Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hornady SST

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I've been using mags (7RM first in the late 70s) for a loooong time.

IF you use a PROPER bullet in the right place the meat loss is IN-DISCERNABLE from 270/06 class.

I have a few pics to the point in my next post.

Last Fall I killed my FIRST deer w/6.5 Swede. I could NOT tell the diff. in sound or recoil, in a hunting situation from a 270 OR 7 RM.

Okay, wbyfan & 6.5, here are a few pics of WT that I killed last deer season. They are also posted in the Deer Hunting forum last Nov-Dec.

NOTE, every ONE was intentionally shot, hi-shoulder>SPINE to drop them immediately. You'll SEE IF you look, there was NO excessive meat loss. 3 were shot w/270 Win and 1 w/6.5Swede. Granted, NOT mags but at CLOSE range, you get the picture.

The FIRST one, I cut the shoulders OFF before I took the pic so it looks deceiving. Compare to the rest.






This doe was shot @ 140 yds running w/270, 130 gr. IF you look close you can see the blood spattered and leaves/dirt smudges from where she hit the ground. I did NOT touch her before I took the pic.



Next is internal wound damage.


AT the time I did not think to take a pic of the exit. I FOUND the bullet under the hide on the OFF SIDE.

The last pic is of a doe was @ 3 steps from a boundary fence. She DROPPED.




Next is internal damage.



CONCLUSION - IF you use a GOOD bullet, you will not blow 1/2 the deer away. IMO that's the point of the thread.

Also I don't mess with the ribs regardless of the shot.

There is no doubt that the choice of bullet has more to do with meat loss than does the cartridge in my experience. One does not need to blow away 1/2 of the deer to drop them on the spot also in my experience

That's a FACT, it has been proven MANY Xs.

One reason that I prefer TSX or TTSX bullets but Partitions aren't bad in this regard either

I've only used an SST in a 270 WSM. 140 gr @ 3150 fps. Massive damage at 150 yds, drt. Previously I had used 140 gr Hornady Interlock @ 3050 fps and a 130 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip @ 3300 fps. The SST did the most damage, then the Nosler and the Interlock did the least.

I'm sticking with the SST for now. I'd like to see how they work at longer ranges. Most of my shots at deer are at around 200-250 yds. The SST was the most accurate followed by the Interlock and then the Nosler.

Dan

If you are worried about meat damage don't shoot your animal in the meat.

The 180 gr SST at 2700 fps from a ten twisted 30-06 may not penetrate a broadside shot on a moose. Friend of mine put three into the lungs at 40 yd, and none of them made it through.

Of course, the moose died.
Ted

An SST may do a lot of things, but punching through without expanding isn't one of them.

Just for the record, I like SSTs. I've killed more than 50 whitetails with the 150 gr 30-06 variety. I never really worry about a losing a little shoulder meat. I've also helped load and skin more than 200 deer killed with 154 gr SST from a 7RM.

I have found the SST no less or more inconsistent than the Nosler Ballistic Tip or Speer Hotcor.

I have seen all of those bullets go through pigs, goats and other game and give nice predictable wounding. I have also seen the exact same combos in similar circumstances blow holes through chests like a hand grenade went off in there.

You also hear about GMX and X Bullets not opening, and Partitions having the front core blow off too quick and act like a solid.

The reasons for this I can't nail down. There are so many imponderables.


I doubt the SST is any more inconsistent than most other bullet models.


My general rule of thumb is if you are hunting heavy bodied game, use the heaviest bullet weight that allows for a usable hunting trajectory for your likely range. GO HEAVY!

Right on, bobnob! "Flat-shooting" loads are tremendously overrated, especially the trajectory advantage. NO rifle shoots "flat." The "advantage" obtained by increasing bullet speed from 2800 to 3000 fps is miniscule, especially when compared with accurate range and wind estimation and other operator variables. My beloved 7x57 with 175gr cup/core bullets at 2400 fps shoots flat enough for a 200 yard zero, and terminal performance is remarkably consistant throughout typical hunting ranges.