Thread: Sierra Matchking 308 125gr HP for huntinf

Oops, forgot to mention. Lead has a Brinell hardness of 4.

Originally Posted by Jhon

From memory they are doing around 2600fps. Will check my range book when I get home tomorrow. They made a neat little entry hole as you'd expect. Half the head was missing on the other side, well, I exaggerate but not by much. So not so much mushroom as blow up is my guess.

Finally remembered to look this up..

I chronographed 3 rounds at an average of 2743fps then stopped as they were so accurate at 50m I didn't want to waste them lol. Load was 26.5gn of ADI Mulwex 2208. This is the older 2208 still branded with the Mulwex name after ADI bought Mulwex. I use 2004 ADI load data with no issues. I imagine current 2208 would be very close but on you to check.

@Oldbloke

Yep I thought you’d be on the right track if you altered the tips. That bullet is going to open up lethally now.

Interesting that you can do it with just filing. I’m wondering what would be the best method for consistent projectile length without having to pfaff around too much. It’s too long ago for me to remember the nitty gritty but I do remember watching the old fella place the round in the jig, pass the file over the tip a couple of times and then lower the drill press, remove cartridge, repeat. It was a very quick, repeatable and accurate process because the drill stop controlled the amount of tip material removed, and he could do a lot of rounds in an hour. Of course the big difference here is this was with a loaded ammo, and not just the projectile on its own.

A board of correct thickness with carefully drilled hole through it so only the excess but can fit out.place board over it a d file off. Or just use eyetrometer and Bench grinder.

Completed 25. File in a thingamajig. Course file then a couple of strokes with i fine file. Obviously bit slow. Length variation was about 0.3mm. So after checking with vernier 3 or 4 got a couple of additional strokes with fine file.

This is how, and end result selected from random.
End result 0.2mm variation.

Tried grinding and too hard to control resulting in tip groynd at an angle.

Drilling doesnt really work. By the time the flat is big enough i get to the hollow point.

they are more uniform than sierra hpbt are from the factory. and those shoot accurately enough.

Ill weigh them tomorrow and come up with some weights

try dropping them right down in your mini vice till just the excess is poking up...your file will hardly touch your vice jaws but will zip off tip easy.

@Micky Duck
Yes, i will try that.
But currently im thinking that 1" is 25.4mm.
Sooo, get a square lump of 1" steel and drill a 5/16" (0.312") hole through.
File them roughly in the mini vice, last few strokes with fine file bullet in the 5/16" hole with sleel sitting on my steel topped work bench.

Well, i got a pleasant surprise. Weighed 10 of each, selected randomly, original 125 and filed now 124gr.

Have loaded 4 with 43gr AR2208, about 2750fps. 1 for an impact test into longlife milk cartons of water and layers of cardboard. And 3 for an initial group.

a big plastic bag filled with water works too LOL

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

a big plastic bag filled with water works too LOL

How good is that. Lol

Yeah my go to in the 06 as well as 125 sst chest shot reds out to 250 yards kill very well .

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

How good is that. Lol

it stopped a 125grn ballistic tip well enough to recover it from ground underneath.... didnt have fancy bullet trap and wanted to see what the yworked like in 7.62x39mm

Originally Posted by NRT

Yeah my go to in the 06 as well as 125 sst chest shot reds out to 250 yards kill very well .

The difference is they have been designed like an Interlok. These 125gr are a basic cup and core with a HP. Sooo, may not hold together the same. Ill stick to fallow or smaller i think at this stage. Still gotta find the deer lol.