Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Who’s a fan of the hpbt gamekings

That is interesting. I was not going to comment, as my experience with the 30 cal 165 gr Sierra HPBT is 40 years out of date.

I loaded them over 60 gr H4831 and a CCI 250. They performed for me identically with the Speer 165 gr Hot Core bt, and the Nosler 165 gr solid base. I used them pretty much interchangeably for several years, until Nosler introduced the ballistic tip.

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I use the 150 grain GameKings in 308’s, slay deer and pigs just fine!

120 hpbt 25-06 @ 3k+ allways works on antelope or deer with broadside lung shots but comes apart if you are a bone shooter..mb

I had one of those grenade on a 10 yard frontal shot

I liked the 90s in a 257 Robert's.

I have been using the .30 165 HPBT GK in my .308 and the 6.5 130 in my 6.5X55 for a few years now and have killed a few deer with them. Easy accuracy with both rifles and I have gotten the kind of terminal performance I want with them: behind the shoulder when a short run is okay gives little damage; high shoulder hit when DRT is desired and DRT is what I get. High shoulder shots at close range are kind of destructive, but I've never caught one either. Sierra gives a pretty good idea on their website as to the velocity ranges the different HPBT GK's are intended for.

I've killed a few deer with the .308 165 HPBT version in my 06. All were shot behind the shoulder at 50 yards or less. All but one ran about 100 yards with a blood trail a blind man could follow. The one that didn't run was a high shoulder shot and he pretty much died in his tracks. They are very accurate.

The one that went straight down.

I own a couple of 7 Wby's, one a Mk V, the other an Encore. There is nothing I cannot hunt with it and have.

This is the bullet that made me switch to better constructed bullets for hunting. Quite awhile back I had taken a buck and a doe with a 308 win launching 165gr Sierra HPBT Gamekings. At the dinner table my mom prepared a fantastic looking venison roast and I was very much enjoying it until I bit down on a nice chunk of lead and copper. From then on I've taken most deer with other bullets, notably Barnes TTSX, except on one occasion where I used a 225gr Sierra 35 cal soft point bt gameking on a doe from a 35 Whelen. The soft points are good, but I don't use the HP except for varmints and paper

I am. I load the 30 cal 165s over a moderate dose of CFE-223 in a .308. It is by no means screaming, maybe 2650fps. It certainly is nothing sexy to look at, by all appearances having the aerodynamics of a school bus. But it hits like one also, and have never had a deer need more than one or live to talk about it later. It is a tough bullet, Sierra designed it specifically to be in that regard. I shot one of my best deer ever at 450 yards walking a treeline, I knew it wouldn’t get closer and I couldn’t close on it. Zero wind that morning, perfect shooting conditions Used the holdover point on an old Nikon Prostaff 5 with that funny multiple circle / line reticle on a Remington model 700 VTR with the funky 20” triangle barrel. Shoulder hit, high left exiting lower right. I would have sworn that path through the deer would have caught the bullet but nope, punched through and kept going. The trajectoy was interesting, had to be at least 15-20 degrees downward on what was a perfectly level shot me to him. I lobbed that one in there, guessing it was doing around 1700-1800 fps when it hit.

I have 6 rounds left from my original reloading batch, still shooting as accurate as the day I loaded them. I am scheduled to make another batch this summer, box box of bullets I found at a show a few years back being the old-school kind. Cardboard box with metal plates pressed on to make the box corners! No modern plastic box here! Its actually kinda fitting for the old war hourse bullet.

Had a friend back in the 80s that helped me solve a problem with a rifle I had at the time. He shot on the National Guard rifle team at Camp Perry and other places. His favorite deer load was made by pulling the FMJ match bullet out of 7.62 military match ammo and reseating the 165 gr hpbts in the brass. Worked very well for him....VERY well!

Have shot numerous deer with the 85hpbt in my 6mm. Mostly smallish Texas deer. Always an exit except for one large hog my friend shot in the shoulder.
Typical deer runs after double lung shot. No different than my 270 with interlocks.
Easy as heck to load for. There is a reason they are still hard to find.

I've used them for years. They are my go-to for my .25-06 and my .308 AR-10. The 120gr .257 were discontinued, but I bought up a supply when that happened so I'm set for a while. I like them in the AR-10 since there is no tip to be deformed as they get loaded. I find them to be very accurate, if a little soft. As long as I keep the shot behind the shoulder they work great.

I’ve not had any problem with the hp closing up. They’re a good accurate bullet. Only problem I’ve had (if it’s a problem) is when they do hit a bone they can raise hell with things. But not any more than the two polymer tipped bullets I’ve tried. The 165 is still my go-to for the ‘06.

This has been my experience with the 6mm Sierra's as well only in this caliber I went 100 grain Pro hunter. No complaints and easy to find loads that produce tight groups but if nit picking would love to find something in the dead middle between the 85hpbt and 100 PH. I began working a load for the 90 grain Speer Hot Cores but they have proved harder to perfect. Just ordered some 95 grain Berger Classic Hunters but of course now reading they are explosive.....Might have to go back to 100 grain Pro hunters as they can now be found again.

I miss JJHACK. He used to live about 30 miles from me and I got to shoot with him a couple of times.


Okie John

My story pretty much. I have used both the Hornady 120gr HP and the Sierra 120gr hpbt in my 25-06 forever. Both have since been discontinued, but when I found out I bought every box I found. I'm on my last box of Hornady and have four or five left of the Sierra's. They've been fantastic up to cow elk.

I used the 165 in .308w and .30-06 quite a bit as well.

no failures on my end ever using them.

I've migrated elsewhere based on Sierra's pricing, not on the quality of their bullets to do the job intended for.

use to use them a lot more often.

Shefire,

Dangle a pic of a Critter YOU killed,with said projectiles. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............