165 Grain SSTs on Deer Sized Game

[JiminAZ]

Years ago I had a failure using Hornady factory loaded 165 SST in 30-06. Shot a little California black tail square on the shoulder at 75 yards or so. Bullet went splat and did not penetrate the shoulder blade. Deer did the 3 legged hop along until he paused and I put one behind the shoulder and he went down.

Recovered the jacket on top of the shattered shoulder blade. Did not penetrate to vitals.

Haven't touched any SST since.

Afterward went to Federal fusion in 308 with great success on deer.

Then CA made us go copper, TSX and TTSX were the ticket.

All bullets have their limitations.

 

[HSmithTX]

A few comments about SST's blowing up and/or lots of meat damage, and I have seen it. IMO they should be expected to frag shortly after impact at high velocity. Usually the base/jacket will pass through but don't mistake them for a bonded bullet. The A-Max is a bit softer and this type of fragmenting should be expected at lower velocities than the SST. The fragmenting impact is a stone cold killer of game, ask the Berger guys. Additionally you will see the same or similar out of pretty much ALL of the traditional cup and core bullets at the same impact velocity. It's no fault of the bullet, the fault lies in what is expected from the bullet in that application. Shot placement is important also to minimize meat damage. Or get a bonded bullet or a partition and be happy. Your choice, but I will be shooting deer with SST and A-Max for a long time to come. I think they are fantastic killers of game and I have no issue with the 'restrictions' I need to observe to make them work the way I expect them to like speed limits and placement limits.

 

[Buckys]

I think the 165 SST and any 165 cup/core would work well in the 30-06.

If you're running much faster than ~3000fps and you expect to get a lot of opportunities at or inside of 100 yards, then I would use an Accubond or similar.

But if you're not exceeding Hornady's reloading data book for the 30-06 with 165's, you're running 2800-2900 at most (only RE17 expected to reach 2950).

 

[michaelfelix13]

I use SST ,308. Every deer dropped on the spot.

 

[BOlsen]

Great bullet for Mule and larger whitetail. Last season I shot my bear and blacktail both with the 165 sst out of my 30-06 with a 22" barrel. Was going to "One Gun" the whole season for: Bear, Deer, and Elk. The bear was at 75 yard and the deer at 15 yards. It was the perfect round for the bear at that yardage. To much for those little blacktail and 15 yards! I think the round would be better suited for 150 yard plus shots on smaller deer. I am a big believer in shot placement over finding the ultimate round, but it never hurt anyone to have both.

 

[tknuts103]

I picked up a couple boxes of 30 caliber 165 grain SSTs to load over some H4350 for my .30-06.

Anyone got good reviews of the SSTs for deer sized game?

All I use out of my 25-06 are 117 grain SSTs. Deer don't stand a chance!

 

[Chas1]

Never used them, sorry.

 

[Craig Miller]

I've never used any .30 SSTs but I have used 95gr SSTs in .243Win, 123gr SSTs in 6.5G, and 130gr SSTs in .270Win. All have done an admirable job on whitetail. The 6.5G requires closer attention to bullet placement because of the combination of lower velocity and softer construction.

If you want to hunt hogs with the same load, be very mindful of placement as I have had one each from the .243 and 6.5G come apart in the gristle plate of larger (>150lbs) hogs.

 

[richhymas]

Yo

I picked up a couple boxes of 30 caliber 165 grain SSTs to load over some H4350 for my .30-06.

Anyone got good reviews of the SSTs for deer sized game?

u will be happy with the terminal ballistics of those bullets for deer etc. accuracy and precision will depend on both the shooter and how your specific rifle likes that round.

 

[Ga6570]

guy i hunt with loves the SST's he uses them in his 243 and his 270. another guy that joins us uses the 165 SST in his '06, he doesnt practice much (shoulder issues) and often has to shoot more than once, but he also seems to fill his tags most years.
ive never hunted with the SSTs but they shoot well for them!

 

[wonderman4]

I am very picky when it comes to bullets used on game.

The jackets on SST's are way too thin for my use on game.

As mentioned by JiminAZ, failures to penetrate abound with these bullets, in my experience, and apparently his as well.

I have had a few boxes of SST's that I got in a trade some years ago. When my grandson needs some target rounds, that is what I supply. They are excellent paper punchers.

 

[General RE LEE]

I am very picky when it comes to bullets used on game.

The jackets on SST's are way too thin for my use on game.

As mentioned by JiminAZ, failures to penetrate abound with these bullets, in my experience, and apparently his as well.

I have had a few boxes of SST's that I got in a trade some years ago. When my grandson needs some target rounds, that is what I supply. They are excellent paper punchers.

Sierra Gamechangers have thick jackets and I was not impressed how they would zip through without reliable expansion on deer. I prefer not to use tougher bullets on whitetails.

 

[Trangieboy]

A friend uses the 165sst in his tikka t3 30-06 here in Australia on our white tail sized fallow deer. Very emphatic killer.

 

[Jfagan1028]

I shoot 150GR SST in my 270 WSM they are great. I've only shot whitetail with them.