I'm just curious.

I've never killed anything with a Sierra bullet. Speer, Nosler, Winchester, Remington, Hornady, and Barnes bullets I've killed with, but never Sierra. I've shot some beautiful longrange groups with Sierra Match Kings, mind you.

So the other day I got curious about a box of .277 cal 140 gr Game King bullets I won in a long-ago football bet, so I loaded them in 270WSM cases over a moderate load of proven powder that I've been driving 140 gr Accubonds with, and today I shot some groups.

Five 3-shot groups measured well under 1 M.O.A.: largest was 0.743", and smallest was 0.332", average was a shade over 0.5". It's hard to ignore a hunting bullet that shoots 1/2 MOA out of a hunting rifle with a hunting scope.

So the question is this: does anyone have experience with the Game King 140 gr on elk? Does it get the job done at 50 as well as 350 yards? 'Cause if it does, I just might load up with Game Kings instead of Accubonds for November.

Doc, Sierra GK's are infamous enough for slipping the core loose from the jacket that it's not a bullet I have ever even considered for elk.

Not to say it wouldn't work- of course it would, placed right- but is it the BEST choice? Elk are big animals. Not exactly sub-MOA critters <g>.

However if you are past the obsession stage with elk, and into the experimentation stage, then I would welcome the data point, should you decide to use that bullet.

Not an elk guy. However, if you are the kind of hunter who can and will actually use the kind of accuracy your equipment allows you in real elk hunting (or other) situation, then there really is nothing wrong with such a bullet. My "elk" have all been moose, the "slightly" larger cousin of ol' wapiti. I have used Game kings a few times. Judging the "wrecks" by the holes rather than the wreckage, they have worked splendidly. They are hardly an all-purpose bullet. But then I don't figure one shoots tight clustering bullets in order to place them randomly.

That is about the last bullet I would choose for elk..My top choice for the .270 is the 150 or 160 gr. Nosler partition.

I wouldn't use either one I shoot piles of Sierra's every year in practice,and load work up while on my way to a load for a good hunting bullet.Sierra's are very accurate bullets,but I would not use them on an elk unless I had no other options.With all the really good 270 bullets out there today,I'd load a 150 Partition, a 130 TSX,130 Swift Aframe,etc.,etc.

I have NEVER picked a bullet for hunting based on the fact that it shot slightly smaller groups,but was of questionable construction. It's ass-backward logic.

Discussing bullet's up here in Wisconsin with various hunters (Mostly Deer), I got the impression the Sierra GK is a fine, accurate bullet. However, more than one person has told me that with factory loaded GK's they got fliers now and then. Could be the shooter, I thought so I was going on a Russian Boar Hunt, and my 30-06 likes 180 grain bullet's so I bought a box on sale and tried 9 of them on the range. All 9 were fine. I went on my hunt and shot at a Boar at 50 yards standing still. Missed. The guide said I was a foot high. Later, a got another chance at about 75 yards and put the bullet exactly where I wanted and the Boar was dead before he hit the ground. Flier? Maybe. Me? Maybe? But with all the other good Bullet's out there, I won't try using the Game King on a Elk. Too much money on an Elk hunt to take a chance. I don't feel good about blaming a bullet when it could have just been my own fault, But without shooting more than 11 rounds, I don't want to take any chances. i'll stick with the Hornady Interbond. Just my two cents.

i wouldn't use game kings for elk. get a proven elk bullet, such as the partition, tbbc, etc. and hunt. so what if it only groups 1.5" @ 100. that's still inside a normal size cantelope at 300 yards. ymmv

Doc,

My buddy has a collection of .308 gamekings,fired from a 30-06 into deer,nearly every one of them showed seperation of core and jacket,he has more than a dozen examples.

A few years back when he was going to Africa,he showed me his collection,and I loaded a bunch of 165 partitions for his 30-06.
He took everything from impala to eland with perfect success,all one shot kills.

The gamekings that kill but come apart on 150 pound deer,might not make it to the vitals on an elk,a properly placed partition will. If you go with the gamekings,avoid shoulder shots and aim at the lungs or spine,actually that's what I've done on most of my elk anyway.

The 140 's are great for antelope or deer,but light for elk.I have kiiled quite a few elk with30 cal 180 gr Game Kings and 7mm mag in 160 gr Gmae Kings. That 270WSM is going to push that particular bullet faster than what it was designed for, even for deer or antelope.

It is not so much a bad bullet or poor design,it is pople just pushing thme too fast. They definietely were not designed for magnum velocities.
I too have jar full of them. Some with core apart, some a nice mushroom.Funny thing, they all came out of dead animals

I agree that some gamekings are tougher than others,the 7mm 160 grain version has exited on everything that I've shot with it.

His collection of Sierra bullets also came from very dead critters,all deer. So we can't exactly say they don't work,I can't remember shooting anything with a gameking that didn't die.

And one more thing,I can't really tell the difference between gamekings and accubonds,both seem to be a lttle tougher than ballistic tips.

BobinNH: That's why I asked the question. Thanks for your reply.

saddlesore, ruraldoc... thanks for the input, guys. I've had my suspicions about the suitability of the GK's, that's why I asked the question.

My upcoming elk hunt has been 2 years in the planning (and putting money aside for!), so I want to have complete confidence in every piece of equipment I take, including my bullets. I'm working with 130 gr TSX's, 140 gr Accubonds, and 150 gr Partitions.

The GK's look like they'll be fine for practice loads, but based on feedback I'll leave them at home when I head out for Wyoming.

DR,

I use the 140 accubonds in my 270WSM on deer,they work great but I had one fail to exit the offside chest wall on a big Montana buck at 50 yards Total pentration was only a few inches after center punching the scapula on the way in. A bullet that fails to exit the chest cavity on a broadside deer makes me nervous on elk. I'd go with the TSX or Partition given the choices that you mention.

... or, a heavier Accubond like the 160-gn...

... which is a 7mm bullet, necessitating the purchase of another rifle... which, come to think of it, isn't a bad idea! I really do need a 7mm rifle or two... a 7x57 and a 7mm Mag for me, and a 7mm-08 for my daughter...

Now that is a logical thought process!

Going to a heavier bullet for elk is always a better idea. The 150 gr partitions will serve you well

Those folks that have used Sierras for hunting have mostly been successful, I have never lost an animal with one that I can recall..but if I were using them I would be very carefull and not take just any shot offered, and in todays elk hunting that just might leave you coming home empty handed..better to use a bullet that will penetrate a bull from stem to stern these days, and take advantage of that one window of opertunity you might or might not get..Also know the terrain you hunt, if its open sidehills then most bullet work, if its nasty, steep, dark timber then best use a .338 and 300 gr. Woodleighs..

And that is how I tend to operate as well. While I appreciate fine accuracy when shooting paper, in the field I usually can't tell much difference between 2 MOA loads and the itty bitty groupers, so I generally go with the better of the bullets.

Most people don't have to have more than a very few boxes of premiums to have many more bullets than they will ever shoot at game. I won't live long enough to shoot all the premiums I have at game animals. And, while I will seek better shots many times, I don't wait for perfect shots either most of the time. Those who do are better men than I.

I would personally stick with your 140gr Accubonds. The performance of this bullet in my 2 270WSMs on elk, moose, bears, deer has got me hunting with it all of last season over my 300WM with 180gr Accubonds.

My handloads of 140ABs and the factory Winchester Supreme ones my wife shoots perform flawlessly at various distances....mostly all 1shot double-lung complete pass-thru penetrations with major damage. Small entrance, huge exits. Puts the animal down.

I liked the performance of both 140gr ABs in my 270WSM and 180's in my 300WM that I traded all of my TSX's in both calibers for Accubonds for reloading. I am getting about 3260ft/s and a 5 shot grouping of 0.217" @ 100metres with one of the Tikka T3 LS 270WSM and the other is under 0.5"-but my wife prefers the factory ammo and it shoots about the same out of her rifle that is identical to mine.

Doc: You're welcome.The wry comment about "ass-backward logic" was not directed at you,but was a generic comment concerning the thought process itself,which a lot of shooters seem to adopt.IMHO there are bullets for shooting small groups,and bullets for shooting game,and they are not always the same bullets

BobinNH... no offense taken, and I second your motion against "ass-backward logic" of that kind.

I was just curious... why would Sierra name its hunting bullet "Game King", unless it was a hunting bullet? And if it truly is a hunting bullet, why is nobody using it? I think the answers have come out nicely in this thread.

Nothing wrong with the Game Kings as hunting bullet, unless you load it to higher velocities like in anything with the name Magnum attached to it.Sierra found a niche in the bullet sales department for users of sedate velocties of the 2400-2900 fps realm and has chosen not to enter the super bullet fray . No sense to it unless they could tie up a big part of the market sales

I like Sierra bullets. Over the years I've used them often and I will continue to do so, but not for elk. There are just better bullets for animals that large. My choice for elk is the excellent Nosler Partition. Using Noslers just gives me one less thing to worry about. By the way, some of the resent Nos. Partitions have been very accurate out of my rifles, generally as good as Sierras. As an example, my favorite load in a .280AI consisting of IMR7828 and 160gn. Nos. Part. will hold 3-4" at 300yrs for five shots. That's a dog that hunts.

No experience with Sierras on elk with the 270WSM. On elk-size animals however, (zebra, wildebeest, hartebeest, gemsbok), I saw`my son shoot his 270WSM loaded with 140 grain TSXs at about 3150 fps (IIRC) with complete success. Ranges were 80 to 200 yards, angles from broadside to steep quartering away. No bullets recovered, all animals dead. I agree that for a long-awaited high stakes hunt for large, tough animals a proven controlled expansion bullet makes a lot of sense.

I have used a Gameking on a average size black bear, 225 gr. from a .35 Whelen at 2600 fps and the range was 75 yards. Separated jacket and core, but the bear was DRT, never took a step. Now only use them on paper and deer sized game from the Whelen. I use a Partition or TBBC for the bigger stuff.

DocRoc-I spose I'll just have to go against the grain a bit here. I have quite a few elk, well lets say quite a few plus taken with Sierra's out of .270's/06's/7's/300's and 340's. To date I've not seen any issues whatsoever.

Fact is I just shot some of the 160 Sierra HPBT's out of my 7 Mashburn Super tonight and may just use those to take out a couple of elk a month from now.

My one elk bud has taken I think 17 elk with 18 shots with his .270 with 130 Sierra BT's at ranges from close to 650 yds.

Personally I feel they do a lot better job on elk and the big critters than most give them credit for. But then again I feel the same about NBT's. But then again, I've been there, done that and bought the t-shirt and that might be why I feel good in using them and don't fret it.

Bottom line, if you wish to use them then Powder River let er buck and get after it.

See I told you I'd be going against the grain and swimming up stream on this one...

Dober

Dober,
There's a picture down in this post that might make ya grin a bit!;)

When it comes to the 140 grain .277 Sierra GameKings, you have a choice of two distinctly different bullet designs, the (SBT) Spitzer Boat tail, Which is designed&recomended for long range hunting.

Then you have the much Tougher 140 grain HPBT which has a heavier jacket and harder 3%antimony/lead alloy core, designed with 270 Weatherby velocities in mind, exhibiting controlled expansion properties.
If you look very closely at the HPBT, it has 4 skives cut into the heavier jacket to aide expansion/exposure of the harder core at that nano-second after impact.

When guys look at drop charts, they tend to overlook how fast the bullet is losing velocity - shooting a medium to medium-heavy bullet-for-caliber, a rough average is that you're losing approximately 200fps every 100 yards for the first 300 yards as it travels down range. If you're shooting a light-for-caliber bullet (Much the Rage right now) you'll find that they peter out pretty fast.

270Winchester 130gr Sierra Spitzer Boat Tail
Recovered from 6X6 bull Elk just under the skin on the far side.
MV a shade over 3100fps estimated Impact vel 2700-2800fps.(Guestimated @ 200yds)
The Bull wheeled around 180 degrees and collapsed.



Recovered weight = 104gr.

With results like this above this might be crazy but I don't shoot the 130's anymore, in either of my 270 Win's or 270 WSM, the 140gr just makes so much more sense.
Because in the 270 Win I can drive the 140 nearly as fast as the 130gr which give me so much more down range.
And when it comes to the 270WSM I can actually drive the 140 Gameking faster than a 130 should I desire to.

Some of my fav bullets are the Sierra HPBT's, in both the 270 with the 140 and the 30's with the 165 and in my 7 the 160's. I've never had an issue nor do I worry about them.

Thx for sharing

Dober

Doc:My experience with Sierra's on game is not the same as that of others, as you can see from some of the above posts.I kinda like a bullet to stay more or less in one piece,like a bonded bullet,or have some means of weight retention,like the mechanical"block" of a partition,which loses weight, but at least has some means of holding a portion of the bullet together.

Standard cup/cores,like the Sierra,do what you want most of the time,and I'm sure Sierra would not market a bullet that does not do as intended.But I use high velocity cartridges and just prefer the added insurance of something that will hang together reliably.Cup/cores don't always do this.Apparently some Sierra's are pretty tough, but I don't know which one's they are ,so just prefer a bullet I know to be tough.

That said, I DO buy and shoot a LOT of Sierra bullets.

Dober and Sandman... thanks for sharing, guys, never mind That's good dope to know about. It's good to know some people are willing to swim upstream.

FWIW, the boolits I tried were the HPBT variety, 140 gr.

It's tough to make a case for either the Accubond or the GameKing 140's in my rifle based on my range results... both give sub-M.O.A. accuracy, BC's are very close, velocities nearly identical.