Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Hornady SST bullets

I have been meaning to buy some deer ammo for my 30/06, and I am interested in Hornady SST bullets. So how have your experiences been with SST's, and how would they hold up on a less-than perfect shot such as a shoulder shot?

I have used them on deer and pronghorns in a .257 AI and a .280 AI. They killed everything I shot with them, but I prefer a little stouter bullet. I abandoned them for AccuBonds which hold together a little better and make less of a mess. The only animal I shot in the shoulder was a pronghorn buck, taken with a 117-grain SST from the .257 AI at a little over 300 yards. The bullet pretty much wrecked everything in its way until it hit the spine, where it stopped.

Deer ain't hard to kill.


I've used 165 gr SSTs in my 06 @ 2900-ish on big hogs & deer. They're pretty frangible, and I like something more stout.

I wouldn't hesitate to use em again; they're really accurate and I've been told that since I used em they've been toughened up.

If you are looking for one bullet that'll do great in nearly all 06 applications I'd do a 168 gr Ballistic Tip or 165 gr Interlock.

Ps- my buddy is running 165s thru his 308 and had great performance; behind the shoulder shots result in short runs w/ dead deer at the end!

I shot a deer in the shoulder with a 243 SST. had to shoot it twice, blew a BIG hole when all was said and done. I'll never use them again because of that. but I do use BT's and some say they are the same [bleep] different pile. I like nosler though. they give me a veterans discount. plus they flat out kill stuff dead

The SST has got to be the worst bullet Hornady ever let out of the plant. Big holes, no penetration and not much meat left. Truly a worthless bullet in my experience. powdr

From a 30/06 I would have to agree that there is a lot of meat damage. For a shot behind the shoulder on in the neck I think penetration is adequate.

When shot a bit slower from a 460 S&W Magnum handgun, Hornady SST/ML bullets proved to be deadly on fairly big stuff I took like Zebra, Red Hartebeest, European Fallow Deer, etc.

Started loading the 154gr SST for a rancher friend's 7x57 last year.He and his son took two mules with behind the shoulder shots last fall and the performance was excellent.If they've been toughened up then that's a good thing as they're very accurate and deadly at 7x57 velocities.

in a 7 mag, the 154sst and 162sst are fantastic on deer, they like to be seated to touch the lands for tiny groups.

I'd take up golf if the SST were the only bullet available.

I doubt it. Anything but golf.

Horseback riding...

Having used and/or been right there on kills with both, I prefer the regular Interlock.

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-06-Springfield-150-gr-InterLock-SP-AW/

seen alot of deer, hogs & coyotes killed with a SST in 270 & 308. I would not run them hard but they will do the job if you do yours.

I have been using 150 grain Hornady SST bullets in my 30-06 the last couple of years and they work great. They might be slightly more destructive than the typical cup and core bullet but not much that I can see. Best thing to do is buy a box and try them for yourself. The "experts" on this site seldom agree in their opinions.

I have had good luck with the 95's out of a 6-284 on the few antelope and deer I have shot with it.

5-6 animals in total.

After reading through this thread seeing several negative posts on the SST and not experiencing them myself I emailed Hornady technical inquiries and just got this return email thought I'd pass it along.

My question,

"I've been told the newer SST's have been beefed up with a heavier jacket,truth or fiction? I hope so as many of my reloading/hunting friends have had some not so good results with extensive tissue damage and extremely large wound channels... Thanks"

Re...

Mr. Fleming,

"Yes we have, from the original SST we have made changes to the jacket in thickness and internal contour to aid in proper expansion and overall performance of the bullet including some tweaking of the ogive of the bullet."

Thanks,

From:
Hornady Manufacturing, Inc [mailto:webmasterhornady.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2014 6:24 AM

I would personally never use or recommend using them on deer size game with velocities near or above 3000fps, especially if shots could possibly be 100 yards or less.

The ones I used back when Hornady made the "Light Magnum" ammo were bombs (165's at 2,950 in 30-06). If using them again, I would lean toward medium/heavy weights and keep speeds moderate. Even then, I would shoot for lungs.

Possibly not but these new bullets have proven to give excellent results at 7x57 velocities. Bad Karma continues to hang on even today as with the old style X bullets vs the new.

I'm not a fan of bullets that work when everything is RIGHT.