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Sierra vs Hornady!
Several months ago, me and some buddies were eating at my LGS. It’s one of those outdoor stores that has a restaurant attached to it as well.
Anyway, I finished eating and walked over to the gun shop to visit my friends that work there. While there, I saw a used Remington with a heavy matte barrel, HS Stock, Leupold R&B, and some cheap Bushnell scope in .308 Winchester. The tag said, “Used Remington 700 SPS - $400”
What the Hell?!?
That was no SPS. That was a Remington 700 PSS. I used to have one and have shot several. I looked at my friend who worked there and said, “That tag ain’t right.” He said that he knew but that’s what the boss wanted.
What the Hell?!?
That was no SPS. That was a Remington 700 PSS. I used to have one and have shot several. I looked at my friend who worked there and said, “That tag ain’t right.” He said that he knew but that’s what the boss wanted.
Not needing one, I hurried over to the restaurant and told my buddies that someone needed to go buy that gun before I did. That was an $800 rifle for $400!!!
One agreed that he should do, he did.
One agreed that he should do, he did.
We took it to the range and I shot this group with the rifle wearing a cheap Bushnell scope and some Sierra 168gr MK.
Fast forward: He had the 26” barrel cut down to 20” and threaded. We installed a Surefire Brake as he intends to get a can in the future, a Leupold VX-3i 4.4-14 w/CCH Reticle, and a Timney Trigger. Then, I worked up handloads with both 165gr Sierra HPBT-Game Kings and Hornady 168gr ELD-Match. Both shot 1/4” groups.
He was ready for hunting season.
I received these pics yesterday.
Buck #1
165gr Sierra HPBT-GK
100 yrds
Heart Shot
DRT
165gr Sierra HPBT-GK
100 yrds
Heart Shot
DRT
Entrance:
Exit:
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Replies
168gr Hornady ELD-Match
100yrds
Double Lung Shot
Ran 50yrds
Use a good bullet and put it in the right place. It ain’t rocket surgery.
"The Un-Tactical"
Hornady needs a good slogan if they want to graduate beyond performance.
I have been slowly switching to bullets other than Hornady lately. My 6.5 Grendel likes the 120gr Pro Hunter, and I plan in getting some Sierra bullets to try in my .243 (using 100gr Nosler Partition right now). I am using Speer bullets in my .458x1.8, .350 Legend, and will be using Speer or Sierra bullets in my .358x1.71. As much as I want to stick to Hornady, they have let me down too much lately.
Maybe I look inside as opposed to outside.
I have used Interlock bullets with great success on a variety of game in my 6.5x55, .30-06, and .35 Whelen. I have only recovered one and it was the .358 250gr I took my Kudu with. Nice lump on the off side hide and a bullet that held together well. The Kudu took a step and a half and crumpled. The PH was surprised especially after all his insistence that we use "premium" bullets over Hornady.
End of rant. More bullet options means more reasons to experiment and have range time.
From a classic heart shot, hold 6" back and 6" high.
Game over, every time.
Tracking not an issue.
Mike
N454casull
ECHO...ECHO....echo...
Ah......One savors the hypocrisy!
Karma.........It’s a bitch.
.243 Win (x1) = Whitetail 95gr SST, heart shot, ran 30yrds, little damage, little blood
.30-06/.30-30 AI/.308 Win (multiple of each) = Whitetail/Pig 125gr SST, Spine/Lungs/Heart/Neck, massive damage, blood trail, excellent performance.
I have made bad shots and have owned up to them. These however should have been at minimum decent shots. Maybe I will have a chance to see how the Speer 400gr FP performs in the woods. Didnt see anything last weekend, so Im not getting my hopes up.
Disclaimer, fore and aft....270 Win loaded with 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips at 3K fps at launch.
The bullet usually hits a rib up high where it's thickest. Due to bullet design and velocity, immediate and violent bullet fragmentation occurs. The fragments "cone out", shredding the top third of the lungs and usually knocking a nice "golf shaped" divot on the underside of the spine. Deer immediately down due to spine trauma, and due to lung damage....dead almost as quickly.
I discovered this placement by accident, having to thread a bullet through a tangle of vines. Over the years I've shot this placement 29 times and have tracked the victims a total of zero yards.
Aft disclaimer...270 Win, 130 Nosler Ballistic Tips, MV at 3K or better....at range of out to 400 yards.
I would not try this with a .30-30, or any rifle (.270 included) using "tougher" bullets such as the Nosler Partition, Swift A Frame, Accubond, or even standard Core- Lockts. Violent fragmentation and precise shot placement is the key.
Wish I had pics.
Mike
N454casull
Hope you get the chance!👍🏻
Mike
N454casull
I don't try for pure spine shots. Too much chance to overshoot.
Meaning....no tracking and minimal suffering.
Mike
N454casull
Anyway, bullet placement was high in the shoulder, just below or on the spine. I didn't do a post mortem, but the person who butchered the deer told me there was considerable damage to that area.
The deer dropped immediately. I never saw it move once it hit the ground, so I have to assume it was dead before it hit the ground or shortly thereafter.
Earlier that same year, I shot a nice antelope buck with the same rifle/load combo. On that particular animal, though, shot placement was a bit too far back, and the animal ran about 100 yards, stopped, turned away from me, lowered its head, and laid down a few minutes later. Foolishly, I approached the buck before it expired, and it ran when I was about 20 yards away. I shot and my bullet cut its throat. That ruined the cape, but it put an end to the buck's suffering.
That sums up my experience with Hornady bullets. I do like the interbond, and figure it's close to a Nosler Accubond in terminal performance, although I have no factual basis for that opinion.
As for Sierra, the only animals I've shot are prairie dogs using 55 grain BlitzKing bullets in my .222 or 39 grain BlitzKings in my .204. They are accurate, and terminal performance is about right for long shots at small animals.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"The Un-Tactical"
I've got to back up a bit though. One of those deer was shot at 110 yards with a 140 grain Hornady SST Light Magnum. The deers reaction was exactly the same, nary a twitch, but upon dressing the animal I found considerably less damage to both spine and lungs than I was used to seeing with the NBT. This led me to the completely unscientific opinion that the SST is a bit "tougher" than the NBT and not likely to provide the fragmentation consistency required for this shot. So I went back to NBT's and they've never failed me when making this particular shot.
The guy that owned the rights to the leases I usually hunted was a lousy shot. We had to track practically every deer he ever hit, and he shot them with everything from a .308 Win to .300 Wby Mag. You can't learn much from poor marksmanship.
OTOH, I recall 2 shots where "enough gun" and "shot placement" weren't an issue, but still resulted in long difficult tracking jobs.
A buddy of mine shot a doe at 80 yard using a .300 RUM loaded with 180 grain Swift Scirrocos (sp?). Perfect center lung shot, but it still ran about 180 yards before it fell into a dry creek bed that it simply couldn't climb out of. Who knows how far it would have traveled were it not for that steep obstacle?
My Dad shot his biggest buck using a .308 Win with 150 grain Core-Locks. The deer made it 200 yards into a 4 year old paper company planted pine thicket. (Imagine a Texas cedar swamp or a Colorado scrub-oak thicket). Machetes were involved before that long day was over. When we dressed the deer we discovered the bottom half of its heart was missing.
I'm not a big fan of perfect heart, lung, or spine shots. But, if you can mix a bit of spine with a bit of lung......I'm all over that.
Mike
edited for spelling
N454casull
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.