I am new to rifle hunting and deer hunting and after taking a nice buck with Federal Fusion ammo last season I set out to experiment and try other types of ammo looking for the most accurate I can put through my gun. I have heard great things about Hornady factory ammo and bought a box of SST and Interbond to try out. I have started to hear horror stories about "bullet failure" on balistic tipped ammo. Does anyone have any success/horror stories from using either SST or Interbond rounds on deer sized game?
Hornady SST or Interbond
- Thread starter heiner39
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I have used factory interbond ammo in my 7 and it worked great I retrived the bullet on the far side just under the skin and it looke picture perfect. I have a buddy shooting hand loaded sst's out of his 270 and he droped an elk this year from 400 so I think they both would be good choices, but if you want to but the most accurate bullet you can put through your gun you will have to load your own.
After a lot of experimenting with different loads, bullets, etc., I have finally decided on the SST's. I use 180 Gr. in my 300 Win. Mag., and 165's in my .308. I find them an excellent bang for the buck (pardon the pun) at a realistic price.
Also load them for my sons' 7m Rem Mag.
Also load them for my sons' 7m Rem Mag.
I would love to get into reloading...I think the satisfaction from taking an animal with a load that I have developed for my rifle would be fantastic. The problem being I just can't convince my wife to let me go out and buy a bunch of new reloading gear. I'm working on this one though!!!
My wife shoots Fusion 150's in her 7 mm rem mag...darn accurate round.
I handload for 308, 30-06 and 300WSM and after trial and error found "my bullet" the Hornady 165 gr SST..never had any problems...very accurate round. I even use the saboted 250 and 300 gr SST's in my muzzleloader, they are that good IMO.
I handload for 308, 30-06 and 300WSM and after trial and error found "my bullet" the Hornady 165 gr SST..never had any problems...very accurate round. I even use the saboted 250 and 300 gr SST's in my muzzleloader, they are that good IMO.
Look into the Lee anniversary kit. Everthing to get started except dies, powder, bullets and primers. The kit can be had for under $120.00. The rest of the stuff mentioned for about $100.00. So for around $220.00 you are on your way. After 150 - 200 rounds it pays for itself.
How have the SSTs performed in your guns? I have heard stories of failures with balistic tipped rounds but haven't heard much of the Interbond or SST. Price sure seems right for them in a factory load. I'm still trying to convince my wife that I need to buy all new gear to get into reloading...gonna be a tough battle I think!!!
All my rifles will group under 2" at 200 meters with this bullet. Took a little time to get the load development right. (all part of reloading).
Savage lever action 308, Ruger M77 30-06 Savage model14 in 300WSM. One of these days I'll get bored and learn to post pics of targets etc. My 30-06 took 2 deer this past fall...one through the bridge of it's nose (in front of its eyes) it was dead before it hit the ground and that was only 2 or 3 inches going through its nose but it shocked the brain. Second was a shot in the center of the neck, this one dropped just as quick but required putting down as no artery was hit just nerve shock. I like what this bullet can do especially the one I shot through the top of the nose. A lucky shot to say the least (about 400 yrds) but amazing that it created enough shock in the nasal cavity to kill the deer quick.
Savage lever action 308, Ruger M77 30-06 Savage model14 in 300WSM. One of these days I'll get bored and learn to post pics of targets etc. My 30-06 took 2 deer this past fall...one through the bridge of it's nose (in front of its eyes) it was dead before it hit the ground and that was only 2 or 3 inches going through its nose but it shocked the brain. Second was a shot in the center of the neck, this one dropped just as quick but required putting down as no artery was hit just nerve shock. I like what this bullet can do especially the one I shot through the top of the nose. A lucky shot to say the least (about 400 yrds) but amazing that it created enough shock in the nasal cavity to kill the deer quick.
The group I hunt with have been using factory rolled Hornady SST and Nosler BT on big SK whitetail/mule deer for the past 5 years (25-06, 270 & 300WM). Between the anterless mulie, either ### mulie/whitetail we shoot +15 deer/year. We have yet to have a bullet failure in the sense that we did not recover any of the deer we shot and only a couple times did an animal require a second shot (always the result of poor shot placement). Of the 5 SST's we recover'd everyone only 2 still had the core/jacket intact, the other 3 we only recovered jacket (bullet failure???). We never recovered any of the Noslers. As long as they keep falling over like they do I see no reason to change.
Have you noticed a considerable amount of bloodshot meat when taking a deer with the SST? That seems to be one of the big complaints about ballistic tip rounds from what I can see.
I hand load 165gr. SST for my Rem. 700 30-06. I use a hot load. 59gr H4350 210 Fed primer Rem. or Win. Brass. This works vary well vary tight shooting at long range. But you should always work up a new load in your gun. Every gun is different and you don't want to hurt yourself. You should start with 10% less charge then work up to the max from there.
It'll depend on how fast you're pushing them and what kind of animal you're shooting. A hyper fast, small caliber magnum + SST + a larger animal would not be a good idea. For reasonable velocities and whitetail deer, they'll do the trick just as good as anything else. I use 140 grn SST's in my .270, and although the jacket doesn't stick with the core, it always breaks any bone in the way and kills any deer shot in an appropriate spot. I don't care about how the bullet looks afterwards as much as the on-game performance.
Republic of Alberta
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What cartridge are you shooting and what weight of bullet? and at what range...300 yard shots in the parries or 25 yard shots in the bush? How you will be using them and what you expect from them is very important to know before recommending anything.
