Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 308 win with 165 sst suitable for elk?

I am planning an elk hunt for 2017. I plan to carry my 308 win rifle. I have a decent shootinget load that uses 165 gr hornady sst bullets. I know it isn't a bonded bullet, but is it sufficient? It's not a big deal to find and buy something else, but I'd figure I'd ask seeing how I have a lot of them on hand. If the sst isn't good enough, what else can you recommend?

Bull or cow? The SST is not known as a "tough" bullet, generally. It is not seen in the same company as, say, Partitions, TSX's, A Frames, and the like. I'm sure it's fine with well placed shots on cows, but I'd want something a good bit more solidly constructed if going after big ol bulls. Keep in mind that Murphy's law can, and does, kick in. Mr Murphy loves elk hunting too....prepare for less than optimal shots, etc.

Best of luck to you on your hunt.

The 308 Win is pretty gentle on bullets, and your 165 SST will work just fine. Having said that, I like Nosler's 165 or 168 Ballisitic Tip better (I think they're harder bullets than the SST), or better yet a 165 Accubond or Partition.

Bull.... hopefully. I tried the partitions awhile back, and couldn't get them to shoot very well out of my rifle using RL15. I have done some work to the rifle since, so I may try them again. I still have a few laying around I think.

I use 180 grain Hornady interlock out of my 30/06 on a bunch of elk. I'm sure 165 grain interlock out of you 308 will kill them just as well.

It would be one of my last choices. I shot the 139 grain SST's out of my .280 for years on blacktails and some hogs. Very accurate but explosive on entry with angle shots. I've switched to Barnes in that rifle for deer and am shooting up my remaining 140 and 160 grain TB Bear Claws for elk.
I've shot elk with Accubonds and Partitions but have not been happy so now I use the TBBC and 165 gr Barnes out of my 300 WSM and 300 WM.
The problems with elk is that you don't always get that perfect broadside shot,especially if they are in timber.

After shooting a couple of average whitetails last year with the 165SST loaded at 2650 in an 06 I'll never use them again for anything bigger than a varmint. There are better choices out there.

Partitions can be finicky. I've had better luck with the 165 Accubond in my 308's.

I've taken bulls with the 165 Accubond, Ballistic Tip, Partition, TTSX, Speer Hotcore. They all work. Accubonds and Partitions are my favorite.

Try Varget.

SST's would be way down on my list, maybe off the paper...

If I couldn't get NPT's to group, I'd try NAB's. If not satisfied, then mono's, E-Tip, TTSX, GMX. Barnes accuracy load with 150 gr. TTSX is 46.3 Varget at 2,910 fps.

Scenarshooter likes the 155gr. Scenar in .308. He has photo evidence, a bunch of dead critters...

DF

Some claim a slightly faster powder at max fps will aid NPT accuracy.

Some guns like'em, some don't.

DF

After my experiences using SST's on deer, no way I would use them on elk. Don't try to save a few bucks on bullets and let it ruin a hunt.

I was sitting next to a friend when he shot a very nice Colorado bull at about 20 feet with a .308 shooting 150 grain SSTs. He hit the bull in the heart, it ran out 20 yards, and fell over. The bullet exploded, which is probably expected. Obviously, it worked but would not be my choice. This was an extreme example, but nonetheless a real experience.

Nosler Accubond 165's for my .308, and I really like it so far. accuracy is excellent in my savage.

no game tests so far.

should fly pretty comparable to the SST, and from all reports, is a tougher bullet. YMMV.

I'd go with a Interlock instead of the SST. I like the Interlocks at 308 speeds and partitions or other premiums at 30 cal mag speeds. I'd consider a SST in a 300BLKOUT or other slower round IMHO

While I use SST's for cheaper practice rounds, I match the loads to mirror AccuBonds and use the AB's for hunting. The last range session or two I'll put some AB's downrange to verify the hunting loads.

Thanks guys. I'll give the accubonds a shot here soon.

Had great results with a 308 and 165 ABs along with RL15. Was able to get right at 2800 with them and accuracy was very good. I'd be just fine with that same exact set up for hunting elk if I weren't expecting to be shooting at the outer edges of the bullet opening up well.

I have no experience with elk but I used to use 165 SST’s out of a 30-06 on whitetails. They were very explosive. I switched to 165 Interlocks and have been very happy with both the accuracy and performance on deer.

I would have no problem using the SST but would use the 180 gr version over the 165 gr