30 Cal Sierra Game King report

R eight said:

The only Sierra GK’s that I’ve used recently on game have been the 165 grain projectiles in the 308 Winchester. Very accurate bullet and they kill well on red and fallow deer, chamois, goats and pigs.

I’d hunt any deer or antelope with the 165 grain GK in the 308.

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@R eight
My son's Howa 308 absolutely hates 165-168 grain anything no matter what load I use.
150 & 180s it absolutely loves
Strange.
Bob

Robmill70 said:

Yeah, all the shots were 130 yards or less. I didn't think I was running them that fast, 2700 fps isn't crazy speed imo, but for a non-bonded bullet I guess I should expect the separation.

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@Robmill70
2,700fps ain't that fast and well within the velocity parameters.
Were they boat tail or flat base.
The boat tail slips the core because there's nothing holding it in place.
Apparently out past 200 they hold together between as velocities have dropped.
They are a good bullet for most thin skin game.
Bigger game bigger calibre and heavier bullet. That's why in days of yore heavy for calibre bullets were the go, they held together better.
I still prefer cup and core for most of my hunting. They just seem to kill quicker than monos but that's me.
Bob

Sierra Game King. The name was/is simply a marketing tool. Sierra wanted to hold into the hunting bullet market with an easy to make, cheap bullet. A 180 gr., 30 cal non-bonded, simple, cheap cup and core bullet will kill any whitetail walking the planet- sometimes a little more messy than other times but nonetheless the same common response to poor bullet performance criticism Joyce Hornady used years, (paraphrased), “What’s the problem, It killed the animal didn’t it”, The name “Game King” does not a serious, big game hunting bullet make…

Robmill70 said:

I was shooting the SGK's 200gr at 2700 FPS in my 300 H&H and I wanted to report back on their performance. I don't know what other's experience has been, but I have mixed opinions about them. On one hand, they killed the game I was shooting at. On the other, the weight retention and core separation left much to be desired compared to other bullets.

One that retained the core was taken from my Gemsbok. It slammed through the shoulder and stopped under the skin on the far side with almost 50% weight loss.

2 pulled from an Impala and a Warhog had full separation and nothing but the jacket was recovered.

I don't think I will use them again, I'll stick with the Barnes TSX most likely.

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They break apart very easily on eland, kudu or zebra shoulder bones. Also large male leopards.

I support your choice to move to a more strongly constructed bullet.

Tundra Tiger said:

Got a question, somewhat peripherally related. I hear and understand what folks are saying about Game Kings. Has anyone had a different experience with Game Changers? On a whim I loaded some for a Husqvarna 640 .30-06, and there are shooting really well. I think I read they have a thicker jacket than the GKs? Thanks in advance.

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We used the 180 grain tipped gameking as loaded by Barnes in their Harvest Collection last year to take two antlerless elk with my brother’s Weatherby vanguard with a 22” barrel. Same bullet as the Game Changer. One shot was on a 2-year old at 50 yards, it was high up and bored a big 2.5 inch permanent wound cavity, broke the spine basically in half about 1/3 of the way back from the shoulder, and was not recovered. The elk absolutely dropped on the spot given that the spinal cord was severed. The other shot was ~160 yards. High double lung on a fully mature cow. She trotted 20 yards and then tipped over. Again, large permanent wound cavity with full penetration and no bullet recovered. Lots of bloodshot meat on the offside shoulder. I believe them when they say they built them a little more stout. If I had to go a bit lower budget on a bullet these would be the top of my list. They come in at $0.70. As it is I like the Barnes LRX and Hornady CX that come in at $1.16 each. The Big Game Hunting Podcast episode 371 went in depth with the Sierra guys on the design of the bullet and they definitely intentionally beefed up the jacket. Maybe for reasons apparent in this thread!

Tundra Tiger said:

Got a question, somewhat peripherally related. I hear and understand what folks are saying about Game Kings. Has anyone had a different experience with Game Changers? On a whim I loaded some for a Husqvarna 640 .30-06, and there are shooting really well. I think I read they have a thicker jacket than the GKs? Thanks in advance.

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I haven’t tried them, but I’m glad they acknowledged the issue and keep us posted on how they perform.

Nosler had the same issue with the ballistic tip when it came out and I remember many years ago they redesigned the jacket taper and thickness.

I've used the 165gr hpbt for close to 40 years in my 30-06 and .308. Killed numerous whitetails and hogs with them. Honestly I can't remember ever losing an animal with one. I'm a behind the shoulder shooter most of the time. They blow a heck of a hole with massive internal damage. Most animals don't run very far if hit right and they are accurate. Some hold together and some don't. I would not use them on any bigger animals tho and they will not be going with me on my plains game hunt next year.

In my 300 win mag, I have used 165gn GK’s with good affect on PG up to and including Kudu. With shoulder shots the bullet does not always exit and can often be found under the skin on the opposite side. Recovered bullets are often well expanded and have shed a lot of weight, the benefit is that the energy of the bullet has been dispersed into the animal causing massive internal damage resulting in a quick death.

More recently, I have been using 180gn GK’s on PG up to and including Eland. On Kudu, I have found that I recover less bullets but the wound channel is large. Recovered bullets have held together better than the 165gn.

On small PG such as Springbox, both bullets are extremely destructive with the front end being a right off even out to ranges of 300 to 400m.

I keep the velocity of both loads around 3,000fps.

Both bullets produce good groups when sighting in.

In the 375, I use 250gn GK’s and have used them on Eland. The bullets have been recovered more often than not, they do not deform as much as .30 ones.

To me, I would say the terminal performance of these bullets is good as they do not punch straight through the animal producing narrow, pencil stick wound channels.

At the end of the day, what really matters is whether you can place the bullet in the right place and that is a factor of practice and experience.