Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .277 Sierra Game Kings??

How are Sierra bullets doing these days on big game? Anybody using them on deer and elk with good results? Are they doing any better these days with regards to staying in one piece?
I am at my wits end with a custom barreled 270 Win. rifle that doesn’t seem to want to shoot ANYTHING except Sierra bullets and 140 Gr. Game Kings in particular and with only RL22. It is the only one of my three 270s that won’t group with 4350 powder nor 4831.
Go figure.....
I’ve tried everything in my inventory and nadda.
I got away from Sierra bullets years ago for anything larger than varmints because they simply wouldn’t hold together upon impact.
Never mind the fact that they are beyond a doubt the most accurate bullet I’ve ever used.......

Shoot em.

I never knew how bad they were until I started reading it on the net.

We have used them in a lot of cartridges and killed a lot of game with them.

I am going to try .277 130 Gamekings and Prohunters in a new to me BDL. Will use whichever is most accurate.

Sure they may tear up a little meat on the front end but they kill like lightening.

I can't speak for the gamekings because I've never used them before but i have killed truck loads of deer with the Sierra 117gr pro hunters from a 25.06. My daughter shoots the 120gr pro hunter in her 260 with equal results.

Would want something else for elk. Deer should be fine.

Have used them for years in my 270 , 30-06, and 7mm rifles and Elk and deer keep falling over dead. Sierra game kings are my go to bullets.

Why? Have worked for me for many yrs.

I can't say anything about them now. I haven't shot anything with them in about 7 years. Reason I quit using them was because of their poor performance on game inside 200 yards. I have 130s loaded for my .270 Win. They are very accurate. I shot a small whitetail doe and a small mule deer buck under 200 yards, and an antelope buck at 360. Not a lot of use, but what I experience was similar to what others had said about them.

The doe was hit broadside and the bullet didn't exit, but the deer went right down. I hit the mule deer on the shoulder (100 yards.) The bullet broke the shoulder and came apart and didn't enter the chest cavity. This allowed the buck to travel into land I didn't have permission for. I was able to get it after talking to that landowner. Had to shoot it in the head to finish it as it was standing. The antelope was hit in the heart, did a death run and died. Bullet exited.

I just have a hard time trusting a bullet that acts that way, but figured if I had to use them I would try the 150s for hopefully better penetration up close.

I’ve killed several deer and antelope with them but they are quite soft. Usually do not have exits, rare exit was purely broadside when it slipped between a rib. usually extremely accurate, and it dumps its energy fast. If you want deep penetration and exits, look elsewhere. If it’s the only billet my gun seemed to shoot well, I’d probably hunt it and just take shots accordingly. But with a 270win, I don’t think there’s a better general purpose traditional bullet than the 150 partition....

If you read Sierra's recommendations, they state the Gameking is their bullet designed for long range hunting. It is softer to get good expansion once velocity drops at distance. The Pro Hunter is recommended for use at closer ranges. I've used both bullets for their recommended purposes and had great results with both.

Would I use a Gameking at a MV of 3000+ knowing most of my shots would be inside 100yds? Nope.

The 140 grain hp. Is certainly my pick of the sierra bullets. I would highly recommend it . I've used the 130 fb and 130 bt and the 150 bt. Mule deer would be the biggest game taken with all of these bullets

Like the 225g in a Whelen for deer at 2700. Would not be excited about elk <100yds. Loved them in a 223 and 22-250 for prairie dogs/pot guts.

"I just have a hard time trusting a bullet that acts that way, but figured if I had to use them I would try the 150s for hopefully better penetration up close."

I've taken a few deer and one antelope with the 150 gr. Game King. I don't remember too much about the results on deer other than that died as it was back in the mid 1970's. I do remember they were less destructive that the 130 gr. Game Kings. A lot less destructive.

The antelope was taken in 2009. After a cool stalk the shot was at about 75 yards. The bullet hit one of the short ribs grazed the stomach and exited just behind the shoulder with about a 1.5" exit. The antelope did about a thirty foot circle and expired.

The load was the 150 gr. Game King, Winchester brass and standard primer. Powder was the long discontinued WMR for a velocity almost 2900 FPS. (2880 as I recall)

A hunting partner used the 150 gr. Game King on a couple of elk hunts, once with the .270 Win. and one with the .270 WSM..
Both were one shot kills. The one with the WSM was right at 100 yards broadside. About a one inch entrance and 4 or 5" for the exit. I didn't get to see his second elk as I had to leave early. I already had my elk and was having a hard time breathing. When I got home the doc said I had pneumonia. I won't go into what that was like at 9,500' MSL.

FWIW, I can use the Game King or Partition with the same load and they hit so close together that I don't have to change the setting on my scope.
Paul B.

Can’t make any comments on the GKs but have killed a pile of deer and several antelope with 117 gr. Pro-Hunters launched at about 2885 fps. from my Roberts. Animals have been taken from 40 yds. out to around 300. Almost all had two holes on broadside shots. Only on one occasion did I have one break up and that was a hit smack on the shoulder of a monster bodied whitetail buck at about 40-50 yds. The bullet smashed both shoulders with the core and jacket stopping under the hide on the opposite shoulder. Although not perfect, I certainly wouldn’t call that a “failure”.😁

What TATELAW said.

Use the 130 pro hunter or the 140 HPBT gameking; it has a thicker jacket for closer ranges than the traditional game kings. I have used the 140 HPBT gameking in a 270WSM with good results at <100 yards.

Quoting the Sierra website:
The 140 grain #1835 Hollow Point Boat Tail bullet is intended for medium and heavier game at shorter ranges. It is a tough bullet, allowing higher impact velocities with good expansion at shorter ranges. It also delivers good long-range performance on heavier game from the 270 Winchester and magnum rifles in 270 caliber and is highly accurate.

Buddy drew a ewe/juvenile ram tag. Great outdoorsman and hunter but definitely not a rifle loony. Has an '06 and a 270 Win. Asked me which I thought. I said 270 Win with 130's. We loaded him some below book max 130 SPHs over Re-22. He tested them, said they worked fine and went on his hunt. About 2 hours after legal shooting time, I get this text. It went about 10 yards and tipped over.

I have used 140 for SGK for years on whitetail and have loved them in my 270’s at ranges from 50yrds to 500 yrds. Was running them over 7828ssc but kept bumping into temp issues when it dropped down into freezing temps

I have used a 270 Win and 130gr gamekings since 1981. Lots of deer in the freezer. I have shot bucks from 4 yds to 385 yds with that combo. I trust the bullet.

Not yet mentioned is the "new" 140gr Tipped Game King aka Gamechanger. I have not used these bullets yet on game because they are new enough that I have only been doing load development. so far they are the most accurate .277 bullet I have ever shot, they have a very good B.C. of .508 compared to the normal Game King's B.C. of .457 even better than the 150gr Game King's B.C. of .483.
I can't wait to try them out this fall............if I can draw a tag

I haven't used Sierra Game Kings since the late 1970s. I loaded 165 grain GKs in my 30-06 and killed 2 small to mid sized mule deer with them. Devastating surface wounds and not a lot of penetration. Both deer died, but both shots were squarely in the chest cavity/lungs. I wasn't impressed and switched to Nosler Partitions. Always great penetration, usually complete pass throughs and LOTS of dead animals with the Noslers. Deer, elk, antelope have all dropped quickly to the Partitions and not a lot of excess meat damage. I'd hate to think what would have happened with the Sierras if I'd have hit a shoulder joint rather than the ribs. Just sayin'.

I like the Sierra's though I have had a failure or two. I had one blow up on the shoulder of a buck antelope, a 130 gr. Pro Hunter pushed as fast as possible with H4831. Range was 40 yards and the bullet hit right where the upper leg bone is connected to the socket in the shoulder blade. There was enough bone splinter/bullet fragment damage that made it through into the chest that he only went 20 yards or so. Other than that I found them to be hardcore killers of deer and antelope! I loaded them down to 2700 fps for use in east Texas and Washington state and got good performance. I basically went to other bullets for testing purposes but still use them occasionally. I like the 150 grain versions very much and never had anything bad to say about them.