Anyone use the new Sierra pointed MKs on game?

[CVCOBRA1]

Hit a muley in the shoulder with one of you little grenades and tell me how far you tracked him and if you even found him. If you are a perfect shooter and hit them in the heart every time that's great.

 

[Locknload]

Sierra technical staff says they have had many reports of SMK use on game animals, they can not and do not reccomend their use on animals. The company specifically states and have done so again and again, the SMK is a target bullet, not a game bullet.

Now as to my experiance, I have shot hogs with SMKs, I shoot them behind the shoulder or in the chest and they hit the ground dead. I pretty much only shoot varmits or vermin with the SMKs. Wild hogs here bouts are vermin.

A friend has a predation permit, he shoots 90 deer by permit per year. The range extends to 800 yards over peanut fields with stakes marked at 50 yard increments. He uses 80 gr SMKs in a fast twist 223 AR-15, shot as a single shot. When we were talking he just went through a list of one shot kills, at all kinds of distances over a 5 year period, most impressive was an end to end, front to rear at 800 yards, one shot, DRT. Now he is not into hunting, he is in the elimination business. All the deer must be tagged and turned in to a local state processor to feed the indigent, by FL law.
Ed

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Hit a muley in the shoulder with one of you little grenades and tell me how far you tracked him and if you even found him. If you are a perfect shooter and hit them in the heart every time that's great.

Put one through the shoulder of a mature northern whitetail buck. Made it through no issue. I will only use certain match bullets such as the hornady eld-m. Why? Because its tipped so I dont have to worry about the hollow point clogging. Also, you can be stupid and shoot a light for caliber bullet at hyper velocities. I run heavy for caliber which brings the velocities low enough to not cause them to "grenade" as you say. People use them every day bud. Just because you dont like it doesnt make them all idiots. If you do not like it stay off the forum since a high percentage of the guys here use match bullets. Specifically bergers.

 

[FIGJAM]

Put one through the shoulder of a mature northern whitetail buck. Made it through no issue. I will only use certain match bullets such as the hornady eld-m. Why? Because its tipped so I dont have to worry about the hollow point clogging. Also, you can be stupid and shoot a light for caliber bullet at hyper velocities. I run heavy for caliber which brings the velocities low enough to not cause them to "grenade" as you say. People use them every day bud. Just because you dont like it doesnt make them all idiots. If you do not like it stay off the forum since a high percentage of the guys here use match bullets. Specifically bergers.

CVCOBRA has been on this rant on a few different threads. I am not sure why he joined this forum or even makes comment other than to get people fired up. The ignore button is there for a reason. I don't think he realizes this is a long range hunting platform and a lot of guys use bergers and eldm for hunting with a lot of success. Myself included.

 

[iowacity]

So back to the topic at hand, sounds like some people are using SMKs. What is the terminal performance like? Are they similar to bergers, or more like a controlled expansion bulet?

 

[Kiwi Greg]

The new pointed SMKs are way different to the old SMKs, there is no hollow point.

The old SMKs generally worked reasonably well on game, much better than the Lapua Senars which are also pointed but not as much as the new SMks are.

 

[MagMan]

So back to the topic at hand, sounds like some people are using SMKs. What is the terminal performance like? Are they similar to bergers, or more like a controlled expansion bulet?

I shoot them from 6mm to .338 heavy to the caliber they all perform much the same. The higher the velocity the more rapid the expansion (my experience). Never had a "failure" with over 300 whitetails. Usually the jacket and core separate. I've slipped them into a shoulder on occasion and usually will take out both sides.

 

[MagMan]

I too am interested in the pointed MK's performance. Have read some posts from people that have had good results but no first hand experience.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I know the .224 95 smk is very fragile. It blew up on a milk jug at 1358 yards launched at 3200 fps from the muzzle. I'm currently shooting the 150 smk in my creed and am hoping to do some expansion testing. However if you plan on using the pointed versions then you'll want to use a small bit and open up that meplat alittle

 

[iowacity]

The .224 95smk is factory pointed, I thought. Thanks for sharing the milk jug data. That's at leas some data point. Did it exit the jug or stay inside?

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have used the 6.5mm 142 SMK on deer, and a ton of coyotes. And seen a few antelope taken with them too.

I have used the new 6.5mm 150 SMK on an antelope last year. Very impressive performance.

We have used the 7mm 183 SMK on deer and elk with good results.

I have used the .308" 210 SMK on elk. Deader than dead.

6.5mm 150 SMK exit. This buck dropped like hit by lightning.


.308" SMK under offside hide of bull elk



.223 69 SMK exit on javalina @ 18 yards




I have several other photos with misc. SMK & Berger Hybrids too. From 18 to 882 on big game, and out to 1327 & 1365 on coyotes.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

The .224 95smk is factory pointed, I thought. Thanks for sharing the milk jug data. That's at leas some data point. Did it exit the jug or stay inside?

Entered with no exit. However at 1000 it did exit. This is the inside of the jug at 1358 yards. Only fragments made it out.

 

[John Klingenberg]

The older game king blows deer up. Usually lose a shoulder. The ELDX has been variable on white tails. Sometimes it expands, sometimes it doesnt. The Accubond has been foolproof for me. I really want to to try the Sierra game changer TMK. The jackets look pretty rugged. I usually buy what's on sale because I shoot a lot of white tails on depredation permits now. So I've tried a big variety. As far as the standard match king on game? No way. I've shot hogs in the thousands and used SMKs for one day. About half ran off the day I used them. Never again. The SST is another foolproof bullet.

 

[dfanonymous]

I don't know what people are talking about. Anything I, or have seen killed with a older match king has not been great terminal performer AT RANGE. They break up, there's almost always jacket separation, and no weight retention. Because they are a match bullet, they have a thicker shank and act very similar to fully jacketed bullet. Yes, they can kill, yes they do damage, but I wouldn't say they are even close to being an ideal bullet for terminal performance. Especially the further way you are from your target.

At distance, that tissue shock that helps with the kill will disappear, and your left with a higherish bc poorly made crappy fmj to fragment off while going through an animal.