.308 sierra match king for hunting ?

30 July 2002, 23:21

<Tippex>

Hi, i have about two hundred old factory Norma Match ammo. That is with 168 grains Sierra match king bullet HPBT, it is loaded to Vo 836 M/s.
Can this ammo be used for hunting roe deer ? Any experience with this bullet for hunting. The reason for doing it is that i already have them and that they shoot wonderful in my Steyr SSG 69.
The scope seems to be calibrated for a similar bullet too ( bullet drop compensation on the Swarovski ZFM 6x42 military with range estimation)

31 July 2002, 00:35

Cold Bore

Tippex-

This was gone over EXTENSIVELY (1000+ posts) a few months back. Do a search & you'll find some "interesting" reading.

Saeed just used some in Africa on game a good bit larger than roe deer.

Be prepared for some hard comments from both sides, and don't take any of it personal. It just seems to be a touchy subject around here. [Wink]

31 July 2002, 01:56

<Tippex>

Ok, iï¿½ll check the older subjects. Thanks Cold Bore

31 July 2002, 02:07

Gatogordo

Tippex:

The thread mentioned above is so long as to be unreadable. Let me sum it up, MKs will kill any roe deer that ever walked, but they have a tendency to self destruct, ie blow up (Mk proponents don't admit this) Try for lung, heart shots or you will lost a lot of meat. In short, use them, place your shots reasonbly well, and good hunting.

31 July 2002, 02:28

<Tippex>

Gatogordo thanks for the info. i coldnï¿½t even find the thread with the search machine.
Your info was all i needed to know. I always aim for heart/lung region. Iï¿½ll try them, after all on such a small animal with a .308 not much can go wrong i guess. Do you or anyone else know how to find the thread to read just for fun ?

31 July 2002, 03:47

m700

A hunting buddy of mine decided to use his extremely accurate .308 on a Wyoming pronghorn hunt, with Federal factory loaded match ammo, the Sierra 168 grain matchking. This was not such a great idea. Took two hits to kill the little prarie critter, 2nd shot exploded like C4 on a watermellon. Minimal penetration. Nice shooting on his part, but he'll never use 'em on game again. Guess that's why Sierra recommends 'em for target shooting, not game hunting. Guy

31 July 2002, 03:49

cwilson

Tippex:

Go to the Reloading Forum and do a search on
"Matchking".

you can also try this link
http://www.serveroptions.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=003036;p=32#001264

cwilson

31 July 2002, 04:23

<Tippex>

cwilson, thanks for the help. By the way i just ordered three boxes of Sellier&Bellot 150 gr. SP.
At 13,5$$ a box here in Sweden. Iï¿½ll try them to see how they shoot in my rifle.

31 July 2002, 04:48

Gatogordo

Tippex:

I hate to say this, and it depends on the level of accuracy you require, but over here in the US most people find S&B ammo to be of poor quality, accuracy wise.

In response to a heated discussion I had with some long range "hunters" on another forum, I shot a 140kg wild boar with a .308 168gr Mk in a .30-06 loaded to about 2650fps mv(basically a target load, same velocity as in a 7.62 Nato(.308). Short story, it killed him dead with one shot at 100 yds, but blew up on his chest cavity and destroyed his lungs and part of his heart(shot him facing me, roughly where the neck connects to the chest)recovered one very bent up spoon shaped chunk of bullet weight 80 gr. Bullet did not penetrate through chest. In sum, it killed him quickly and will do so on ANY roe deer but is not a bullet to choose for penetration. Shoot them in the ribs to the lungs and they're toast. Don't try for penetration.

This seems to be the same type results Saeed got using the MKs in Africa, good shot placement killed all the animals dead, but the bullet performed poorly by most hunting bullet standards. Which is why Sierra does not recommend them for hunting. They work great, you just have to use them within their limitations.