I have tried the 165 gr. Nosler Partition in my .30-06 and get average accuracy (1.5"-2.5"). However the Sierra 165 gr. SPBT GameKing gives me .5"-1" groups. My question is this: On Texas sized whitetail deer will the Sierra perform adequatley? As well as the Partition? What is your experience with the Sierra GameKing? Any other advice on bullet selection for the .30-06 on whitetails would be appreciated. Good shooting!

If a 165gr Gameking won't handle a Texas whitetail, I don't know what will. I know you Texicans think big, but they aren't THAT big down there, are they? Seriously, I've used both bullets on our blacktails out here and they have worked very well.

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT USE THIS BULLET ON ANYTHING THE SIZE
OF A DEER. I shot a doe on the shoulder this weekend and this bullet EXPLODED!!!
I repeat DO NOT USE THIS 'so called bullet"on a deer!!!!!!!!!!!!!. This doe was a medium
sized doe. I shot her at 100yds. and this bullet exploded! I found the jacket, but not the
core. This was a medium sized doe! I will NEVER EVER use this bullet on any animal!!!!!!!!!

Shark Bait I have used the 165 gr. Hollow Point BT Sierra bullet on many Whitetail and Mule Deer, Antelope, and my brother killed a nice Caribou in Alaska with it, all in the 308 with 39.5 gr. of IMR 3031. My wife killed a nice whitetail 2 years ago with this bullet in her Drilling[30-06]. This bullet is supposed to be a little less rapid expanding than their Soft Point version. I have used this bullet quite a bit in the past and would not hesitate to use it again.

I have killed over 60 deer using 165gr Gameking in 30/06 & 140gr Gameking in .270 NEVER had a problem. Used Hornady SST last year, going bach to Gameking this year. Two of the deer shot with SST were still alive when found, both shot behind sholder. Massive intry wound no exit hole. The Gameking will exit with a nice hole. Most deer shot with Gamekings droped in tracks a few went less than 20yd.
No bullet are calaber will make up for poor shot placement

I have shot a fair number of deer with that bullet in a 308 with good success. My dad used to and still likes that bullet in the 308 and -06 for most deer hunting.

I think dbking works for nosler!!

No he is really Fiftydriver!

I haven't yet used any Sierra Bullet on anything but paper,but have either loaded them for friends or suggested they try them by way of Factory Loads from Federal.
Thier results were very good with them.

I use the Sierra GK all the time (they're so wonderfully accurate) and never had any problem. Below are the 2 I ever recovered : a 160 7mm (7x64) that went lengthwise through a Muntjac and a 165 (.300 Win Mag) that did the same on a red stag. Both were frontal shots and the bullets were recovered in the ham (1) and from a hide pouch on the off flank (2).

True, if you want a harder bullet, go for the GKHP.

The GameKing is a great bullet and the 165 grain is probably the best weight bullet for a .30 cal. rifle. But Let me repeat what was said before Don't be a poor shot and shoot your game in the shoulder, take your time and pick a better place to kill a deer without hitting a big bone in the shoulder. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

I like that 165 Gameking. It's so accurate. I suppose it's best for longer range shots with it's high ballistic coeficient.

A friend just shot two whitetails with the 06. One bullet was the 165 Partition and the other the 150. Performance was perfect.

For me the Sierra 165 is just fine for deer.

Hey DBKING, Could you provide a bit more information about your experience. Not trying to put you on the spot, cause strange things do occasionally happen.

1. What caliber were you using?

2. Guesstimate of the muzzle velocity?

3. Were you hunting from the ground?

4. Any chance at all that a small "unseen" weed, twig, etc. might have been between you and the Doe?

5. Since you "found" the bullet jacket, does this mean you got a second shot into her or did she die from the first shot?

5a. If you did get a second shot, where did it hit the Doe?

5b. What kind of bullet was the second one?

5c. Did the second bullet Exit?

5d. What did the second bullet path through the Doe look like?

5e. If she died from the first shot, what did she look like inside where the bullet hit?

6. If the Doe didn't die, how did you find the jacket?

7. Approximately how many other Deer(Hogs, Bear, Varmints, etc.) have you shot with 165gr GameKing?

...

Hey Andr�, Nice pictures!

Yes, of course the 165 Sierra if fully adequate for any 100 lb whitetail. The 150 would be better. What foolish notion would cause this question to be raised, anyway?

As for shooting deer in the shoulder, we're talking about a rather lightly constructed piece of anatomy to begin with. You can cut a deer's shoulder off with your pocket knife. A 6mm/100gr. Sierra will penetrate to and through the vitals of a whitetail even if it hits the humorous directly. I doubt you'll find 1 in 100 .30/165gr. Sierras that don't exit a Texas whitetail when shot side-to-side, even through the shoulder.

Besides, the only reason to shoot a deer in the shoulder is if the deer is quartering so that the shoulder must be penetrated in order to hit the vitals. The shoulder itself is fairly expendable to the deer. I've seen them run hundreds of yards at virtually full speed with one shoulder completly destroyed by a shot. The notion that you're going to anchor a deer (or any other game animal) by "breaking the shoulder" is about like thinking that a Boeing 747 is going to fall out of the air if one engine quits. That deer's still got three good legs, which is one more than you get by with.

Excellent cross-examine, Hotcore... I would be interested in those answers as well.

Dan

For Whitetail Deer, this bullet is, in my experience, outstanding.

A friend of mine uses a BAR 30.06 with the Federal Premium factory loads using the 165 BTSP. He has never lost a deer with this load, and has 7 deer on the wall measuring over 140 B&C. The longest shot was 275 running, and the deer dropped in his tracks. He is a good shot, and put the bullet where it needed to be.

These are all South Dakota whitetails, and our whitetails here are a larger subspecies than what is found in Texas. If you use this bullet, and you put it in the right spot, you should have nothing but success.

MHO, best of luck.

I'll jump on the accuracy testimonial bandwagon, having never pointed this bullet at fur..

The 165 BTHP is one accurate somebody. In a Krieger barrelled M1 about ten years ago, I shot a 198 at 600 with it. I remember it because it's still my personal best at that stage.

I understand it's a tougher bullet than the soft point and its BC is lower too.

Redial

In my .308 Win. that 165 grain SGK is as good as it gets for elk.

Hot Core, here are the answers to your questions.

1)30'06

2)Approx. 2500 fps, about 100 yds away. The ammo used was Federal Premium
165 grn Sierra Gameking BTSP, lot010699x825

3)I was on the ground

4) There was nothing in the bullets path but air. The doe was standing in the middle of
a mowed pipeline.

5)No second shot was needed, she went maybe 7-8yds.

6)She was shot facing me, slightly quartering. The only shot I had was on the point
of her right shoulder, which is where I shot her. I have no problem with the accuracy
of these bullets. The entire right shoulder was exploded. Her heart had slight
lacerations and so did the lungs. Granted the bullet did it's job. I was just concerned
about it breaking up completely.

7) This was the first animal I have shot with this particular round. I usually use
Hornady 150grn Spire Point or Winchester Silvertips. Both of which are very
accurate in my rifle. The rifle used is a 1950's FN Mauser, made by Colt called the
Coltsman Deluxe. It can be found in the Gun Traders Guide .

8) I have shot somewhere between 50-60 hogs and deer wth this particular rifle.

By the way if I can figure out how to scan in the jacket of this bullet I will. Any
help here would be appreciated.

Hot Core, I hope this answers your questions. I think that maybe this was just a
bad batch of bullets, who knows. I have also e-mailed Ferderal with my concerns,
but no answer yet.

Dang Sharkbait, haven't you learned anything on these forums?

Forget the Gameking, it'll only break your heart. Only fit for paper and plinking games. Hence the name.

Hunt with Matchkings, Baby!

[ 11-23-2002, 07:48: Message edited by: steve y ]

Hot Core, I didn't see anything on the way to pick her up, but then if it was hit by the
bullet than it wouldn't have been there either. My only point was that I had just switched
to this ammo because of it's accuracy, only to find this kind of result. Again could just have a
bad bullet in the batch.

From what I understand, a Texas whitetail ain't that big. My dad has used that load for bigger northern Montana muleys and whitetails for years and usually when he pulls the trigger, the deer is facing feet up on the ground.

Yes, the 165 grain GameKing will most definently work for Texas whitetail.

A few years ago I whomped a 5x6 Roosevelt with a 180gr GameKing out of my 300 Win exiting the barrel around 3100 fps. The bull was about 150 yards away. The bull was hit with a classic quarting away shot (left side ribs, lung, heart, lungs, right front shoulder). I am constantly amazed by the ballistic tip -to- failsafe crowd. Their are alot of perfect bullets in the middle that hold together better than ballistic tips and expand better than the hard premiums. Unless your using a mega mag, you just don't need the super bullets for deer.

It will work fine.

Try it.

[ 11-27-2002, 01:24: Message edited by: larrys ]

Hey'
I might be one of the few people,left in America,that has 2 boxes(100 perbox) Nosler 165 Grain Solid Base Boatails #27585.A great bullet,discontinued by Nosler.I'll have to load them,one of these days.Maybe next year,when I go to Texas,to hunt whitetail.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

Hey there, 1GeeJay - I used to love those Nosler Solid Base bullets, but in the .308, 180 gr version in a .300 Win Mag. Tremendous accuracy and great performance on wild hogs at all ranges.

I have used them from the RUM at 3400 fps with no problems.the Game King Hollow Point IS a little tougher than the BTSP.

Gentleman, Thanks to all of you for the feedback. This past week I took a nice sized Whitetail Buck at about 120 yards with the 165 Grain Sierra in my 06. The bullet entered just behind the shoulder and exited the far side leaving about a 2" exit wound. The deer dropped after taking a couple of steps. Seeing as how these bullets are much less expensive than the Nosler Partitions, I think I will stick with them for Deer sized game. Thanks Again!

Shark Bait,
With all the testimonials on the merits of the 165 grain Sierra bullet already posted I can't add much, but here goes. Years ago, when my eldest son started hunting with the .30-06 we sat down and discussed bullets 'til they came out our ears. Bob Jr. decided to go the one rifle-one bullet route. That bullet was the 165 Grain Sierra SBT. Since then he's taken everything he's shot at with it, without problems. Deer, Antelope, elk and black bear have all just lay down and died from it. He admits that the only time a second shot has been necessary was due to less than proper placement of the first one. At my age and his size, I wouldn't want to tell him he had to stop using it.

About five years ago, a new friend and I had pretty much the same discussion. Eric is also a one rifle-one bullet man. He came to the same conclusion as Bob Jr. did about thirty years prior. Since then I've seen Eric take deer, elk, oryx and prairie dogs with it. I sure hate to raise the issue of not using them with him as well. Especially since I take a long time to heal now.

As happy as both are with this bullet, they are excellent shots. Placement of the bullet where it belongs is very critical to the bullet doing its job. I would elect to use the 150 grain bullet on deer sized game but I sure cannot argue with their selection. Not in front of them. Good luck.

[ 12-14-2002, 10:34: Message edited by: BigBob ]

I use the 130gr Gameking in the .270 win, only recovered 1 bullet, and it hit one shoulder, and stopped inside the hide in the opposite side ham. Bullet was a perfect mushroom, I don't think you could drive a 165gr fast enough to fail in a 30-06.

I have to agree with DBKing. I shot a big mule deer with a 117 game king and it broke up. It never hit the shoulder just clipped one rib and stopped in the back after grazing the spine. The shot was 175 yards uphill with my 25/06 abolt. They do shoot well in my rifle but I'm going to move on to a tougher bullet like the partition or trophy bonded bear claw.

The ammo used was fed prem. by the way. I'm only starting to load for my 25.

Just recently started reloading for my 30-06 a bolt.The most accurate bullet by far was the 165 gr. gameking.I really wanted 150 gr but the fmj's I tried wouldnt group better than 4"!As far as stopping deer my experience has been that they travel about 50 to 100 yds. with a direct heart shot.The problem is that even a 150 grain bullet(my former factory load)leaves at least one front quarter totalled.I think we are totally overpowered when it comes to recovering meat.