Hornady SST for 308 Win

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cheier

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Anybody use the Hornady SST bullet for hunting? I'm considering 165 grain .308 bullets to use in my Kel Tec RFB, for two reasons really. The polymer tip won't deform the way a lead tip might, which could be an issue with the feed ramp in the RFB, and secondly, this bullet has a cannelure so I can apply some crimp on it for the magazine fed semi-auto.

I'll be loading them in 308 Win, hoping to do some black bear hunting with them for the spring season. How are some of your experiences with this bullet? What are some bullets of similar performance without the exposed lead tip (like Partition's) that you also find to be really good for a quick drop?
 
I have used the SST bullets in both 30-06 in my Garand and 6.5x55 in a number of rifles. They are a lightly constructed bullet that opens fast and are very devastating on light game like deer and antelope. I wouldn't use them on anything heavier, though. The chance of the bullet exploding against a shoulder is too great. If you want more penetration have a look at the Nosler Accubond. They are much tougher and also have the polymer tip.


Mark
 
On the Interbond and Accubond bullets, would there be issues using them in a semi auto without crimp as there is no cannelure? I have a Lee factory crimp die if I need to throw at least some crimp on. I use it for my Hornady 150gn FMJBT bullets, but just use a very light crimp on the end, though those do have a cannelure.
 
I don't want to point fingers here but how many of you that just posted have used SSTs on Moose or Elk personally????

I have used them in 6.5x55x140gr on everything from Black Bears, to Mule Deer, to WTs, to Moose and Elk. In most cases, with shots through the lungs.

Even after going through ribs on each side, I have never been able to recover a bullet. The WT I took last fall was hit on the inside elbow and the bullet went all the way through the brisket, exiting out the other side. That shot was at 400+ yards and was so low, because I under estimated the range. Yeah, embarrassing. I should have brought along the range finder.

The last Moose was two years ago. The bullet entered the shoulder blade, just under the spine and exited the other shoulder blade on the opposite side. Happily, the arteries under the spine were ruptured and he only went about 20 meters before collapsing. That shot was around 150 meters.

The Elk was shot the same year, on the same trip. A nice fellow was in a real dither after shooting a Limited Entry animal using a 338WM, loaded with SMKs. He hit the animal in the near side shoulder. His range was close, under 75meters. That is the real test of any bullet. Close range when the bullet is at or near max velocity.

Anyway, he broke the shoulder but the bullet came apart in the process and didn't penetrate into the vitals. The shooter was sick and out of his element. He was lucky, the animal didn't go far. Unusual for an Elk. If they can still move, they do. We found it about 250 meters from where he shot it, hiding in thick willow on the edge of a rock slide. Ugly.

I felt sorry for the guy, his confidence was badly shaken and he just didn't want to use his ammo again. Even though I assured him it would be an easy shot and his ammo would work just fine. He was actually shaking and wasn't about to calm down.

OK, I was starting to feel sorry for the Elk and finished it off for him. We were about a hundred yards from it and when we tried to edge closer, it would just move further away. It was to far for a reliable head shot, so I opted for the lung shot. Very similar shot as the Moose. The Elk was already weakened but still walked for about 25 yards. Again, I couldn't recover the bullet.

IMHO, the SST has a bad name from the old days when the bullets really were made with thin jackets. The newer bullets are of INTERLOCK design which were proven killers in other guises, so why would the SST be any different.

I also use the 165 SST in 308 Win and the 7-08 and 338-06. It has always proven dependable, as long as I do my part.

Now, I really don't know how well the bullets function out of magnum rounds at much higher velocities. Especially close up, like the SMK in the 338Win Mag. It may be similar. But in the 308Win, you don't get even close to those velocities and the SST will do the job well, if you do yours.
 
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I shot 1 moose with 180gn sst"s out of my 308 and my buddy I hunt with has shot 2 or 3 with his 30.06 with 180gn sst's. Out of the 308 they held together fine at 50ish yards but some have fragmented at the same distance from the 30.06. At anything over 100yds they seemed to hold together from both guns.
With the 30.06 he got a through and through at 300yds but not at 50yds. Always ended with a full meat pole.
 
Bearhunter - Shot a deer in the shoulder with a 150gr sst the factory superformance loading range was about 30 yards. Blew up on impact with no penetration. Never did find the animal. Maybe at slower speeds it would be better but when its still moving at 2900+ fps doesn't seem to work well with bones. This is just my experience though maybe it was a crappy bullet in the lot. Will never know
 
165sst took my deer last fall from my 308. Neck shot from about 75yds passed through and the deer was spun around 180 degrees and collapsed.

Bearhunter, why would you tell that guy that there is nothing wrong with his SMK load? Those are match grade target bullets that are not designed to expand. They are not a good choice for hunting in any way.
 
cheier said:
On the Interbond and Accubond bullets, would there be issues using them in a semi auto without crimp as there is no cannelure?
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I don't crimp for my Garand and have had no issues. I can't say how your RFB treats ammo, though. Try some at the range and see if it is pushing bullets in or not.


bearhunter said:
I have used them in 6.5x55x140gr on everything from Black Bears, to Mule Deer, to WTs, to Moose and Elk. In most cases, with shots through the lungs.

Even after going through ribs on each side, I have never been able to recover a bullet.
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I have recovered one almost complete from a mule deer. It was a large doe, shot broadside through the lungs at just over 200yds with a 165gr SST out of my Garand. The jacket was mostly intact but the core had fragmented into numerous pieces. Everything was found up against the far side shoulder blade. She dropped where she stood. I have found fragments of others, both the 165gr .308 and the 140gr 6.5mm, but not the whole bullet. My experience says they tend to expand fast and break up easily.

I have not used them on elk or moose, but I think they would be fine on a lung shot and no good if they hit bone. Since it is hard to guarantee an easy lung shot I prefer to use something a bit tougher just in case. I do agree with you that these bullets like moderate velocities, I think they would be very marginal at close ranges and high velocities. The Garand loads are running around 2650fps and the 6.5x55 will be 2800fps at most and the SST's do a great job for me on deer at those velocities.


Mark
 
mmattockx said:
I don't crimp for my Garand and have had no issues. I can't say how your RFB treats ammo, though. Try some at the range and see if it is pushing bullets in or not.
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I may have to give it a test with some of my SMKs. Though I am reading good things in general about the use of LFC dies on bullets without a cannelure, so I may consider the idea of trying that on an Accubond
 
hometownhero said:
If you can get those to shoot. Many can't.

I used the sst's out of my 30-06 and has great results as long as you stay away form the shoulder. If hit in the boiler room they aint going far.
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They shoot sub MOA out of my .30-06. They seem to be a hair tougher than Accubonds too - if that really matters.
 
cheier said:
I may have to give it a test with some of my SMKs. Though I am reading good things in general about the use of LFC dies on bullets without a cannelure, so I may consider the idea of trying that on an Accubond
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SMK (Match King) is a great bullet for paper but not for animals, that is why Sierra also offers the Gameking.
SMK's are not designed to expand, they will either pencil through, tumble, or shatter when they hit bone. The hollowpoint tip is to move the weight balance to the rear of the bullet to increase stability not to aid in expansion. You will never get consistent results using them on animals.
 
I know smk is a paper target bullet, but it is the only bullet I have in abundance without a cannelure to test if bullets shift their seating in the magazine during fire. Since the Interbond and Accubond have similar profiles, I figured the SMK would be able to provide me with good test data for testing the hold in the case only. I would rather not spend the money on good hunting bullets to have to waste them testing one aspect of my ammo loadings.
 
hometownhero said:
Bearhunter - Shot a deer in the shoulder with a 150gr sst the factory superformance loading range was about 30 yards. Blew up on impact with no penetration. Never did find the animal. Maybe at slower speeds it would be better but when its still moving at 2900+ fps doesn't seem to work well with bones. This is just my experience though maybe it was a crappy bullet in the lot. Will never know
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Nope, I believe your results, especially at such close range would descriptive of the performance of many decent hunting bullets being offered.

I have had similar blow ups with other brands of bullets, especially in the same weight range at similar distances. That is about the most extreme condition a bullet can be tested under. Even some very heavily constructed bullets will explode under similar conditions. I've seen Nosler Partitions turn into petals and the base tumble against the bones, not penetrating or breaking any of them at such close range.

There isn't a hunting bullet made that will perform perfectly under all conditions. YOU as the shooter need to decide what is acceptable to you.

At such close range, my rule of thumb is a central lung shot. No reason to mess up a shoulder.

I have even seen full metal jackets deflect off shoulder bones at close ranges. At thirty yards, anything is possible.
 
cr5 said:
165sst took my deer last fall from my 308. Neck shot from about 75yds passed through and the deer was spun around 180 degrees and collapsed.

Bearhunter, why would you tell that guy that there is nothing wrong with his SMK load? Those are match grade target bullets that are not designed to expand. They are not a good choice for hunting in any way.
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Just to be clear, I know the SMK bullet is not a good choice for hunting. I am not overly enamored with the SGK either.

I told him this because for the shot he was being given, the bullet would have performed well enough to give him his confidence back. Not only that, I fully intended to put a second round right behind his as soon as he pulled the trigger.

I should have explained that.

Sierra builds a very accurate bullet. No denying that. Also, no denying that some bullets just aren't capable of good performance on game animals.

I hunt almost exclusively with SST bullets in all of the calibers I shoot. I also like to use heavy bullets.

In 30 cal, the lightest I will use, will be the 165 grain, in a 308. I won't use the same bullet in the 30-06 if possible. In 7mm, I use 160 grain bullets, in 338-08 and 338-06 I use 225 grain projectiles. I have some 25 caliber SSTs but haven't used them yet. They were a Christmas present.

All I can say, is go with the bullet you are most comfortable with and it is acceptably accurate. Many heavily constructed bullets leave a lot to be desired accuracy wise. They also sometimes don't perform well beyond 250 yards.
 
Would it make sense to be looking at a 180 grain if I intend my range to be within 30 and 200 yards of the target? I'd probably only be pushing about 2400 fps MV. I'm going to be in Calgary today running around so I might look to see what I can find for tipped bullets.
 
I'm fine with 165 grain SST's in 308.

I'm always kind of surprised when guys talk about having bad results hitting game in the shoulder, with either a .308 (regardless of load), or an SST (of any variety).

I'm not against shooting front shoulders per se, but for me, shoulder shots start with hot loaded 300 win mags and 180 grain partitions or TSX's as a minimum, and go through the medium magnums (.338's, 375's) from there.
 
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