Any feed back on the Sierra game king hp? I ask because I got these on accident but they were cheap. I have never used a HP on deer sized game before so just asking. I don't want a mess when dressing nor issues in the field.
I wanted to try a 140 over the 130's I have been using. If it ain't broke don't fix it applies here fairly well though.
Jeff

I haven't used that bullet but I have shot some SGK bullets without the hollow point. The GameKing is a fairly fragile bullet and has a reputation of not penetrating after contacting heavier bones. If it were me I would find a tougher bullet, which doesn't mean an expensive bullet. I have shot many deer with the 270Win loaded with Hornady 140 grain BTSP bullets without a single failure at ranges from 75 yards up to 300 yards without any tracking.

The 140 HPBT GK is a tougher bullet than the 140 SBT GK I have used the Sierra HPBTs with very good results (140/270; 165/06; 120/25/06) on deer. As long as you keep MV below about 3000, I think you will be pleased with the results. Oh, they also tend to be very accurate, IME.

let us know how they work out.

I have always used Sierra GK SPB bullets as I found they were consistent killers, consistently accurate, and also very linear in terms of pressure when working up loads i.e. will take heavier charges of powder giving higher velocity with no pressure spike surprises.
Used them to shoot collectively hundreds of red, fallow and whitetail deer, chamois and tahr. Mostly with 160gr Gamekings at 3000fps MV in my 7x61 rifle and now using them in 7mm-08 and 6.5-06.

quote:

Originally posted by jsh:
Any feed back on the Sierra game king hp? I ask because I got these on accident but they were cheap. I have never used a HP on deer sized game before so just asking. I don't want a mess when dressing nor issues in the field.
I wanted to try a 140 over the 130's I have been using. If it ain't broke don't fix it applies here fairly well though.
Jeff

Shoot the deer. It will die. You don't need (or want) a "hard" bullet for deer. That said, the GK HP has a reputation for being a bit less expansive than the same company's exposed lead tip bullets.

I will stick with the tried and true 130's in my .270's for deer, but you should find very little difference in the two weights. Adjust your zero and check it at extended ranges for the slightly slower and heavier bullet. Provided you hit the deer where you intend, the deer won't know the difference.

I have shot several hundred of the sierra 130's. Never lost a deer to them but on several occasions they were pretty violent. Out of the several dozen I have shot only a couple didn't shed the jacket. Shots were all behind the shoulder, no bone other than ribs.
I was hoping that the 140 jacket may be a bit different, expand and drive on through.
Accurate, yes in most rifles I have shot them in. I am only a little over an hour from them. Even their seconds shot extremely well in 22-45 caliber. Have probably shot well over 15K of them in the past.
What brought this on was the big difference in performance I saw when switching to a Hornady in my 25-06.
Jeff

The 140 HPBT is definitely a tougher bullet than the 130GK.

Plu, you'll b pushing them at a lower velocity, which should improve penetration and reduce mo eat damage.

quote:

Originally posted by jsh:
I have shot several hundred of the sierra 130's. Never lost a deer to them but on several occasions they were pretty violent.
Jeff

It is not unusual for a deer to have a violent reaction when shot with a centerfire rifle.

Shoot them with a "soft" bullet and their violence usually ends rather quickly. Shoot them with a "hard" bullet and their violence may continue for quite some time and distance.

Somehow the Sierra Game Kings have gotten a bad rap. I think this comes from high velocity close shots from a 300 win mag at 50 yards for example which any cup and core may not give you the result you may want. I can tell you with confidence that they are killers HPBT or SPBT and shoot very well out of any rifle I've tried them in. Try to keep impact velocity under 2800 fps and you will have meat on the table that isn't blood shot to hell.

quote:

Originally posted by olarmy:
The 140 HPBT is definitely a tougher bullet than the 130GK. . . . .

That's what Sierra told me. That bullet shoots very well in my .270, but Sierra advised me not to use it on blacktail deer because it was too tough. The guy I talked to was concerned it wouldn't expand on such a small animal.

quote:

Originally posted by B L O'Connor:

quote:

Originally posted by olarmy:
The 140 HPBT is definitely a tougher bullet than the 130GK. . . . .

That's what Sierra told me. That bullet shoots very well in my .270, but Sierra advised me not to use it on blacktail deer because it was too tough. The guy I talked to was concerned it wouldn't expand on such a small animal.

Most all of the Sierra HP's designated for hunting big game are specifically made with a HP to help to ensure expansion precisely because they are made with thicker jackets and sometimes also with harder cores. It serves the same purpose in Sierras as "fluted tips" in other manufacturers hunting bullets.

If I were going to try one I would do a bit of research on the Manufacturers recommended usage. Especially optimum muzzle velocity and range. Some of them are designed with specific magnum calibers in mind and are made VERY tough.

Personally I prefer heavy for caliber bullets in their pro hunter line. They allow for a less narrow window of operation.

They are a great deer bullet and you can load them beyond 3000fps. I have used them in the 270wby and they performed flawlessly, and yes, they are very accurate in most rifles.

I used one on a fork horn mule deer recently, At the shot he ran in a circle, probably about 75 yards and fell over. the frontal entrance was caliber size and very little blood on the ground, internal damages was as usual. However I have had the same results on whitetail with the so called soft 130 gr. Sierras in my .270..That said the deer were all about 125 to 135 pounds, not much to expand on.

I think I have probably had better luck with the 130 gr. Speer, Hornady, and my go to is the 130 gr. Nosler, but for deer it seems to that most any of the recognized brands of bullets will work well enough on deer in the 270. I would not hesitate to use the 140 GKs again in the .270