Hunting deer/elk with Sierra SMK bullets

T

Tim Sundles

Guest
Folks,

I need help with information. I know Sierra suggests that their SMK bullets are not "hunting" bullets. However, I've been shooting deer with thier .308, 175gr. SMK bullet for years and if I keep my impact velocities under 2,600 fps, the bullet holds together nicely. Any faster than a 2600 fps impact and the bullet can come apart, which does not bother me in the least on thin bodied critters like deer. It could be disasterous on bigger animals like elk................

I had a light weight moutain type rifle built in 6.5/284 for deer, antelope and sheep hunting. The barrel is a 1/8 twist for stabilizing the vld type bullets. The Sierra 142gr. SMK shoots great and I want to use it on an upcoming antelope hunt, but am afraid it is too hard and wont expand. My barrel is only 23 inches long and my muzzle vel is 2800 fps.

Does anyone here have first hand knowledge of how this bullet (the SMK 142gr.VLD) acts on deer sized critters? I wont shoot past 500 yards, so I doubt I will be dealing with MV's of any less than 2,000 fps. Am hoping the bullet is soft, like the 308, 175gr. SMK is. Does anyone know, before I shoot some poor critter and make only a tiny pin hole and watch him run off? Any personal experience is much appreciated, but please, no input unless you are a reliable source. Thank you.
 
I cannot get the Berger Hunting VLD's to shoot as well as the SMK in this particular rifle, which is why I am asking about the structure of that SMK.
 
Tim Sundles said:
Folks,

Does anyone know, before I shoot some poor critter and make only a tiny pin hole and watch him run off? Any personal experience is much appreciated, but please, no input unless you are a reliable source. Thank you.
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I think if you're truly concerned about wounding an animal and possibly causing it to suffer an agonizing fate that you will use a proper hunting bullet like a TSX.

If the accuracy difference is minimal, and if you're only attempting shots you know you can make, then use the right bullet. If you're hunting Taliban, then use the most accurate load regardless, consequences be damned.

As to bullet hardness as you put it, I bet Sierra could gauge that for you. Perhaps literally and figuratively.
 
My concern for humane/clean kills is exaclty why I am asking before I go hunting. There is every chance that this bullet will work well terminally just as the .308, 175gr. SMK does.

I'm gettting .5 MOA with this 6.5 MM, 142gr. SMK bullet. I have 5,000 of them from the same lot# and I want to use them if they will work terminally, so I am going to keep on asking till someone with knowledge of the subject, i.e. the terminal performance of this bullet, can give input. I know all about lots of other bullets, but again want to use this one if it will perform terminally. Thanks.
 
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tim, last week i shot some praire dogs with my 6.5x284 using the sierra 140 grain match king at 2900 fps. the yardage was 300 to 400 yards. i shot 8 or 10
dogs and the bullet opened up great. the dogs exploded and flew 3 to 4 feet in the air. i was surprised. rogina
 
Tim Sundles said:
My concern for humane/clean kills is exaclty why I am asking before I go hunting. There is every chance that this bullet will work well terminally just as the .308, 175gr. SMK does.

I'm gettting .5 MOA with this 6.5 MM, 142gr. SMK bullet. I have 5,000 of them from the same lot# and I want to use them if they will work terminally, so I am going to keep on asking till someone with knowledge of the subject, i.e. the terminal performance of this bullet, can give input. I know all about lots of other bullets, but again want to use this one if it will perform terminally. Thanks.
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Send me about 20 of them bullets. I'll try them on Texas Whitetail Deer this Season. I promise I'll report back to you the terminal performance of the Bullet.

Glenn
 
The Berger 140VLD is a killer in my 6.5/284. I had my gun specifically built for Antelope (1x8 twist). Work with the seating depths and charge weights and I bet you can get satisfactory groups for hunting. I have dropped a couple of nice bucks using this bullet. They can run a long way when not hit in the kill zone, I wouldn't want to worry about bullet performance. Use a hunting bullet. Just my humble opinion!
 
rogina,

Thank you for an acutal real world report on the very bullet I asked about. Hopefully more such reports will come.
 
go to Snipers Hide.com.... this subject has been thouroughly tested and documented by eratication shooters..Personally......I have shot 2 elk (5x5+cow) and 1 big mule deer with 168 SMK out of a 300win.mag.All chest shots.....the cow elk and deer went 10 yds. the 5x5 was scared,running at 225 yds.He went down on the first shot......tried to get up...one more thru the neck and he was done.
I would use them again without hesitation.
bill larson
 
Hunting bullets for hunting and target bullets for target shooting

I have hunted and shot for 50+ years, from mice to moose. In my opinion using target bullets for hunting is both foolish and unsportsmen like. I like fast expanding bullets only on varmints and controlled expansion bullets on large game. Many of the so called hunting bullets are still inferior to fused cores to tapered jackets, ie: Swift Scirroco and Nosler Accubond, Swift A-frame Nosler Partition, and the Barnes line of bullets especially the XXX bullets. In hunting situations you don't always have a lung shot or brain shot. I prefer an entrance and exit wound for plenty of leakage.

If you shoot an animal with a fast expanding target bullet you have a small entrance wound and massive wound channel for about 8-10 inches then no exit wound the animal may drop like a shash weight or run and if they run you may never see them again as there is little or no blood trail. The bleed out internally.

If you hunt in areas of dangerous animals bears, lions, lepards, buffalo, etc. then I would not be caught with target bullets in my rifle.

My friend and great Outdoor writer Bob Hagel once said, "there is no such thing as too much gun, dead is dead".

Nat Lambeth
 
I think the problem with using Sierra target bullets for hunting is that their expansion on impact is unreliable in comparison with a bullet designed for hunting. I used the Sierra .224" 53 grain flatbase hollow point target bullet in different cartridges simply because it was so accurate. When I shot coyotes with this bullet, it might drop one instantly, but the next one would only flinch and run off. Switching to the 50 grain Blitz made for a higher percentage of quick and humane kills.
 
Again... go to LR Hunting.com and Snipershide .com search SMK`s for hunting..... there you will find pics and results.... from many kills....for real world proof of how they work.... not just opinions.
 
Rustystud,

We are talking antelope here, remember? 8-10 inches blows out the other side on a broad side impact and there are no cape buffalo, lions or any other dangerous animals in NM, where I will be hunting. I wish folks could read a post, and respond directly and not wander all over the place.

I hunt around the world and have killed my share of dangerous game and understand premium bullets and large bore rifles, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING ABOUT HERE and I made it super clear on my first post, not to respond unless you had actual knowledge of using the very bullet I was asking about--just so I would not have to endure this type of internet blather.
 
Tim Sundles said:
Rustystud,

We are talking antelope here, remember? 8-10 inches blows out the other side on a broad side impact and there are no cape buffalo, lions or any other dangerous animals in NM, where I will be hunting. I wish folks could read a post, and respond directly and not wander all over the place.

I hunt around the world and have killed my share of dangerous game and understand premium bullets and large bore rifles, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING ABOUT HERE and I made it super clear on my first post, not to respond unless you had actual knowledge of using the very bullet I was asking about--just so I would not have to endure this type of internet blather.
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You know Tim, You joined here this month, so are rather new here. You ask a question that has absolutely nothing to do with BR and then show your a$$ when the friendly people here try to give you good. sound advice! If you have hunted all over the world, you should know to take the manufacturers advice....which in this case is to NOT use SMK's for hunting.
If you are hell bent on using them anyway and it reads like you are... go right ahead...it's your hunt and only you are responsible for for making a clean kill. I also wish to apologize in advance for taking up so much of your valuable time with usless internet blather.
Have a good day
Mark
 
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Fwiw, we (two friends and I) used the .338 300 grain SMK to take down two 6x6 bull elk last week with perfect results. One at 793 yards and the other at 360. One word.....lethal. But that particular bullet may be skewing the Sierra recommendations simply because of it's size. 300 grains of lead and copper is a lot of material to throw at an animal. Smaller calibers may not be as dependable, although one of my friends use to use 7mm and 30 cal SMK's to cull hundreds of whitetail deer every year with reported wonderful results. It's all on LRH.com, including some of my kills with them.
 
My dad had an dream last year tried sierras because they grouped good out of his 270. They were match kings. Ended up losing a whitetail buck he said he hit good, left a decent blood trail for a ways then quit bleeding. Hes been down the sierra road for hunting bullets before with the same result. I have better luck with Hornady Nosler Swift. They work alright for varmints but coyotes is as big an animal as I would use them on. Hope I didnt get off subject.
 
Tim Sundles said:
BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING ABOUT HERE and I made it super clear on my first post, not to respond unless you had actual knowledge of using the very bullet I was asking about--just so I would not have to endure this type of internet blather.
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Half-a-dozen posts, Bwana, and you're taking the BR readership to task? Here's your issue. You want somebody to tell you what you want to hear. You have a few thousand such bullets, and you'd rather use them rather than something that is PROVEN to be more effective for hunting. And even if you find one personal confirmation that the bullet you want to use worked for the other person, is that going to be good enough? Despite what Sierra Bullets say themselves?

So, who's guilty of the self-serving blather? You are. Why waste our time with your silly inquiry, when you're going to do what you want anyway? It's not BR related in any way, either.

In my restaurant, when my regulars critique the food and drink, I listen. When some new blowhard comes in off the street, they don't have nearly as much credibility, because they haven't proven their worth to me. Don't like our opinions? Stop asking. Or, to quote Homer Simpson, move to Russia.
 
I understand why Tim asked specifically about the particular bullet he wanted to use. Results of using Matchkings on game varies widely with caliber and the particular bullet. I have watched firsthand the results of Matchkings working great to not at all. Friends and I have had positive results with many of the larger caliber (30 and 338) bullets but very poor (no expansion) with some smaller calibers.
 
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