Sierra matchking performance on game

[Teri Anne]

Obviously penciled through Did you clear the tips?

.300 WinMag
190 SMK
3020 fps MV
2215(ish) fps impact
Broadside deer, impact tucked right behind shoulder and little less than halfway up, pinkie size entrance, jello-jigglered lungs, rather large exit that took some shoulder with it…nasty! Not something you can walk away from.
View attachment 313073

Good Evening. Well that seems impressive, especially out of a 300 WM. You didn't mention the range you were shooting at. 25 minutes after opening a small 6 point buck wandered into my shooting area. 26 minutes after opening he was laying on the ground exactly where the bullet hit him, two inches behind the right shoulder. According to my range finder some 201 yards away from my stand. No bucking, no running simply dropped in place deader than a doornail. I was shooting a Tikka T3x, .270 Win with a Vortex Diamonback Tactical 6 x 24 x 50 zeroed in at 200 yards. No I was not shooting a Sierra Matchking bullets. My ammo is Federal Premium 130 grain Nosler Partition. It left the barrel at 3060 FPS and was still travelling at 2650 FPS when Mr Buck experienced penetration with 2027 Ft Lbs of energy. At that range there was a pencil sized entry wound and a baseball (Hardball) sized exit wound. There was some blood on the ground but not what one would have expected with that size exit wound. There was a reason for this which I will mention later. The deer was hauled about 400 yards to the farm shop where in heated comfort I dressed it out hanging from a Bobcat Loaders bucket. While gutting the deer out when the skin was punctured I was greeted with a deluge of blood and guts, actually nothing unusual with the exception that the heart and lungs were a liquefied mess with no discernible resemblance to the organs that they used to be. Just saying that while all of you continue to try to outsmart the ammo manufacturers who specialize in making clean, efficient ammunition that is designed to kill on contact you continue to expound on the virtues of using target ammo on mid size and large game. No matter how you try to justify using match ammo for hunting I cannot see the ethics behind your reasoning. Please enlighten me. I am patiently awaiting your comments.

 

[Bravo 4]

Ms Teri Anne,
Other than some things just work, I don't feel there is any justification needed. I also don't feel I need to justify anything I do. No matter what I or anyone else says you have already made up your mind. Nice little passive aggressive ethics jab too.

On a more positive note, congratulations on your deer. The .270 & partitions are time proven classics, only way to go wrong is to make a bad shot.
My shot was right at 450 yards.

 

[xsn10s]

Ms Teri Anne,
Other than some things just work, I don't feel there is any justification needed. I also don't feel I need to justify anything I do. No matter what I or anyone else says you have already made up your mind. Nice little passive aggressive ethics jab too.

On a more positive note, congratulations on your deer. The .270 & partitions are time proven classics, only way to go wrong is to make a bad shot.
My shot was right at 450 yards.

I agree 100%. On a forum where ethics aren't supposed to be brought up I'll adhere to the rules. Besides the deer in question had massive trauma to the vitals. Which is what kills deer or any other game.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Good Evening. Well that seems impressive, especially out of a 300 WM. You didn't mention the range you were shooting at. 25 minutes after opening a small 6 point buck wandered into my shooting area. 26 minutes after opening he was laying on the ground exactly where the bullet hit him, two inches behind the right shoulder. According to my range finder some 201 yards away from my stand. No bucking, no running simply dropped in place deader than a doornail. I was shooting a Tikka T3x, .270 Win with a Vortex Diamonback Tactical 6 x 24 x 50 zeroed in at 200 yards. No I was not shooting a Sierra Matchking bullets. My ammo is Federal Premium 130 grain Nosler Partition. It left the barrel at 3060 FPS and was still travelling at 2650 FPS when Mr Buck experienced penetration with 2027 Ft Lbs of energy. At that range there was a pencil sized entry wound and a baseball (Hardball) sized exit wound. There was some blood on the ground but not what one would have expected with that size exit wound. There was a reason for this which I will mention later. The deer was hauled about 400 yards to the farm shop where in heated comfort I dressed it out hanging from a Bobcat Loaders bucket. While gutting the deer out when the skin was punctured I was greeted with a deluge of blood and guts, actually nothing unusual with the exception that the heart and lungs were a liquefied mess with no discernible resemblance to the organs that they used to be. Just saying that while all of you continue to try to outsmart the ammo manufacturers who specialize in making clean, efficient ammunition that is designed to kill on contact you continue to expound on the virtues of using target ammo on mid size and large game. No matter how you try to justify using match ammo for hunting I cannot see the ethics behind your reasoning. Please enlighten me. I am patiently awaiting your comments.

At long distances, when velocity falls off, thinner jacketed match bullets usually provide more expansion(if expansion is initiated) , than say a typical heavily constructed bullet. Heavily constructed bullets themselves may nearly pencil through at longer distances with very little expansion. Typically match bullets have a more consistent b.c. from bullet to bullet, along with being able to get better extreme velocity spread from shot to shot. This will help with vertical group size and may make the difference in grazing the animals back or chest. The eldm is going to expand. It's classified as a match bullet. It's construction is the same as a nosler ballistic tip, which is classified as a hunting bullet. Different people have different opinions on what they call ideal terminal performance. If they try a partition, eldm or a Berger either one and are happy with it, they will have no quarrels with me.

 

[Teri Anne]

Ms Teri Anne,
Other than some things just work, I don't feel there is any justification needed. I also don't feel I need to justify anything I do. No matter what I or anyone else says you have already made up your mind. Nice little passive aggressive ethics jab too.

On a more positive note, congratulations on your deer. The .270 & partitions are time proven classics, only way to go wrong is to make a bad shot.
My shot was right at 450 yards.

As many of you may well have figured out I am not what you consider a long range person. Trying to hit a deer sized target in a deadly zone is not something to be considered lightly. Conversely, you do what you need to do in the military to accomplish the mission. To me accomplishing the mission is hitting the target and making sure that the target does not shoot back. No deer, elk, moose or bear is ever going to shoot back but that is not to diminish the fact that they can in fact take you out of the picture. Many a hunter has been taken out so to speak by the game they are hunting from the whitetail to the Alaskan Brown or Kodiak bear. Sometimes man/woman loses the fight for supremacy and the animals in their own habitat win. So be it, Mankind is not necessarily the supreme being when going against the animal kingdom. Don't ever think that you cannot be taken out by a simple animal that you re hunting. History is filled with stories of professional hunters that never made it back from the hunt. Fortunately there are few north american animals that are vicious enough to take out a hunter. Big bears are the exception. Big bears will kill you and have you for dessert.

 

[Teri Anne]

As many of you may well have figured out I am not what you consider a long range person. Trying to hit a deer sized target in a deadly zone is not something to be considered lightly. Conversely, you do what you need to do in the military to accomplish the mission. To me accomplishing the mission is hitting the target and making sure that the target does not shoot back. No deer, elk, moose or bear is ever going to shoot back but that is not to diminish the fact that they can in fact take you out of the picture. Many a hunter has been taken out so to speak by the game they are hunting from the whitetail to the Alaskan Brown or Kodiak bear. Sometimes man/woman loses the fight for supremacy and the animals in their own habitat win. So be it, Mankind is not necessarily the supreme being when going against the animal kingdom. Don't ever think that you cannot be taken out by a simple animal that you re hunting. History is filled with stories of professional hunters that never made it back from the hunt. Fortunately there are few north american animals that are vicious enough to take out a hunter. Big bears are the exception. Big bears will kill you and have you for dessert.

My only response is that why does everyone here try to prove the manufacturers wrong?? Yes, all it takes is for a FMJ bullet to hit in the target zone no matter where it is to kill anyone or anything all it takes is to hit in the target area with any bullet from a coyote to a wolf or other large game animal and it's history over.

 

[DJ Fergus]

My only response is that why does everyone here try to prove the manufacturers wrong?? Yes, all it takes is for a FMJ bullet to hit in the target zone no matter where it is to kill anyone or anything all it takes is to hit in the target area with any bullet from a coyote to a wolf or other large game animal and it's history over.

At longer distances, as far as hitting what is aimed at, target bullets usually dominate. Consistent Initiation of expansion is what has been questioned of the smk. Bergers were all initially deemed target bullets by the manufacturer. Then people started having success with them as hunting bullets. For example: the 115gr 25 cal Berger started as a target bullet. It's the exact same bullet only they call it a hunting bullet now. I have a pair of running shoes but I actually just walk in them. I know that I'm going against the manufacturer recommendations but my joints can't handle the running anymore .

 

[xsn10s]

At longer distances, as far as hitting what is aimed at, target bullets usually dominate. Consistent Initiation of expansion is what has been questioned of the smk. Bergers were all initially deemed target bullets by the manufacturer. Then people started having success with them as hunting bullets. For example: the 115gr 25 cal Berger started as a target bullet. It's the exact same bullet only they call it a hunting bullet now. I have a pair of running shoes but I actually just walk in them. I know that I'm going against the manufacturer recommendations but my joints can't handle the running anymore .

https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/federal-berger-hybrid-hunter-ammo/360227

 

[Teri Anne]

At longer distances, as far as hitting what is aimed at, target bullets usually dominate. Consistent Initiation of expansion is what has been questioned of the smk. Bergers were all initially deemed target bullets by the manufacturer. Then people started having success with them as hunting bullets. For example: the 115gr 25 cal Berger started as a target bullet. It's the exact same bullet only they call it a hunting bullet now. I have a pair of running shoes but I actually just walk in them. I know that I'm going against the manufacturer recommendations but my joints can't handle the running anymore .

I completely understand the running anymore, much less the climbing. No matter what the facts are someome

 

[xsn10s]

https://www.bergerbullets.com/images/articles/John_Barness-Handloader.pdf

 

[xsn10s]

https://www.bergerbullets.com/images/articles/John_Barness-Handloader.pdf

If you read through this article you'll see the testing media results. One thing to note is the partition bullet media test. You'll see that it performed the way it was designed to. Frangible front section, basically a FMJ rear section. Sierra MatchKings and Bergers are NOT FMJ's. They are HPBT.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Sierra MatchKings and Bergers are NOT FMJ's. They are HPBT.

I recently purchased some Sierra 142gr (.284") Matchking bullets. Unlike older 142 SMK bullets, I found all of the new bullets to have closed noses or a hole no bigger than a pin hole. I'm not sure how these bullets would perform on game but there are too many better choices to bother testing them on anything other than paper.

Bullet specs sometimes change without notice.

 

[xsn10s]

I recently purchased some Sierra 142gr (.284") Matchking bullets. Unlike older 142 SMK bullets, I found all of the new bullets to have closed noses or a hole no bigger than a pin hole. I'm not sure how these bullets would perform on game but there are too many better choices to bother testing them on anything other than paper.

Bullet specs sometimes change without notice.

I'd just run a .27" or .030" drill bit to clear them out. Same spec as on the 30-215 Berger. It's what I did on the Barnes Match Burner's. The Berger Target Match 22-55gr opened up on me at 584 yards. .030 opening on those.

 

[xsn10s]

I'd just run a .27" or .030" drill bit to clear them out. Same spec as on the 30-215 Berger. It's what I did on the Barnes Match Burner's. The Berger Target Match 22-55gr opened up on me at 584 yards. .030 opening on those.

I'd do the same on the SMK 6.5mm-150 that I have. I have some old 6.5mm-142 SMK somewhere from the mid 1990's. When I find them I'll check the opening for them. Opening or clearing the tips is pretty standard when using SMK or even Bergers.