Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters sst vs standard interlock

I read in an old handloader mag that the sst is tougher than the standard interlock because of antimony added to the lead. Is this right? I am having trouble deciding on whether to run the 139 sst or the 154 interlock as a "do everything" bullet in my 284 win. The 154 sst is very long and I am limited to 2.8" col. Any advice would be appreciated. I hunt sheep up to moose. Thanks in advance.

They are all good. I have only run through about 2 boxes of the SST's and it seems like the second box were the harder improved version. I like them because you can usually find a matching load with the Interbonds and SST's, sometimes the same load. With Moose thrown in the mix I would concentrate on the 154's first and try to find a load for the SST and either the Interlock or the Interbond that would shoot to the same point of impact.

The SST's would not be anywhere near the top of my list for a moose bullet.

I've found the mid-weight 30 cal SSTs to be softer than their regular flat base Interlock counterparts at 308 speeds.

I'd use the 154 flat base in 7mm.

I've found the 139gr SST to be a fast opener. I'ved killed a half dozen or so deer out of my 280 with those bullets and while they all exited, they definitely opened up quick.

I shoot the factory 139SST light Magnum load in my .280 for deer because it is so accurate.On shots that angle from the back of the ribcage crossing to the off shoulder the bullet will not exit and many times cause a large entrance hole.Most times it looses its core.I have shot a couple of hogs at ranges over 300 yards and the bullet only penetrated about 6 or 7 inches on chest shots but killed the hogs.I suggest the heavier bullet on anything bigger than deer.

In tests I ran in newsprint, the .264 140 SST lost its core and, but the 140 Speer held together considerably better. If you prefer standard cup and core, that's the way I'd lean. Although the 160 Sierra Hollow Point Game King is supposed to be a very tough bullet, along with th 175 Game King. In my .280, I liked 175 Mag Tips for tougher game also. But if you like the 154 Interlock, I'd stay with it and not mess with the SST for larger game like moose.

The 140 grain Partition is my choice for a "do everything" bullet in the 284. It works well in my Remington, Ruger, Savage, and Winchester rifles.

Jeff

Not trying to dissuade from Hornady bullets (the Interlock is my favorite) but take a look at the 145 Speer Hot Core in the .284 WIN. I chose this bullet over the Hornady for use in my M88; it is short for it's weight fitting the .284 case well and hopefully will make the transition to the new Speer Deep Curl, which should be an improvement in quality. The 145 HC worked well on the one buck I killed with it this season (one deer is not much to go on, but the HC has been a decent bullet for years). I had my best luck using H4831SC in this load.

+1 The 140 NP is my go-to bullet for my 7x57 and 280 Remington rifles. Accurate and reliable.

I can only speak from experience with the 30 cal's (150's and 165's), but the standard Interlock BTSP has shown to be a good bit tougher than the SST. The SST opens pretty quickly on deer. The Interlock always exits, the SST often stays in and seems to lose more of it's core. They've both worked great for deer but the Interlock seems tougher.

The BC of the 165 BTSP Interlock matches up exactly with the .224 75 AMAX so I've settled on the Interlock for that reason...

Haven't tried the Interbond.....

JCM

There is no way I would use the SST on anything larger than deer, in fact, I wouldn't use them on deer after seeing a couple shot with the 139 grain sst out of a 7mm-08. My brother killed a couple of deer with them but the bullets seemed to act erratically. One deer, shot at 50 yards and hit broadside in the lungs the bullet never crossed the chest cavity, but instead, exited straight down through the brisket. My brother kept saying as we were looking for the deer "I know I hit him good" and we were making fun of his shooting ability while looking for this deer. We ended up finding the deer 75 yards from the shot and saw how the bullet exited out of the bottom of the brisket. You would have thought there would have been a good blood trail but there wasn't. After that, my brother switched to the 140 grain Core-lokts and 80 deer later he's as happy as he can be. I'd have to be really convinced that they toughened them up before I'd try them, and certainly not on moose!

Thanks for the tips guys, it looks like the 154 interlock wins out of the 2. I will give you a little history on this so you know why I am thinking this way. Over the years I have used many different bullets in this rifle but I always go to high end bullets for hunting(B-X,tsx,NP,GS,etc...). I have killed sheep, goats, caribou, elk and moose with it with no trouble but the guys I hunt with all shoot the same animals with standard bullets(mostly federal classic factory 30-06). The nice part of it is they practice with one bullet. I on the other hand, try to practice with cheap bullets then re-check zero on the premiums, then do a little work to the rifle or scope etc and start all over again. I waste too many premiums, and I am not even practicing with them. I wonder if it is all necessary. I think I will load one standard bullet and keep everything simple.

Don't know if he's still around here, but Jon Sundra wrote several years ago that he had taken more game animals with the 154gr spire point than any other bullet. He's a big 7mm nut, and that seems to be his go to bullet in all case sizes at all velocities.

The SST is softer than the Interlock in my experience. I used the Interlock for several years in my 7mm-08 and then switched to the SST to try it out. I found that the SST would not reliably pass through a deer but the Interlock would pass through 95% of the time. A lot of times all I would find of the SST was a flattened out jacket with no lead in it. It did a good job on deer but if I were to want to hunt something bigger, I'd pick the Interlock over the SST any day of the week.

My experience too with a 139gr from a 7mm-08 and a 150gr from a 308 both had a MV of 2500-2600.

RH

That mirrors my limited experience with the SST. However, I went out and bought a box (130-gr. .277") the very first year they were out after reading that initial G&A hog hunt article on them that, in retrospect, was obviously hyped up. So, I have no experience with the current offerings. Maybe they've made them a little more stout, but I'd be hard-pressed to try them again, since I'm so happy with the 140-gr. and 150-gr. InterLocks.

Scott

In my experience the SST's in different weights vary greatly.

In the 270 there is a world of difference between the 130 and the 150 SST.

In 7mm, there is a world of difference between the 139g SST and the 154g SST, and again between the 154 SST and the 162g SST.

I have had nothing but GREAT luck with the 7mm 154g SST in a 7 Mag loaded to 3150 fps.

I loaded the 162g SST's for two guys going to AFrica that had a hunt set up for 6 plains game each including Kudu and Eland using a Weatherby Mark 5 in 7 STW. The velocity of the 162g SST's that they shot was 3200 fps. Each guy shot his rifle one shot each on each of the plains game, and all animals dropped in their tracks. The PH was so impressed that he wrote an article in a PH magazine that gets distributed through out Africa.

In my own personal experience in the 7 Mag, the 154g Lead tip(Interlock) will shoot holes straight through large hogs shoulder with an exit, and are also a great Elk bullet. For deer, I prefer the 154g SST out of the 7 Mag with a max load of R#25 and a Win Mag primer.

In the 270, the 130g SST will completely destroy the insides of a deer, like shot with a 150g 300 Win Mag, but rarely exits. The 150g SST does exit deer in the 270, but with less internal damage, I shoot the 130's.

Shot placement is the key

1 of the 1st bullets that I used when I started reloading was the 154 grain Hornady RN for my sporterized Venezualian FN 24/30 carbine in 7x57. It was a great bullet for whitetails back in 1971 and I suspect that it will still do the job today.

Jeff

I was at the Hornady factory a couple weeks ago and the gentleman that I spoke with said that the sst was designed to retain about 50% of it's weight, the interlock 70%, and the interbond 90+%. I have been using 139gr sst in my 7mm-08 for the past several years for deer. I have always gotten complete penetration and my longest tracking job has been 10 yards. Ranges have been between 60 and 230 yards. I have been very happy with the results, your mileage may vary.

Thank you for the offer. I don't have what you are looking to trade for though. Good luck with the sale and if you decide to split them up I would be interested in the 162s.