I was breaking in a barrel of a new rifle, a Browning A bolt in 25-06, the other day. I had quickly loaded 90 grain Sierra hollow points over 45 grains of IMR 4895 in Winchester brass and CCI200 primers. Just stuff I had sitting around. Anyway, it shot great! 20 shots in 1.25 inches at 100 yards. I was wondering how these bullets would perform on whitetails?

Bob257

Bob,

The time for a sailor to reef is when he first thinks of it! Since there is doubt in your mind just load up a heavier bullet for actual hunting and save those for varmints.

Call Sierra and ask their Tec Reps. 1-800-223-8799.
The .25-06 is a very effective deer round. I've watched it kill lots of them and bigger stuff. I liked it's performance so much, I had a custom rifle built in the .25-284, which is just a short action .25-06.
Like it's little brother, the .243, it's performance is dependent on good game bullets. Give them a good bullet and even the elk class stuff goes down alot better than you'd think. Use the wrong bullet and you could have a real problem. I've literally watched inappropriate bullets break up on tough hide. There are much more appropriate bullets for the .25-06. Any of the 120 gr. bullets designed for it work fine. E

You know, while my first thought was the same as Savage 99's post, maybe we should rethink this.

There is a picture of a hell of a nice whitetail buck in the 4th Edition of the Sierra Manual that was shot with a 90 grain HPBT GameKing.

Actually, I do not know why they would not work just fine. My dad and I shot a number of deer with 244 Remington's and an 85 grain Sierra spitzer.

The biggest mule deer buck I have hanging in the house I shot in Wyoming with a 244 Remington using a 90 grain Speer soft point.

Gee, I wonder why I am hunting with that darned 300 Weatherby these days?

Seriously, that bullet will work just fine, given proper bullet placement.

R F

They are a very accurate bullet in my .257 AI, but they are not constructed for consistent penetration and expansion on deer-sized game despite the "Gameking" name. Sierra states this in their manual. It's not so much that they won't kill a deer, because they will--it's that at .25-06 velocities they may not penetrate a shoulder and they are liable to make an unholy mess, spoiling a lot of meat. They make for a wicked long range load for coyotes and antelope, though.

If you want a high velocity round for deer, try some 100grain Nosler partitions. The 100 grain Sierra and Hornady bullets are also intended for deer sized game and are plenty explosive, believe me.

Bob257,
They work extremely well! You're not going to shoot through a deer lengthwise, but for a lung shot,shame on the deer.
Stepchild

257Bob,

Excellent bullet of choice. Works extremely well in my 257 Bob AI on Texas whitetail from 75 to 250 yards. The occasional coyote or a feral hog would not be long for this world either.

Ol' John

They will probably kill a deer but they are a poor choice for the task; way too frangible. Killed a hog with one once with Bob, critter dropped like a sack of potatos. Bullet FRAGMENTS did not penetrate. ALL of both shoulder reduced to goo. Good tool for varmints, which I believe is their intended purpose.

You're using a pretty light bullet for deer. I'd be inclined to go with the Nosler Partition. I've heard nothing but good things about it's killing power. You want to be certain you have a bullet that will open up "inside" the deer, not pass on through. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I shot a lot of deer with a 90 grain bullet loaded in a 25-08, however it was a barnes original bullet. The varmit bullet is not a good choice but any high quality light weight bullet from Nosler (partition) Speer (grand slam) etc. should be up to the task and it sound like this gameking bullet is too.

[ 11-25-2003, 04:25: Message edited by: marley ]

Sir: In the late 80's I killed two deer one year with that bullet, loaded to book max in a Ruger #1, .25-06. Each shot close to 100 yards, each little deer at approximately 100 pounds, each standing broadside. One shot broke a rib, pulped the top of the heart, jellified nearly everything between ribs and diaphram, broke the opposite rib and ended up totally mangled under the skin. On the other deer, the shot was a little higher, missed the heart, jellified everything, but never made it through the opposite side ribs. One deer fell over in its tracks, the other took a couple of steps, waggled its tail, sideways, pointed down, and fell over. I switched to a 100 grain soft point to get a little more penetration. I felt the 90 hp might not have been such a good killer, if shot through a shoulder, for example. Never had the chance, but I'll bet that bullet would turn a coyote inside out. Good shooting, ned

Bob257,

They shoot great in all of my .25-06's too BUT they failed miserably on deer. The only thing I ever found them to be good for is punching holes in paper. Too heavy for varmints, too light for deer. Lawdog

Thanks for more input. I think I'll work on a load with a heavier bullet.

Bob257

Bob257,

I’ve been working with this new load for my three .25-06’s and it’s been giving me great results on deer. A Nosler 115 gr. Partition ahead of 58.2 gr. of RE 22 giving me an average of 3,130 fps. with groups going 3/4”. As with all loads you get on line start low and work up. Just though I would throw this in. Lawdog

To any of the above posters,
I have several boxes of 100-115 Nosler partitions that i'll trade for 90-100gr. Sierra's. This makes the third time i've made this offer and so far no takers.PM me if interested.
And any deer that drops and the other took two steps, what more do you want?
And you ain't supposed to shoot them through the shoulders, (lung shots work better), if your planning to eat the meat.
Stepchild

stepchild 2,

quote:

---

To any of the above posters,
I have several boxes of 100-115 Nosler partitions that i'll trade for 90-100gr. Sierra's. This makes the third time i've made this offer and so far no takers.PM me if interested.

---

I would love to trade you but the reason I believe no one has taken you up on your offer is they, like me, don't have a full box to trade. You want to trade bullet for bullet? I'll trade you bullet for bullet for your 115 Gr. Partitions. Lawdog

Gary,
I don't recall saying i'd trade bullet for bullet.Box for box would be a more equal trade.
Let me know? Nosler Partitions are popular around the world, but the few that I have shot(25 cal) didn't impress me favorably. Velocity dropped dramatically when switching from 100gr Sierra to 115 Partitions, I don't remember the numbers but was around a 400fps sacrifice for 15gr. of bullet wt. Not a good trade off in my opinion. These were early production, brass jackets? and too hard to seal properly. They weren't accurate either.
I switched back to Sierra and never looked back, that was around 30 years ago.
My go to deer rifle now is a 700 Remington in 22/250 Ackley Improved, shooting 55gr. Sierra spitzers. And it does an impressive job to say the least.
Stepchild

I used to hunt Texas deer with the 90 gr Sierra 270 HP with great success. I know its not the same bullet but it is the same general experience. The last one I killed was a medium-large Axis buck through the neck at about 60 yds. It shattered the neck and exited. They are pretty tough for a varmint bullet. Having said all that, these days I hunt for horns more than meat and want a bullet that will allow me to take more demanding shots if needs be.

Lawdog_Gary,
Thanks for the load. I'm always interested in loads that work for others. I'll start low and work up. Has anyone tried Magpro? Seems like it may be a good one.

Bob257

Bob 257,
The biggest mule deer I ever killed in my life was with my Bob 257 and the Sierra 90 gr. HPBT. This deer dropped like someone had parked a 747 on it's head. Ask stepchild 2 as he was there and witnessed it. I think anybody that would tell you this bullet is not adequate for deer has a big hat but no cattle! Jim

Jim: I don't know about their status regarding hats or cattle, but here is what Sierra has to say about their 257, 90gr HPBT:

this is from the Sierra manual, 4th Edition:
pg 75: Referring to the HPBT GameKings:"We also produce .224 diameter 55 grain, .243 diameter 85 grain and .257 diameter 90 grain HPBT's which despite their GameKing nomenclature are intended for varminting "

referring to 87gr Varminter and 90 gr HPBT: "Although designed as varmint bullets, both have taken expanded roles...Either will perform as a varmint bullet at high velocities, but may also be used as a medium game bullet from smaller capacity cartridges such as the 250-3000 Savage"

These bullets worked extremely well for small South Texas whitetails providing rapid expansion and essentially instanteous kills from distances of 50 to 250 yards. They are worked fine on coyotes and javelina. I found them to be very accurate in a heavy barreled Remington 700.

For relatively larger bodied deer, for example, mule deer, though I would recommend a heavier and less frangible bullet.

Olarmy,
This is from the been there done that reloading manual, first edition,page one:
The Sierra Gameking bullets kill like frickin lightning. I have never in 40 years of hunting and reloading had a Sierra bullet fail when it was properly applied. Unless the deer start wearing kevlar vests I believe I will be sticking with Sierra bullets. Jim

[ 11-30-2003, 09:41: Message edited by: Jim White ]

Jim:
yep, varmit bullets kill deer like lightning on broadside lungs shots. I just worry that if I have to take a quartering shot, where more penetration is required, they may not make it to the vitals.

Sierra bullets that are designed for big game have a reputation for fast expansion. I would infer that varmit bullets by Sierra would expand even faster. But I gather from your post that you've never had a problem with lack of adequate penetration with Sierra's.

I wasn't questioning your experience, just attempting to provide some data from the manufacturer...

Olarmy,
No offense taken. It's just that as you can no doubt tell I'm a Sierra fan and have been for a lotta years. There is certainly nothing wrong with Noslers and all the rest of the "premium" bullets but I can't see or justify spending the long dollar on them when Sierra's have served me so well over the years. I have never had a failure so naturally I think very highly of them. Someone else may have had one blow up on a rib so they don't like them and will never give them a try again. Like I said I have been using them almost exclusively for 40 years and I don't plan on changing anytime soon. If I'm able to load for another 40 I'll still be reaching for the green box when it comes time to seat a bullet. And no I don't work for Sierra! Jim

Jim White I know this doesn't even come close to the original question but do you make adapter heads for tripods????

Thanks for your time

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz

Mark, No I do not. You must have me confused with someone else. Jim

Gracias Jim

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz

49.0 grains of IMR 4350, CCI-200 or BR-2, 117 grain Sierra SPBT.....super deer medicine in a 25-06! Nuff said! GHD PS: If your 25-06 doesn't like this load, sell it!!!!

Well, all of this discussion has got me pumped up to go out and try some 90gr Sierra HP's I've got loaded.

Several years ago, I inherited a .25 Remington Model 14 from my father-in-law (who had inherited it from his father-in-law!) I located a set of dies, ordered 100 .30 Remington empty brass, and set to work to find a load. I had some 90gr Sierra HP's on hand that seemed like the perfect match for the offset tubular magazine of of the Model 14, which will allow you to use pointed bullets without the nose bearing against the primer ahead of it. As a bonus, the HP design would not deform in the tubular magazine. I found a load with IMR 3031 that would clock about 2900 fps (pretty respectable from the little cartridge) and shoot groups under 2 moa.

Then I put it in the closet and just about forgot about it. Since I had great success with another of my father-in-laws guns, a BAR .270, on feral hogs last weekend, maybe I'll take the old Remington out next weekend and see whether a whitetail will even notice if it gets shot.

I have and my kids and grandkids have shot many deer with the 60 gr. Hornady and Sierra with the .222 Rem. but that does not mean its a deer gun unless used properly...

Same with that 90 gr. 25-06...It will kill like the hammer of Thor if you shoot a whitetail broadside in the heart/lung area at up to 200 yards and perhaps beyond...but don't expect it to kill properly with a angling shot or a rear end shot....

Any caliber will kill if one adjust his hunting technique to the caliber...I shot many mule deer and whitetail with a 22 L.R. in my model 63 Winchester as a young cowboy working on a ranch we had leased in Mexico many years ago...I shot them twice real quick in the heart/lung area at 25 to 35 yards without getting off my horse and they made few tracks....I just sat there and waited for them to go down...didn't take long at all.....

If you want to take them as they come then I would opt for a 120 gr. Nosler in that 25-06....That way you won't wound or pass up the buck of a lifetime....