Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles The misunderstood Sierra Gameking BTHP

From everything I have ever read on the this bullet, this is actually one of Sierra's toughest bullets. That is possibly counterintuitive to some due to the fact that having a hollowpoint tip is part of its design. In some cases, people tend to want to lump it in with varmint bullets, rightly or wrongly.

Case and point, I have a box of Federal V-SHOK .243 Win. 85-grain Sierra Gameking HPBT. Federal catalog number P243D. The visual "code" for intended use on the end of the box is a prairie dog, i.e. varmint. Oddly, I have seen the same Federal load, with the same catalog number, but with a visual "code" of a whitetail deer on the box end, suggesting big/medium game as the appropriate use.

Odd bit of confusion there from Federal.

FWIW, I use this load as a whitetail bullet.

Scott

I've used the 55 grainer out of a 22-250 on a few antelope.

They have a thick jacket and a hard core. They also have a crap ballistic coefficient, so they aren't a long-range bullet in any regard. They are barely a medium-range bullet.

I used them for years up until about 5 years ago. The last batch of 3,000 I bought must have been soft. After years of reliable devastation out of .30/06 I started getting bullet blowups causing me to lose or nearly lose several deer. Not just randomly but every single time. I will admit they were reliably accurate, though. The remnants of that batch is saved for the .308 sig 716 with a much lower velocity.

Interesting. Maybe Sierra changed the construction at some point which would necessitate a change in recommended use. But one would expect Federal would at least change the catalog number for that load, in that case.

I have a few boxes of the 165 .30s. Load them for a couple of my 30/06s. They’re accurate as all get out but man do they wreck some stuff when they hit. Through the slats they’re outstanding, but don’t put one in a shoulder you plan on saving.

More so than a Ballistic Tip or SST, you think?

IME, they open up a bit more than Ballistic tips, closer to a SST.

I used to call em Grenade Kings, lols!

Last game animal I shot with a Game King was an antelope in New Mexico. Bullet was the .270 150 gr. Game King. The shot was at about 75 yards and the bullet hit right at the short ribs passing through the "goat" and exiting behind the right shoulder. Bullet nicked the stomach but very little came out. Other than a broken rib and about a 1.5" exit hole, very little meat damage.

One of my elk hunting buddies used that same bullet on two cow elk. One at slightly less than 100 yards left about the three inch exit and the other was a bit over 400 yards. I'd gone home early on that hunt feeling rather crappy. Turned out I had pneumonia. talked with my buddy later and he said the bullet worked just fine. His elk mentioned were taken on two different hunts.

I did use that bullet on a couple of Mule Deer back in the mid 70's but don't remember much other than the deer died.

I do remember shooting one coyote back then with the .30 caliber 165 gr. Game King hollow point. The coyote was a target of opportunity while moving to s different location to hunt in the afternoon. Shot was maybe 200 yards and the coyote went down. I went over to see the result and found I had a two piece coyote. Best opinion I can come up with was the bullet hit the spine and blew up. I decided to not use it on deer.
Paul B.

Use "heavy for cartridge" pills and they work just fine.. You guys getting explosive hits or "wrecking meat" are using too light of a bullet.. I thought everyone knew that chidt..

Don't believe Sierra's advertising. Guys in my hunting camp won't use them on Whitetails any more, that includes me. Too, many wounded deer and follow up shots. They are very accurate, though. That is why we started using them in our 250 Savage and .257 Roberts rifles.

.25 CALIBER 90 GR. HPBT

The 90 grain #1615 Hollow Point Boat Tail bullet was designed originally as a varmint bullet, but it has taken on an expanded role. This bullet is extremely accurate at all velocity levels, making it suitable for the entire range of 25 caliber cartridges. It will perform as a varmint bullet at high velocities, but it may also be used on medium game from smaller-capacity cartridges, such as the 250-3000 Savage and 257 Roberts.

My go-to bullet for every 243 I've had, 10 or so, has been the Sierra 85 grain HPBT. Now, when I say go-to, it is the bullet I try first to see how well the rifle will shoot............and I've yet to find a 243 that shoot it accurately. My son, and the grandkids have taken a number of whitetails with this bullet. In the 700 Youth Model that the grandkids use, I've started loading 95 SST's or Nosler BT's the past few years, just because I wanted to try something differently. My son has stayed with the Sierra 85's.

I'm not going to question anyone else's comments about how they don't like this bullet, because to each his own. I don't think there is a better all around bullet for a 243, and I've taken a bunch of coyotes with it, so it's well for us on deer and varmints. My standard load is 45.5 grains of W760, chronographing 3350 out of a 22 inch barrel.

Definitely more destruction than the 165 Btip IME. SSTs I’m not sure as I’ve never used any.

I’m not saying I won’t keep using them, they perform well enough always giving exits for me so far. But they’re usually 2 to 3 inch exits with a lot of bloody jello around the wound.

My uncle dobbed a bull caribou with one out of my 721 he borrowed for the trip. Shot was perfect behind the shoulder from 389yds, bull immediately hit the deck. Even at that range the entire side of ribs on the entry side were a jellified bloody wreck.

Or are intentionally shooting thru shoulders to minimize tracking and don't mind ruining shoulders. I have even ruined a dab of loin from too high of a hit.

Either have no bloodshot meat and a tracking job or ruin 5# of so-so meat and have no tracking job.

Some ruined meat is part of the game if you are going to hunt the thick schitt I prefer.

I have even put Core-Lokts and Power Points through shoulders, same results as a Gameking/Prohunter, bloodshot shoulders that the chickens get to peck around on. All other cup n core bullets generally result in the same messed up meat if ran through the shoulders.

Sierra great target bullets. Hunting not so much. The thing I hate is many of their bullets have different tendencies. Too soft, too hard etc. At least with a Nosler you know what your getting ie ballistic tip versus accubond.

I believe they are too explosive and there are far better bullets for deer hunting. Johnny’s Reloading bench shot them into gel against other bullets and they came apart badly.

I think BSA's in nice open country, Nebraska or Eastern Oregon,

You are in the thick part of Missouri.

I find it interesting how different hunting conditions change people attitudes, tactics, and the trade offs they make while hunting.

We've had good luck with the 165's out of an '06, but we are hunting open country, where tracking is not an issue an a "close" shot is 250 yards.

Sounds effective to me.

Very true how areas hunted make us think differently.

If I hunted open areas I wouldn't mind one bit if an animal traveled a little ways after the shot.

Even in the brush a good blood trail is no issue but I am unable to be guaranteed a heavy trail on every shot.

Bingo. Mind the venues in which guys are using them in.

Years ago I had a few very dramatic DRT's and lots of ruined meat when employing 165 BTHP's out of a .30-06. All kills well under 100 yards in Pennsylvania and Maryland woods. I loved the bullet for its accuracy (and still do), but was flummoxed by its utter destructiveness so I called Sierra. The technician I talked to kind of laughed and said he probably fielded more such questions about .30 165 BTHP's than anything else. He told me the bullets were designed for optimal expansion at long range where velocity has dropped off substantially not up close and personal. Since then I started concocting special '06 loads for use when I know for an absolute fact I won't be shooting at any deer way to hell and gone away, and life was good again.

My solution: Sierra 165 BTHP, 41.0 grains H-4895, Lake City or FA Match brass - around 2400fps. Low recoil is an enjoyable unintended consequence, case life is infinite, and lo and behold accuracy is as good as with stiff loads. Every 7 or 8 cartridges yields one "free" cartridge due to the six less grains of powder as used in my "standard" load - a not inconsequential consideration in this day and age of powder shortages. Results: deer as dead as before but with little or no meat loss. Win/win. God bless the versatility of the .30-06.