Sierra 165gr HPBT Gameking vs Sierra 150gr Prohunter (SPT) in .308

[Dale SH]

Gamekings are phenomenal in terms of accuracy but require an impact velocity not exceeding 2300 fps or they will break up and cause severe meat damage. I download them to 2800fps in my 243 purely for use on jackal and Lynx and they still cause serious damage if the animal is shot within 200m (not that this is a concern on vermin) but on antelope I consider it a major factor.
They work well in my 7x57 in 160 grain at 2600fps which means that my impact velocity at 150 meters is +- 2300 fps. They are in my opinion not well suited to the hyper speed magnums whereby impact velocities are too high. The pro hunter has a thicker jacket and will retain more weight at slightly higher impact velocities.
I've never shot the hollow points so I can't comment on that.

[Andrew Leigh]

When used intelligently and within the manufacturers specs I believe that you cannot beat a Sierra for accuracy and terminal performance.

Would not take issue on accuracy but on terminal performance we will just have to disagree. Have yet to recover a SGK from a larger animal, the bullet simply disintegrates.

As a result I moved over to 180gr. Accubonds for the bush. First Kudu shot at circa 60m with the classic "blad skoot", bullet exited with a 20mm wound, no meat damage. Next was last week, shot a Blue Wildebeest, again the classic "blad skoot". The perfectly mushroomed bullet was lodged just beneath the skin on the opposite side, no meat damage. I wanted to keep the bullet to weigh etc. but there was a young 8 year old boy (mad little hunter) who could not take his eyes off the bullet so I gave it to him.

By the way I shot a Springbok with 120gr. Pro Hunters last week and two piggies so not averse to Sierra's but I cannot ignore my personal experience.

[Webster]

That is the beauty of this - you like what works for you and you would be a fool to change. At 60m I would have shot the BWB in the head and also had no meat damage because I have absolute faith in the accuracy of my bullets. (If the truth was told I would have to admit that I have 3 boxes of Sellier and Bellot in 270 loaded with the 130gr Barnes X bullet - but please do not tell anyone!)

For some strange reason I love the Rhino bullets even though I know I sacrifice accuracy. They are really very tough and give no meat damage either. The 85gr .243 offering is actually quite accurate and I use it when my Sierras run out.

If I am only going for head or neck shots then I take my .308 with a silencer and bipod and use the 155gr Sierra Palma match - it cannot be beaten in that application.

All said and done my fav is the .243 85gr Sierra HPBT Gameking.

[zakiwi]

The only cup and core (non-bonded) bullet worth using for hunting is a Nosler Partition ...

All the rest will let you down when you drive them fast or hit something hard.

And yes I do love my Gamekings .... For the range.

[Messor]

The only cup and core (non-bonded) bullet worth using for hunting is a Nosler Partition ...

All the rest will let you down when you drive them fast or hit something hard.

And yes I do love my Gamekings .... For the range.

Kiwi, hunting opinions are based on personal experience. The Sierra Gameking bullet is the most used hunting bullet in the world.
So telling them they aren't worth anything is kinda...wrong. I get what you are saying, and newbies should use things that would better their chances, but 100 newbies together won't outperform me in a hunting scenario with my gamekings. We should strive for bullet placement 90% over worrying what the bullet will do, a part of that equation is making sure you can actually hit something at a specific distance. No super duper bullet will correct bad shot placement, and no fragmenting bullet will hold up on strong bone, Webster was correct in saying "when used correctly", hunting is 95% of hunters using their equipment efficiently and correctly.

Lets agree to disagree, I know what I am talking about, my deepfreeze is truly hard to close, but I also value other people's opinions, and I don't see any problem with Web's choice, he knows what to do to get results, now he must just teach his friends to shoot :)

[zakiwi]

Kiwi, hunting opinions are based on personal experience ...

Maybe I've got too many magnums ...

... but I absolutely agree with you regarding placement.

[Webster]

Kiwi, hunting opinions are based on personal experience. The Sierra Gameking bullet is the most used hunting bullet in the world.
So telling them they aren't worth anything is kinda...wrong. I get what you are saying, and newbies should use things that would better their chances, but 100 newbies together won't outperform me in a hunting scenario with my gamekings. We should strive for bullet placement 90% over worrying what the bullet will do, a part of that equation is making sure you can actually hit something at a specific distance. No super duper bullet will correct bad shot placement, and no fragmenting bullet will hold up on strong bone, Webster was correct in saying "when used correctly", hunting is 95% of hunters using their equipment efficiently and correctly.

Lets agree to disagree, I know what I am talking about, my deepfreeze is truly hard to close, but I also value other people's opinions, and I don't see any problem with Web's choice, he knows what to do to get results, now he must just teach his friends to shoot :)

+1

As I said earlier we must recognise that Sierras are not all the same - far from it! Their degree of toughness varies considerably. If you had to shoot a 165gr GK SPT (not HPBT) in a 300 Weatherby into a Kudu/Moose at 50m and hit shoulder bone then you are looking for a mess .... BUT, if you shoot a 180gr Prohunter at 2400fps in your .308 into that same animal at 50m and hit shoulder bone the result will be very different indeed. The Gamekings are not short range bullets! The short range bullet is the Prohunter, a flat base bullet that is tougher than the GK. The toughest of the lot is the Hollow Point Boat Tail Gameking range - very different from the exposed lead tip Gamekings! Very different indeed.
Sierra staff happily provide advice on what to use and when you undertsand their product you will realise why there is really no need for premium bullets on non dangerous game. I am not knocking premiums because they work really well - I just prefer Sierras.
The rider to all this is that I am only right for ME! I have found what I like and what suits my mental process. I have used premiums and I will again but I prefer the accuracy that comes with Sierra - you cannot beat it! Stick to what works for you - just do not say it is the only thing worth using. 1000's of animals fall each year to the std PMP range - you cannot argue with that.

[nicovdlinde]

I will be testing the sierra pro hunter 125 ,150 and 180 as soon as my chrony arrives,I currently use the 165 gameking hollowpoints but have been struggling to get hold of them recently. I will let you know about the results

[Webster]

thanks Nico.

[klippies]

Just spoke to Johan ffrom Camdix, they have in stock