Who is the king of of BTSP hunting bullets?

[Kachok]

Been having some great luck shooting Sierra Game Kings and Speer BTSP bullets, they both shoot great in the same rifles and honestly it is hard to see any difference between them. My question is who makes the better BTSP bullet for hunting?
The differences as I understand them.
1. The Speer has a thinner jacket but a thicker base so it expands more readily and hence fragment more of it's weight, but the thicker base seems to reduce the chance of complete core-jacket separation.
2. While the Sierra is more likely to loose it's core it is a delayed separation that occurs in the vitals on normal shooting angles. That bullet "failure" is actually rather effective.
3. The Sierra seems to have a harder alloy core, I have heard of many cases where the jacket is found under the skin and the core exited, other bullets rarely if ever do this.
4. The Speer bullet normally have a higher BC despite the fact that they are often neatly identical in shape.
Anyone else noticed these things?
Who do you think is the king of the boat tail soft point bullets?

 

[Cowboy_mo]

Going to be fun to watch this thread

For every hunter I've ever known, they either adore the Sierra's or hate them.

The Sierra's are very accurate and may be better accuracy wise (think .00x) than the speer's.

One of my friends has hunted all over the world and absolutely swears by the Sierra Game King. He hooked me up with his outfitter for a trip to South Africa 3 years ago. The two have been friends for years but when it comes to bullet choice, they agree to disagree

Well, on my friend's advice I used Sierra Game Kings for deer season a couple years ago. I shot a button buck at about 75 yds, broadside and in the heart/lung area. When I dressed that deer, it looked like the bullet had exploded inside. I haven't used them since for hunting, but they are great paper punchers. The speers I have used to take game have remained and except for a nice entrance and exit hole left no mess.

 

[reynolds357]

IMHO, the Nosler ballistic tip is the hands down king of boat tailed spitzers at the current moment. If you look at their sales volume and their price point, Nosler is raking in the cash on them. Not saying the are the best by any means, but they sell a heap of them.

Hot Cor Speer is the most dependable performer of the non premiums.
Sierra is accurate and performs well enough most of the time. I got a box of them that was keyholing. (bad lot, bullets varried in weight by several grains each.) Kind of quit trusting them after that. Use them some, but not often.
I have had too many accuracy issues with Hornaday to even mess with them anymore. If it red, it stays on the shelf.
Berger is definitely coming on like gang bangers. Accurate, accurate, accurate.
Scirrocco II is a dangerous game capable ballistic tip that is a tack driver. In my opinion, its by far the toughest of the non-gilded ballistic tips.
If you need a bullet that never fails, Barnes X in all its incarnations.

 

[Art Eatman]

Nothing against the Noslers; no reason to dislike them. But since the vast majority of bucks I've killed with the SGK have been Bang/Whop/Plop, how do I improve on success?

Six of one, half-dozen of the other, most likely.

 

[reynolds357]

This will boil down to do you like Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry ice cream.
There are many fine bullets being made today. All manufacturers turn out some bad lots. Those of us who have been the lucky one to get those bullets are scarred for life.

 

[Kachok]

I have personally never had the first seconds trouble with Sierra, green box has been real good to me in every caliber/rifle I have ever loaded for.
Hornady is not quite as consistent, some rifles don't like them, but those that do LOVE them including my favorite my 6.5x55 which shoots one ragged hole with both 129 and 140gr SSTs.
Speer has rivaled Sierra for accuracy which is to say REALLY darn good, but I have not used them on game yet.
Nosler has given me good (thought not stellar) accuracy in general except for my Winchester 308 no idea why, they perform beautifully on game, some of the most impressive terminal performance out there as long as you are not taking any raking shots, makes a reliable pattern of fragmentation through the vitals, sadly they cost more then my other brands and only come in a box of 50

 

[chewie146]

It depends on what you're hunting. Assuming deer, the lighter construction would probably be just fine and may be advantageous.

 

[AllenJ]

If you told me I had to choose one brand/model of BTSP bullet for hunting and I could never use anything else, ever again, I'd probably choose Sierra. I used to shoot them exclusively and never had an issue with their accuracy or performance on deer sized game. Once on a late invite to hunt antelope I had to put together some loads and used Speer bullets since my LGS did not have any Sierra's. They were accurate enough but my first shot on antelope was a failure. The bullet entered, touched and broke a should bone, turned 90 degree and exited the lower shoulder raising a big cloud of dust at the animals foot. I tracked that animal and was able to get it with a follow up shot. All I can figure is the core of that one bullet had an air pocket or was somehow off balance. One bullet should not be enough to change a persons mind, but in my case I just don't have confidence in Speer now.

 

[Art Eatman]

AllenJ, it's only from reading, but a change in direction by a bullet after hitting a bone is not at all uncommon in the literature.

 

[eastbank]

you ought to see the groups my model 70 express in .375 H&H mag shoots with 250gr serria SBT # 2950 with 78grs H-4350. eastbank.

 

[jmr40]

I've not tried the Game Kings, but was disappointed with the Matchkings I've tried. Had better luck with Hornady bullets. The Nosler's I've shot have given mixed results in my guns. I may still need to tweak some things with my loads using them. It is too early to form an opinion yet, but the Berger Hunting bullets I've tried gave me some impressive results so far.

 

[Kachok]

You are the FIRST person I have ever known to have bad luck with Match Kings! Don't feel bad, I would not get Berger VLDs to groups out of the most accurate rifle I own, no idea why.

 

[reynolds357]

In my experience, Berger is hands down more accurate at long range than Match King. Kind of a toss up at shorter ranges.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Match Kings are designed for target shooting. Not hunting.
Game Kings are designed for hunting.

 

[ammo.crafter]

BT hunting

BARNES

 

[reynolds357]

Rifleman, the Match King, regardless of its design intention, can be a devesdating hunting bullet.

 

[Kachok]

Neither the Barnes TSX nor the Berger VLD are BTSP bullets they are hollow points, but good bullets non the less. They both cost twice what standard BTSP bullets do though.

 

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

My question is who makes the better BTSP bullet for hunting?

I don't think there is a better than the other. Seems to me this bullets design has been around so long that it's construction is near the same from one bullet manufacture to the next. {So I guess its becomes a matter of loyalty to a manufacture. Sierra or Speer?} Gee's I have to think_ Who do I like best?_ Hmm!!

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I have to point out that the majority of the bullets mentioned in this thread are not actually BTSP

Boat
Tail
Soft
Point

The Match King is a HP (Hollow Point). As far as I can tell, Berger doesn't make a single SP bullet. The Barnes bullets are all either HP or ballistic tips. Etc, etc

 

[BoogieMan]

i Shoot 165 sierra GK BTSP. They all fall over dead after 1 shot. Never had to trail a deer I shot. Maybe other bullets are better but with these results how can you tell? Every animal im aware of dies immediately when the heart and lungs are turned into soup.