Why Sierra????

[sage5907]

Well, I'll bet they will be back on January 2nd making those good GameKing bullets. I do 95% of my general purpose shooting with Sierra GameKing bullets and I use their mid weight bullets in 270 Winchester, 280 Remington and 30-06. They are very accurate and half the price of the Noslers that I use for hunting. I just started using the HPBT in my 280 Remington and am looking forward to the experience. One thing I don't like about Sierra is that they don't have an on-line loading manual, and even the Hodgdon on-line manual does not list some of their IMR powders so I have to use data from older sources.

 

[Rodfac]

Been a long time now.....but back in '06 & '07, "Green Box" bullets ruled at Perry....shot my first "clean" at 300 with them....and a 92 at 600 with a 1931 '03 on sight-in day over on Rodriguez (Pic below).....Rod

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[GeoDudeFlorida]

I used to buy Sierra’s by the pound, sold in brown paper bags, from B&H Gun Rack in Merritt Island. I still have a bag or so left from the mid-80’s. Give some away, shot a bunch, I remember them costing less than Winchester and Remington big, plain boxes by the pound. Of course, I always preferred the 180gr SMK-HP for .30cal so obviously I wasn’t a “serious competitor.”

 

[Poper]

nothing makes better groups for me than the yellow box.

There is a reason for that.
Once upon a time, I started sorting bullets for my 6.5x55 silhouette match rifle's loads. I would sort by weight, measured diameter and measurement from base of the bullet to the ogive with a Stony Point comparator. I did this with Hornady, Speer and Sierra bullets. It would take several boxes to get 50 identical bullets. Then I tried Berger bullets and I would often get a 70%+ yield of identical bullets per box.
I do not know how Berger can produce bullets of such a consistent quality of weight, dimension and geometric shape. It really is a dramatic difference. If you compete in a high power rifle competition like benchrest, silhouette or something similar, chances are you are extremely fussy about your match ammunition. And, if you are loading your own, you probably have experienced the issues of bullet consistency and how it definitely affects groups. HEY! Being able to hold a rifle steady enough to knock down the 500 meter ram offhand without the use of a sling or any means of support is hard enough without having to contend with inconsistent ammunition!
The yellow box is a bit more expensive that the red, green or black box, but there is definitely a value in that price difference to me.
JMHO, of course.

 

[BJung]

There is a reason for that.
Once upon a time, I started sorting bullets for my 6.5x55 silhouette match rifle's loads. I would sort by weight, measured diameter and measurement from base of the bullet to the ogive with a Stony Point comparator. I did this with Hornady, Speer and Sierra bullets. It would take several boxes to get 50 identical bullets. Then I tried Berger bullets and I would often get a 70%+ yield of identical bullets per box.
I do not know how Berger can produce bullets of such a consistent quality of weight, dimension and geometric shape. It really is a dramatic difference. If you compete in a high power rifle competition like benchrest, silhouette or something similar, chances are you are extremely fussy about your match ammunition. And, if you are loading your own, you probably have experienced the issues of bullet consistency and how it definitely affects groups. HEY! Being able to hold a rifle steady enough to knock down the 500 meter ram offhand without the use of a sling or any means of support is hard enough without having to contend with inconsistent ammunition!
The yellow box is a bit more expensive that the red, green or black box, but there is definitely a value in that price difference to me.
JMHO, of course.

I once read on a forum that Sierra and Nosler bullets perform similar. So to save money, one can do initial OCR tests and seating depth testing and then transfer to the more expensive bullet later. Do you think a less expensive bullet to the Berger can be used to find a sweet spot and then transfer over to the Berger?

 

[sage5907]

I once read on a forum that Sierra and Nosler bullets perform similar.

For some calibers and some bullets I think that this is true. For example, in my 280 Remington the 140 grain Sierra GameKing and the 140 grain Nosler AccuBond shoot to the same point of impact at 200 meters using 54 grains of IMR 4831. I tried this test in a 25-06 using 117 grain Sierra Gameking and comparing the point of impact at 200 meters to the 115 grain Berger VLD the point of impact differed by more than 2 inches. I tried Berger bullets in 25, 27 and 30 calibers and no longer use them because they wouldn't shoot to the same point with the Sierras.

 

[AJC1]

For some calibers and some bullets I think that this is true. For example, in my 280 Remington the 140 grain Sierra GameKing and the 140 grain Nosler AccuBond shoot to the same point of impact at 200 meters using 54 grains of IMR 4831. I tried this test in a 25-06 using 117 grain Sierra Gameking and comparing the point of impact at 200 meters to the 115 grain Berger VLD the point of impact differed by more than 2 inches. I tried Berger bullets in 25, 27 and 30 calibers and no longer use them because they wouldn't shoot to the same point with the Sierras.

The 165 sgk and Speer 165 also have the same poi in 308. The 150s do as well.

 

[Gordon]

I used Sierra bulkts for reloading since the beginning of time. Seriously in mid 1970 s I started using the 140 grain BT Match king in my 1959 model 70 Westerner .264 Wm . Since 90 s I use alot of the Game Kings in everything. More recently , couple years ago, got 1000 seconds .308 220 grain Match kings and shoot them as sub sonics in .300BO . I and son have popped a few deer on the properties with them with to decent quick kills. The thin jackets start to roll open at 1000 fps loads.

 

[sage5907]

I used Sierra bulkts for reloading since the beginning of time.

If the beginning of time goes back into the 1970's then I also qualify. At that time the Sierra and Speer bullets were so similar I didn't have to change scope settings when I changed bullets. I liked the Sierra bullets as a general purpose bullet and Speer HotCor bullets for hunting. Today I use the Sierra GameKing as a general purpose bullet and Nosler bullets for hunting. I don't think there is any bullet that hits as hard as a Nosler Partition on deer size game.

 

[Gordon]

If the beginning of time goes back into the 1970's then I also qualify. At that time the Sierra and Speer bullets were so similar I didn't have to change scope settings when I changed bullets. I liked the Sierra bullets as a general purpose bullet and Speer HotCor bullets for hunting. Today I use the Sierra GameKing as a general purpose bullet and Nosler bullets for hunting. I don't think there is any bullet that hits as hard as a Nosler Partition on deer size game.

When I went to Africa I took Federal Premium ammo loaded with Nosler Partition. For tough game I agree about the Nosler. The partition are reliable For plains game up thru lion. Over that there are better solutions. Partitions have taken Elk and bear perfectly for me in USA with various calubers. I use the 300 grain .375 Partition for Elk and Bear country. I tried Amax and Barnes Copper and Woodliegh Weldcore but partitions always open and still penetrate.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

If the beginning of time goes back into the 1970's then I also qualify. At that time the Sierra and Speer bullets were so similar I didn't have to change scope settings when I changed bullets. I liked the Sierra bullets as a general purpose bullet and Speer HotCor bullets for hunting. Today I use the Sierra GameKing as a general purpose bullet and Nosler bullets for hunting. I don't think there is any bullet that hits as hard as a Nosler Partition on deer size game.

Time began with epoch.

00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970.

Ask Linus. He and the Penguin know.

I’m sure there’s favorites for every little niche group in the shooting world but the general purpose components will never disappoint the vast majority of people in any hobby. What % of the total shooting population are the quintillion mile target hawks? 3%, maybe 5%?

Whatever you like and whyever you like it, if it’s out there, then it’s for you. Be happy.

 

[Gordon]

Time began with epoch.

00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970.

Ask Linus. He and the Penguin know.

I’m sure there’s favorites for every little niche group in the shooting world but the general purpose components will never disappoint the vast majority of people in any hobby. What % of the total shooting population are the quintillion mile target hawks? 3%, maybe 5%?

Whatever you like and whyever you like it, if it’s out there, then it’s for you. Be happy.

Yes , absolutely and some of the latest technology increases in bullet performance in flight and terminal are amazing.But pricey of course.

 

[CptnAwesome]

Not a bad idea. The factory outlet isn't very visually impressive. Essentially a counter with a list of bullets. The ones in stock are highlighted. I couldn't even see bullets from where I stood. Just rows of 50 gallon drums.

As stated before, you just say the bullet number, number of pounds, and get paper bags of goodness. If they can take a picture of the sheet and text it to you, you would not miss it much on the experience.

The experience is more like a feed and seed than a bullet company really.

Thanks for letting me know. I was dying to know what the inside was like. Do they by chance sell any merchandise? Like hats or stickers or anything?

 

[CptnAwesome]

If she is at Whiteman that isnt too far from Sierra, like 30 minutes She could take a drive and call you when she gets there and she can tell you whats on the shelf. Sierra employees are super helpful as well. Fill up a flat rate box box or two and drop them at the post office.

As far as best bullets? I love me some Sierra bullets and I shoot a ton of them, but unfortunately nothing makes better groups for me than the yellow box.

That's not a bad idea at all.

 

[Poper]

I once read on a forum that Sierra and Nosler bullets perform similar. So to save money, one can do initial OCR tests and seating depth testing and then transfer to the more expensive bullet later. Do you think a less expensive bullet to the Berger can be used to find a sweet spot and then transfer over to the Berger?

Probably. However, you will use a lot more of the "cheaper" bullets to find your accuracy load. Plus you will expend more powder and more primers and put more wear on your rifle brass.
I think you would save more time and probably more money just using the Berger bullet of choice. If match ammo is the goal, use their target/match bullets. If hunting, use their hunting labeled (slightly cheaper) bullets. I have found miniscule difference, if any, between the "hunting" labeled bullets and the "match/target" labeled Berger bullets. I don't KNOW, but I suspect, it is a difference in construction only and not of quality nor process.

I have found in my Mauser M18 in .243 that the difference in accuracy from the best grouping recipe to the worst grouping recipe is actually less than 1". That is a load using CCI-200 primers, Varget, Federal brass and Berger 95 grain "Hunting" bullets. Best grouping load is a mid-range powder charge and groups average 0.536" at 100 yards. "Worst" groups average 1.411" at 100 yards. Obviously THAT gun likes THAT combination a lot!
My custom 6mm Creedmoor will shoot a bit better but prefers Berger 105 grain bullets. Of course it has a 1:7.5" twist rate Lilja barrel instead of a 1:10" twist factory barrel that the Mauser does.
Neither of those guns will shoot the other MFRs as well as it does the Berger bullets. I will say, believe it or not, the Mauser will shoot Speer 100 gr. soft nose, flat base bullets to less than 1"with the same powder, primer, brass components.

But..... Hey! I'm retired and have nothing better to do with my time and lots of components to use!
Next up? Developing a sub 1" grouping load for the Browning 1885 in .30-06 with 168 gr. bullets!