165 gameking on 200+ lb critters

M

mnhunter3030

New member
Hi guys,

Ive been working with my 3006 bar the last couple of days. Been putting corelokts and Gamekings through it @ 100 the gamekings are producing smaller groups than the Corelokts.

i have no background with the sierras and wondered how they work for class 2 game i.e. deer, sheep, caribou, black bear in timbered areas where shots are close inside 100 yards? In emailing sierra i recieved this response from the technician; what has your experience been with these bullets?

"Actually, you should have a very good combination to work with because it does have a tough jacket. Even if you can get the same velocity the factory said, it is still at the lower end of what this bullet was built for. You should be able to drive it in deep and get very good expansion even with odd angle shots. A test we did several years ago justified this bullet against bonded bullets of the same or heavier weight and it showed 18 ½” of penetration with a 95% retained weight into calibrated ordnance gelatin. Honestly, I’ve never been able to catch one in all the whitetails I’ve shot with it out of my 30-06 but I’ve never personally used it on bears. Even though, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it."

Philip Mahin
Ballistic Technician

thanks for your replies
happy hunting and shoot strait
3030
 
Judging from sierras response I'm assuming you are asking about the 165 gr hpbt gameking. If that's the case then the tech's reply is spot on. That bullet is devastating inside of 200 yards.

I killed 3 deer with it this past year. The first two were 110ish pound does ranged about 50 yards and 125 yards. Both were shot behind the shoulder, both exits were about the size of a half dollar, both deer were DRT. The third was a 170ish pound buck shot in a thicket at less then 40 yards. The bullet shattered both front shoulders with an exit about the size of a quarter.

As for your question on penetration, last year I shot a 184 pound buck at about 70 yards through the lead shoulder and the bullet exited just in front of the hip bone (I misjudged the angle) the deer ran 30 yards and piled up. I can't say for sure how many deer I've taken with this bullet but i can say that I have never recovered a bullet in a deer.

Oh yea almost forgot, I use an 06 as well.
 
I have had good results with both corelokts and gamekings. All the newer bullet technology of homogenous copper and bonded core are nice but I have never found a greater degree of dead in the animals I have killed. After using Barnes X bullets for a while I went back to lead core non bonded bullets. I found that using a less expensive bullet allowed me to practice from field positions more before the hunt. I think greater accuracy improves game harvest to a much greater degree than "super" bullets. Enjoy your Sierra bullets. They will work just fine. I took a mule deer doe with a Sierra 125 gr. Gameking in .30 cal. at close range with a muzzle velocity of about 3000fps. and the bullet broke both leg bones high on the body as well as ribs going in and out of that deer. It held together just fine.
 
I've never used GameKings in .308 diameter but I've used them in 140gr .264 and they work just fine for me. Several hogs have met the smoker because of them.
 
I've been using Gamekings for decades. They work great.

I've not hunted elk, but I've read many reports of success with the 165s.

I've used the 150s on whitetail and mule deer. My heaviest deer field-dressed at 150 pounds, which meant a live weight above 200.

I learned that you can over-drive the 150-grain boat-tails, but the flat-based are stronger. But, my '06 with its 26" barrel gives me a muzzle velocity around 3,100 ft/sec. The boat-tails should be held to around 2,900. (We had some advice from a Sierra guy in a thread here, many years back.)

FWIW: I was messing around at my 500-yard range one day and learned that the trajectories of the 150 SPBT, the 165 HPBT and the 180 SPBT are within two or three inches of being the same. Same point of aim for all three loads.
 
just thought i put this out, these are the btsp, are the hp harder? i paid any attention if they are offered in factory loaed. thought about using this for the bear hunt both here and ontario i i wimp out on the 3030:(
 
Many years ago I used 150 grain SGK in my 30-06 on deer and never had a complaint. All shots passed through leaving a bigger hole going out than it did going in and all deer were recovered with none going very far after the shot. For what you're talking about I don't think you'll have any problems as long as you do your part and put the bullet where it'll do the most good.
 
For comparative hardness between the soft point and the hollow point, I'd email the folks at Sierra.

I emailed them during that long-ago thread here, and one of their people joined in by the next day.
 
200 pounds doesn't make Bambi or anything else armour plated. A 165 will kill any game you care to hunt out of any suitable cartridge.
 
Well not the Game King but a 165 gr. Nobler Accubond did a number on a 275 pound (dressed) cow elk. I have no doubt that a Game King in the same weight probably would have worked just as well.
Paul B.
 
Use them. I've been using Sierra bullets since the early 90's and have kill a bunch of hogs and deer using them. Now they aren't a premium bullet like a Barnes, etc. but they don't cost nearly as much either.
 
lots of positive opinions of the gamekings as well as the partitions, thanks all. :cool:
with regards to the accubond they didnt agree with my bar for what ever reason, they were the 180gr flavor maybe i should have tried the 165s

:)
3030
 
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just thought i put this out, these are the btsp, are the hp harder? i paid any attention if they are offered in factory loaed.
Click to expand...

The hp version is harder than the btsp and I have not seen any factory loaded with the hp. If you do decide to look for some with the hp make sure you are getting the 165 gr hpbt gameking not the matchking. I think they only offer the matchking in 168 gr though.

Personally I wouldn't use the 165 gr spbt under a 100 yards, they tend to be just a bit to explosive for my liking. That's just me though. With that said shot placement trumps all and I wouldn't be afraid to take anything up to and including an elk with that bullet, I just feel the hpbt is better suited for me.
 
You should be able to get right around 2900 fps from a 165 in a 30-06. I'd use just about any manufacturers 165 gr bullet on anything in North America except the really big Alaskan bear. And at ranges out to 400 yards or farther. Or as far as my skills allowed me. If game larger than 500 lbs or so is expected then moving up to a 180 might be a better option, I still think most of the 165's will be fine.
 
sub 200

I wouldn't much worry pro con about a boat tail from any mfg if shooting under 200 yds, as the somewhat flatter trajectory they offer does not really "kick in" till farther out. That said, a certain boat tail may well shoot better from a given rifle than a flat base, and in that case, I'd justify the boat tail and use it.


Sierra makes some darn accurate bullets across the board, and I am not surprised they are shooting well from your rifle. I'm actually a flat base "Pro Hunter" fan, and they are a tad cheaper than the GameKings too.

Pretty big jump from a whitetail to a caribou, but I'd think a .30/165 , placed well, would be easily up to the task.
 
I've had excellent results with the 165 GK on Whitetails. I shot a large bodied Nebraska buck last fall at 70 yards. Instant bangflop with an exit the size of a silver dollar. Shot was broadside behind the shoulder. I've had similar success with the same bullet on other hunts too. There's not much I think that bullet would bounce off especially in the 200lb range. I've never shot the HP version or felt the need for any bullet more robust.
 
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