Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Game Changer on Game performance

Well, I had a volunteer blacktail spike buck this afternoon...shot was about 150 yds, on a flat spot on a mountain side....

Sure would like to report it performed perfect... but sadly I can't... We're talking 90 grain 6mm version.

The buck staggered around a bit.. the does with him, started heading uphill into the trees and vegetation.
He tried to follow and couldn't make it up the bank...so he staggered around a little more and then headed down hill, thru fallen trees and brush ( this was on old forest fire burn).. staggering all the way... this was one of these Oregon mountainsides that was easily at more than a 45 degree angle...

I cranked the scope power up from 4 to 10, as he staggered thru the thick brush and fallen trees, but was not able to get a clear shot...I did see several times of him having a bleeding hole just behind this left shoulder..

He finally went into a thick spot of undergrowth, and didn't leave.. he made it about 200 to 250 yds down the hillside....I looked thru the 12 power binocs, and couldn't see him move which that thick underbrush where he went.

I got the rifle and tried to head down the hillside toward where he went down... it was too steep and I could see breaking and ankle or leg is short order.. I watched the brush pile for about 30 minutes thru the binocs.. to no avail... if he would have gone further down hill, the brush thinned out enough I could have gotten another shot.. but that didn't happen...

Once I got out to near I 5, I finally got cell service...and called Sierra...it would have been 7 PM Missouri time. I told the customer service rep my experience with the product, the load and the caliber... 243...load 33 grains of 3031. He went on to tell me that the bullet is suppose to open up down to 1800 fps....but impact should have been a couple hundred FPS over that... and visual looking thru the scope on 10 power it was evident it was a good hit, in a critical place....

Sierra Rep, then told me the tip helped with opening up, but admitted that the bullet had a much tougher core than people think.... he said it was best used in something like a 240 Weatherby...My load was running about 2500 to 2550 fps out of my 22 inch barrel on my ADL/Rem...

I'm going to disassemble my ammo and spike the power charge up to give me more along the lines of 3000 to 3100 fps......Accuracy was there with my tests..... but testing it into local manzanita branch or two...say going thru 5 to 8 inches of wood... it never failed to penetrate, but the exit damage left something to be desired... more along the lines of just penciling thru... and on this blacktail, I am anticipating that is exactly what happened....

So if anyone is going to try out the Game Changer line, I'd recommend a good stiff load and MV...

Then their tech, tried to talk me into the old 85 grain HP... a bullet I've never been impressed with due to the amount of blood shot meat, I've experienced.....

That is my result of ONE....hence why I'll give it a try with faster velocity.... but none of this was mentioned when I spoke with Sierra BEFORE deer season....

anyone else planning on trying it, Best of Luck on your results...

nice bullet, but its going to be back to the Tried and Trued Ballistic Tips to me..

So you didn’t go look for the deer?

I'll second the question.

I'll 3rd it

Note the time guys. He had to get back into cell service as Sierra is only open til 8.............

So you didn't look for the deer because the hillside was too steep yet decided to shoot him there, aren't exactly sure where you hit, and called the bullet maker to complain without even looking for the deer? WTH?

Is this for real?

.....holliieee phhuukkk.....

Wondering here too...

That sums it up pretty well.

This is one of the most confusing and downright weird posts I've read on here in a while...

I'm hoping he'll get some help and be up on the hill at dawn to recover the buck.

Inquiring minds want to know.

It's hard to make an an assessment on poor bullet performance on an animal that wasn't recovered.You don't know exactly where the bullet hit,or what happened once the bullet entered the animal.Almost sounds like the deer was hit in the gut to me and they can travel a good ways sometimes.You should have looked for it a little harder.I shot a buck on a hillside once at 200yds.I was using a 7mag.The deer looked broadside and I hit the deer right behind the shoulder.I noticed through my scope as the rifle recoiled,the deer kinda stretched out when the bullet hit him.It killed him right there.When I got to him,I hit the deer perfectly behind the shoulder,but the bullet didn't exit.What the hell?I found the bullet when I was skinning the deer,it was right under the hide of the offside hindquarter.The bullet performed perfectly,but the hillside played tricks with it in this case.

Agree but what the Sierra tech told him was puzzling. Did they really design a 6mm bullet that won't work with the 243 Win?

The bullet ain't the problem here fellas....

This stuff ain't that hard...

Did you aim for the little white spots?

This is gonna be a classic.

How can it be afternoon out there already?

Odd post??? And not to pile on but unless I'm missing something and he has a special tag like a disabled tag or something I don't think you are allowed to shoot blacktail bucks unless they have at least one forked antler.

The regs read: "One buck deer having not less than a forked antler" So if this was a spike its not a legal buck?????

All it’s missing is a yellow avalanche and a winch.

John,

Friends don't let friends shoot Sierra bullets.....just sayin. 'wink"