Hornady SST bullets

[Kurch]

I know two guys that had bad experiences using them in .300 win mags and one 300 ultra mag. THey were running hot loads and 150 - 165 grain bullets. That being said, myself and a number of other shooting buddies are running/have run them in .308s and 06's at moderate velocities and have been impressed with their performance. Ive shot a bear and a couple yotes' with them and havnt experienced them coming apart and the accuracy is great out of my gun.

 

[Jordan Smith]

I have been shooting deer with 150gr SST in a 300WM for +5 years. The typical reaction is bang/flop. These bullets will not hold together if asked to drive through heavy bone or large muscle groups. However, I have always waited for a broadside shot and have been very impressed with their terminal performance. Having said that I am in the process of switching to a Barnes 150gr TTSX because I have had to let some good bucks walk as they would not give me the broadside shot.

For me, this is the answer.

 

[Hank Hunter]

SST, accurate in every gun I have tried. For Hunting NO

 

[mmattockx]

For the guys saying moderate velocity is good with the SST, can anyone define that? I have a 6.5x55 that I plan to work up some loads for with SST's and Sierra GameKings for next years deer hunting. Velocity will be around 2800fps, which sounds very moderate to me, compared to well over 3000fps for some of the magnums people are mentioning in this thread. Yes or no?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[xring_assassin]

I don't mind the SST's if the ranges are over 100 yards on any animal up to and including elk and moose - under 100 they're a flying hand grenade.

 

[Whelen B]

For the guys saying moderate velocity is good with the SST, can anyone define that?

My definition is keeping impact velocity at 2600 (maybe 2550) or less. I found this generally works well for the interlock design - of which the SST is. On broadsides usually get a pass thru with approx 2" exit hole - tougher angling shots no exit - but deer DRT. For the 6.5 Swede use 140s and you'll be in the zone.

 

[lcq]

My definition is keeping impact velocity at 2600 (maybe 2550) or less. I found this generally works well for the interlock design - of which the SST is. On broadsides usually get a pass thru with approx 2" exit hole - tougher angling shots no exit - but deer DRT. For the 6.5 Swede use 140s and you'll be in the zone.

My experience as well in a 308. Keep it under 2600 and they are great. Push them to magnum vely and you might as well be using a Vmax or Amax.

Brian

 

[Jay]

I've shot 2 deer with the 150 grain SST. Both totally fragmented & the deer expired very quickly. I would not use them if I thought they had to go through heavy bone or muscle, like a moose or elk. But, with broadside shots, they worked on the deer...

Cheers
Jay

 

[Jordan Smith]

For the guys saying moderate velocity is good with the SST, can anyone define that? I have a 6.5x55 that I plan to work up some loads for with SST's and Sierra GameKings for next years deer hunting. Velocity will be around 2800fps, which sounds very moderate to me, compared to well over 3000fps for some of the magnums people are mentioning in this thread. Yes or no?

Thanks,
Mark

Like most C&C bullets, if you keep the impact velocity under 2700fps, use a heavy-for-caliber bullet, and keep it out of heavy bone, the SST works great.

 

[bearkilr]

Expect extensive meat damage with an SST. On the plus side, you can also expect an excellent blood trail.

I'd use a heavy for caliber SST on moose, and not out of a hypervelocity caliber like an Ultramag or such. They work well on thin skinned game and 30/06 velocities.

I've shot bear,deer and elk with them. 30/06(165gr.),270Win(140gr.) and 300 WinMag(180gr.).

 

[Hunter7]

I've tried the 162 SSTs in my 7mm Rem. Mag. and do not like their performance. Too much like a varmint bullet for me. I was getting complete penetration on deer BUT tiny exit wounds and shards of copper at a larger entrance wound which seems to me like they shed their weight quite quickly at higher velocitys. I much prefer just the standard Hornady 162 BTSP and find they drop deer quicker most of the time than the SSTs do. Actually I am not a fan of any plastic tip bullets for hunting larger game. I even tried both the Nosler Accu-bonds and ballistic tips and didn't much care for their performance either.

 

[casterpollox]

I have never experienced any of the problems described here. I use them in my .243, my uncle uses them in his 30-06 and I use them in my muzzleloader. I recovered the SST this year from my mule deer and the 250gr SST weighed 243gr and mushroomed perfectly.

I also have not had the heavy meat damage explained above or the fragmentation. I'm not sure what to say other than I will continue to use them, in fact, they are the only hunting bullet in my reloading room right now. (other than the home made cast bullets)

Maybe the magnum calibers has something to do with it.

 

[Faceman11]

sst

Use them in a 45 and 50 cal muzzleloader during the controlled hunts for deer here in southwestern Ont.
Just DEVESTATING! Hit hard, huge blood loss due to penetration and damage.
Won't switch, esp. now that the easy load version has been developed.

 

[adriel]

I use 140grn 270's and at that speed (~2950) they do fine, regardless if they have to go through just meat or bone. I've never recovered one.

The buck I shot this year was head on; bullet hit dead center, diverted up, and mashed up 4" of spine before exiting. Seems like acceptable penetration for whitetail deer to me.

Using a light for caliber SST in a magnum loading wouldn't be my choice and is probably where all these "exploding bullets" stories are coming from.

 

[BWANA]

Appears 3000FPS is the cut off line.
Impact Velocity that is.(edit.)

 

[notsorichguy]

The ammo I was using (read Post 13), was Hornady Light-Mag 30-06 with 165 Gr SST's.

My crony put them at 3111fps to 3286fps..... Of course I only crony'ed the one string of 5.... so there could have been a variance from lot to lot. But I don't think 3000 fps is the "max" for this bullet.

Cheers!

 

[Jordan Smith]

I would definitely want to keep the IMPACT velocity under 3000fps, and would feel even better about keeping it under 2800fps.

 

[icanuck]

Pics of SST Performance this Year

Here are some post mortem pics of an SST at work on my first deer. I used my Remington VTR in 308, Winchester brass (3x fired), WLR primer, 44 grains Varget, 165 grain SST. Has proven to be very accurate out of my gun, and these were what I had left in my reload supply drawer when it came time for hunting. So I zeroed to this load and off I went.

This is what the SST does to the shoulder of an 80 lb doe fawn at 95 ish yards broadside. Walked about 30 yards and fell. I didn't fire a fouling shot after 100 yard zero and clean (which I hear is a good idea), so when I had the boiler room in the crosshairs, it entered at the shoulder. Maybe I was a little excited too!

The pics came from my cell phone so I appolgize if they're a little fuzzy.

Doesn't look too fatal from this photo. Notice the arm closest to the camera is hanging down. Also notice the bloody tuft of hair at the front of the brisket...

This is a close up of the exit. Pretty big hole! Kind of weird. The bullet entered at the shoulder made a right turn and exited the front of the brisket. On dressing, the lungs inside were more or less liquified...

After skinning the extent of the damage becomes clear. I'm amazed at how hardy she was to walk the 30 yards before falling. The shoulder as you can see is destroyed...

Showing meat loss after we cut out the bullet damaged areas...

SST is pretty damaging if you hit bone it would appear. I'd probably use them again as they shoot really well out of my gun. I want to try them on a coyote!

The meat by the way is outstanding. Tasty & tender...As an inexperienced hunter, I wonder why trophy bucks are so sought after when this is the what the young'uns taste like. Maybe that's just my inexperience talking...

Cheers,

 

[BWANA]

Good thing the shoulder area doesn't have much useable meat anyway !
Genarally speaking,you'll find that the Young Stuff is more Tender than the Old Bucks and not just in Whitetails...
Pegpoint type bullets do have a reputation for deflecting or fragmenting when they hit bone...

 

[thatmikeguy]

i shot a spiker buck this december with my .308 using a 165gr sst at 205 yards. it hit high on the shoulder and smashed a half dozen ribs including the spine and the shoulder was completly ruined and broken. not much of an exit wound but it doesn't matter. it was a bang flop.