Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Hornady SST on deer and hogs

Want to hear any results using this bullet. looking for the preferred bullet weights in 284 and 308 caliber rounds.

I've used the 139gr SST out of my 280 Rem. on five deer. Muzzle velocity is a chrony'd 2995 fps out of a 22" bbl and shots were from 40-220 yards. Had rib to rib shots, quartering to shots, and a double shoulder shot. All deer were one shot kills and all had exit wounds. Exits varied some but usually were nickel sized. Anything the bullets hit was turned into blackberry jelly. Hard on shoulders but no deer went over 30 yards after being hit. I don't have any hog experience so I won't go there. I've heard and you'll likely see posted varying results with the SSTs. I will be using Hornady SP interlocks from now on as I can get them locally, they're cheaper, and slightly more accurate.

I was curious about the SST too awhile back after the one of the board experts on here put 'em down. Funny, when pressed he could not state any personal experiences with the SST. I do remember reading Jon Sundra giving the SST a thumbs up after using them in Africa on small plains game.

Here was my post from awhile back - SST On Deer

MtnHtr

Read my experiences on the above thread listed by Mtn Hunter. They are my own personal experiences too. I use a lot of Hornady products but will forever pass on the SST.

RH

My experience with the SST on deer has been nothing but positive. I've used the 165 gr. in a .300 Wby Sako and even at close range (25 to 30 yds) I had excellent performance on deer that were shot behind the shoulder. Nice little entrance and about a 2 inch exit. Never shot one directly through the shoulder or other heavy bone, so can't comment on that.

I haven't used the SST, however, since I rebarreled that rifle to .300 WM. I just wanted to move on and try some bullets that I had not used before, like the Accubond, Interbond, TSX, etc... With so many good bullets like these out there, don't know if I'll ever get back around to using the SST again.

For deer sized critters out of a 270 win, 130 grainers are my go to bullet. Just off the top of the head the most impressive results are:

Mature 5x6 mule deer buck. 125 yards. sharp quartering away. Entry rear left hip. guts, liver, lungs, offside shoulder blade crunched. bullet recovered under hide of offside, intact. never did weigh it.

Mature 5x5 whitetail. 150 yards. Shot from above facing away. Entry on spine in front of pelvis. about 6 inches of spine crunched. guts, liver, lungs, heart. bullet recovered intact under skin on brisket.

Mature 4x4 whitail. 250 yards. Drilled squarely through both front shoulders. .277 entrance. nickle sized exit.

Those three impacts saw significant heavy bone. There's been a few other text book, broadside double lungers.

I have no reservation for deer sized game. Elk, I'd choose a better bullet.

Well I'm really interested in the 139 and 154 grain versions in 284 diameter for deer mostly and the 150 grain version in 30 caliber. I have some experience using the 180 grain SST in 30 caliber on paper and they shot very well.

I use 129gr in my 264 Win Mag and 105gr in my 6mm-270 Win and really like them and have had very good results with both.

I've used the 165s and 150s in 308 cal.

Varmint bullets when pushed over 2800, but good at low velocity.

More explosive than NBTs IME. Even on our small whitetails, they fail to exit on broad side impacts often. If you like very expansive bullets that will turn into shrapnel at impact, the SST is a good choice.

Good Luck

Reloader7RM

I've used the 7mm 139 for 3 deer and the 154 grain for a couple more. All broadside shots, none past 125 yards. All but one had exit wounds and were one-shot, quick kills. A couple were true bang-flops. It's the only bullet I use in my .280 Rem these days.
In addition, both of these bullets easily shoot sub-MOA in my stock A-Bolt, whether with max loads or a reduced charge.
I should add that the bullet that did not exit was from a 200 lb (dressed)deer shot at 20 feet. The bullet was floating under the hide on the far shoulder after passing through both shoulder blades. Weight was about 60 grains, IIRC, down somewhat from 154. Still and all, I was pleased with the performance of the bullet. The deer was quite dead, and still is. A 20-foot shot is a great test of bullet performance.

No complaints from Andy the Antelope. Just shy of 300 yards. 150 grain SST out of '06....around 2900 fps.

I've shot a whitetail doe and a pronghorn buck (and some javelinas) with the 150 gr SST out of a .30-06. The whitetail and the pronghorn were both around 30 yds away (estimated impact velocity close to 2800 fps), and I got exits on both. The whitetail doe was DRT and the pronghorn buck ran 30 or 40 yds. On one javelina (around 150 yd shot), the SST showed great expansion and kept a good part of the core but didn't exit. After that I thought about going to the Interbond, but I stayed with the SST and got my pronghorn with it last fall. (I've had a 150 gr Winchester PowerPoint lose a core and leave the jacket in the deer on a 40 yd shot on a whitetail doe, so I don't know why I should expect a polymer tip unbonded bullet to exit every time). Classic cup-and-core type performance from the SSTs in my experience.

If you want some extra insurance, you could use the Interbond as your hunting bullet and use the SSTs to practice, but unless you are going after 400 pound deer, the SST will probably do the job for you.

Kinda funny "extra insurance", I've had excellent performance out of many cup and core bullets. I find the Ballistic Tips excellent bullets when used at reasonable velocities. This year I may just load up some 150 grain Ballistic Tips to max in my 7MM RM and see just how bad they are on deer at under 100 yards, may be that all this negativity is just internet hype. I have yet to use a bonded bullet though I have used some Partitions with good results.

I found it to be a typical cup/core bullet that was a bit "softer" than the current ballistic tips. Penetration wasn't great, damage was extensive, and animals didn't run far. I wouldn't want it for an all-purpose bullet, but it should kill most any whitetail-sized animal just fine. Exits may be iffy on quartering shots.

Here is what's left of a 165gr from a 30-062900fps. No lead, just jacket, after a quartering shot at 40yds. Entered back in the lungs and I cut it out of the hide at point of the offside shoulder.

Ha!

Just noticed I posted the same thing in the linked thread mentioned above. Should have read that first. (grin)

Well it ain't what the deadliest mushroom in the woods looks like but it sure looks deadly.

I used the 139 grain version SST one year from my 7mm-08. I found it to be accurate and deady on deer. I killed five deer with them that year. Three out of the five deer dropped right there at the shot as if hit by lightning and never moved, one deer ran about 25 yards, and one ran about 50 yards. The bullet did not exit on three of the deer and one the two that did exit, it left a nickel sized exit wound. The three bullets that did not exit had the core and the jacket seperated. All of these deer were killed under 100 yards. As long as you keep the SST off of bone, it should perform good enough to kill deer.

I bought a pile of 30 cal 180 grain SSTs on sale as seconds. From my '06s they work fine on deer, but that is the heaviest animal I have shot with them. Never had one not exit. 180 grains is my preferred weight cup/core deer hunting bullet in the 30-06, and the reason is predictable, reliable results.

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There seems to be a problem with your picture, fremont. The buck's head is turned all the way around. Maybe it's a genetic deformity?

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I used them for 2 two years in a .308Win with great results on whitetail. Then I loaded up some 130gr's for a .270Win and had 2 failures in a row. The second one was ugly and I'm sure a very painful end for the deer. I won't use them after that. I had loaded 100 of these before the season started. On a brighter note the remander were used on varmints with explosive results!

Terry