Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: 7mmfan on June 19, 2012, 09:56:38 AM

Title: Hornaday SST's
Post by: 7mmfan on June 19, 2012, 09:56:38 AM: Anyone have any experience with these bullets? I just picked up some 162 gn for my 7 mag to give the a try. If anyone has used them and has some load advice, I'd love to hear it.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: D-Rock425 on June 19, 2012, 10:00:40 AM: Eastmans hunting journal just did an article about elk bullets that was one they tested. Seems to mushroom well doesn't contain weight well.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:02:30 AM: I shot them last year in my .257 A.I. will punch paper with the rest and use the brass..... bullet disintegrated on impact. Did it do its job? Yep deer dropped in its tracks. However, I want something that will penetrate a bit better before fragmenting completely and totally...
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 10:12:23 AM: I shoot 225's out of my .338 and have been pleased with the results. I have never recovered one. I believe that they do fragment at least some because of the MASSIVE damage found when game is opened up. It has been suggested and I have no grounds to argue it that the bigger bore SST's may have a heavier jacket on them. :dunno:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:19:01 AM: Dude.. try the Accubonds.. You will not be disappointed in your .338 WM. Handloads right at 2850 fps. Using Reloader 19 :tup: :chuckle: :chuckle:

They hold together well at close range too. Buddy shot his 4x bull last year at 25 yds. recovered both rounds beautifully mushroomed even after hitting major bone.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Miles on June 19, 2012, 10:23:02 AM: Quote from: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:02:30 AM
I shot them last year in my .257 A.I. will punch paper with the rest and use the brass..... bullet disintegrated on impact. Did it do its job? Yep deer dropped in its tracks. However, I want something that will penetrate a bit better before fragmenting completely and totally...

6.5 x 55 with 140 SST's....same experience. Bullets do not hold together well, but they do a lot of damage. I'm not really a fan. I like to eat venison, not throw lbs of bloodshot meat in the trash.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 10:32:15 AM: Quote from: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:19:01 AM
Dude.. try the Accubonds.. You will not be disappointed in your .338 WM. Handloads right at 2850 fps. Using Reloader 19 :tup: :chuckle: :chuckle:

They hold together well at close range too. Buddy shot his 4x bull last year at 25 yds. recovered both rounds beautifully mushroomed even after hitting major bone.
I like the boat tail design of the SST's and get about the velocity you are talking about. We got better speed with r19 but it scattered the shots horrible. :dunno:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:32:38 AM: Quote from: Miles on June 19, 2012, 10:23:02 AM
Quote from: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:02:30 AM
I shot them last year in my .257 A.I. will punch paper with the rest and use the brass..... bullet disintegrated on impact. Did it do its job? Yep deer dropped in its tracks. However, I want something that will penetrate a bit better before fragmenting completely and totally...

6.5 x 55 with 140 SST's....same experience. Bullets do not hold together well, but they do a lot of damage. I'm not really a fan. I like to eat venison, not throw lbs of bloodshot meat in the trash.

Or chip teeth on bullet fragments... :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:34:51 AM: Quote from: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 10:32:15 AM
Quote from: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:19:01 AM
Dude.. try the Accubonds.. You will not be disappointed in your .338 WM. Handloads right at 2850 fps. Using Reloader 19 :tup: :chuckle: :chuckle:

They hold together well at close range too. Buddy shot his 4x bull last year at 25 yds. recovered both rounds beautifully mushroomed even after hitting major bone.
I like the boat tail design of the SST's and get about the velocity you are talking about. We got better speed with r19 but it scattered the shots horrible. :dunno:

Wow... we are getting 1/2 MOA out to 300 yards.. at 400 it jumps to 1 MOA... terrible I know.. :chuckle: :chuckle:

This is out of 4 different rifles - 2 Sakos, 1 Howa, and 1 Ruger...
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Miles on June 19, 2012, 10:38:47 AM: I almost believed you...till you said you were getting that type of accuracy with a Ruger.

:chuckle:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 10:42:03 AM: I get right at that with mine :chuckle: Stock gun other than trigger.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Halo on June 19, 2012, 11:06:26 AM: I have shot several antelope and elk with them out of my 30-06 in 180 grain and the worked great. all pass throughs, one hole in one hole out.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 11:07:48 AM: Quote from: Miles on June 19, 2012, 10:38:47 AM
I almost believed you...till you said you were getting that type of accuracy with a Ruger.

:chuckle:

Would not have believed it either without seeing it myself...

Quote from: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 10:42:03 AM
I get right at that with mine :chuckle: Stock gun other than trigger.

Well other than one of the Sakos these are all stock including triggers....

but, if we all liked the same thing, it would be a boring place... everyone would drive Fords.. .eat steaks, date blondes, etc... lol
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Woodchuck on June 19, 2012, 11:13:01 AM: :chuckle: By the way my Chevy loves to tow Fords :hello:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 11:53:59 AM: and my Fords have always loved pulling chevy's out of the ditch .. :tup: :chuckle: :chuckle: 8) :hello:
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: brokenvet on June 19, 2012, 12:16:00 PM: I use the SST 139grain for my 7x57. It is a good bullet, pretty accurate. For the 7mag I use the 162 grain A-Max.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: D-Rock425 on June 19, 2012, 12:23:35 PM: I got a box for my 7mm-08 ill try them this year.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: Biggerhammer on June 19, 2012, 05:09:14 PM: Quote from: Huntbear on June 19, 2012, 10:19:01 AM
Dude.. try the Accubonds.. You will not be disappointed in your .338 WM. Handloads right at 2850 fps. Using Reloader 19 :tup: :chuckle: :chuckle:

They hold together well at close range too. Buddy shot his 4x bull last year at 25 yds. recovered both rounds beautifully mushroomed even after hitting major bone.
:yeah:
:tup: :tup: :tup:

On the other hand, I shot one Mulie at 60 yards with a Hornady 139 SST and a 7mm Magnum. Let's just say I unzipped him and poured him out, literally. 3-4" inch exit hole. Jammed him up right on the spot, hardly a twitch after he hit the ground.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: yorketransport on June 19, 2012, 08:22:16 PM: I think of the SSTs as Hornady's version of the Ballistic Tip. It's a good bullet as long as you understand their limitations. They've always shot well for me though.

Andrew
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: 7mmfan on June 20, 2012, 08:03:52 AM: Well shot them yesterday. The load was 63 gr of IMR 4831 and the 162 gr SST. Very pleased w/ the accuracy and excited to see how they perform. I haven't hunted with a ballistic tip before but do understand their limitations.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: GEARHEAD on June 20, 2012, 07:21:21 PM: i shoot the Hornady light mag 139gr SST's in my 7mm-08. i dont shoot enough to reload, i sent my scope to leupold for a turret along with the hornady data, and have shot them very accurate to 832 yards give or take.

i have taken deer at 306, 321, 404 and 456 yards, if my memory is correct with them. they are what my scope is dialed in for, however i hunt with a hornady 139 gr BTSP.

I reserve the SST's for 300 plus yard shots, as they have a thin jacket and wont hold up good on the close shots. i keep 'em in my pocket and keep that powder warm until ready to shoot.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: 7mmfan on June 21, 2012, 11:17:29 AM: So after reading a lot about how thin the jacket is on these bullets, i'm in a bit of a quandary. I went to these thinking more about the bullet weight then their durability. I also went to these because their half the price of the nosler accubonds. I suppose you get what you pay for though.

I'm planning on using them strictly for bear and elk, which is why I stepped up the bullet weight (used to shoot 139 gr interlocks)

Based on what I'm planning on using them for, would I be better off with a soft point then a b-tip?
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: yorketransport on June 21, 2012, 08:32:48 PM: Why don't you use the Hornady InterBonds to hunt with, and the SST to practice. I bet they'll shoot equally well.

I've had good luck using Nosler BTs as an inexpensive pinking alternative to Accubonds. The loads are the same and velocities are withing 25 FPS in my experience.

Andrew
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: GEARHEAD on June 21, 2012, 09:44:30 PM: elk and bear oh my....gotta go with the interbonds then, pretty similar BCand price, but a thicker jacket. both the SST and The interbond fly the same i believe.
Title: Re: Hornaday SST's
Post by: 7mmfan on June 21, 2012, 10:25:45 PM: Good info guys thanks. :tup: