Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles SST

How do the sst perform on game My gun tikka t3 shoots them well and would like to use them on deer thanx DWG

Used them exclusively in my .308 for years until I switched to the TTSX. Never lost a deer and they performed better than the NBT for me. They seemed to hold to gather better than the Nosler, less jacket separation.

I might consider them for longer range.

I've shot just 3 deer with them, and the bullet failed miserably on all three, so that's as far as I went with them.

They were fired out of a .308 Winchester, 150 grain at 2700 fps.

They shot very accurately, and may have worked past 200 yards, but at the close ranges I was using them, they acted like a varmint bullet.

I will second Vic in Va. Not impressed with it once the bullet contacted the animal.

My son used them in a 280 he had and then he discovered the flat base Interlocks shot just as good so he switched to the flat base bullets. I shot one deer with the SST 165gr with my 30-06. The range was short and the hole was large.

I shot a couple deer with 165 gr SST .30 cal out of a .30-06. I think they don't penetrate very well. I no longer use them.

I like them. They shoot very well in every load I've tried and produce nice bang flops. They're not the bullet for folks who love exit holes. They usually don't. I don't have a problem with that. I never get bang flops with a bullet that exits.

Ran some 165's thru my .300Why last season. Pretty messy, but sure didn't spend much time "tracking". Probably go back to "partitions."
G

I found the 139 to be very accurate in my 280 but very messy on deer. I won't be using the rest of the 200 on game.

I have been working up some loads with the .30/150 SST. They shoot good but after reading this post I may rethink using them.

I used the SST for load workup and then used the Interbond bullet for game. They have the same profile as the SST so they shot to the same POI.

I shot a few deer with the 95 gr. .243" SST's. They all died.

SST's seem to get get a bad press on the Fire. I use the 140 SST in my 6.5-284 with good results. It's super accurate, right there with the 140 VLD. I get good penetration on hogs and deer. I did mess up a pronghorn cape with a neck shot.

I like the B.C. and the accuracy. If I was going to shoot a tough skinned animal, I'd probably use something else, probably another gun for that matter. Nothing wrong the the 6.5-284 on tough animals and there are excellent bullet choices for that. I have a number of other rifles and would probably pick something different.

DF

I have used the 165gr sst for a few years now in my .308. I typically take behind the shoulder shots and have never had an issue. I have only used this bullet on deer and coyotes but all kills have been near instantaneous. I can honestly say that I have never (yet) had to track a single animal after being shot with the sst. This bullet is designed for maximum energy transfer to the target not deep penetration. I don't know if I would use this bullet on larger game like moose of elk but for deer I think it works great.

My sample base of SSTs on game is somewhat limited, but I can attest to the effectiveness of the 225 grain bullet (from a 338 RCM) on a very large black bear (squared 7 feet). Thumped him with one heart/lung shot at 180 yards, through and through. He didn't go 20 yards, and most of that was rolling down a steep embankment.

My sample is even shorter than others; 1 180 lb hog.

I shot her w/ a 165 gr at about 2900 fps and she was DRT. To be fair, she'd have gone that way with just about any projectile.

As others have said, they're very rapidly expanding. If you like shoulder shots you might go with something harder. If you like heart/lung "behind the shoulder" shots and DRT performance, these are fantastic.

I have shot quite a few deer with 150 gr at 2400 out of a 14 in contender barrel chambered in 30-30AI and they have worked quite well. I push them at 2600 from a 20 in contender tube and they are a bit more of a mess maker on deer. I think they are more fragile than the Nosler BT, They have sure killed things well for me. They are also one of my favorites in the 300 savage Encore pistol tube. I would pick another bullet for heavier game i'm thinkin.

My 6.5mm, 140 gr. SST is being pushed at 2,950 fps and that seems to work very well. For the really fast, big powder burners, I'd want something more substantial and less friable.

DF

This evolution toward tough bullets and necessary exit holes isn't always the best. My favorite deer bullets are fast expanders and I don't mind recovering a bullet occasionally. I have 500 150 gr. SST's I will run for a while and I bet they work just fine even if they lose a bit of weight and make wide wound channels.

Impressive bang flops. I'm a fan of fast expanders for deer which is what I primarily hunt. The BC and accuracy of the SST's are exceptional IME.