130gr Hornady SST sub 500?

[boattailed bandit]

So i have always loaded 140gr nosler in my 270 and have never had a problem. Dang accurate round for me. However with money bein the way it is these days (scarce) im thinking of switching. Popping imaginable load data and hornadys BC into my little app i dont think i will be sacrificing too much going from my typical load to a 130gr sst from them. My question is will the 130 still be good enough under 500yds? This is asling if it will still have enough energy to ethically take a deer. My load data comes up as 2096fps and 1268 ft-lbs at 500.

 

[snox801]

You should be just fine with switching. I prefer nosler but the set will take deer just fine with what you are talking about.

 

[boattailed bandit]

I prefer nosler too. But moneys tight and i was told to start loading cheaper. Lol

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

The SST is a great long range bullet. Close range shots give it a bad name because it likes to open up. If you are shooting hot loads, at say 3000fps or more, and take a shot inside of 100yds you will see some damage to the animal. I shoot a 140gr SST out of my 260 at around 2650fps MV and love the results.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Hornady Sierra & Nosler all have served me well. Good Hunting.

 

[bangflopdead]

The factory loaded Superformance 130 SST's shot well in my Tikka (chronographed 3200 and half inch groups), but I stopped using them on game. At that velocity, they were explosive up close and didn't start to become reliable until around 200 yards. I switched to the 130 Interbond, which grouped just as well, and last year performed flawlessly on whitetails in Wisconsin from 85 out to 500 yards.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

The factory loaded Superformance 130 SST's shot well in my Tikka (chronographed 3200 and half inch groups), but I stopped using them on game. At that velocity, they were explosive up close and didn't start to become reliable until around 200 yards. I switched to the 130 Interbond, which grouped just as well, and last year performed flawlessly on whitetails in Wisconsin from 85 out to 500 yards.

I stopped using them in my 30-06 for the same reason and went to the Hornady SP and BTSPs.

 

[wapiti25]

The Hornady bullet will do just fine, but you need to do your part. Where the shooter puts the bullet is so much more important than the selction of which bullet, Over the years I have taken a lot of game with Hornaday bullets. I have not used the bullet you asked about but I think Hornaday does a good job with their bullets. Had a bad experience with Nosler, I bought a new box of 200gr .338 NBT's and they shot groups of about 4" at 200yds using my old load for 200gr NBT's. My old box that was about 6 yrs old would shoot about 2" groups so I started measuring the dia of the bullets. I found that the new bullets were .0005" smaller in dia so I called Nosler and the guy said: "the bullets are just fine they do not have a problem with them". I'm shooting other bullets now screw Nosler.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Yadayadayada! If you haven't used the bullet in question, I wouldn't be making comments like that! I've been hunting for 60 years and have easily taken over 100 animals from antelope to deer to elk and IMHO the SST at close ranges is not worth a ****. I've never lost an animal I've shot because I take shot selection very seriously and will let an animal walk before taking a questionable shot. However, I don't want a hole the size of a watermelon when I put a bullet in the vitals where it should go and have that happen like I did with the SST!

 

[Semper Fi 10463]

some of my friends shoot ssts in 300 mags over 600yds and kill deer very well.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

some of my friends shoot ssts in 300 mags over 600yds and kill deer very well.

We are talking poor performance at close distances, not at long range where the SST seems to perform well!

 

[JaseinMT]

2 years ago, I worked up a load for a gentleman shooting that very bullet at 3150 mv. He has killed a few deer and an elk with it. I didn't get all the details from him, other than that he is utterly pleased. Half-inch groups at 100. He doesn't take shots beyond 400, but as I understood it, his kills were closer to 200 and in. He used to shoot factory ammo with Partitions. We picked the 130 SST's because that was what we could find at the time. They open up, definitely, but Hornady calls them an elk bullet, and I agree.

 

[MOJO67]

Everyone speaks to the fragility of the SST's, but I haven't experienced it. They obviously do more damage when striking bone, but most cup and core bullets do. As an aside, Hornady has recently toughened up the SST line of bullets.

I've had excellent results shooting Whitetail and Hogs with them out of my 270 Weatherby Mag. For thin skinned game, I think they're fine. They're also the most accurate bullet, by far, of all I've tried out of my Mark V.


Below is a picture of an exit wound on a little 8 point from a few years ago. Starting velocity was appx 3450. Range, 115 yds. Quartering shot, bullet entered at the crease of the left shoulder.

 

[bangflopdead]

If you exclusively take standing broadside shots and put them in the boiler room, you're probably going to be fine with a 130 SST. Likewise with shooting at a distance once they've shed some velocity for shoulder shots. Unfortunately, I haven't had a standing shot opportunity at a whitetail buck since the 90's, and have had only shot 2 standing does in that time. I will take a running shot with confidence as that's what I grew up with. Those shots, depending on circumstance, typically land in the neck or shoulder. An SST, or any bullet for that matter, placed in the neck will likely result in drt. However, after a shoulder shot on a running buck at 100 yards, taking the deer off it's feet and watching it slide to a stop in chopped corn stalks, then watching it get up and hop the fence onto a property I didn't have permission to hunt and not leaving a drop of blood anywhere, I will avoid the 130 SST for the opportunities I have. They're not a bad bullet, as long as you realize their limitations. Either take boiler room shots only at reasonably close ranges, or let them shed some velocity before attempting a shoulder shot. I know how frustrating it is to lose an animal, and I've seen similar results in my hunting party with the lighter 30-06 rounds at close range.