bones or if they are driven faster than the 2800fps magic number. Or they don’t kill as quickly usually bonded or mono, less meat waste, usually less mess and more often then not game doesn’t go gown as quickly but still go down.
I’ve used all types, a good compromise is imo a bonded bullet heavy for caliber, I think some cup and core when going heavy for calibers are holding up quite well too. One thing for sure is take two or more of the same bullets shoot them in the same animal and they might not even react the same way.
I really like the nosler partition but they are so expensive and sometimes hard to find. I also like the Accubond, the hot-cor and I hope to be using the Speer impact next fall and see how it performs!
I had pretty decent luck with the tsx TTSX and gmx in the past. I have some ECX loaded up in my 9.3x62 and some tsx loaded up for my 458 win mag.
Some accubond LR in one of my 30-06, some impact in an other 06 and accubond in an 8x57….
So you can see I’m not loyal to one bullet hahaha
I’ve used all types, a good compromise is imo a bonded bullet heavy for caliber, I think some cup and core when going heavy for calibers are holding up quite well too. One thing for sure is take two or more of the same bullets shoot them in the same animal and they might not even react the same way.
I really like the nosler partition but they are so expensive and sometimes hard to find. I also like the Accubond, the hot-cor and I hope to be using the Speer impact next fall and see how it performs!
I had pretty decent luck with the tsx TTSX and gmx in the past. I have some ECX loaded up in my 9.3x62 and some tsx loaded up for my 458 win mag.
Some accubond LR in one of my 30-06, some impact in an other 06 and accubond in an 8x57….
So you can see I’m not loyal to one bullet hahaha
I used to love the HPBT 160 grain Game Kings in my 7x57
Cat
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- Saskatoon Saskatchewan
Ive shot quite a few of those out of my 280ai. Only big game killed was a medium sized black bear. They seem to be a hard bullet that would act closer to an accubond than your typical cup and core. There are some good pics online of how thick the jacket is compared to other cup and cores and the lead they use is also supposed to be quite hard. Im hoping to use the 145 tgk from a 6.5 prc this spring on another bear.
As others have said keep the gameking speeds under 3000 fps. They are always accurate, normal gamekings or the newer tipped gamekings, put them in the boiler room and there won't be an issue. I am shooting 180gr tipped gamekings in my 300wsm and have had good results, I now load 165gr tipped gamekings in my 308 win at 2810 fps and I expect they will perform well.
Shot a couple bears with 165 Gamechangers in a 30-06. I’ve got them up to 3180 fps in a 26” Benchmark with about all the Superformance I can get in the case
They died in the approved fashion, fell on their chins right beside each other. Range was almost exactly 300 yards. It’s almost
like its not even a 30-06 anymore, which is why I call that one my 30-23.
They died in the approved fashion, fell on their chins right beside each other. Range was almost exactly 300 yards. It’s almostlike its not even a 30-06 anymore, which is why I call that one my 30-23.
That’s a pretty spicy load for a .30-06Shot a couple bears with 165 Gamechangers in a 30-06. I’ve got them up to 3180 fps in a 26” Benchmark with about all the Superformance I can get in the case
3180 fps with a 165 gr is definitely pushing it into .300 Win Mag territory in terms of velocity, especially out of a 26" barrel. Sounds like you’ve got that Benchmark tube and Superformance combo dialed in just right. Gamechangers tend to perform really well at those speeds too — good BC, solid expansion, and clearly enough energy at 300 yards to anchor both bears cleanly. The “fell on their chins” part says everything about shot placement and terminal performance.
Hard o go wrong with Noslers.
My load isn’t a whole lot different than the Hodgdon data. I sneak an extra grain or sometimes 2 in depending on the brass and whether its been fireformed or not and use a magnum primer.That’s a pretty spicy load for a .30-06
My success with Superformance is mixed. I think I’ve found a pattern now though, It seems to thrive when max pressure, moderately high compression and a magnum primer meet. Likely candidates are combinations where H4831 is a bit slow because you run out of room by a little before you run into pressure.
The Sierra Prohunter is a bit tougher than the Game King in my experience. Neither is well suited to impact velocities over about 2900 fps.
The 180gr Prohunter in a 300wm performed well on several moose. They kill fast because they are more frangible than "premium" bullets. It's what I would choose if there is no snow for tracking.
Typical 300WM 180gr muzzle velocities are in the 2800-3000fps range. What are you pushing to get over 2900fps impact velocities? One of us is definitely missing something obvious - I'm just not sure who that is.
As to what I found funny - I was picturing your muzzle touching the target and your chronograph behind the target to measure your impact velocity.
Yeah, that's what I thought. You misread it. Try to be more careful.Typical 300WM 180gr muzzle velocities are in the 2800-3000fps range. What are you pushing to get over 2900fps impact velocities? One of us is definitely missing something obvious - I'm just not sure who that is.
As to what I found funny - I was picturing your muzzle touching the target and your chronograph behind the target to measure your impact velocity.
I have taken several big game animals with the 160 gr SGK with my 7MM STW at 3222 fps muzzle velocity, at ranges of 5 to 475 yards over the past 28 years. These have included antelope, whitetail and mule deer, caribou, moose, elk, mountain goat and sheep (stones and bighorn). All died quickly when I placed the bullet in the vitals, with a mix of complete pass throughs and bullets under the hide on the far side.
I have also taken the same species with the 160 gr AccuBond at the same velocity from this rifle. While recovered bullets have retained more weight due to be being bonded, than the SGKs, I cannot say that any of the animals took longer to die quickly when the bullet was placed accurately. And this includes when heavy bone on the moose and elk was encountered.
I have found them to be quite accurate and reliable.
I have also used the 215 gr SGK in the 338-06 at 2751 fps on black bear, and it died quickly too.
The 225 gr SGK is proving to be the most accurate in my bolt action 358 Win at 2528 fps, and look forward to taking game with it too.
I have some HSM ammo for my 250 Savage with the 100 gr SGK, and it is extremely accurate in that rifle. I have yet to take any game with it, but look forward to stalking deer in the timber with it.
I have both the 140 gr SGKs for my 6.5x55 Swede and 7mm-08 to develop loads with. My wife's 7mm-08 liked the 140 gr ProHunters over the SGK.
I just picked up some 145gr TGKs to try in my 6.5 PRC.
I would not hesitate to use it if it proves accurate in your rifle.
I have also taken the same species with the 160 gr AccuBond at the same velocity from this rifle. While recovered bullets have retained more weight due to be being bonded, than the SGKs, I cannot say that any of the animals took longer to die quickly when the bullet was placed accurately. And this includes when heavy bone on the moose and elk was encountered.
I have found them to be quite accurate and reliable.
I have also used the 215 gr SGK in the 338-06 at 2751 fps on black bear, and it died quickly too.
The 225 gr SGK is proving to be the most accurate in my bolt action 358 Win at 2528 fps, and look forward to taking game with it too.
I have some HSM ammo for my 250 Savage with the 100 gr SGK, and it is extremely accurate in that rifle. I have yet to take any game with it, but look forward to stalking deer in the timber with it.
I have both the 140 gr SGKs for my 6.5x55 Swede and 7mm-08 to develop loads with. My wife's 7mm-08 liked the 140 gr ProHunters over the SGK.
I just picked up some 145gr TGKs to try in my 6.5 PRC.
I would not hesitate to use it if it proves accurate in your rifle.
