I have shot 3 deer with this bullet out of my '06. A little doe that I clipped the top of the heart/lungs, one in the neck and one in the spine. Heart/lung shot ran 60 feet, the others were DRT. I had one of the skins tanned skin-on and there is a 30 cal hole on one side and about a 2 1/2"-3" hole on the other, this is the one hit in the spine broadside, my shot hit a little high.

What's your experience with HPBT-GK's??? Sierra website says these are one of there toughest constructed bullets produced, which is not what I think of when I think "hollow-point". Sierra also says that the HP's will out penetrate most SP's. http://www.sierrabullets.com/xring/index.cfm?fuseaction=Vol7no4#tough

I get excellent accuracy from my JC Higgins 51-L with the old stand-by of 57g. IMR 4350 165g. HPBT-GK, MOA or less.

What do ya think??? Lets hear it.

Happy Shooting, Redrider!

redrider
I have killed several deer and antelope, a bobcat,fox and a few pigs with this bullet out of various 308 rifles over the years. Shots have ranged from less than 25 yards to 550 [antelope].
I have never recovered a single bullet. It has always performed in an excellent manner. The bullet jacket is constructed to make it stronger than Sierras other 308 bullets. It has always been one of my favorite bullets in the 308. It has been very accurate in every 308 I have shot it in. My standard load is 39.5gr. of IMR3031.
I have never encountered a 308 [bolt, semiauto, or lever] that would not shoot this load good.
It is a great hunting load for a H&K91 or a M1-A.
If hunting elk sized game with a 308 or a 30-06 I would use a Nosler Partition, you just can't beat a Nosler Partition for Big big game, but for everything else the 165 SierraHPBT is a very good bullet.

[ 06-19-2003, 03:31: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

I shoot 165 gr bullets a lot in my .30-06. I generally will shoot a 165gr Hornaday SP, Nosler Partition or a failsafe, depending on the game hunted. In my rifle, it will put two pairs of each of the bullets indicated, thats six shots into a 3 inch circle at 200 yards. Plenty accurate for big game hunting. Seems like that bullet did the job ok, If it broke up, you would have a good bit of blood shot meat. For most White Tail hunting, you can beat a hornaday in either 165 or 180 gr.

I confirm that the GKHP is a tougher bullet than the regular GK. My .300 Win Mag pet load is topped off with a 165 GKSP and I like it for long shots. In my 7x64 I load both GKSP and GKHP. The first for Roedeer but I switch to the harder HP if I expect a possible Wild Boar.

I have used the 165 HPBT GK on 2 hogs, and 3 deer. That sure don't make me an expert, but the bullet worked as designed and is very accuarte out of my 308. Sierra told me they were tougher than the SPBT 165. I would not hesitate to use them again. They hit hard at 2754 fps. Complete penetration and good expansion. I would be hard pressed to believe they wouldn't work on elk at least at 308 velocities.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

I loaded some up for a friend. Moderate load, 30-06 and the guy said it just about blew the far side of the deer away. I didn't see the deer but these WV deer run kinda small - 75-140lbs.

The thick-skinned hunters that still like to hunt deer will often tell you you'd be crazy to use this bullet on deer. I think that's a little of them simply wanting to use components during deer season that they intend to use elsewhere. Along with them you have the folks that use these sorts of bullets and the long threads commence...

I think this is just about the perfect deer bullet as, let's face it, it really isn't too tough to anchor a deer. I've used it from about 20 yards on the close end all the way up to 450 yards twice with a 300 pound whitetail at 85 yards too...they all went down in a heap when I aimed properly (I pulled one 450 yard shot and he went about 100 yards). I mention both distance extremes because some would say that the bullet is not suited for close distances.

They are extremely accurate too as I've done quite a bit of 400 yard practice shooting and they are typically MOA for large numbers of shots...all within 4 inches at 400 yards.

My gunsmith, who recommended this bullet, has shot hundreds of deer with no problem and has an extensive list of clients using the same bullet with no ill affects and considerable success on elk as well. His expertise along with my own personal experience gives me comfort in this bullet choice.

After all, this bullet has a reputation for instant kills as opposed to others that have reputations for maybe better penetration but also some distance between impact and where they ultimately find the game. I think the significant body of evidence of virtually instant kills is sufficient to deem it suitable to this task as I think we owe the quickest kill possible to the game.

Oh well, any bets on how long this thread will get???

Good luck to all regardless of their bullet choice.

Reed

Reed, since we are talking the Gameking and not the Matchking I don't think it will be that long. I use them for my 30-06 shooting and they work great with 57.5 grains of AA4350 in the Highwall. They are certainly tougher than the sp.