Sierra bullets?

[Norwest Alta]

Don't hear much about Sierra bullets. Wondering who uses them and what are your thoughts?

Found a couple of 25 cal 100 gr in my reloading rats nest. I've been using Barnes in my 257 weatherby and Berger in my 25-06. Think I might brew up a batch with these Sierra's.

[catnthehat]

Used them in every rifle I own fir over 30 years , love 'em.
Many, many one shot kills from various cartridges .
Cat

[Dubious]

I use the Sierra 70gr blitzkings in my 25-06 for my varmit loads they shoot fantastic consistent groups.

[JD848]

Been using them for a long time in a 7mm wsm and they work very well,also use them in other cartridges with good results.

JD

[Dick284]

Big fan too.

With on caveat.

They will likely shoot well in your 25-06 and .257 Roy, but the on big game performance may resemble a varmint bullet.

In cartridges like the 25-06 and even more so the .257 Roy, choosing the right bullet for the intended use is almost the bigger challenge, than finding a good load.

[Salavee]

Sierra Game Kings have pretty much established themselves as one of the best cup & core hunting bullets ever made.

[Norwest Alta]

Thanks fellas. I'll give them a rip once the wind and rain stops.

[shunda2]

I've been shooting Sierra Spitzer Boattails for 35+ years out of a .270 Win
Excellent bullet!

[FCLightning]

SPBT is an excellent bullet.

[Sask Bearman]

I use Sierra 140 grainers in my 280 and 220 grainers in my 30/06. Never gave me a reason to complain.

[sns2]

You'd have to go a long way to find a BETTER deer bullet.

I do not however think it is a good bullet for screaming fast magnums though.

Gimme a 308 with 165 Sierras and there will be steaks to be grilled.

[elkhunter11]

I use Sierra exclusively for target bullets, and the Blitzking is my favorite varmint bullet, but I don't use Sierra bullets for big game, because I tend to prefer very high velocity cartridges.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I use Sierra exclusively for target bullets, and the Blitzking is my favorite varmint bullet, but I don't use Sierra bullets for big game, because I tend to prefer very high velocity cartridges.

They don't like velocity?

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

They don't like velocity?

I won't use any non bonded cup and core bullet on big game, when the impact velocity may be in the 3400-3500fps range.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

They don't like velocity?

Sierra Game Kings seem to do their best work at terminal velocities of less than 2800. In your case I would pbly be looking at a Bonded Core or a Mono.

[rem338win]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

They don't like velocity?

Nope. Keep them under 2800fps or it gets a little dynamic. I used them lots in the 270 and it sure killed. And I didn't have to butcher front shoulders.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by Salavee

Sierra Game Kings seem to do their best work at terminal velocities of less than 2800. In your case I would pbly be looking at a Bonded Core or a Mono.

I do like the Barnes out of my weatherby. Don't know what I'm getting for velocity out of it. Maybe I'll stick with the Barnes and try them in the 06.

[Jeron Kahyar]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

I do like the Barnes out of my weatherby. Don't know what I'm getting for velocity out of it. Maybe I'll stick with the Barnes and try them in the 06.

The 117gr Game King would be great in a 25-06.

[sevenmil]

It’d be a great deer bullet in a 25-06. For Elk and Moose it certainly wouldn’t be my first pick.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by sevenmil

It’d be a great deer bullet in a 25-06. For Elk and Moose it certainly wouldn’t be my first pick.

No danger of that. The 1/4 bores stay home until my elk is in the cooler.

[Jerry D]

I shoot some 140s in a 6.5x55. Best thing going is that the box of 100 sells for the price of many bonded bullets 50 packs and they work.

[sevenmil]

Here is what Nathan Foster, founder of ballistic studies has to say about this particular bullet in 25-06. He speaks about both the boat tail soft point (game king) and the pro hunter, which would be the flat base spitzer.

Quoting Nathan:

“Sierra produce a range of inexpensive but highly useful projectiles for the .25-06. An extremely popular lighter game bullet is Sierra's 100 grain BTSP and driven at 3300fps the Sierra is a spectacular killer on light animals. Wound channels and exit holes can be incredibly large and blood vapor clouds are not uncommon. The Sierra's spectacular performance is due to a combination of bullet blow up combined with bullet spin. Fragments of the Sierra move in such a way, that if they could be frozen in time, they would look like a telescope photo of a spiraling galaxy. Moisture and air is compressed and super heated ahead of the bullet creating traumatic results. This performance, spectacular though it is, does not lend itself to deep penetration. The Sierra can fail to penetrate onside muscles and bone on game approaching 80kg (176lb) therefore it is best used on light bodied animals or if used on larger animals, at ranges beyond 200 yards. The counterpart to the 100 grain GK is the 100 grain Pro-Hunter, an equally fast killing bullet at moderate ranges but with a stout jacket for greater reliability when hunting medium weight game. Both make an excellent combination for hunters who mostly target lighter species of game.”

If you want a link to his website here it is. He talks about any bullet you could imagine, in just about any caliber.

http://ballisticstudies.com

[Groundhogger]

39gr. Sierra BlitzKings were the best shooters in my .204R when I had it. I found 204 to be a fussy caliber to work-up loads for..but these bullets were the ticket.

The downside~I didn't find that this particular bullet dumped it's energy like say...Hornady V-Max did. I only hunted groundhogs with it...but they blew right through (once, almost end-to-end) vs. the "scrambling" effect of V-Max. Was still effective, just not the desired results. On hot/dry/flat fields...it's preferable for the bullet to disintegrate...not pick-up speed on impact. lol

[wolf308]

Yup. Big fan too

So much named my daughter yup Sierra( Satan would be more fitting though ) .... mom loves it though .... whew

[Hawkeye]

Some folks say if your rifle does not shoot Sierra bullets well.......the solution is to sell the rifle and get another one!

[shooter12]

Used 140 gr GKHP and 150 GK in 270 wsm with a very good result and always one shot kill on many mules and WTs and couple of black bears. Also got a lot of animals with 200gr GK out of 300 wsm and 300WM .Nice bullet for elk and moose at those velocities .
I load for 8 different calibers from .243 up to .323 and usually start with Sierras first.
S12

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by Groundhogger

39gr. Sierra BlitzKings were the best shooters in my .204R when I had it. I found 204 to be a fussy caliber to work-up loads for..but these bullets were the ticket.

The downside~I didn't find that this particular bullet dumped it's energy like say...Hornady V-Max did. I only hunted groundhogs with it...but they blew right through (once, almost end-to-end) vs. the "scrambling" effect of V-Max. Was still effective, just not the desired results. On hot/dry/flat fields...it's preferable for the bullet to disintegrate...not pick-up speed on impact. lol

In my .17 HMR, CCI rounds with sierra bullets though highly accurate don't kill as well as the Hornady bullets do. (even though they look the same, except for the tip color)
As for my .204 with 40 gr V-Max pills they work all the time every time. never found a need to try the Seirra's but most people swear by them.
I do however use Sierra bullets in my .375H&H (300 grs) most of a moose's innards are turned to soup so no long tracking jobs.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

... I do however use Sierra bullets in my .375H&H (300 grs) most of a moose's innards are turned to soup so no long tracking jobs.

I think this is a good combo for moose. Likely it would work on deer too

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

In my .17 HMR, CCI rounds with sierra bullets though highly accurate don't kill as well as the Hornady bullets do. (even though they look the same, except for the tip color)
As for my .204 with 40 gr V-Max pills they work all the time every time. never found a need to try the Seirra's but most people swear by them.
I do however use Sierra bullets in my .375H&H (300 grs) most of a moose's innards are turned to soup so no long tracking jobs.

Where did you find out that your 17hmr loads use Sierra bullets? Sierra does not market .17 caliber bullets , or I would try them.

[petew]

I used their Boattails in 30-06 for a few years. Wonderfully accurate , wantonly destructive.
Partitions are all I will load for hunting now.