Sierra 6.5 130 Gr Gamechanger Review

[Prose]

260 Rem Custom Sporter Ruger 77 MkII 22"
Best MOA to date
Sierra 130 Gamechanger .129 avg .3
Nosler 130 Accubond .25 avg .5
Anything made by hornady (multiple bullets) ~.75 avg 1

43.2 H4350, WLR, Lapua Brass. 2.825 COAL (10 thou off lands) 2815 FPS. Can go to about 43.7 safely in my rifle.

I find that the consistency of this bullet in all measurements FAR exceeds anything I've ever measured by Hornady. The nosler accubond has been very accurate for me but is very expensive.

Anyways, the new Sierra bullets shoots very accurately in my rifle and I would recommend them. We shall see how they perform on game in a month!

 

[Prose]

Took two with the game changer today. One was through the front shoulders and the other was a shot from the front through the brisket. Deer were about 175 lbs on the hoof. 200 yards starting at 2815 FPS (2465 FPS Impact).

The broadside shot went though and exit was about the size of a quarter. No major fragmentation and no ruined meat. Everything on the inside was properly damaged. Pretty similar to an accubond IMO. DRT.

The second shot was straight though the boiler room from the front. It went straight, all the way though, and turned the ass hole into a baseball sized hole. I didn't have to cut either end of the guts to get them out. The heart was penetrated right through the center with about a 1/2" hole but the lungs were pretty much intact. Deer dropped and rolled around about 10 seconds before expiring.

 

[boltfluter]

Prose,

Thanks for sharing. Will keep this bullet in mind as I have a new 6.5 SAUM in the works. This may be a great bullet for some long range work. That's some nice shooting on your part as well!! Nicely done.

Paul

 

[Prose]

Two more yesterday evening. Broadside lung/liver shot at 450 yards. 2050fps impact, 1250 ft lbs. Hit ribs on both sides and exit was 1 1/2”. Very little fragmentation. Deer layed down about 200 yards away and died. Liver and lungs bled nicely and a very nice blood trail was evident.

15 yards. 2815 FPS. High neck shot. Hit spine. instant kill with real fast expansion and 2” exit. Mega blood.

I intentionally hit a lung, high shoulder, high neck, and head on shot and it performed admirably in each scenario. It appears this bullet can do it all, even at distance. I was surprised that I had complete pass throughs on the head on and long distance shots. Folks shooting faster then 260 rem and Creedmoor speeds might be even more impressed.

@boltfluter

 

[Prose]

That's a Ruger 77 MkII with a 22" Mcgowan barrel and a bushnell 3-9x40 shooting those groups btw...

It's been refined a bit

 

[284winner]

Certainly a review of a game bullet should include good results on game animals and pretty good accuracy depending on caliber, range and size of target. That 130 game changer did exceptionally well on paper and as good on game. I'll have to pick up 100 bullets and run them down the 6.5-284 barrel. Not much it doesn't like. Thanks for the review.

 

[STOMP442]

View attachment 1073726

That's a Ruger 77 MkII with a 22" Mcgowan barrel and a bushnell 3-9x40 shooting those groups btw...

It's been refined a bit

That's a beautiful rig!

 

[okie]

View attachment 1073726

That's a Ruger 77 MkII with a 22" Mcgowan barrel and a bushnell 3-9x40 shooting those groups btw...

It's been refined a bit

My old buddy Ronnie Burke would have loved that!!!

 

[okie]

I know its old...

 

[Prose]

It's a goodie though. I was surprised when I tried this bullet in the creedmoor I just could not get it to perform, and have talked to dozens of other people that said the same. 1 1/2" groups or so. Even on the internet I can't find many people that have shown success with accuracy like demonstrated here.

 

[okie]

yes. it is a shooter indeed. my buddy "wrote the book" on the 77--he was a ruger nut

 

[Prose]

About 20 deer have fallen by me with this bullet and it has worked perfectly. No follow ups or blood hounds needed. It's a great all-around hunting bullet capable of any shot at any angle, great accuracy, deadly results. I particularly like that I do not have excessive meat destruction even with shoulder shots.
I hope anyone who read my review and picked up a box had good results like mine.

 

[Adam in WI]

It's a goodie though. I was surprised when I tried this bullet in the creedmoor I just could not get it to perform, and have talked to dozens of other people that said the same. 1 1/2" groups or so. Even on the internet I can't find many people that have shown success with accuracy like demonstrated here.

So what was the secret to getting them to group? Have you had success getting them to shoot well in a variety of rifles?

 

[daniel brothers]

Did they DRT with lung shots....?? or did they run some...

 

[DaveTooley]

I did extensive testing for a customer, like 8 bullets, and the 130 TGK's were the most accurate. No flyers making the group. Consistently shooting round groups. A very close second were Hornady 135 Atips. Those are hell on antelope. All loaded to Mag length, 42.0 grs. H4350

 

[Prose]

Did they DRT with lung shots....?? or did they run some...

High shoulder shot can be a DRT shot which has been my experience most of the time, but lung shots have produced runners 20-40 yards inside reasonable shot distances.

A high shoulder shot is a lung shot, but a lung shot is not a high shoulder shot. I like how the High shoulder shot does not destroy all the meat with this bullet. No frag but at cup and core prices.

 

[Prose]

So what was the secret to getting them to group? Have you had success getting them to shoot well in a variety of rifles?

That is a great question, but to clarify they shoot lights out in my 260 rem. In the creedmoor they need about 20 rounds down the tube and it settles into shooting groups below 3/4 moa (but now I can't clean my bore during season). This is abnormal for my rifle it does not do this with other bullets even by the same brand. I have heard of many others not being able to get this particular bullet to shoot as well as they would like it to in the creedmoor (unless they have a tikka for some reason)

My hypothesis is that the lead angle of the creedmoor throat is not matched perfectly to the ogive of the bullet, hence limiting the accuracy potential. Again, that's my hypothesis I do not know for certain. Once it's fouled it centers up better or something?

I'm sure the 140 gamechanger is perfectly matched to the creedmoor chamber. Seems logical enough, but I'm not a bullet designer.

 

[Bully]

What is the minimum speed for this bullet to expand?
I have a short-ish 6.5G and would love something that will expand at lower speeds.

 

[Prose]

What is the minimum speed for this bullet to expand?
I have a short-ish 6.5G and would love something that will expand at lower speeds.

It's closer to controlled expansion territory and won't open quickly or explosively, however, their literature says is will open reliably down to 1800 fps or lower. I've shot a deer at 2050 fps and it was a pass through at 450 yards and expanded suitably. I believe you would want something softer for your purposes.

 

[Bully]

It's closer to controlled expansion territory and won't open quickly or explosively, however, their literature says is will open reliably down to 1800 fps or lower. I've shot a deer at 2050 fps and it was a pass through at 450 yards and expanded suitably. I believe you would want something softer for your purposes.

Thank you.
I have a couple hundred Nosler ABLR 129's but they're... difficult... to find at the moment. I was hoping that these could be the answer.