Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Sierra GameKing 140 gr bullet in 270 WSM?

I'm just curious.

I've never killed anything with a Sierra bullet. Speer, Nosler, Winchester, Remington, Hornady, and Barnes bullets I've killed with, but never Sierra. I've shot some beautiful longrange groups with Sierra Match Kings, mind you.

So the other day I got curious about a box of .277 cal 140 gr Game King bullets I won in a long-ago football bet, so I loaded them in 270WSM cases over a moderate load of proven powder that I've been driving 140 gr Accubonds with, and today I shot some groups.

Five 3-shot groups measured well under 1 M.O.A.: largest was 0.743", and smallest was 0.332", average was a shade over 0.5". It's hard to ignore a hunting bullet that shoots 1/2 MOA out of a hunting rifle with a hunting scope.

So the question is this: does anyone have experience with the Game King 140 gr on elk? Does it get the job done at 50 as well as 350 yards? 'Cause if it does, I just might load up with Game Kings instead of Accubonds for November.

Doc, Sierra GK's are infamous enough for slipping the core loose from the jacket that it's not a bullet I have ever even considered for elk.

Not to say it wouldn't work- of course it would, placed right- but is it the BEST choice? Elk are big animals. Not exactly sub-MOA critters <g>.

However if you are past the obsession stage with elk, and into the experimentation stage, then I would welcome the data point, should you decide to use that bullet.

Not an elk guy. However, if you are the kind of hunter who can and will actually use the kind of accuracy your equipment allows you in real elk hunting (or other) situation, then there really is nothing wrong with such a bullet. My "elk" have all been moose, the "slightly" larger cousin of ol' wapiti. I have used Game kings a few times. Judging the "wrecks" by the holes rather than the wreckage, they have worked splendidly. They are hardly an all-purpose bullet. But then I don't figure one shoots tight clustering bullets in order to place them randomly.

That is about the last bullet I would choose for elk..My top choice for the .270 is the 150 or 160 gr. Nosler partition.

I wouldn't use either one I shoot piles of Sierra's every year in practice,and load work up while on my way to a load for a good hunting bullet.Sierra's are very accurate bullets,but I would not use them on an elk unless I had no other options.With all the really good 270 bullets out there today,I'd load a 150 Partition, a 130 TSX,130 Swift Aframe,etc.,etc.

I have NEVER picked a bullet for hunting based on the fact that it shot slightly smaller groups,but was of questionable construction. It's ass-backward logic.

Discussing bullet's up here in Wisconsin with various hunters (Mostly Deer), I got the impression the Sierra GK is a fine, accurate bullet. However, more than one person has told me that with factory loaded GK's they got fliers now and then. Could be the shooter, I thought so I was going on a Russian Boar Hunt, and my 30-06 likes 180 grain bullet's so I bought a box on sale and tried 9 of them on the range. All 9 were fine. I went on my hunt and shot at a Boar at 50 yards standing still. Missed. The guide said I was a foot high. Later, a got another chance at about 75 yards and put the bullet exactly where I wanted and the Boar was dead before he hit the ground. Flier? Maybe. Me? Maybe? But with all the other good Bullet's out there, I won't try using the Game King on a Elk. Too much money on an Elk hunt to take a chance. I don't feel good about blaming a bullet when it could have just been my own fault, But without shooting more than 11 rounds, I don't want to take any chances. i'll stick with the Hornady Interbond. Just my two cents.

i wouldn't use game kings for elk. get a proven elk bullet, such as the partition, tbbc, etc. and hunt. so what if it only groups 1.5" @ 100. that's still inside a normal size cantelope at 300 yards. ymmv

Doc,

My buddy has a collection of .308 gamekings,fired from a 30-06 into deer,nearly every one of them showed seperation of core and jacket,he has more than a dozen examples.

A few years back when he was going to Africa,he showed me his collection,and I loaded a bunch of 165 partitions for his 30-06.
He took everything from impala to eland with perfect success,all one shot kills.

The gamekings that kill but come apart on 150 pound deer,might not make it to the vitals on an elk,a properly placed partition will. If you go with the gamekings,avoid shoulder shots and aim at the lungs or spine,actually that's what I've done on most of my elk anyway.

The 140 's are great for antelope or deer,but light for elk.I have kiiled quite a few elk with30 cal 180 gr Game Kings and 7mm mag in 160 gr Gmae Kings. That 270WSM is going to push that particular bullet faster than what it was designed for, even for deer or antelope.

It is not so much a bad bullet or poor design,it is pople just pushing thme too fast. They definietely were not designed for magnum velocities.
I too have jar full of them. Some with core apart, some a nice mushroom.Funny thing, they all came out of dead animals

I agree that some gamekings are tougher than others,the 7mm 160 grain version has exited on everything that I've shot with it.

His collection of Sierra bullets also came from very dead critters,all deer. So we can't exactly say they don't work,I can't remember shooting anything with a gameking that didn't die.

And one more thing,I can't really tell the difference between gamekings and accubonds,both seem to be a lttle tougher than ballistic tips.

BobinNH: That's why I asked the question. Thanks for your reply.

saddlesore, ruraldoc... thanks for the input, guys. I've had my suspicions about the suitability of the GK's, that's why I asked the question.

My upcoming elk hunt has been 2 years in the planning (and putting money aside for!), so I want to have complete confidence in every piece of equipment I take, including my bullets. I'm working with 130 gr TSX's, 140 gr Accubonds, and 150 gr Partitions.

The GK's look like they'll be fine for practice loads, but based on feedback I'll leave them at home when I head out for Wyoming.

DR,

I use the 140 accubonds in my 270WSM on deer,they work great but I had one fail to exit the offside chest wall on a big Montana buck at 50 yards Total pentration was only a few inches after center punching the scapula on the way in. A bullet that fails to exit the chest cavity on a broadside deer makes me nervous on elk. I'd go with the TSX or Partition given the choices that you mention.

... or, a heavier Accubond like the 160-gn...

... which is a 7mm bullet, necessitating the purchase of another rifle... which, come to think of it, isn't a bad idea! I really do need a 7mm rifle or two... a 7x57 and a 7mm Mag for me, and a 7mm-08 for my daughter...

Now that is a logical thought process!

Going to a heavier bullet for elk is always a better idea. The 150 gr partitions will serve you well

Those folks that have used Sierras for hunting have mostly been successful, I have never lost an animal with one that I can recall..but if I were using them I would be very carefull and not take just any shot offered, and in todays elk hunting that just might leave you coming home empty handed..better to use a bullet that will penetrate a bull from stem to stern these days, and take advantage of that one window of opertunity you might or might not get..Also know the terrain you hunt, if its open sidehills then most bullet work, if its nasty, steep, dark timber then best use a .338 and 300 gr. Woodleighs..

And that is how I tend to operate as well. While I appreciate fine accuracy when shooting paper, in the field I usually can't tell much difference between 2 MOA loads and the itty bitty groupers, so I generally go with the better of the bullets.

Most people don't have to have more than a very few boxes of premiums to have many more bullets than they will ever shoot at game. I won't live long enough to shoot all the premiums I have at game animals. And, while I will seek better shots many times, I don't wait for perfect shots either most of the time. Those who do are better men than I.

I would personally stick with your 140gr Accubonds. The performance of this bullet in my 2 270WSMs on elk, moose, bears, deer has got me hunting with it all of last season over my 300WM with 180gr Accubonds.

My handloads of 140ABs and the factory Winchester Supreme ones my wife shoots perform flawlessly at various distances....mostly all 1shot double-lung complete pass-thru penetrations with major damage. Small entrance, huge exits. Puts the animal down.

I liked the performance of both 140gr ABs in my 270WSM and 180's in my 300WM that I traded all of my TSX's in both calibers for Accubonds for reloading. I am getting about 3260ft/s and a 5 shot grouping of 0.217" @ 100metres with one of the Tikka T3 LS 270WSM and the other is under 0.5"-but my wife prefers the factory ammo and it shoots about the same out of her rifle that is identical to mine.