For those of you who have used the Hornady SST bullets on game, how have they performed? For some reason, they seem to be more available right now than most other hunting bullets. I'm particularly interested in the 130-and 140-gr. .277 bullets.
Hornady SST Bullets - Performance in the Field
- Thread starter South Pender
- Start date
john-brennan
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island B.C.
I have found at lower speeds they are fine but at over 2800fps I found them fragile at times, I don't use them anymore for that reason.
130 in.277 are not tough. I have had a few bad hunts with them. One at 200 and one at 75 yards. The 75 yard one was dead in two steps, but I hit it behind the shoulder and the bullet went sideways and took out the shoulder anyway. The 200 yard one, I hit the front shoulder and knocked the deer over and somehow still lost the animal.
Attilathecanuk
CGN Regular
- Location
- On the way to Onoway
I’ve killed 6 deer and 2calf moose with the SST 139 gr bullet and they were all pretty much instant kills, all of my rounds passed through so I have yet to recover a bullet. Longest shot was just over 400 yards. My rifle is really accurate with them and 60gr of 4350. The 139gr SP interlocks deliver very similar results.
Really? I thought a mushroomed bullet was a good thing.
My brother in law has shot a few moose with them , without issue(.308)
Maybe the Deer that you guys are hunting are much tougher than the Deer I remember from ON… lol
Don't use that caliber but use the SST's extensively. Always had good results from caribou to bear to moose. Lots of bang flops, bullet performed well each time: bit of jacket missing or a petal broke off but otherwise all good. Looking forward to trying the SST's in 8mm Mauser now that I finally got some!
Some people don't like them but I suspect that if they followed the speed recommendations on reloading by Hornady the bullet performance would be more to their liking. Are there better bullets? Sure there are.. but there are worse choices too!
Given the state of poor inventory the last few years, I think a lot of reloaders will have to learn to make do with what they can get .
Load appropriately, practice with well developed loads and make the shot count!
Some people don't like them but I suspect that if they followed the speed recommendations on reloading by Hornady the bullet performance would be more to their liking. Are there better bullets? Sure there are.. but there are worse choices too!
Given the state of poor inventory the last few years, I think a lot of reloaders will have to learn to make do with what they can get .
Load appropriately, practice with well developed loads and make the shot count!
prarie_boy
CGN Regular
- Location
- Just across the bridge to nowhere
Have experienced excellent accuracy with them in 2 diff rifles on paper. Hunting wise I load a 140 sst in my 6.5x55 and it’s a hair under 2700fps shot 2 deer with it last fall and they both died in short order with behind the shoulder shots. However the bullet seemed fairly lightly constructed even at those velocities the bullet made a mess of both animals.
OP, you really need to be careful when purchasing SST type bullets for hunting. That also applies to other brands of similar construction.
In the case of Hornady offerings, you need to make sure that you're buying "INTERLOCK" SSTs.
Not all SST bullets are Interlock type and if it isn't marked as such on the box, they're pretty much just varmint or target bullets IMHO.
There was a time, not that long ago, when Sierra Game King bullets were considered to be to frangible.
As mentioned, there seems to be a velocity threshold where this type of bullet performs at its best.
I like the Hornady SST IL bullets in my 6.5x55, loaded to 2800+fps. They're extremely accurate and I've never had one fail, or been able to recover one.
I have had Sierra Game King bullets fail. Twice. The thing is, neither of the failures would have occurred if the animals shot with them had been at least 75 yards or more out.
The first failure was a Black Bear at just under 25 yards. The second was a WT buck at appx 50 yards.
In both cases, on the same hunt, the rifle used was a Rem 700, chambered for the 338Win Mag.
The bullets literally became grenades on impact and my hunting partner at the time, followed through with kill shots.
I sent Sierra the bullet fragments and described how the penetration was almost nil. Gave them range details as well.
Their response was that such close range shooting of game was about as extreme a test that could be put onto a bullet, especially if it was being driven very fast, which these were.
I had trouble with 200grn, Hornady SP, flat base losing their jackets at just under 100yds, because of the velocity. Went to a heavier constructed 225 grn Hornady IL spire point at lower velocities and nary an issue after that, other than the ranges I took animals was further out.
In the case of Hornady offerings, you need to make sure that you're buying "INTERLOCK" SSTs.
Not all SST bullets are Interlock type and if it isn't marked as such on the box, they're pretty much just varmint or target bullets IMHO.
There was a time, not that long ago, when Sierra Game King bullets were considered to be to frangible.
As mentioned, there seems to be a velocity threshold where this type of bullet performs at its best.
I like the Hornady SST IL bullets in my 6.5x55, loaded to 2800+fps. They're extremely accurate and I've never had one fail, or been able to recover one.
I have had Sierra Game King bullets fail. Twice. The thing is, neither of the failures would have occurred if the animals shot with them had been at least 75 yards or more out.
The first failure was a Black Bear at just under 25 yards. The second was a WT buck at appx 50 yards.
In both cases, on the same hunt, the rifle used was a Rem 700, chambered for the 338Win Mag.
The bullets literally became grenades on impact and my hunting partner at the time, followed through with kill shots.
I sent Sierra the bullet fragments and described how the penetration was almost nil. Gave them range details as well.
Their response was that such close range shooting of game was about as extreme a test that could be put onto a bullet, especially if it was being driven very fast, which these were.
I had trouble with 200grn, Hornady SP, flat base losing their jackets at just under 100yds, because of the velocity. Went to a heavier constructed 225 grn Hornady IL spire point at lower velocities and nary an issue after that, other than the ranges I took animals was further out.
Doc Rainbow
CGN Regular
- Location
- Beautiful B.C.
Only shot one deer ( little spike blacktail) with SST: factory 150 grain in a 30-06 with a Sako 85. Straight through heart lung dropped like a stone. No breakup in the animal never recovered bullet but worked pretty good that time.
Have the patience to wait for the right shot and they will perform great.
Yup again as long as shot placement is Good ! RJ
Same results as prairie _boy in my 6.5x55. Whitetail at 80yards, dead yes but 5” entry hole and shrapnel everywhere inside. Found one small piece in the opposite side and lots of jellied bruising. I’m switching to plane Interlocks and using the SSTs for practice. 140gr btw.
Perhaps you may be confusing SST's with V-Max & A-Max bullets??? ALL SST bullets (at least as long as I have been using them) have the interlock ring. Side by side the A-Max and SST of the same grain & caliber look almost identical. Just went thru six of the last Hornady manuals and all the SST's are described as having interlock rings: have no reason to believe the SST's I've used before the date of my oldest manual where any different either. The main advertised differences between SST's and regular pointed interlocks is the polymer tip which "creates lightening fast expansion". Again, reloading them to the correct velocity parameters will dramatically increase their performance.
That being said, I can see how they could cause A LOT of potential damage on smaller game at short distance out of the lighter calibers that are really whistling them down range. If I was hunting smaller game at short distance (100 yards or less) in these small, fast calibers I'd go with the regular interlocks that do not have the polymer tip (designed, among other things, to cause dramatic expansion very quickly).
Mind you if you wallop the animal in the shoulder rather than the boiler room (especially on smaller game like deer) you're going to do a lot of meat damage regardless of bullet choice. In my experience the SST's have worked great and shoot very well. They remain my preferred hunting bullet for my application. YMMV
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ive only taken a fallow hind at about 100m, an a sambar at 300m, both exited with good expansion, i was hesitant for up close in 7 rem mag velocities, an went to eldx but wasnt completely thrilled about close encounters..... further the better i rekon... close work go bonded
littlehughey
Regular
- Location
- Central Alberta
To echo bearhunter on the 6.5x55 with SST's, firing a 129gr SST on whitetail and mule deer I had excellent results. All were shoulder shots, only recovered one bullet. The jacket was caught in the offside shoulder, the lead core had completely penetrated. To me, this is just fine for deer. The bullet passed through one side, damaged the vitals, and held together until it hit the opposite shoulder. At higher impact velocities or on larger game, I would be hesitant to use them. Some folks are perfectly fine waiting for perfect broadside shots and hitting the ribs behind the shoulder and have excellent results on larger game, but I prefer having a bullet constructed to penetrate. Two years ago, I watched a cow moose take a 180gr soft point from an '06 to the shoulder and it took another through the ribs to finish her off. Found the 180gr soft point perfectly mushroomed in the shoulder - it didn't even make it to the body cavity.
For the 270, I have heard good things about the 150SST, but my rifle didn't like them so I never used them in the field. The 140 SST did have good accuracy in my 270, but no field results yet either.
For the 270, I have heard good things about the 150SST, but my rifle didn't like them so I never used them in the field. The 140 SST did have good accuracy in my 270, but no field results yet either.
