Thread: Sierra Matchking 308 125gr HP for huntinf

@Oldbloke

A few years ago I posted on here about modification of the Sierra MatchKing in bulk milsurp .308 ammo on the station in NT that I worked at. That was the 175gr, going about 2500fps out of a carbine spec hunting rifle. Can’t find the thread though. Might of been on another forum.

It’s important to remember that the hollow point on these bullets is not a proper hollow point in the sense of the Sierra GameKing HPBT. The MatchKing hollow point is an artefact from the manufacturing process and is very very small, verging on almost closed. This is why it gives very inconsistent results. Sometimes enough animal matter will make it into the hollow point to force open the jacket, whereupon the bullet will violently expand and defragment. Other times the soft tip will be forced shut on impact and the bullet will pass straight through with minimal damage. This is why you are reading such different perspectives.

On the station, the guys made a simple jig for the drill press. The cartridge was placed upright in the jig, centred directly below the drill. A medium file was passed flat over the tip twice to flatten the meplat and give the drill something to sit on. Then the meplat was ever so slightly drilled at low speed. The drill stop was set at ~3mm at a guess, and it would drill very slightly the lead core, not by much at all. The result was a clear, open hollow point.

The results were violently brutal on all game, but it must be remembered that pretty much everything up there was headshot with the exception of running pigs - donkeys, scrub cattle, buffalo, the occasional camel. The bullet would defragment almost completely. On larger pigs, it usually didn’t exit. I was a lot less into bullet construction and the nitty-gritty in those days but I don’t ever remember being worried that I had the wrong bullet. (It’s worth remembering that most large pest ungulates up there were headshot with FMJ.)

On soft skinned game like fallow and goats I have zero doubt that that the modified 175gr projectile would absolutely flatten them, but I would expect it to make a helluva mess.

The 125gr is specifically designed for the .300 Blackout and low / medium velocity. So keeping the speed in the mid-2000s is fine. I would however insist on the tip modification because otherwise you are guaranteed to run into problems. Because you are using a very light skinned jacket with a soft lead core you’re going to get inconsistent results. Sometimes it will defragment almost completely, especially after hitting bone, other times it will probably mushroom quite nicely. Six of 1/2 a dozen of the other. If you leave the tip intact you’re going to get the occasional pass through.

If I was using the modified bullet purely for pest control I would have no issues at all but if I was looking at carcass quality for meat recovery then you’re going to be writing off the front end of the animal most of the time.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

@Oldbloke

A few years ago I posted on here about modification of the Sierra MatchKing in bulk milsurp .308 ammo on the station in NT that I worked at. That was the 175gr, going about 2500fps out of a carbine spec hunting rifle. Can’t find the thread though. Might of been on another forum.

It’s important to remember that the hollow point on these bullets is not a proper hollow point in the sense of the Sierra GameKing HPBT. The MatchKing hollow point is an artefact from the manufacturing process and is very very small, verging on almost closed. This is why it gives very inconsistent results. Sometimes enough animal matter will make it into the hollow point to force open the jacket, whereupon the bullet will violently expand and defragment. Other times the soft tip will be forced shut on impact and the bullet will pass straight through with minimal damage. This is why you are reading such different perspectives.

On the station, the guys made a simple jig for the drill press. The cartridge was placed upright in the jig, centred directly below the drill. A medium file was passed flat over the tip twice to flatten the meplat and give the drill something to sit on. Then the meplat was ever so slightly drilled at low speed. The drill stop was set at ~3mm at a guess, and it would drill very slightly the lead core, not by much at all. The result was a clear, open hollow point.

The results were violently brutal on all game, but it must be remembered that pretty much everything up there was headshot with the exception of running pigs - donkeys, scrub cattle, buffalo, the occasional camel. The bullet would defragment almost completely. On larger pigs, it usually didn’t exit. I was a lot less into bullet construction and the nitty-gritty in those days but I don’t ever remember being worried that I had the wrong bullet. (It’s worth remembering that most large pest ungulates up there were headshot with FMJ.)

On soft skinned game like fallow and goats I have zero doubt that that the modified 175gr projectile would absolutely flatten them, but I would expect it to make a helluva mess.

The 125gr is specifically designed for the .300 Blackout and low / medium velocity. So keeping the speed in the mid-2000s is fine. I would however insist on the tip modification because otherwise you are guaranteed to run into problems. Because you are using a very light skinned jacket with a soft lead core you’re going to get inconsistent results. Sometimes it will defragment almost completely, especially after hitting bone, other times it will probably mushroom quite nicely. Six of 1/2 a dozen of the other. If you leave the tip intact you’re going to get the occasional pass through.

If I was using the modified bullet purely for pest control I would have no issues at all but if I was looking at carcass quality for meat recovery then you’re going to be writing off the front end of the animal most of the time.

Hi flyblown.

Did drilling them this way have a detrimental effect on accuracy?