Surprise with Sierra boat tail!

[Elkman]

We had seperation with issues Sierra bullets many years ago but did recover the animal. I guess my question or discussion point is why are you recovering .338 bullets launched at close to or above 3000 fps from elk. Were they quarting shots, lots of bone shots etc.? My last elk (three weeks ago now) was shot at aproximately 380 and 438 yards with a .308, 180 Partition through the body twice, both times a little to far back (he was walking). I have killed and seen and killed many elk with the 180 Partition most launched at 3100 and slower, I have recovered less than a handfull. I do understand that a dead elk is a recovered elk, but wonder with a bullet that large and all that energy and mass why they do not penetrate through. Additionally I once had two 180 gr Grand Slams seperate on close range deer and never used them again. Why would you use a bullet that seperates? I would think that they would be fine for deer but may not be a consistent performer for elk. I posted a lengthy summary of bullet performance including weight retention and penetration on this forum several months ago and Game Kings did not show a high level of performance in comparison to other bullets. The most consistent cup and core bullet was the corelock and the Partition, Swift, TSX and a couple of others did very well. In fact if I remember right the 180 Partition had 36" of penetration at 2600 fps. I can find it (maybe) and repost it, if there is some interest. My .02

 

[FOTIS]

I actually wrote to Sierra about this and they responded.

Fotis,
I’m very sorry about this extended delay in answering your e-mail.
I hope I haven’t inconvenienced you.

I think our 300 grain SBT GameKing will be perfect for elk and moose even at the high velocities of your 378 Weatherby. The big bears will not be a problem either in that this bullet has a jacket thickness at the mouth of the jacket of .018” tapering quickly from .070”. I think you can use it with confidence.
While the jacket and core may separate it won’t happen until the bullet has expended the majority of its energy and is at the end of its penetration path.

 

[Guest]

Fotis,
The bullet is impressive at this stage in the game, but that 378 Bee, now that is a beast, never shot one but the size of the cartridge could make a mans knees weak!! That's a lot of gun, not much would walk away from that cannon.

Don

 

[FOTIS]

Don. That is what I am thinking. If it could hit at 3K and do this I can only assume that longer range it is more trust worthy!

 

[SJB358]

That's good intel Fotis. I hear alot of the same from the 250 SGK for the 338 as well. I would use them for elk and smaller without a worry. Tough, biting animals are getting a guaranteed bullet though. I do like the Sierras for practice bullets though. If I don't have stockpiles of 2nds around.

 

[IdahoCTD]

The larger caliber Sierra's are pretty tough. I've killed a bunch of elk and most of the animals I shot in Africa with 250gr .375's. I also have several friends with .358STA's that have shot elk,moose, bears, and African animals with the 225's. Very few have lost their cores and most retain 60+% of their weight. The 200gr .30 caliber bullets are really tough too.

 

[Guest]

Fotis,
Dude, I mean the energy alone with that 300 grain has to be staggering at 400-600 yds then smoking at 3k? 8) I know the beast kicks but it's got to be putting out some impressive numbers on energy. We're talking about a real true Elk Hammer now. :mrgreen:

Don

 

[DrMike]

My calculations suggest that the 300 grain Sierra SPBT at 3000 fps will generate just shy of 3900 ft. lbs. of energy at 300 yards. That is a lot of energy regardless of the bullet. I don't think there is much question but that the Sierra will kill quite efficiently out to that distance.

 

[bullet]

The 300 in my 375Wby was an awesome killer, just awesome, never a jacket failure and the 225gr in the 35 Whelen I had was a hammer and it work real good in my 358Win in fact it is my most accurate load in the 358Win and was in my 35 Whelen and 375 Wby. Custom.

 

[Desert Fox]

My buddy shot this bear at a distance of 550 yards with his 300 Win Mag loaded with 180 grain Sierra SPBT. The bear weighs probably about 350 lbs. It was a solid behind the shoulder shot. The bear took off running and did not shown any sign that it was hit. No blood trail to follow either. We found him about 150 yards from where he was shot. The exit wound was just slightly bigger than the entry wound. That was the last time we use the Sierra. We switched to Hornady after that.

 

[bullet]

I remember trying a Hornady on a cow elk tag I had because a friend of mine swore by them and against my better judgement after having years of success with Sierra Game King I went ahead and used the hornady. Was that ever a disappointing event. That Interlock came apart when it hit the elk (we discovered this when we were cleaning it and the bullet did not hit the shoulder but a rib in the heart lung area) I had to take a second shot after watching that elk go for almost 200yds before the second shot put her down. I swore off Hornady bullets that day and it was years before I tried them again and when I did they preformed just fine.

Now I gave the example to make the point that I was actually wrong in assuming from that event that hornady bullets were not that good. I think it is wrong for us to try and present a single example of bullet failure or a bullet not meeting our expectations and assuming if we used it again we would somehow have the same results. One event proves nothing about a bullets ability to preform terminally. Sierra, Nosler, Hornady have been consistent performers for me through the years with only a hick-up on a couple of occasions. Now one bullet company's bullet over a four year period of killing game was disappointing to me but that was over a period that I forced myself to use the bullet even though my first three animals taken with this particular bullet was very disappointing when it came to terminal results, but I purposely hung with that bullet for four seasons just to make sure and of course after that I decided not to use them again.