Sierra game king question

[mhayes]

So let me get this straight. You killed 5 deer with these bullets and think there is a problem when they went no more than 80 yards after the shot?

Seems to me that they performed exactly how you would want them to. If you want to drop one in its tracks you have to hit the Central Nervous System. Period.

And for davans, your experience sounds like you don’t know what good bullet performance looks like. If you have a giant entrance wound, the bullet expanded too early and essentially failed. Same thing with the exit. You should have a caliber sized hole on entry and no more than 2-3X at exit. If you want bloodtrails you need to shoot them lower. The number one problem I find when recovering deer that were hit “great” that ran with little or no blood is that they were hit high. The blood won’t leak out if it has to fill the chest cavity first. Poke the hole lower and watch your recovery rate soar.

Yes in a way. I have hunted with the same gun same caliber for over 5 years. Only thing I changed different from years past is these bullets. My 308 has never left me looking for one with the normal ole blue boxed Federals. They dropped within a step or two and I haven't changed the way I shot them. Not to say that I have not made a bad shot or two, but these were all the same or close. My son has used the same Winchester model 70 243 from 7 years old and he is now 19. He changed bullets with me as well and is having the same results. I get they will run, at least some distance. But these last few have seemed to be what I would consider from past experience a lot.

There may not be an issue that's why I am asking. I am not to the point where I want to toss them out or anything, just don't understand the expansion or damage difference. I don't reload nor have a full understanding on ballistics of different styles of bullets. I usually buy what's on the shelf at Walmart or on sale at the gun store. This is my first experience with what I believe is considered a Premium bullet. Its just not what I was expecting I guess.
Matt

 

[davans]

So let me get this straight. You killed 5 deer with these bullets and think there is a problem when they went no more than 80 yards after the shot?

Seems to me that they performed exactly how you would want them to. If you want to drop one in its tracks you have to hit the Central Nervous System. Period.

And for davans, your experience sounds like you don’t know what good bullet performance looks like. If you have a giant entrance wound, the bullet expanded too early and essentially failed. Same thing with the exit. You should have a caliber sized hole on entry and no more than 2-3X at exit. If you want bloodtrails you need to shoot them lower. The number one problem I find when recovering deer that were hit “great” that ran with little or no blood is that they were hit high. The blood won’t leak out if it has to fill the chest cavity first. Poke the hole lower and watch your recovery rate soar.

While I do not disagree with your comments on entrance/exit hole, shot placements and blood trails. I can assure you that your ability to asses my knowledge of bullet performance based on my comments to the the OP are inaccurate. The 3 examples I gave were this year. I lost 1 buck and admittedly, shot placement could have been better. I switched to GK ammo in my .308 6 years ago and have taken quite a few deer with them, I noticed early on a lack of expansion. ( relative to several other brands of ammo I’ve hunted with over the last 40 years of deer hunting ) I’ve seen my fair share of bullet wounds and dead deer. I’ve always heard good things about the performance of GK bullets but my experience is similar to the OP’s so I shared it with him. I prefer pass throughs over over-expansion type bullets myself and have never really had an issue with that in a .308 regardless of ammo but I have seen better expansion.

 

[7pt62THOR]

Damn near every deer that I've shot in the last 13 years has been taken with Federal blue box .308 150gr Power Shok and was either DRT or not far. I used to shoot the 165gr Vital Shok until they became too expensive to shoot. That being said, the 125lb doe I shot through the LUNGS a couple weeks ago with the Power Shok 150gr turned and ran 100 yards on me. It happens.

Bullet selection, shot placement, and deer adrenaline matter.

Just my 2 cents. YMMV

 

[SteelRinger]

I am not sure I got my point across, and that is my fault.

If you are getting larger than 2X exit holes, that is not caused by bullet “expansion”, that is caused by bullet fragmentation, i.e. “failure”. Either that or some bone fragments getting entrained with the bullet and that is what causes the extra damage.
In my experience, when people see small exit holes they make statements like “it just penciled through” or, “it didn’t expand”, when, in fact, it expanded exactly like it was supposed to, but they are so used to fragmentation (failure) from standard cup-and-core bullets, they assume, because it is different, it failed. That is where my comment regarding what good bullet performance looks like comes from.
Don’t get me wrong, fragmenting cup-and-core bullets will kill with authority and do a lot of internal damage, but they will also cost a lot of meat, or fail to penetrate if a no-so-great shot is made.

I will also stand by my other comments. If you want DRT, you have to hit the central nervous system. If you want good blood trails, aim lower so that the entry is lower half and the exit is lower 1/4 of the body. Do one of those things with most of the good bullets on the market today and your recovery rate will increase significantly.

 

[benjamin]

Last 12 deer never took a step, two inches high of the front shoulder. Used 25-06 120 gr. 250 gr. 35 whelen, and 270 130 gr

 

[jpm2953]

kinda unrelated but the furthest I've ever had a deer run(that i have recovered) was with a 300gr Speer 45-70. 25 yard shot. perfectly broadside. 90 pound doe...absolutely perfect shot placement. Complete pass through with a fist sized hole on the exit. That thing ran 150 yards. My mind was blown. Tough critters!

 

[gh1950]

Last 12 deer never took a step, two inches high of the front shoulder. Used 25-06 120 gr. 250 gr. 35 whelen, and 270 130 gr

I've shot nearly 300 deer with the .25-06 120 gr. Winchester PEP. On about 25% there is no exit wound at all, makes them very hard to track. OTOH, the fact that they are DRT sort of makes that issue irrelevant. This discussion can go on and on, but as far as I'm concerned, with proper bullet placement, any modern bullet will produce similar results. i use the same aiming point as benjamin .

I've lost one deer since 1963, where I got cute and took a neck shot at about 15 yards, The deer was hit, but nothing vital, we trailed her on our hands and knees for a half mile, but never found her until spring. So I don't take neck shots.

The only other deer I came close to losing was when some "expert" convinced me to use MatchKing HP, and I did get a pass through with no expansion and a scant blood where the deer rubbed against bushes as she ran off. She made it about 400 yards, and took me a couple of hours to track her down, literally picking up one leaf at a time looking for blood.

BTW i also use a .308 carbine when I need to travel light, which is most of the time these days, and I use 150 gr. Core Lokts, with similar results, again with concentration on shot placement.

 

[danlnga]

I have used 165gr Gamekings in my 30-06 as well as 130grs- 270 for some years. I try for the "double lung" shot if possible. Woods hunting here in GA will almost always be well under 100 yds. I have had a few run 100 yds or so before piling up, but in every case, all of the deer's insides look like a hand grenade went off in there. The surge in adrenaline will some times give the animal enough to go a ways. That's just part of hunting. I have used Remington Corlokts as well & they are an effective deer round too. Just use what makes you smile......I have never lost one.

 

[rosewood]

I have had a few run 100 yds or so before piling up, but in every case, all of the deer's insides look like a hand grenade went off in there. The surge in adrenaline will some times give the animal enough to go a ways. That's just part of hunting..

This is my observation also. A deer can run along ways on adrenaline without a heart. Only way to ensure a DRT is either a spine or brain shot and your odds are not as good on the smaller target then.

Rosewood

 

[K79540]

if you dont want your animals to run...stop shooting them behind the shoulder...and start shooting them in the top of the shoulder