No exit wound, Sierra Game Kings

[beagleye]

The last 4 deer I have shot with my 30-06, loaded with 165 grain game kings (over near max loads of H4350, 59 grains IIRC) have had no exit wound. The bullets blow up.

Late in the evening, this can be kind of dicey, blood trails can be small or non existent, laurel thickets etc... It's kind of bumming me out.

Advise? Reduce the load? Heavier bullets? Premium bullets?

One fact of life is I am sitting on 4 lbs of H4350.

Thanks

 

[slipnotz]

I had the same results with the 165 gr Sierra Game King over 44 gr of Varget. My great nephew shot a buck at 135 yards with a 308. There was a new coating of snow so we thought trailing would be easy. He went about 75 yards and there wasn't a drop of blood on the exterior of the deer or on the ground. When field dressing the deer, the heart and lungs were just soup. No exit hole or blood at the entrance hole. Good thing it only went 75 yards in a bean field.

 

[wyo-man]

I would suggest a bonded or if you can afford it, a partition bullet.

wyo-man

 

[Ackley1952]

No one has mentioned losing an animal yet! Looks like projectiles performing as they should .

 

[BC38]

I had the same results with the 165 gr Sierra Game King over 44 gr of Varget. My great nephew shot a buck at 135 yards with a 308. There was a new coating of snow so we thought trailing would be easy. He went about 75 yards and there wasn't a drop of blood on the exterior of the deer or on the ground. When field dressing the deer, the heart and lungs were just soup. No exit hole or blood at the entrance hole. Good thing it only went 75 yards in a bean field.

"Heart & lungs were just soup..."

You're not going to loose one in that shape. They can run 75 yards in seconds so it was basically a case of DRT - but the brain just didn't know it for a few seconds.

Sounds like a very effective round for the purpose to me. The fact that the bullet isn't doing damage to more meat as it makes an exit wound would seem to be a plus to me.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Had similar experiences with the Sierra Game King bullets in .30-06. They tend to disintegrate like grenades, hard to find even a scrap of the core or jacket.

I switched over exclusively to either Speer Hot-Cor or Remington Cor-Lokt bullets, which I have used in several calibers with very good results. Excellent penetration with high weight retention and good expansion on deer, antelope, and elk.

 

[WR Moore]

I had a similar experience long ago with 150 gr bullets of a different make. I managed to recover core and jacket and it weighed 33 grains. Critter went about 27 yards and dropped. My solution was to go up to a 180 grain bullet. Seems to have worked.

BTW, I don't use max loads, generally went with something around the same velocity as whatever the accuracy load was. I think I chrono'd the '06 180 gr at around 2550 shoots around 1 MOA or better. The deer don't seem to notice the lower energy/velocity.

 

[bigedp51]

I used 150 grain Hornady Interlock bullets for deer hunting with my 30-06. These bullets held together and many times left fist size exit wounds.

Bottom line the Hornady interlock bullets held together like Nosler partitions and are much cheaper.

When hunting in the woods where 40 yards was a long shot I used 30-30 170 grain Hornady FP bullets in my 30-06 and down loaded them to approximately 2400 fps.

 

[Ackley1952]

How many yards of travel after bullet impact is acceptable? How dead does a whitetail need to be? Jack and Elmer never worked this out either.

 

[grayrat]

You may want to try the Sierra Pro Hunters I think I read they are constructed a little heavier in the Jacket than the Game Kings. I have used the Sierra 150 grain Spitzers for many years with good luck. The ones I have are from the days before they called them the Pro Hunters. On broad side shots I many times get exit wounds and usually the deer just goes down.

 

[Madoktor1]

"Heart & lungs were just soup..."



You're not going to loose one in that shape. They can run 75 yards in seconds so it was basically a case of DRT - but the brain just didn't know it for a few seconds.



Sounds like a very effective round for the purpose to me. The fact that the bullet isn't doing damage to more meat as it makes an exit wound would seem to be a plus to me.

Yep. Same results for me. It dropped in sight. They are all I load on my -06.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[slipnotz]

I'm not complaining about performance, just was surprised at no blood.

 

[andy52]

I've taken no less then 30 deer with the same bullet out of a .308 they don't always have a large exit wound. What I have found is that if you keep the shot slightly behind the shoulder were the bullet is only hitting ribs it will have a very large exit. But either way the bullet does such massive damage the deer won't go far. personally I've never found a better bullet on medium size game.
P.S. my bullets chronograph at about 2650 FPS.

 

[m75rlg]

I use the Sierra Game Kings in a .277 diameter 130 grain SBT.

In my experience killing over 120 large animinals, many with this bullet, I've found if the heart is damaged, the blood pressure is lost and there will be minimal blood on the trail leading from the site of the shot.

If the heart is undamaged and functioning, particularly if the lungs are punctured, blood will be sprayed and the trail will be easy to follow.

Last deer, (163 pounds) shot just this month, the bullet passed through the chest cavity, entering in the upper third on the right, exiting the lower part of the left side and then reentering the left front leg and lodging just below the "elbow" joint. The 130 grain bullet weighed 67 grains when recovered, but there was no blood on the outside of the carcus or the ground. However when hoisted for skinning, the front of the body cavity was filled with blood that poured out.

I didn't inspect the heart (I skin and quarter using the "gutless method"), but I expect the heart was damaged, leading to the absence of external bleeding. The deer made about 3 leaps after being shot, then staggered, and slumped to the ground.

 

[andy52]

There may be some crossed wires here the bullets that I mentioned are the Game king 165 gr HPBT just to make things clear.

 

[beagleye]

Core-locks, yes I have some. 180s.

Thanks all for taking the time to help and for all the great advice all. I have found all the deer. The thicket here are brutal. You can walk past a deer 5 yards away and have no clue. And they can easily run 50-75 yards with lungs and heart in tatters. An exit wound and a big blood trail is my preference, it makes life a lot easier. I'll try loading them down. I also have some 180 grain core locks, I'll try to work up a load on those.

I have found with the h4350 loads my accuracy is almost always best near max. Maybe the 180s will hold together better.

I hear what many of you are saying, you are right, they all die quickly. But I get most of my deer at dusk. It's very mountainous here and the deer love the laurel thickets. A big splashy blood trail is a big bonus.

 

[muddocktor]

beagleye, have you thought of trying a different bullet perhaps? Something like a 180 grain Nosler Partition. You can find them for around $19 per 50 count online.

 

[Fishinfool]

I am a big fan of Nosler Partitions - They have a soft front that expands quickly and does a lot of damage, then the hard rear half that usually exits, leaving a good blood trail.

Soft bullet & chest shots on big game can produce really quick kills. The problem is if you take a raking shot, they may or may not hold together enough for adequate penetration. It does not happen often, but why risk it when better bullets do not add very much to the cost of the hunt?

If you really like the bullet you are using, reducing the velocity to around 2500 fps might allow for deeper penetration and bullet exit.

Larry

 

[fredj338]

Once a conventional bullet pushes over 2800-2900fps, its gonna start to frag, especially if hitting bone or heavy muscle. Me, I shoot at least a Nosler partition for those vel. I like an exit from any reasonable angle.

 

[vipermd]

I have had problems with poor blood trails with 308 Noslers, had to track the deer with minimal blood even with through shots ( only 2 than turned the Noslers to target only. I only use Remington 180 gr pointed soft point Cor-Lokt in 30-06 and have shot more than 100 deer with them, and never lost a deer in the last 50 years of hunting or bear or hogs. The longest "track" was 40 yards. Be Safe,