Just a quick query on if anyone's using Sierra MatchKings for hunting? Shoot great out of my rifle. After googling its a bit of a split vote but I'll believe what I hear on here rather than a bunch of yanks arguing from their armchairs.
Printable View
Just a quick query on if anyone's using Sierra MatchKings for hunting? Shoot great out of my rifle. After googling its a bit of a split vote but I'll believe what I hear on here rather than a bunch of yanks arguing from their armchairs.
What cal? I tried the 69SMK from factory Fiocchi 223 match ammo on wallabies and was unimpressed - it killed well enough at close range but further out it tended to pencil through and not kill fast at all. Pretty slow load though, MV not far over 2700 from memory. In comparison the Hornady 68bthp @ 2850 has given pretty instant bang-flop on the two wallabies I've shot with it so far, at 135 and 305.
308, MV of 2700. 168gr MatchKings.
Yeah, 180 grain Sierra Match Kings shoot the best consistency out of my .300 Win Mag, out of any of the projectiles I've tried so far on paper at 100m, so I'm interested in knowing the answer to that question too!;)Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyP
I haven't used the match kings but i would be inclined to use the 168 amaxes you also shot 5 under an inch.
Ive shot quite a few deer with the 150gr 168gr in the 7mm mag and the 190gr in a 300 win mag and all have worked pritty well.
300 grain match kings from a 338 are superb hunting projectiles. Results may vary in smaller calibre s though
I have used 120 smk's in the 6.5 and dropped goats on the spot at 300m only had one goat walk about 30m from it. Used 150 smk's in the 300wsm and well I have never shot an animal with them my brother droped a stag on the spot and nailed a few goats with them. So I'd say they work.
SMK not designed for hunting. What some guys do with the high BC match type projectiles is to invest in a meplat trimmer to improve expansion.
What are you trying to achieve ? Do you want higher BC / better ballistics ? Are you shooting far enough for it to be necessary ?
Personally, I'd stick with hunting bullets for hunting. For 308 you have oodles of choice :thumbsup:
I've shot a two of sambar at less that 50y with my .338 and 300g SMK. Neither moved and the exit hole was more than impressive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve338
Yeah, I just didn't like the velocity of those is all - they were shooting under 2500fps. Putting the info in my ballistics app the holdovers on my reticle don't work as well. Can only use 12.5x zoom to line them up instead of 15x with the SMK's. That's for holdovers at 300, 400, 450 and 500yds and zeros at 200.Quote:
Originally Posted by veitnamcam
Am I being too fussy? Have recalced the accuracy of both and it was 0.9 MOA on the AMAX's and 0.54 on the SMK's. So almost twice as accurate. And just under 2500fps vs 2700fps on the SMK's. What would you use taking all of that into account?
Just for hunting, I guess 0-400m. I shot groups of nearly everything available in 150gr and 168gr, excluding FMJ, etc. The two above performed the best by quite a bit. 150gr SST Superformance was good too except for 1 flyer in a 5 shot group.Quote:
Originally Posted by ebf
Edit - everything available from one shop anyway.
Sounds like they will work goin on others experiences.
That is quite slow for the amaxes.
The reason why Sierra list the SMK as "not for hunting" is so that the American military can use them and not have to worry about the Geneva convention side of things.
There is a thread on snipers hide with animals of all sizes opened up pretty good.
The 155gr Scenar also seems to be popular over there.
Awesome. Got a link handy?Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Seems those who have used them are happy with the performance. That was the same general theme from the yanks too, except those that hadn't used them were screaming bloody murder at the travesty of using "match bullets" on game.
They either work or they don't ... I guess some people have experience of using them
The sierra reloading manuals for the calibres I have (223, 243) have
"Sierra does not recommend MatchKing bullets for hunting applications."
printed at the bottom of the load tables on each page .... but that may just be them doing some classic ass covering ...
Read this link Sniper Use of Open-Tip Ammunition this is why Sierra say "not for hunting" it means they can keep their military contracts.Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwi39
nice !! You learn something new every day !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by stug
Post your SMK/Match bullet kills
A few dead deers
I wouldn't recommend them, I've only used the .22 cal ones for hunting (69gn MK) goats and smaller game and would steer well away.
Pencilled through goats and even through a hare, it got up and ran off. Not good.
I would be extremely reluctant to recommend any of the Scenars for hunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
The terminal performance I got with the 155s was abysmal, in the Rum & 308.
Generally the jackets are very tough.
They are awesomely accurate projectiles with reasonable BCs :)
I've heard that about the Scenars too, just putting it out there. I prefer to run A max's where possible.
2-3 years back I bought 100x 168g SMK from Sportsway for $120 (should have bought more :oh noes: ) On paper they were the best performing factory load in my Sako 75 308.
I pulled the SMK's out and put in 165g SGK's which were also good on paper. Both were very effective in the bush. I have since done handloads for them and they are my go-to round everytime
There is some typical dodgy lawyer logic in that.Quote:
Originally Posted by stug
3 words where one would do ... They're all dodgy !!! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Barefoot
Stug, I honestly don't think that a 23 year old legal opinion written by a military lawyer about the legalities of using projectiles in war has any bearing on their hunting performance.
Most deer (at least the ones I come across) don't wear flack jackets or body armour... :P At a certain point just about any projectile will fragment...
Can you kill an animal with FMJ / match ammo / add whatever you want here ? Yup
Can you find pics on the internet about animals supposedly shot with that ammo ? Yup
Does that mean it is the best choice when it comes to clean, effective kills ? Your choice...
I've got a mate who claims "Id rather use a bullet that can hit a deer, even if it doesn't stop it, than use a bullet that's designed to kill it, with 'impeccable' hunting performance, and miss!":DQuote:
Originally Posted by ebf
Hehe, that's one way of looking at it :D depending on the type of projectiles your mate uses, guess he gets lots of practise following blood trails.
Soft points or barnes solid for me tx, I like the bang flop approach :P
Going from the experince of people who have used them here (in the larger cals) it's worth a shot.
I don't know what bullets he uses, however, if you read the fourth (I think it is) post to this thread, I say that the 180 grain SMK's shoot best in my rifle, (.300 Win Mag) so I'm as equally interested in the "punter's verdicts" as the person is who posted this thread, and this was a question I asked my mate only yesterday, and that was his response! I personally prefer the hit and drop method myself, and I've traditionally been a "Nosler Ballistic Tip" man, but if you aint gonna hit 'em!...:faill:Quote:
Originally Posted by ebf
Ive gone back to using the 175smk 7mm, from the 162amax
what were your reasons for doing that ? keen to understand what caused you to decide that.Quote:
Originally Posted by striker
Not a magic pill. Shot placement has a lot to do with the knock down performance
easier to get, they shoot better in my rifles and in my experiance they work just as well as an amaxQuote:
Originally Posted by ebf
Yeah. At this point the only bad things i've read from people who've hunted with them seems to be high velocity small cal like 223's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toby