Hello. Sierra's worth a crap against elk ? I've been using Partitions all along but I have an opportunity to buy 250 Sierra boattail bullets for 30.00. Thanks.

Personally there's three things I dislike about bullets for hunting.

1. Boattails (generally)
2. Non premium (bonded/partitioned)
3. Sierra

I've had Sierra boattails fail miserably on Pronghorns.....

Imo it's a waste of $30.

Well which Sierra bullet is it. I would expect the .308 200 grain BTSP to work reasonably well on elk. You have to remember that one mans failed bullet is antother mans antelope steak. A friend went to Africa and had a great time shooting all kinds of Plains game with the aforementioned bullet. He recovered a bunch that looked just like the deadliest mushroom in the desert. This was from a 300 Winchester Magnum using the Federal factory load.

I used the 175gr Sierra BT for elk hunting for several years in my 7mm mag. That bullet and the 175 gr partiton shot to the same spot with the load I was using. I shot several elk with the sierra bullets at close range and at long range as well..and never lost an elk and never recovered a bullet. I would not hesitate to use that bullet again for elk..but I would not use a lighter BT bullet than that in my 7mag for elk.

Zeeriverrat1

Don't know about the bo tails but the old flat based Hunter pro bullets work real well.

You didn't say what caliber/wt., the problem w/ ANY non bonded BT, is they are apt to slip their cores, especially when striking bone. I've had this happen even testing them in wetpack. Buy them & use them for practice, hunt deer w/ them but for me, it doesn't get much better than the NP for elk.

Shot a moose at about 200 yards with my 7mm RM and 165 grain Federal Premium Sierra boat tail a few years ago. The moose didn't go too far but the bullet never made it to the off side meat. The bullet wasn't recovered because it was lost with the guts while cleaning. It went down but I wouldn't have mind a little more penetration.

the SGK has worked very well for me on deer. a heavy bullet should do well on elk. what chambering, bullet weight etc. are you using?

vapodog - were you using a magnum when you were shooting that antelope? i have heard that SGKs were not good bullets above 3200fps or so; this might hae been a partial reason for your bullet failure. as far as my experience has been, the SGKs have been great, but i only use "non-magnum" chamberings.

Sorry not to clarify. They are 6.5 140 grains, they just said boattail, don't know any other than that. I heard Sierra's and Nosler Partitions fly very similiar and as stated above thought they may make cheap practice and target bullets if they were not too great for actual hunting. Thanks for the replies so far.

i doubt that you would be undergunned for elk, as long as you confined youself to the broadside shots and avoided the Texas Heart Shot. 160's would guarantee complete through and through penetration but the bullets in question will definitely:

a) penetrate into the chest cavity

and

b) expand.

if you are not confident for their use on elk, they WILL make wonderful deer bullets.

I would not hunt elk with any conventional bullet, I will use a premium everytime and I learned that the hard way...Stick with the Noslers or you will loose an elk sooner or later, especially with that light caliber. It just don't cost that much more to go first class these days..

I lived back in the Sierra days and factory bullets that all failed from time to time, didn't like it and won't do it now..Shoot paper and varmints with them.

Agreed with the above. That's too light a caliber to use a non premium. If it was a .338 we'd be talking different. Buy em and practice. Then load the premium and hunt with conficence. If you are looking for bargains check out the nosler proshop for perfect quality partitions that have a few blems for a great price.

I've shot 9 Red Stags (= Elk's European cousin) with a .300 Win, using 165 Sierra GK at distances ranging from 80 to 250 meters and never lost an animal, nor recovered but a single bullet. Here it is, on the right of the pic: a 165 GK shot from 250 m. It was a frontal shot and the bullet was recovered in a hide pouch on the opposing flank. 78% weight retention and 204% expansion, good enough for me...


BTW, the bullet on the left is a 7 mm 160 Sierra GK recovered from a Muntjac shot at same angle from 80 m (bullet recovered from opposing ham - 48% weight retention, 181% expansion).

If still in doubt, go for the corresponding HP GK, which is a much harder "magnum" bulllet.

I would strongly agree with Ray, and Kraky, don't mess with elk, use a partitions. If the Sierra's shoot well, use them for targets. There's just no common sense in taking chances. My philosophy has always been, "if it works, don't fix it".

DGK

And here is my nickel's worth: I have seen Sierra Pro Hunters fail on a 100# Texas Hill Country whitetail twice. Have never shot 'Game Kings" because any hollow point is going to mess up too much meat. Elk are heavy-boned, dense-muscled creatures, and it takes a premium bullet to do one justice (which is at minimum a quick, humane death).
I shot a 5X5 in Idaho in 1997 with a 150-grain Speer GS out of a .270, and although the animal was mortally wounded and we found it, the bullet came completely apart and did not exit. I vote for Swift A-Frames, Trophy Bondeds or similar. Elk are just too hard to find, too majestic and too darned big to risk a bullet failure on.
Oh, and one other thing: a friend talked to Sierra at the 2001 SHOT show and was told none of their bullets are designed to be driven at velocities above 3000 fps. 'Nuff said!

quote:

Originally posted by BighornBreath:
Hello. Sierra's worth a crap against elk ? I've been using Partitions all along but I have an opportunity to buy 250 Sierra boattail bullets for 30.00. Thanks.

My .02 worth....yes, but the're better choices like for example the NP you are currently using. I shoot both bullets over the same powder charge, and they (for all intent and purposes) shoot the same in my 7m/m Rem. Sierra's are a "soft" bullet in comparison to others of like weight in my opinion, and that in a nutshell is why some use the matchkings. I've used them, they work, but I'll not recommend them when better is available to hunt with. Elk are tough -they deserve a tough bullet like the partition.

I've shot thousands of sierras & love them for accuracy and varmits, but not for biggame. I had a 200 gr from a 300 mag blow up on a mule deer at 400yds, and another 150 gr from a 270 weatherby blow up on a kudu neck at about 125. Switched to things like nosler partitions, barens x and the like and never looked back

quote:

Originally posted by zeeriverrat1:
I used the 175gr Sierra BT for elk hunting for several years in my 7mm mag. That bullet and the 175 gr partiton shot to the same spot with the load I was using. I shot several elk with the sierra bullets at close range and at long range as well..and never lost an elk and never recovered a bullet. I would not hesitate to use that bullet again for elk..but I would not use a lighter BT bullet than that in my 7mag for elk.

Zeeriverrat1

My use for the Sierra is highlighted above - they quite often shoot to the same POI as a Nosler Partition of the same weight; thus they can be used for practice and zeroing at much lower cost than the partitions..... Switch to the partition when hunting!

I have had bad experiences with Sierra boattails, but I have to admit that they were "light or normal" weight for the caliber and were being pushed to high speed. For example, a 100 gr .257 bullet out of a .25-06 at top velocity failed on an antelope. Ditto for a 150 gr .308 out of either a .30-06 or .300 Win mag on deer and antelope.

it seems that all of these failure accounts for the SGK have one thing in common: the bullet is being driven at very high velocity (near or above 3000fps). it looks as though if someone plans on shooting a rifle that fast, they would be better off with a premium bullet.

i've known people to use the 165grn SGK out of .308s on elk and have no trouble at all, but the .308 shoots at about 2700fps with a bullet that weight, IIRC.

Sierra makes great bullets - indeed, they tend to be the most accurate of all bullets. Nonetheless, I like Nosler BTs best, which have higher BCs and have matched Sierra Accuracy. Bottomline: if you have a bunch of Sierra Game Kings, use them, they work great!

I've never had a problem with Sierra's; I have experimented with Nosler BT's and considered Partitions, but never used them on game as the Sierra's are better value and work fine.

Re the previous comment that Sierra's aren't designed to be pushed over 3000 f/s: I can only comment that a quick look at their reloading manual shows velocities up to at least 3500, and I noticed a comment about 3600-3700.

I'd say use them with confidence!

Regards,
ShooterBoB

quote:

Originally posted by BighornBreath:
Hello. Sierra's worth a crap against elk ? I've been using Partitions all along but I have an opportunity to buy 250 Sierra boattail bullets for 30.00. Thanks.

If it ain't broke, Don't fix it!

Use the Sierra's for practice and the Partitions to kill elk with...........DJ

Buy them that is a good buy even if you dont
hunt game with them.

I shot these for years in a 150 grain 270 application,Always killed but they always seperated and the deer and antelope i shot with them did not care.Every one I recovered di seperate.BUT they to this day are the most accurate bullet I have fired,buy them and shoot the hell out of them.

My son used 160 SGK's on his plainsgame hunt last summer in his Ruger 6.5 Swede. Never had any problems. He took a nice waterbuck at 70 yrds, that was the largest body head he took. I used 250 GK's in my 338 Win Mag. No problems either. I willl admit I don't have Rays experience but I like GK bullets. I have taken Kudu, Oryx, Zebra, Elk, Boar, Whitetail and Bison all with GK's with no problems..............JJ

After 3 or 4 Sierras did not exit on elk from a .338, I switched to partitions. But partitions are not all that fantastic either. They only retain 60% weight. In the future I will limit myself to North Forks which retain 95-99% weight. www.northforkbullets.com Some people like Barnes but I can't get them to shoot, they foul my bores, and sometimes they don't open up.

Sierras suck for big game......

POP Iam surpised you didn't recommend serria Matchkings.

I took my last Bull at 260yrds with a 130gr Sierra BTSP. This same load has taken many many muleys and elk. Shot placement is by far more important than "Priemium" bullets. I've tried Barnes, great if you want a hole in and a hole out, however I want every bit of energy that round has to give, given up inside the animal. No thanks I'll stay with the Sierra

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
POP Iam surpised you didn't recommend serria Matchkings.

Don't even start please!!!