Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7mm 175 gr. gameking, Use on big game.

I ended up with a box of sierra 7mm 175 gr spbt gamekings a little bit ago.

I loaded a few up with a tried load in my 7mm rem mag and they of course at 2900 fps, shot clover leaf groups from the rifle.

Now I have always had sierras turn up stellar accuracy, but have never really used them on big game, not even a deer. Sierra touts this gameking with heavy jacket, hard core. No better bullet for heavy game...

My clay bank test shows they are rather soft @100 yards, turning completely inside out. Not really throwing there core but just smearing it to oblivion. My horn 175 gr sp interlocks came out looking much better and bored deeper to boot.

Looks like the sierra may need a few 'hundred yards more to work better on larger than coyote game.

I'm new so to say, to using sierras on big game... Any on-game use with the sierra 7mm 175 gr gameking would be much appriciated.

Only one instance here, was deer hunting with a Buddy 20 years ago, he shot a monster 11 pt buck right after it jumped over an old downed cattle fence in the ribs at about 110 yards.

The buck dropped, it was a complete pass through, rifle was an old tang safety Ruger in 7mm mag.

Those old "tangers" are good guns, some even shoot pretty well...

The 175 gr SGK out of a 7RM is potent WT and hog medicine...

DF

Boomwack,

Before I new they wouldn't work I used a lot of them on elk, caribou, black bear, etc. The 175 is a especially tough bullet and worked really well on elk.

Lefty C

10-4 DF, ole Vince dropped that 200 plus pound buck in Sequoyah Co. Ok. in the fall around 1992, I remember it plain as day because I couldn't believe he would "hunt" with Sierra bullets.

Thanks gunner, lefty

The way five of these expanded for me @100 they would liquidize any deer shot threw the ribs and maybe leave a large exit.

I generally load some partitions and then some like weight and shape 'plane' cup/core bullet for sighting, lighter game, general shooting.

These sierras shoot to to very close to the same point of impact as the partitions in the same weight. There terminal performance seem quite violent compared to the last batch of hornady I had loaded for a general purpose bullet.

We drained 5 gallons of chum outta Vince's buck on dressing it, I don't remember the size of the exit, I was consumed with the half mile drag to the truck with that pig.

Surely he wasn't a Fire contributor/reader, or he would have known Sierra bullet don't kill stuff...

Oh well.

Ignorance can be bliss...

DF

IIRC, I had 130 gr Hornady interlocks in my 270. , ya, I was locked in! lol

Sounds like the WT doe I chest shot with the .240 and 90 gr. Sceanr at 3,400 fps. Nasty clean up at the skinning shed. Last time I used that combo. And they are super accurate in that gun.

DF

The 175gr Sierra SPBT are real good at killing Elk. 2900fps is where I'm at with them. I have even seen under 1" groups at 300 yards with them. Makes it easy to take difficult shots.

10-4 DF, a messy hit in the right spot is worth some heavy coin, these extreme accurate bullets may not be the toughest, but a deer and a lot of other light to medium big game wont care;]

Is 100+ yards most of the share of your shots baltz??

Accuracy of sierra bullets has always been stellar from any of my guns. Usually do not have to fiddle much,or at all with a load to get to the good spot.

Just don't here much about this bullet. Its been around for quite a while and in a popular caliber to boot.

I am not a real fan of the performance of Sierras on game, but a 175-grain bullet of any kind from a 7 mag, is going to kill jut fine.

Yep,I killed quite a few elk with them when I was into the magnum craze before I learned a lot less powder and a lot less recoil will kill elk just as dead.

I'm still kinda floating back and forth on the magnum-itise

Last falls bull fell to my .280 with 150 gr Btips.... and the whitetail buck.

My current 7mag is a trim, light hawkeye. Shoots like a dream, sharp look'n rifle that's begg'n to go hunting....

I use the 7mm in open country. Average shots are under 300 yards. Longest was 350. Last Elk was about 220.

I was wondering. At 100, they are pretty soft. Looked like a few more 'hundred it would be pretty good.

I've killed some deer with 180 gn and 225 gn sierra bullets. I've only recovered one. It traveled diagonally from shoulder to ham and was just under the skin on the biggest buck I've killed. It looked like one of the corelokt adds. The rest of them made 2 holes.

I've used the 175 SGK on elk and mule deer. It's a penetrator and is my go to bullet in my 7mm Rem Mag and yes I have used NP's as well on elk.

In my testing "Battle of the 175's" shooting into dry paper media the NP just beat out the GK by hardly an inch. Both bullets penetrated great.
I shot the media at 100 yds and the GK has no problem hanging together at the shorter distance.

I like the accuracy and BC of the GK better so went with it and had Leupold make me up a CDS for my scope based on the 175 GK at 2,950.

For funs, I love busting rocks out to 1,200 with the bullet.
That's out of a Tikka SL.

The Sierra heavy for caliber bullets in 7mm and up are in my experience totally adequate for elk.