Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heavy For Caliber Hornady SST

I went on a deer/pig hunt in South Texas with several other people in 2017. We were all "field testing" a new rifle, all chambered in .308, using Fiocchi factory ammo loaded with 150 SSTs at a listed 2820 fps. Since the rifle barrels were 22" long, I would guess the actual velocity was somewhere in the 2700s.

All together we killed 20 animals, including both deer and pigs up to 200 pounds. Never recovered a bullet, and one of the biggest deer was shot quartering to the hunt at around 100 yards, and biggest pig was shot through both shoulders at a similar range.

Thanks mathman. They are tempting. I have shot some 140gr sst's through my 6.5x55, when I was having a hard time finding the ELD match bullets. They seemed to shoot very well. I looked that particular SST up on midway, powder valley, cabela's and sportsman's and they are all wanting about $40-43/box right now, so $32 seems pretty reasonable: More like pre pandemic priced.

Even the early "soft" 165 grain SST was fine on deer from a 308. These were started at about 2740 fps with 46 grains of Varget (RP brass*, CCI BR2) out of a 24" barreled Kimber Longmaster.

*Years ago, before RP brass took a dive.

I loaded the 225 in my .338 for several years, worked great on several Mule Deer and Elk, loaded the 140s in my boys .270, also worked great on Muley bucks.

Makes sense - I haven't used them in quite some time, probably since about 2000. I used the 150g SST in a 308 at very pedestrian velocities and it literally was the most fragile non-varmint bullet I had ever used. I tried a couple of other boxes in other calibers but could never get them to group like I could competitors so I never saw a reason to go back to them. Good to know that they might be a viable option to return to given the general non-availability of components!

Buzz,

I suspect (and not just from guessing) that Hornady made changes like Nosler did after some (not all bullet weights and calibers) of the early Ballistic Tips came apart. Nosler solved the problems by making cores harder, and sometimes changing jacket thickness. Am pretty sure that's what Hornady did as well.

The big problem was that nobody realized how much using a plastic tip would affect expansion, so they used basically the same cores and jackets that had worked in the Nosler Solid Base softpoints and Hornady Interlocks. But a plastic tip requires a BIG "hollow-point" to insert the shank of the tip--which changed expansion considerably.

Prior to the Nosler Accubond coming out, I used the 139 grain SSTs in my 7-08. It accounted for a number of PA whitetails. Never had a problem with over-expansion or bullet failure, other than shedding a cup on a couple of occasions. Shots were 20 to 159 yards.
The only reason I switched over to the Accubonds was that they shot a bit better in my rifle and I could load up regular ballistic tips for practice rounds as they shot identically to the accubonds.

Makes sense. I suppose that they are better now, but I have zero reason to try them again. There are enough known performers out there, that I do not need to experiment again on the 20+ deer that I shoot every year. I would probably buy them, if it was some kind of super deal, though.

I have a baggie of 140SST for the .260, when/if I get around to reloading for it. I have used the factory H Superperformance 150's in 30-06 on caribou. 2016-2018. They are moving out at just over 3000 fps according to the box, perhaps a bit more in my 27 inch barrel.

Animals have been shot from 30 yards out to over 400.

Best used around 300 and out. Closer in created large wounds, most times, which isn't all bad, but not needed in open country either. Doesn't much matter with rib shots - not much meat there.

I effed up one time in cold weather. While fumbling around with the set up in thick gloves, I touched her off before I was ready. Right at 200 yards, I made a cantelope sized hole through both hams.

It's best not to do that.

The fact that it made it through both hams is still useful information.

I might also comment that shooting animals through the "rear shoulders" with just about any lead-cored spitzer will damage quite a bit of meat!

Cracks me up! 😁