Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Experience with 220 grain Sierra round nose or 220 grain Federal factory ammo?

I'm interested in playing with the 220 grain Sierra round nose in my .30-06 and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with that particular bullet to share. I'm interested in loading experience or field experience.

I tried the 220 grain Hornady 10 years ago in a 30-06 and was disappointed when I saw that the 165 Interlock fired from a .308 penetrated just as deep and held together better. Perhaps this Sierra might be different, perhaps not. I do think I would enjoy using 220 grain load in my 30-06 for hunting bears and moose in the brush.

I have been using the 220 gr Sierra RN for quite a few years in my .06 loaded with 58 gr of 4831( Work up).

Quite a few complete pass throughs or found under the hide on the far side.I just killed a medium size cow elk a few weeks ago with a neck shot and the bullet completely severed the spine. I know I have killed at least 15 elk with them.

I don't get involved on tracing wound channels or digging for bullets. I just kill elk and very successfully with them.

Most elk killed have been DRT and I have killed some out past 350 yrds ( lasered)

That sounds like good performance to me. Going by the number of elk you have killed with them you must have been loading them for quite a while which points to a lot of satisfactory results!

I'm assuming it is H-4831 you are using and not IMR-4831? Have you ever chronographed that load?

I bought a partial box of these from a member on another forum so I'm going to try and work up a load as soon as they arrive.

Yes, it is H4831. I have never chronographed them but believe the velocity to be in the 2500 fps realm.

The Sierra seems tougher to me than the Hornady in this case. I think it may have a harder core (similar to the obsolete 170 grain 7mm Pro-Hunter - which was very tough.)

If it is within 250 yds, and I am using the 06, the 220 grain RN is my first bullet of choice, followed by the 180 grain RN..

I load them also in the 300 Win Mag... with devastating results..
that I look at a range of 350 yds, but with that much sectional density, if you can lob it in there, it still will penetrate like no tomorrow still..

don't forget the wonderful but often overlooked Nosler 220 grain SMP partitions if you are going after big heavy mean stuff...
( like my ex wife for instance... )

it took very little experimenting before i settled on 180s for everything asked of the 30-06 (and the .300 win. too)... i played with the 200 NP for one guided hunt, but i don't believe it does anything better than a 180 would...

I'm surprised the 220gr. Hornady didn't perform better. They usually build a pretty tough bullet.

I'm still highly pizzed at Sierra for dropping that 170 gr. round nose. That bullet will shoot genuine clover leaves from my M70 Featherweight and .50" groups from my custom FN Mauser. Even my Ruger #1A gives very decent groups with that bullet. I'm definitely hoarding the very few I have left.
This makes me wonder???? Is Sierra gonna drop that 220 gr. round nose bullet too? They along with Hornady have discontinued the 160/165 gr. round nose 6.5 bullets not all that long ago.
Paul B.

Hornady also dropped the 154g RN in .284...(the 175g RN still survives last I heard though).