Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Sierra 25 cal. 90 gr. HPBT is it reliable for whitetails?

This bullet is included in Sierra's GameKing group however I have always been skeptical on using a hollow point on deer. Back in the early 1970s I worked up some loads in my Savage Model 99-A 250-3000 and they turned out to be the most accurate loads ever for that rifle. The primary function of this rifle is to carry with me on ATVs, tractors, combines, horseback and in my trucks to shoot coyotes, feral pigs and varmints.

One November morning I was spreading manure in a field and spotted a nice 12 point buck laying on a sunny hillside about 200 yards away. Could not pass up this opportunity. Closed the distance on him to about 100 yards, stopped the tractor but left it running with PTO engaged on the spreader, uncased the gun and slowly dropped into a prone position in the snow. I quickly took aim figuring to take him bedded, but just then a flock of turkeys flew off the hillside headed for the spreaded manure trail in the snow, which unnerved the buck and he stood up broadside to me. I jerked the cross-hairs behind his front shoulder and fired. The deer now on the run offered me a couple shots with the first one causing a stumble and second one spilling him. After close inspection three wounds were found...one high on the right shoulder, one at the right elbow and when I turned him over there was one behind the left shoulder. Later that day I skinned him out and found a bullet lodged behind a rib opposite the entrance hole that weighed 37 grains. There was just schrapnel left from the bullets that hit the shoulder and elbow. The elbow was fractured. There was massive damage to the shoulder muscles. This was the first and last time I took a poke at a deer with the hollow points.

An unexpected turn of events allowed my son, who is in the Army, to come home for a few days last Thanksgiving. He wanted to hunt deer with the 99 for nostalgic reasons as it was the gun he started out with. I told him I did not have any 100 grain bullets to reload and the next day was opening day so he would have to shoot the 90 grain hollow points. He made a nice lung shot (150 yds) on a old dry doe. The bullet just wasted a large portion of the lungs. A respectable eight-point buck took two shots to keep it down. First shot was taken with deer facing him at 125 yards and second shot was a high lung shot. After we got the hide off the buck we could see the performance of the first shot. It entered the sternum and slightly punctured the left lung. The bullet weighed 41 grains. On the high lung shot which was taken on the run broadside, the bullet nicked a rib on entry went thru both lungs and was found in two pieces under the hide opposite the bullet entrance.

Is anyone getting good reliable results on deer with this bullet?

According to Sierra, the 90gr HPBT is was made for varmints. Danged if I can figure out why the put the "GameKing" moniker on it:

Sierra Manual #4, pg 75:

Sierra HPBT GameKing bullets for big game are available in 257, 277, 284 and 308 diameters. We also produce 224 diameter 55gr, 243 diameter 85gr and 257 diameter 90gr HPBT's which , despite their GameKing nomenclature, are intended for varminting.

Geesh! Manufacture as a varmint bullet and market them in big game group...whats' with that?

Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

I used them some years ago in a couple of .257 Wby's and they worked fine.

Because manufacturers make subtle changes to bullets often without advertising the fact, they can change in performance. That's the caveat.

I used a few hundred on prairie dogs and jackrabbits and my first coyote. Splendid varmint bullet.
For deer I would use the 120 gr HP.
The first deer I ever killed was with the 100 grain Sierra and it did not exit on a yearling! I fired a second time because the deer was still on its feet and that one didn't exit either but the deer died.
The next year I used a 115 gr Nosler Partition which I was happy with. I still started shopping for a bigger rifle. (Early stage rifle looney)
whelennut

gosh I don't know about those but the barnes 100 TSX worked for me this year with one shot. I did shoot the animal in the neck however so maybe not a fair comparison.

Try the 80g Barnes tripple shock if you want to go on a light super fast bullet trip.

I have used them in a 250 sav.They seem to fly apart when shot in the 25-06 i have tried them in.

I could never get the Sierra 90gr HP to group well in a 25-06, or their 75gr HP either, but that was some years ago.

It's why I used their 87gr spitzer for varmints and their 100gr spitzer for deer, before switching to the 100gr Btip for both.

I used to use the 90 grain BTHP in some 250-3000, 257 Roberts, and 257 AI rifles. I stopped using it for deer when I had 2 failures with the 90 grain .257" version and another 2 failures with the 85 grain .243" version.

Since your Savage 99A has a 1 in 10" ROT barrel, I'd suggest a tougher bullet such as the 100 grain Partition or 80 grain Barnes TTSX. In my 1 in 14" ROT 250-3000 rifles I have used the 87 grain Speer HotCore (deer) and TNT (varmints) with good success.

Jeff

I wouldn't. I killed a wt doe last year with one. She acted a little funny, running back and forth for a while before she tipped over. Also, the thing was so explosive, I ended up with gut matter all over even though the hit was well into the chest cavity. I dumped her and then went back to my 100 gr Hornadys...a much better deer bullet.

We haven't used them since the late '70's and I'm sure that they have changed since then. But, at that time they were pretty explosive out of the .257 Roberts and .25 Arisaka and a bomb in the 25'06. If I were you, I would give the 100gr Hornady a try. They are very accurate and they kill like lightning. For deer or p/horns I have not found a better bullet.
Good luck with your search!


Johhny $

As mentioned in this thread before, the Sierra 90gr HPBT GameKing was found to be very accurate in the M99, however it did not take me long to realize they were not reliable on deer. My children started out hunting deer with the 250 and I loaded 100gr Sierra flat base spitzers and they got excellent results on deer. Accuracy was acceptable.

I agree with you that 90 gr HPBT is great on coyotes, but bullets over 100 gr do not shoot well in my M 99...believe me I have tried several.

anyone that uses a hp bullet of any kind for an animal with bone structure like a deer is just asking for bullet failure.sure you may kill 10 in a row and then that buck of a lifetime steps out and you are just a bit more excited and slam the shoulderblade and your 3 legged trophy is gone. i don't see the point in taking the chance when there are far better bullets out there.

It's not the Hollow point that is the issue. It's the overall design of the bullet which determines whether it is a good game bullet or a good varmint bullet. Sierra's 257 120gr HPBT is an outstanding deer bullet and "tougher" than the 117gr Pro Hunter or GameKing. Ditto for their 140HPBT in 270 and 165gr HPBT in 30cal. Hornady's 120gr 257 HP is the toughest quarter bore bullet they make. Also the TSX is a HP design.

According to the Sierra manual the 90 will be OK for deer if fired at 250-3000 Savage velocities! I would try for the lungs. A 100 gr bullet designed for deer would be a better option I think.
whelennut

i've used the serrias in 25-06 100 gr a lot less then 100 gr are for small animals i think like they say 250 like slower ft per second . a man got to know his limitations

Whelennut, you probably have more recent edition of the Sierra reloading manual. My latest one is the 4th edition. On page 75 under Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) GameKing it reads: We also produce .224 diameter 55 grain, .243 diameter 85 grain and .257 diameter 90 grain HPBTs which, despite their GameKing nomenclature, are intended for varminting

Page 279 (250/3000 Savage section) The 87 grain spitzer and 90 grain HPBT bullets will serve well for varmints, but are only adequate for deer and antelope if shots are placed precisely.

I will agree that a 100 gr bullet, different brand, or larger grain would be best. I do not want to hunt with a bullet that I have to micro-manage my shot placement.

Very good point!

At the end of the day, even though this is the most accurate bullet in my particular gun, I need to restrict the load to varmints, which actually I decided early on. My son using it last deer season was an exception made under the circumstances.