What bullet would perform the best for deer and maybe an elk in the 30-06. Just looking for a good cup and core. Thanks in advance for your input.

I've had super accuracy and very good performance with either the 180 Horn flat base (which is always my go to 30 cal bullet to check accuracy in a new gun) and or the 180 Sierra either the flat base or the boat tail.

If pushed to choose I'd choose the 180 Horn for no reason other than I've used it more.

Grab some IMR 4350 and run the bullet to 2700 and you'll be golden!

Dober

As Mark said, both will work. The Sierra has a 3% antimony lead-alloy core, while the Hornady has a 4% core, plus the Interlock ring--which may or may not make it tougher, though I have a few "expired" Interlocks in my collection that are expanded right back to the ring and no further. But at the standard .30-06 muzzle velocity of 2700 either will work.

Like Mark, I have used more Hornady Spire Points (going back to before they had the Interlock ring) but lately have been using a lot of Sierras. When started at moderate velocities they work pretty darn well!

Well I guess maybe I don't need to change anything then. I have been shooting the 140gr Hornady Interlock in my .270 for a long time and since I just purchased a 30-06 I need to get a supply of bullets I thought now would be the time to ask the question. With all of the great and some not so great information going around on this site it makes a person have second thoughts on alot of things.

If'n you go with the Horn, I'd no doubt go flat base as for whatever reason it's always shot for me tons better than their boat tails.

Sierra, it don't matter they both have shot very well for me.

Dober

I lean a little toward the Hornady if elk is included.

I have had exceptional accuracy, value and performance with every Hornady bullet I've tried. the .224 50 vmax and SPSX, the 55 .224 FMJ, the .257 100 SPIL, the 7mm 139 and 154 SPIL's and 154 IB the .308 165 SPIL and IB's too. The pistol bullets XTPs are superb also.

My bullet for everything is the 180 grain Hornady spire point. It's taken elk, bighorn sheep, muleys, mtn goat, blavk bear & moose. My handload is 56 grains of IMR 4350, 180grain Spire Point, Winchester primer. It's accurate & deadly out of my 30/06.
Never a problem. CB

The Sierra's are more accurate in my .308, but the Hornady's are accurate enough for the ranges I shoot and I have heard more good things about how they perform on game, so they are the one's I would pick.

And I'd do the opposite, again for no real reason other than I've used more Sierras.

I got hooked on Sierras and Noslers early on, and have had no reason to change.

I'd guess either would work fine though.

6 in one, half a dozen in the other.

Grain for grain and bullet for bullet, both are solid choices for basic, no frills loading and both are capable nonetheless.

Don't overlook the Speer 180 grain spitzer Hotcor. The flat based version. I have used this bullet out of all my 30-06 rifles, mostly using IMR 4350 but also some H4831 and never a failure seen. This is a very good elk bullet and works just right on deer too. I feel it is a bit tougher than either the Hornady or Sierra bullets.

Have you thought about the 180 ProHunter instead of the Game King?

i like the remington core locts too. they can still be had from cabelas for less than $20 a hundred. they shoot great in my 06

i've killed a pile of whitetails with both bullets in 140gn 270. both kill great. i use more hornady then any thing else.

Both deer and elk? Personally, I would load 165-grain Hornady Interlocked Spire Points and never look back. The 165 will kill the crap out of both and it shoots wonderfully.

That would be my choice.

Steve

I won't comment on this - at least not in any negative way- except to say that I've used both; probably more InterLockeds in more calibers that the Sierras. However, Sierras have always done a fine job of holing the animals I've called on them to hole. And although the Hornady product sometimes gets better "hunter" reviews, in one instance I drove two different specimens, one each of InterLocked and GameKing, each weighing 250 grains, at a moose which was standing somewhere beyond 387 yards - the distance I was able to generate in my rangefinder at serious sub-zero temps from the gut pile a week after the main event. The Hornady stuck inside the far side of the animal. The GameKing, which had encountered basically the same stuff just a few inches apart exitted. I recovered the jacket in the snow. The core went into powdery snow too deep to find. The hide had apparently held the jacket just long enough to allow the core to leave a bit sooner. Either bullet would have done the job alone and either would have been considered a fine choice under the circumstances. (I have had three instant drops on moose over the years. One was a Barnes-X. The other two were one InterLocked and one GameKing each, both at less than 220 yards.)

Maybe the Interlock gets more raves becaue it often looks prettier when found under the hide on the far side, a classic mushroom back to the Interlock ring. The Sierras can separate--though as you noted, this usually happens do AFTER they have done their work.

Though not always. About 35 years ago I shot a muley buck bouncing up a slope about 100 yards away with a 130 Sierra from a .270 Winchester. The bullet entered at the rear of the rib cage, and the buck dropped right there. Only when skinning him did I discover the jacket just inside the entrance hole, against the ribs. The core had gone on into the chest and killed him, pretty much instantly.

At the time, being somewhat naive and a new student of Bob Hagel's book, I thought the bullet had "failed." But I have never seen the jacket leave so early in a great many Sierras since--though often when the bullets are found under the hide on the far side, the jacket and core are not connected. But they are generally together, more or less, and there is a nice big hole all the way through the dead animal.

Somebody else mentioned the ProHunter (flat-base) versus the GameKing (boattail). The general belief is that boattails tend to separate more easily, because the tapered rear of the jacket doesn't grip the core as well as a "square" rear. I used to believe this myself, until one day when I went through all the recovered bullets I've filed away over the years in a couple of big tackleboxes. There are a quite a few of these, and it turned out that twice as many FLAT-based bullets had separated jacket from core as had boattails. So I quite worrying about it, and since then have used whichever one shoots best.

What he said...

I used a Sierra Game King this morning on a whitetail buck. It was a 7mm 140 out of a 7 WSM. Range was about 350 yds. Bullet entered high on the shoulder, DRT, and it looked like a simple pass thru. When I skinned the deer I found a mangled jacket with about 1/2 the lead at the face of the 1" open exit wound. The lead piece fell out when I cleaned it.

I load down the 180gr. Sierra pro hunter flat base to about 2500fps for deer. It gives all the penetration and expandtion I need on deer at less than 100yd. No bloodshot meat ! I would use a little tougher bullet like the 180 Hornady interlok at 2700fps for elk.

Years back, I used Sierras because they shot a little more accurately from my rifle. I killed moose with them, and I usually am hesitant to say a bullet failed if I eat the animal it killed. I did notice that I was not getting complete penetration from the Sierras, and I was also not recovering any bullets. I switched to Hornady 165 BTSP IL and was running them out the tube at 2892 fps. Still getting dead moose, but I was finding the bullets nicely expanded near the far side of the moose.

For deer, and maybe elk, I would recommend highly, that you find a load that works well in your rifle with the interlock bullets -- 165 variety -- around 2800 - 2900 fps. Mine liked a stiff load of IMR4350, but I'm guessing that H414 would do as well.

Well, when I run out of those 2 boxes of Hornady .338 250 gr RN "junk" loads that turn out MOA 5 shot groups in 8 or 10 years, I guess I'll load up some Sierra GK 250 BT. They went about 1" at 200 yards... also "junk" loads. I just happened to write them down.....

My average moose kill is 60 yards, or so......

Corelocts, Hornadays, or GameKings- whatever the gun likes.

I think that's quite possibly true. (What a fickle bunch we are eh? )





Every time I've seen you mention that - the first time, I suppose, in Rifle magazine, I think of one particular Speer I collected; not the Hot-Cors which are "fused":

Nothing against Sierra or Hornady. Years ago, I found the Speer 180 SPBT to shoot extremly well in my 30-06. Over those years I've shot numerous cow and bull elk, plenty of mulies. Never a hitch. Never a recovered bullet. Just a good hole, all the way through. I could also just about eat upto the hole.

Alan

Interesting topic as I just picked up a box of Sierra Gameking hollow points boat tails to try out, again.

The hollow point version of the Game King is to my understanding a stouter made bullet than the softpoint.

I killed my first mule deer with an 6mm 85 GK HPBT and went on to kill elk with 7mm 160 HPBT till I could afford Partitions.

Not high in BC numbers but what did we know back in the day. BC was a unknown number to us and we just killed game with them sometimes at distance.

My AZ buddies loved the 120 HPBT in their 25-06's and killed elk and large mule deer with them.

The GK performs and I know I can hunt the GK HPBT will total confidence.

It's a great cup and core bullet, second to none in my book.

SU-I totally concur with you about the HPBT Sierra. I have used it a lot in several cals and have always found it to be as tough as a cup n core bullet around. Plus it's always shined well in the accuracy dept as well.

I do kind of wish that it's BC was a bit better but I have used it more than a fair bit for chucks out to 500 so I guess it'll do just fine...

By the way, I'll give you a call tomorrow to wish you a happy bd...grins

Dober

Look forward to hearing from you.

Me too...grins

Dober

I'm thinking of buying myself a Leupold scope and a Costco chocolate cake!

Mark 2 3x9 LR for the new 284 win build. Only 7mm that grabs my attention now.

Hey if I was gonna be there I'd buy the Costco pizza...grins

That Mark 2 3-9 LR is one heck of a scope!

Dober

Yep!

I figure best of both worlds dotz and turret.

U got that right, now if you could only put it on a 264...

Dober