Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Anyone actually like using Hornady SSTs on Game?

the early Nosler BT were just to dang soft. i used to shoot a 270 Win with 130gr Nosler BT with IMR4320 and it was good at killing deer, but the BT never exited. it was like a hand grenade inside of the deer. didn't matter if you hit the shoulder or behind the shoulder, it was lung soup with chunks of heart. i never had a deer dropped in its tracks, but it run about 20-30 yards and then fall over. there would be no blood on the ground and in the brush (i hunt up close, the longest shot is 63 yards). then i used 150gr Nosler BT with IMR4350 and i downloaded it to 2800fps. the BT then went from entrance wound to a exit wound (expansion is great ). then Nosler goes from 100 bullets to 50 bullets and then i went to Hornady SST. i used 120gr and 140gr SST in my 6.5 Creedmoor and 140gr SST in my 270.

as long as the SST bullet comes out at the muzzle at 2800fps or below (doesn't which caliber), the SST is likely to exit a deer (expansion ).

i found out, thru many dead deer, that 2800fps is good for for expanding the bullet (mushroom). if you go to 2900fps and up, then it is a grenade. as long as impact speed is 2800fps, its go to go.

Ruger #1
270 Win 130gr Nosler BT with IMR4320 (left, 4 shots at 100 yards)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/iHeWUMa.jpg?1[/img]

Ruger #1
270 Win 140gr Hornady SST with IMR4350 (left, 5 shots at 100 yards)

Saw a bull elk shot 5 times in the chest with a 270 with 130 gr ssts many years ago…it finally died.

I have a friend that swears by them in 6.8 SPC on hogs.

There are 3 of us that use the Hornaday Light Magnum/Superformance in 7mm08, 7x57 and 257Roberts and have been for decades and NEVER a problem on whitetail deer and pigs...couldn't begin to count the number of deer we have killed

All the SST’s that I’ve seen post mortem had core and jacket separation a quite a bit of bloodshot meat. Not a large enough sample to prove their merits but enough to convince me not to use them. YMMV

No.

I only use Barnes on big game, LRX primarily and TTSX in one rifle.

I've killed north of 100 whitetails using 150 gr SST in a 30-06 and have no complaints. These were the old Light Magnums from Hornady and were running 3100 fps. They killed deer really quickly.

25-06 117 gr SST. In the brisket out the azz at 303 yards on a pronghorn. Exit was as big as my fist

I use the 154 gr SST in my 280 and from time to time in 7-08. They shoot wonderfully well in both. The deer Ive killed with them have never complained and since I don't shoot shoulders they do not tear up the meat. Most of the times they are DRT or just a short death run.

The pic is how my 280 shoots the SST. That powder charge should read 58.5 grs, not 57.

The 95 grain SST out of a 243 has been killing pigs, coyotes and deer with no problems at my camp.

I’ve read a lot of bad reviews overall but I like the 6.5mm 123 SST at Grendel velocity.

SSTs work, but this year was an Interlock
129gr Interlock, 6.5x55, Savage 110/ER Shaw

My uncle likes em.

117 out of his 25-06 for deer and antelope.

180 out of his '06 for elk.

Couple years ago I bought a bunch of Midway seconds 150 gr. 30 caliber SST's. Accurate and quick killers. Used them in a 30-30AI, 308 and 30-06. Big exit holes and dead dear. Still have some.

I’ve only killed one deer with them. A 150 out of my BAR 30-06. I did load some 154’s for my cousin in his 280. It shot great and he’s a good shot and a good game shot. He shot a pretty good buck at about 80-100 yards. He said he was dead on the deer’s shoulder when the rifle bucked. But we never found the deer until I was out shed hunting in the spring. Did the bullet fail or was his shot poorly placed? No idea. But he’s very happy with the 140TTSX’s I load for him now.

The 123 grain SST factory loads have worked for me in the 6.5 Grendel and the 129 grain work as well in the 6.5 CM. They fall on the expand side of the expand/penetrate curve, so behind the shoulder shots are probably a better choice of aim points.

Yes, that is an excellent pairing. The lower velocity bodes well with the softer construction. Shoot that same bullet out of a PRC and the results will be interesting.

We all know that companies design bullets for optimum perform within a specific velocity window. The 123 grain SSTs were likely designed to work at lower velocities of the 6.5 Grendel in the same way that some bullet that are designed to work well at 22 Hornet speeds, but are too fragile when fired at 220 Swift velocities. Hornady has been making 129 grain SSTs in 0.264" much longer than the have the 123 grain SSTs and setting up production of a bullet with a 6 grain weight difference seems illogical unless it was designed with a specific application in mind.

That brings up a good point. I’ve wondered about the 129 in the Grendel. Like you point out, it probably has a tougher design to handle higher velocities of the 260 and Creedmore. I wonder what that bullet would do from a PRC or 264 WM on a deer shoulder at 100 yards. I haven’t used them in that application, but I would be surprised if they didn’t blow up.

Since the 123 grain SSTs aren't a VLD design, they seem like a poor choice for a maximum velocity long range application.