Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 223 bolt 65gr sierra gamekings

63 is a flat base semi-spitzer bullet, lots of guys here swear by them for deer in slow twists.

64 Nosler is a short stubby bullet also.

I've had issues getting the 64 BSB to group, .223 and .22-250. They reportedly have great terminal performance, but if they don't group, I'm off to find another option.

I got 500, 62 gr. Fed Fusion from Rocky Mountain Reloaders for a good price. They group very well in my fast twist AR .223. Not sure how they'd work in a 12 twist. These bullets have very good terminal performance from all accounts.

60 gr. Partition is a slam dunk for 12 twist, great terminal performance.

DF

Dirt: Thanks for the rifle and bullet info. LOL at "fully depreciated".

If you'd have seen it...

DF

Yeah, 60 NPT would surely work if accurate. The 64's shoot as well for me as the 65 GK's and as well as I can see; got to get these cataracts fixed.

Agree.

I'd say 60 NPT, a sure thing. Generally they shoot pretty well in most guns, some guns really like them, others so-so.

The other bullets mentioned, I'd try them and see if they shot OK. Who knows for sure until you take them to the range.

DF

I haven’t tried the 60gr Nosler Partition in my .223 yet but I’ve shot plenty of pigs and deer with it in my Swift. It works very well.

I wish somebody would just make and offer a 55 grn bonded soft point. Maybe someone does and I hav'nt found it yet.

I haven't seen it mentioned....anyone have experience with the Sierra 55gr bthp on whitetail? Most of my 223's shoot that bullet well and I think I understand it is a pretty "hard" bullet. Also, most of my 223's are 1-12.
Rick

I have shot a lot of deer and antelope with that bullet out of an old .22-250.. Never a problem, but I had lots of time and game.. No chance shots..

Yep, No chance shots is what I'm thinking. Most anything will work in a "pick your shot" situation. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of deer and shot opportunities are sometimes pretty quick and sometimes unforgiving. It's take what you can get, but not reckless, of course. I usually hunt with 7-08, 300 Savage, 308 type cartridges. I'm having some shoulder issues and thinking I may have to crank it down several notches this year in the recoil department.
Thanks for the quick answer,
Rick

I just picked up 500 Speer Gold Dots...55 grain bonded soft point...Havent used them on game yet...

They work on pigs of all sizes...

The .224" 63 spitzer is honestly about the only bullet made by Sierra that I would fire at a deer sized critter, regardless of caliber or weight. Every other sierra bullet I have shot critters with (including the 65 grain game king) was either unpredictable in its expansion, or reliably over expanded...that is to say they make an absolute mess.

The 63 sierra is kind of a wonder bullet---it'll stabilize in rifles that normally don't like anything, and will hold together at sane velocities. I don't know what it is about that bullet, but it is good.

Be aware of state laws. Here in Colorado for deer & antelope a minimum 24 cal with at least a 70gr bullet is required.

I've heard that the centerfire .22s arent legal in most places, and not ethical in others....on the internet, so it must be true....

You'd think there'd be an exception for a bonafied stunt shooter...

DF

I have a Ruger 77 MKII in .223 with 12" twist. Bought the rifle new in '91 and it's been shot a great deal, mostly with 50 gr. and 55 gr. varmint bullets. I didn't try the 65 GK in it, but the 63 Sierra did very well with 100 yard, 5-shot groups of well under an inch using H4895. For comparison, the 60 Partition grouped over 2" and the Nosler 64 Bonded did around an inch and a half.

The 64 win bullet has worked well for me in on old Herters 14 twist. the recovered bullets had a nice mushroom shape.

I've got a Bushmaster as well. I've shot factory Winchester 64 gr. PowerPoint Ranger ammo in it for several years. It still doesn't group as well as I would like it to, but it's good enough for deer and such. I've killed a pile of axis deer with it, a couple of hogs, the longest at 168 yards, and some sheep (mouflon cross) the longest at 188 yards. I've never been satisfied with its accuracy though. I'm still loading and buying factory stuff to find out what it likes. I've got a box of 75 gr. Speer Gold Dot factory stuff I'm gonna try next. I've put a new scope on it and changed out that crappy factory trigger as well.

My CZ 527, on the other hand, shoots handloaded 50 gr. Nosler BT into darn near one hole. It is a 12 twist. I bought some Hornady 55 gr HP Steel Match the other day to sight in a new scope. It shot that stuff so well I bought two more boxes of it.