Gents I've been waiting several years to do an Elk hunt here in Nevada. It looks like this year i'll be heading to Colorado to do an over the counter Elk hunt. I'm thinking of using my 375 Ruger and my bullet of choice out of the ones I have on my shelf is the 300gr Sierra Game King.
I've sent an email to Sierra but haven't had a response due to the holiday so I thought I would ask those who may have used the bullet.
What are your pet loads and any on game experience with the bullet in question.

Thanks in advance

I hope that they have improved the bullet, and you have far better luck with them, than I did. I had several (every animal shot) failures with them in the late ‘80’s....in a .375 H&H. I contacted Sierra, and got several reasons from Sierra, explaining complete bullet disintegrations on small big game ( complete “come from untogether” on a muledeer and a average black bear)failing to exit both. I blame the bullet for “losing” my first elk. Tried a shot (close range), from an acute angle....I firmly believe that the bullet, came apart, failing to penetrate deeply enough for penetration to vitals.

There are far better Bullets available today. The 270 grain Hornady would be a good option....the 250 Barnes TTSX, would be a “great” option! memtb

Agreed, might be a bit soft for other than a broadside shot, plus the 250 TSX or 260 Accubond will flatten trajectory, increase range, and hold together better.

While a pig is not even close to an elk, I use the 250 game king on pigs. I have shot them from every angle, never had one fail to exit. Several hard quartering and face on, all pass through. One large boar in the top of the head and out between his back legs! I plan on using the 250 on elk next fall. Lets see, if a 150 gr 270 does work, is a 250gr wrong?

I use the 270 grain TSX on moose. I do not have long range shots. The farthest so far has been about 170-175 yds, lasering a nearby spruce after the fact.
I would also consider the 250 TTSX and/or the 270 LRX. I have bullets to load in each.
I personally prefer the 270 grain in the 375's. The 270 TSX has grouped very well for me. Performance on moose has left little reason for me to search for something else. Other than pure curiosity.
The 270 LRX pictures and reports, that I have seen posted have been favorable.

I would use a partition or accubond. I’ve used these in my 300 weatherby with no problems. You’re spending good money on the hunt so why quibble about 20 or 30 dollars

I have found the Sierra's of the last, say, 20 years to be much tougher then the earlier ones.
That said, I would still want to test them in a recovery box, at least, before I gambled on them.

I have not used them myself but a close friend has used nothing else in his Sako 375 for all his many years in Alaska. He has taken a moose every year or two for the last 20+ years and all with the 300 grain Sierra. The years he didn't take a moose his partner usually does. I've never known him not to have at least a half a moose in the freezer every year. I asked him about failures and he said he has only recovered a couple of bullets and they looked like a text book mushroomed bullet.

I have a lefty 375 H&H on layaway and will pick it up when I get home from this hitch. I have some 260 and 300 grain Accubonds to try as well as the Speer 235 and 270 grain. I also have a few of the old Hornady 270 grain RN to try and will get a couple boxes of the Sierras to see how they shoot.

I have used the SGK in my .375 H&H with great success. BUT I used the 250 grain SGK loaded to max at about 2825. That's what I would recommend.
Everything I shot with it in SA, up to and including an Eland, died quickly and even out of the Eland, the recovered bullet weighed 78% of it's original weight.
I've taken elk with that load, and with 235 gr Barnes TSX at a touch over 3000 fps. Both are lethal on Elk.

So looking at the Barnes data for the 375 Ruger I don't see anything for the 250TTSX. I see it for the 375H&H but not the Ruger. Guess i'll have to email them as well. I forgot I have a box of them sitting on the bench as well.

The bullets I have on hand are a bunch of the Remington 270gr round nose which btw shoot 3 rounds touching at 100yds from my rifle.

I have the 235gr Speer which I haven't gotten around to shooting just yet.

I have the 250TTSX which I haven't shot yet.

The 270 TSX which I honestly don't recall buying them or the TTSX.

And of course I have the 300gr Sierra Game Kings which I originally asked about.

i wouldn't use a game king .375 for an expensive hunt - these are soft bullets, and if you find yourself under pressure to "take the shot" they can't be counted upon for full passthrough at all field angles ...

i have used them very successfully on some pretty big hogs .. better performance than BTs, but that's about it ... HUGE, and i mean HUGE exit wounds in .358 and .375

if it were me, i'd load 250 barnes, -.065 off, and a middle of the range load, as a starting point .. likely federal 215M or just good ole' 215s ... but I'd also use h335/tac , because I am a hammerhead and have used that from 223-550 magnum

Palldin8 do not obsess too much.

I was fortunate enough to go on a Zebra cull hunt years ago. I was just like you at that point. Looking for the magic bullet. I had my 375 and had brought 3 different bullets all 300 grains Sierra, Nosler, and Hornady. I have also used the the 375 on other Zebra with 300 fail safe. Damn if I could tell a bit of difference between the bullets. All Zebra just died really really dead.

I have also shot one elk with the 375 with Winchester factory ammo 270 PP. Same same as the Zebra, with proper bullet placement just really really dead. The bottom line is this. load your Sierras. Get in shape. Dry fire until you puke. Got to the Range and shoot OFF THE BENCH! Shoot standing kneeling sitting. Shoot using the a post like you would a tree and become comfortable with your ability to hit a pie plate every time.

Study Elk anatomy. Visualize the shots you will and will not take. Then stop worrying about the ability of your rifle and bullet. Go hunting and have fun!.

Like the others, I'd use the Accubond or TSX. I have a bunch and in my mind it's a guarantee.

I have only had a few hunters use the 300 gr Sierra's on big bears and the performance was always very good.
I personally would not be afraid to use them.

Thank you all for your experience and advice. My plan is to load up some of the TTSX and Game Kings to see how my rifle shoots with both. I have to wait from both companies to get back with me on load data first.

Barnes has load data for your .375 Ruger on their website....however, there is no data for the 250 TTSX. memtb

A nice thing about the Sierra .375/300-grain GameKing is that it is very accurate.
Also, it duplicated the MV of the Nosler .375/300-grain Partition in my .375 Wby.
I would load both bullets with same charges, and shoot them interchangeably, duplicating the Weatherby factory ballistics,
2700 to 2800 fps MV depending on the rifle.

I liked the Sierra .375/250-grain GameKing for black bear hunting, with the .375 H&H, loaded to 2700 fps MV from a 24" barrel.
It was plenty tough enough for that.
But I too would prefer the 250-grain TTSX nowadays.
By the time I made it to Africa with a .375 H&H, my bullet was the old original 300-grain X-Bullet,
it too was very accurate at 2530 fps from a 24" barrel.
Lots of good choices. Take your pick.

I have one nice load to offer for the .375 Ruger with 20" barrel, I tried some RL-16:

250-grain Sierra GameKing
Hornady brass
GM215M primer
COL 3.330"
Temp. 68*F

RL-16 80.0 grains (about 99% to 100% volumetric fill, no compression) >>> 2705 fps MV (2693 fps for 5-yard instrumental).
No pressure signs, not a maximal load, but start at 5 grains lower and work up.
From 72.0 to 80.0 grains the results improved with each increase by 1 grain.
I was wasting bullets, primers, and powder below 75.0 grains RL-16.

RL-16 is supposed to be great for ThermoBallisticIndependence.
Probably even better with 300-grainers of any kind.
Start with 70.0 grains with a 300-grainer and work up.

Rip ...

I received a response from sierra and they said that the 300gr was designed for the 378 Weatherby and they suggested that I drop down to the 250gr bullet however they have no reloading data for the 375 Ruger at this time. They plan to release it this spring. Not the response I was hoping for to be honest. Haven't heard back from Barnes yet on the 250gr TTSX yet.

Try my RL-16 load for the .375 Ruger 20" with either of those 250-grainers, Sierra or Barnes.
See above.
Start at 75.0 grains of RL-16 and work up.

Rip ...

This is my elk load for my 375 Ruger Guide Gun.
1. Hornady cases
2. WLRM primer
3. 78.5grs. of RL17 powder
4. Nosler 300gr. Accubond seated 3.385" COAL.
5. Heavy crimp with Lee Factory Crimp Die.
1/2" 3-shot group at 100yds. Chronographed 2590fps out of my 20" Guide Gun.

Boddington used it from time to time; there is a classical shot of him with a large eland bull with a 300gr SGK under the skin on the offside.

That said, I see no point whatsoever in using a bullet in which you do not have 100% confidence on any hunt; less so an expensive hunt. I've used Bergers a great deal and it required maturity and discipline to pass on certain shots with poor angles and watch massive animals walk away from me.

Buy a decent bullet. It is one of the cheapest items of of your hunt. Why risk it? In my opinion, if you need to ask you don't have the necessary confidence in that bullet.

Look at North Fork, A Frame and then the "regular" bonded stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by AFRICAN LEADWOOD:
Boddington used it from time to time; there is a classical shot of him with a large eland bull with a 300gr SGK under the skin on the offside.

That said, I see no point whatsoever in using a bullet in which you do not have 100% confidence on any hunt; less so an expensive hunt. I've used Bergers a great deal and it required maturity and discipline to pass on certain shots with poor angles and watch massive animals walk away from me.

Buy a decent bullet. It is one of the cheapest items of of your hunt. Why risk it? In my opinion, if you need to ask you don't have the necessary confidence in that bullet.

Look at North Fork, A Frame and then the "regular" bonded stuff.

I never implied that I don't have confidence in Sierra bullets at all. Out of all the handloaded ammo that i've used to take game the Sierra Game King has been my goto bullet. I have only used Barnes and Nosler once to take game. They both worked but the Nosler Ballistic Tip was so destructive That I wouldn't use them again for anything other than varmints.

With that said I was asking if people had experience with this particular bullet. With the response from Sierra stating that the bullet was designed with the 378 Weatherby in mind I may have to look at something else. They may not open on a broadside shot at further distances. I was hoping they would be for the H&H because of the higher BC they have.

If anything, the 300 gr Sierra might be a little softer than many high end bullets, but that is to be expected for a slim BT Bullet that is likely to be used at extended ranges.

But having seen a few really big bears killed with them at ranges from 50 to 150 yard fired from a 375 H&H, I can recommend them for most anyone.

But since I don't choose to shoot bears at much over 100 yards I still prefer my 270 gr TSX and 300 gr Partitions

I have used them on deer and elk and PG and twice on Cape Buffalo, always performed perfect..Most of the locals around here use them in the 250 Sierra BTSP in their .338s...I first started using them on the results claimed by Craig Boddinton, and found him to be spot on with this bullets. Most of the ones I shot penetrated to the off side skin in a big mushroom, a few made an exit..Some folks consider the bullet expending all its energy inside the animal to be perfect..I like two holes in what I shoot, but I doubt it makes much difference one way or the other, both will kill pretty quick..The Sierra man at SCI one year told me they had to toughen their bullets up based on customer complaints..Mostly Ive used Sierras, Speers, on deer in light calibers, they work fine.

They may have been soft at one time as most Sierras were but they are not soft anymore..I know a lot of elk hunters who use them in the .338, 338-06, 375s and to a lesser extent in the 9x3x62. The show them off at the local coffee shop, praising their attributes, These Sierras are a lot of bang for the buck also. half the price of premiums it seems...

Are there better bullets, I think so..In cup and core I really like Hornady ILs..My favorite premium bullets are Nosler, Woodleigh, GS Customs, and of late Im forgiving Barnes of the failures I had many years ago. These latest Barnes bullets are getting my attention..Im not noted for forgiveness of bullets, but Im liking what I see in the ttSX BTs in my 8x57 and 257 Ackley, may give them a try on elk later this year in my 30-06..My favorite bullet to day base on results not town talk is the Accubond, its awesome.

I talked with Craig around November/December of ‘86. My 300’s (which failed miserably) were purchased around ‘82/83. Craig told me of his use of them on a recent hunt, and that he was satisfied with their performance. I’m sure his were of a much more recent production than mine. My biggest “heartburn” was the excuses handed to me by Sierra. Their response to my questions, guaranteed that I would “NEVER” buy another Sierra product. A little honestly from Sierra, may have left me with a different attitude!

Excuse me, while I go take my blood pressure meds.....thinking about it, still pisses me off! memtb

memtb,
I can understand that, I had the same problem with Barnes and Connie Brooks, who wasn't even interested in poor results, oh they changed them like I was suggesting even after she told me how smart she was...All I suggested was to copy the old Remington bronze point to start the expansion..They eventually decided to use plastic it seems, took them 5 years to figure it out..She never called and apoligised!

250 gr TTSX

Same ballistics as a 150gr 308 Win load.

I'm getting a little irritated by Barnes. I emailed them back before the Holidays and wasn't expecting anything as far as responses from them until after the first of the year. Well here it is pushing the end of January and no email. I emailed them again and still have yet to hear from them. A simple FU would be sufficient if they don't want to entertain my question.

This isn't the first time I have been snubbed by them. I sent an email requesting load data for another rifle cartridge several years ago and never a response.

The original Barnes folks sold out to the same corporation as owns Remington.
You cannot flirt with Connie Barnes anymore like Atkinson used to.
So expect little customer service unless you are a really big customer such as a commercial ammo loader.

I wonder if they are ever going to bring out a BARNES RELOADING MANUAL NUMBER 5?
NUMBER 4 happened in 2008.
A lot has changed in over a decade.
NUMBER 5 is long overdue.

Rip ...

Have used the 375 caliber Sierra bullets in both 375 H&H and the 375 Ruger. My experience has shown me that the bullets in the magazine deform their tips do to the recoil of the gun.
If one loads one cartridge at a time, each bullet is factory shaped. Each of these print very accurately in small groups.
After a few firings, the tips of the bullets in cartridges in the magazine change shape.
This is not a "good thing" for group size or for long distance shooting.
There are two bullets which I will recommend for hunting.
In my 375 Ruger, the 260 gr Nosler AB over VARGET, with Federal 215M. Load data for this is shown on the Hodgdon Powder web page. It is a very accurate load.
And the 300 gr Swift AF over H4350, with Federal 215M. Load data for this is interpreted on the Hodgdon Powder web page. Here I reduce the H4350 charge by 1.0 grains from the load shown for the 300 gr Hornady RN. The Swift A-Frame is a stiff bullet and makes for higher pressure than a simple Round Nose Soft.
This year I did buy a box of the 300 grain 375 caliber Sierra bullets. They are for a very special purpose. That purpose is for the break-in of a new barrel.
Let me add that they are also fun to shoot in the reduced load of 375 Ruger, 45.0 gr. 5744, CCI-250, for 2,000 fps.
Single load them and you will be surprised how accurate this load is for a larger bore.
I like the bullet but...
Sincerely,

A few years ago, I thought of trying an experiment.

We were going to South Africa plains game hunting.

I loaded several bullets, including the Sierra 180 grain Match King.

All these were for our 30/404.

Velocity was between 3440-3480 fps, depending on bullet makes.

I ended up shooting practically everything with the Match Kings!

They all fell apart - some were destroyed completely.

But they all killed the animals with one shot!!

Only animal I did not use them on was eland.

Everything else, including zebra, dies with one shot.

One zebra was shot less than 100 yards.

He dropped stone dead.

The bullet hit him in the shoulder, exploded and created a large cavity on the surface, but did not penetrate into his chest cavity.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
A few years ago, I thought of trying an experiment.

We were going to South Africa plains game hunting.

I loaded several bullets, including the Sierra 180 grain Match King.

All these were for our 30/404.

Velocity was between 3440-3480 fps, depending on bullet makes.

I ended up shooting practically everything with the Match Kings!

They all fell apart - some were destroyed completely.

But they all killed the animals with one shot!!

Only animal I did not use them on was eland.

Everything else, including zebra, dies with one shot.

One zebra was shot less than 100 yards.

He dropped stone dead.

The bullet hit him in the shoulder, exploded and created a large cavity on the surface, but did not penetrate into his chest cavity.

Oh the great Saeed tell it is not true.

Very body knows the MKs can not be use for hunting they are a match bullet.

Let alone being able to actually kill anything.

Are you sure you were not delusional and all those animals didn't really die.

I know that the animals I shot with them are all gone. Being eaten therefor there is no proof left that they actual died.

Who is going to tell Saeed that whenever he shot the .308 Matchkings then Walter was covering him by shooting the 375/404 at the same time?
Sincerely,

Elk aren't grizzlies or cape buffalo. A 300g GameKing should be about perfect. My friends use the 175g GameKing in their 7mm Rem Mags to great effect on elk. I've always used 150g Partitions in my 270 for elk.

Enjoy your hunt, place your shot and good luck!

Buy a box or two of Swift A-Frames.


BH63

+1 better bullet for sure

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
Buy a box or two of Swift A-Frames.


BH63

I get the Swifts for, well I won't say what I pay for them but I was thinking they would be a little harder than what i'm after. The 270gr might be my best bet when it comes to the A frame no?

Decided to go with a 300gr BTSP bullet for my Sako 85 Kodiak .375 H&H Mag. for higher downrange energy. But chose the 300gr AB (0.485 b.c.) instead because it's a bonded core bullet so it won't fragment. BTSP bullets are a bit long so these take up case capacity.

Downed a Bull Moose using the 300gr AB. Didn't work too bad. Going to give the 300gr CEB MTH L08 (0.661 b.c) a try next.

https://shop.nosler.com/nosler...ain-bullet-50ct.html

https://www.sierrabullets.com/...-caliber-300-gr-sbt/

https://cuttingedgebullets.com...tch-tactical-hunting

I killed my first and only elk with a 375 Ruger and 270 protected Hornady SpirePoint. I am not the biggest Hornaday fan, but that SpirePoint shot through a the neck of my elk at 50 yards. I think the lack of lead exposed at the tip (very little) and thickness of the jacket at the tip are what make it perform as it does.


I used that combo on my big euro boar in 2014 big bleeding buckets exit wounds. It was honest 400 pounds and the guide said 500 hundred. That Euro Boar was built heavier (maybe not physicalogically tougher) than my elk. I mean by this the hide, hair, and muscle was thicker than the elk. The elk is a lot longer if you have to due a frontal and any other bio-chemical reasons for toughness I cannot explain.

Three shots all pass throughs on that boar. The third shot broke the on leg that was pulled back as the pig was running. The only thing holding it on was skin. That last bullet took a huge chunk of bone from both the rib and lower shoulder socket (maybe sternum) and blasted it through the heart and out the hide on the other side. Death was in seconds.


If I was really worried about it, than I would use a bonded bullet (Trophy Bonded, Accubond, Swift Sirocco II) or or a mono-expander.

Im not surprised that a target bullet kills like a bolt of lightening, any bullet that explodes inside kills quickly, mostly instantly..My only concern is they fail on steep angling shots such as the Texas Heart shot, sometimes...Berger bullets designed for "5 inches of penetration" then complete disruption kill instantly?? I could converse on that claim however, "5 inches"??? c'mon!! not 4.5, 6, or on what animal, but I have not used them, although I have a box of 140 gr. .284 Hunting bullets from them, Ive had them for quite some time, don't feel good about trying them..Anyone out there used them up close and way out yonder???