Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7mm 160 gr Sierra Game King recovered:

7mm Remington Magnum, 160 grain Sierra Game King Performance:

I turned to these bullets due to logistics. I already had 200 of them sitting here, leftover from a rifle I'd sold ten years ago. Went back to my old handload too, 65 grains of RL-22. Years ago I found that powder charge usually produced good accuracy and 3,000+ fps from pretty much any 7mm Rem Mag I tried.

This time, with my Ruger Number One and a 26" barrel. I got sub MOA accuracy and 3050 fps. Load development stopped right there.

You guys know that I normally hunt with Nosler bullets, but time to time in the past I've used Sierras as well. They're a rather simple bullet. No bells & whistles. No plastic tip. Just a lead core with a gilding metal jacket. A boat tail base and an exposed lead tip. But... That too can work just fine.

I knew I was hunting mule deer and antelope. Not heavily armored panzers. So I gave them a try. First shot was at a bit under 150 yards. Caught the mule deer buck a bit farther back than I would have liked. Got his lungs, but sadly caught a bit of the guts too. Phooey. He fell to the earth and died instantly. I am fond of instant death for my game animals. No tracking. No lost game.

I could feel the bullet under the hide, so I got out my pocket knife and cut it from the carcass. It hasn't been cleaned at all, so some of the weight might be from the mung adhering to it.

The shot through the ribs caused almost no meat loss. Four inches farther forward would have been perfect shot placement as far as I'm concerned.

Bullet weight went from 160 grains to 92.5 grains, nicely mushroomed.









The bullet that hit my antelope at about 200 yards passed through after inflicting tremendous damage. That damage was due to my poor shot placement. I didn't lead the moving animal enough, and my shot struck the antelope in the hindquarters, destroying them. It was an instant drop, but rather seriously limited the amount of meat available, and of course the animal required a finishing shot.

I have no reservations about using the Sierra Game King for deer & antelope sized game.

Regards, Guy

Congrats Guy, nice animals and rifle, nothing at all wrong with that bullet performance.

They will kill elk just fine too.

Thanks for sharing. Nice buck! Sweet rifle!

Todd

Nicely done, and nice to see someone (else) fessing up about less than perfect shooting.

Looks like they worked as advertised

Been my go to bullet for years in many calibers. I am sure the premium bullet loonies will find something wrong with it.

Ive always found the Sierra bullets to work as well. Sierra, nothing more than a bullet doing what it was intended to do. Very good bullets.
Here' a pic of a 284 cal 140 gr Sierra Game King bullet from my 7-08, found just under the skin on the opposite side of the buck. DRT.

I've had good luck with Sierra GK's and PH's, on whitetails. Admittedly, the cartridges I used them in had velocity ranges from 2700 to 3000 fps at the muzzle.

Nice looking mushroom there Guy!

Anybody done much w/ the 7mm/160 GR HPBT ?

The only issues I've had with Game Kings and Pro Hunters is that they won't stay inside the animals so I can post bragging pictures of them. I haven't used them past 3000 fps though.

Come to think of it, I have the same issue with Noslers and Hornadys...

Ha! Yes, I understand. Mostly I can't recover the bullet because it passes through. But over the years I've managed to recover some bullets and always find them interesting.

Regards, Guy

Used the 160gr HPBT for a few years out of my 280. I never had to shoot twice and only recovered 1. This was on whitetails

Can't ask for better than that. We've used Sierra's for over 20 years and have had great results on deer.

Yep, they shoot great in my 280 Rem with IMR4831 around 2850 fps. Haven't shot anything other than paper with them yet though.

I remember seeing four old green boxes of 7mm 160gr Sierras at reload Buds shop last time I was in, should go back and buy them, don't remember if they were boat tails or flat base, sounds like it wont matter what they are ; ]

Running either out at an accurate 2650 from my 7X57 should be hammers on deer and pigs.

After the 900 mile drive back home to Washington, I decided to check the zero on that rifle. Still dead on at 300 yards with those 160 Sierras. Fired a good group this morning.

Guy

As a heavy for caliber bullet they work great.