# Game King vs Partition



## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

I need a little advise. My son drew a youth elk tag this year and I want to make sure he's using a good bullet for this hunt.
We have been using a 150gr partition over 44gr of IMR 4350 in 7mm-08. So far he has killed a couple cows with that load, but the hang up is they are not real accurate. We are only getting about 1.625" groups at 100 yards. Useable, yes, but not the most ideal.

I have been reading a few reviews about the Game Kings by Sierra. I'm hearing they are a great bullet, and typically more accurate than the Partitions. My question is, will they penetrate as good? You don't hear too much about the Game Kings when guys write about bullets. Is there a reason for that? 
I understand every animal and every shot is different, but I just want to make sure I have him set up as best as possible. The execution is up to him.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

A 1.65" group with a fantastic hunting bullet like the partition is quite fine for a hunting rifle and I wouldn't worry about it. 

As for the Game King, they are a fine bullet in their own right. I have killed a number of elk with them out of a 7mm Rem mag and haven't had one get away. The performance is a little bit different and each shot seams to do different things. The last elk that I shot with one was a cow that was running about 20 yards from me. The bullet took off both lower lobes of the lungs and ended up on the far side just under the hide. A finishing shot at 100 yards did her in. I still wonder at times why it didn't penetrate her completely at such a close range. It was soon after that that I switched to Barnes X bullets and have never looked back nor have I recovered a bullet from a elk.


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Use the partition. I've shot a couple of elk with a 7mm08 and 140 gr. partitions. You could try the 140 gr. and see if that improves your accuracy. If you don't want to mess with the load, 1.65" groups are pretty respectable--especially for a young man.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Gamekings are great if you aren't trying to bust shoulders on elk. They are fine anywhere else. Nosler Partitions however are my all time favorite big game killing bullet.

2MOA is still only 6" at 300 yards, smaller than the boiler room of an elk... and you are well under that. I think people get too hung up on accuracy in hunting rifles. IMO, they all think they need .5 moa to shoot a critter at 700 yards when in reality most big game animals are killed under 250 yards.

*EDit: I will say we tried Accubonds in my boys 7mm08 last year, worked great on the cow he dropped the hammer on. 1 shot and it keeled over backwards. Was thrashing a little so I told him to take another shot (more for practice than anything), 2nd shot nailed it right where the neck meets the skull. DRT. 

-DallanC


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Accubond might be a more logical solution possibly. Which rifle is he using? I have found that the rifle is a larger factor in accuracy than the bullet to a degree. My son shoots the same cartridge in the Savage youth model and getting about the same accuracy so far.


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

These bullets are apples and oranges. The Gameking is a traditional cup and core bullet while the Partition is a premium controlled expansion bullet. A better comparison would be between the Gameking and the Ballistic Tip. As has been alluded to above, there are offerings today that combine the accuracy of traditional style bullets with the performance of premium offerings. The Accubond, Tripleshok, Etip, and several others might give you more accuracy than the Partition while providing similar terminal performance. For use on larger game, I would stick with heavier for caliber traditional bullets, or some type of premium. One advantage of the premiums is that you can get away with using lighter bullets that generate flatter initial trajectory and less recoil.---------SS


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## Frisco Pete (Sep 22, 2007)

Same as the others...
Stay with a premium bullet - and the accuracy is sufficient by a good margin to kill elk with at normal ranges.
There is a bit of subtle brainwashing that has gone on in the last couple of decades insinuating that unless you are getting MOA groups you are going to miss a deer/elk.
Make sure that _first_ shot goes where you want. (What is the group size of a _single_ shot?)

FWIW - the Nosler AccuBond was engineered to basically provide the same terminal ballistic performance as the Partition, but the AccuBond (which is basically a bonded Ballistic Tip design) is often a bit more accurate.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Has anyone tried the Barnes TTSX in a 120 or 140gr out of the 7mm-08? Performance? I've got some, just haven't the chance to road some up yet. I believe they state you need to keep them above 1800 fps for them to expand(?)


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

My 7mm-08 shoots 1.5" groups with all 130 and 140 grain bullets I tried. Dropped down to 120 grain bullets on the suggestions of several reloaders. Found H414 (win 760) worked the best and I print .5" now with 120 grain sierra pro hunters out of a factory rifle. The bullet is great for deer and antelope, but I wouldn't use it for elk. For a 200 yard antelope last summer, I recovered the bullet and it only had about 50g left of the 120g. Decided I would switch bullets if I ever hunted elk. The 120 TSX sound interesting.


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## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

Huge, the gun is a Remington 700 SPS with a stainless barrel. Don't know if there is any difference in length between the stainless and blued.


After double checking, we have been using the 140gr partitions. 
So I think I am going to try some 140gr Accubonds and see what that does. If that doesn't work, I'll just stick with the 140 partition. I have one more tip to try to see if that affects the accuracy.


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## EricH (May 3, 2014)

I'd go with the Sierra bullet if you're more confident with the accuracy. For example, I would say that this guy is comparable to an elk. 140 gr Sierra Game King from a .260 Rem. The shot was 197 yards, through the front side shoulder blade and lodged in the hide on the off side. Fell over like it was struck by lightning.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Elkoholic8 said:


> I need a little advise. My son drew a youth elk tag this year and I want to make sure he's using a good bullet for this hunt.
> We have been using a 150gr partition over 44gr of IMR 4350 in 7mm-08. So far he has killed a couple cows with that load, but the hang up is they are not real accurate. We are only getting about 1.625" groups at 100 yards. Useable, yes, but not the most ideal.
> 
> I have been reading a few reviews about the Game Kings by Sierra. I'm hearing they are a great bullet, and typically more accurate than the Partitions. My question is, will they penetrate as good? You don't hear too much about the Game Kings when guys write about bullets. Is there a reason for that?
> I understand every animal and every shot is different, but I just want to make sure I have him set up as best as possible. The execution is up to him.


As a "small-as-possible group, ADD afflicted, obsessed target shooter", it pains me to say this about your "huge" 1.625 groups but think of it this way. You still shot within .81 of an inch of where you aimed. Plenty good for an elk hunt at normal ranges with a good rest. I'd also go with the Noslers. Chuck.


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

I bet that if you tried, you could tighten those groups to 1.600" Then you could go elk hunting with that much more confidence!------SS


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## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

Eric, nice Caribou! That is one animal I have always wanted to hunt. Someday I will have one or two of my own. 

Springville, I don't know about 1.6". My goal was at least 1.5", cause that's what the guys on TV say I need to have. Oh, and that's 1.5 at 700 yards too.

Seriously though, I'm ok with 1.625, it's been working so far. I am just always looking to improve in everything I do. I'll try the Accubonds and see what that does. If nothing improves, then I'll use whatever I have loaded up. I go through this same thing with my bow every year too. My buddies always tease me cause I try something new each year and they have not changed anything in 6 years.

Thanks for the comments thus far!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

My wife used a .243 on a Caribou w/ 100grn Nosler Partition, all of'em in one side and out the other w/ big holes. Pretty impressed by it. 243's are pretty popular among locals up in Alaska for Caribou hunting. She took a nice 350bc bull.

http://www.huntingnut.com/images/temp/hcaribou.jpg

-DallanC


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