Hornady Sst

[weaver77]

I have finally had a chance to test the 165 grain SST bullets on a wide aray of game this season. My findings in my opinion are that the bullet lacks structual integrety. From hogs and axis deer to whitetail bullet terminal performance has been marginal. The only pass throughs experianced where on head and neck shots, on shoulder and lung shots there was no wound channel or minimal wound channel in oppisite side. I have also been unable to recover any bullet pieces large than a pin head. Lung and shoulder shots produced excessive blood shot and meat loss. I am shooting this bullet at 2900+- fps out of my 30-06. Shots at game animals where taken at ranges from 80 to 500 yds with most being 125 to 150 yards terminal performance was slightly better at the longer ranges. Although the SST is accurate it in no way compares to the Hornady Interlocks, Sierra Game Kings , Nosler Partitions or Accubonds in terminal perfomance. The performance of the Hornady SST is alot like the older Nosler Balistic Tip bullets but, with them I used to find the bullet jacket heal sans core. I was testing the SST in my 308 Norma Mag but will will discontinue as I feel that at 3200+- fps they will perform like varmit bullets. I know that alot of hunters perfer that a bullet expend all its energy in a game animal I am not of this opinion. I hunt in areas where the ground is hard and cover is dense if a game animal runs after being hit they are very hard to track. I perfer and exit wound when ever possible and a blood trail to follow. With the Sierra Game Kings, Nosler Partition and Accubonds I get an exit wound unless game animal is squarely hit in both shoulders in which case it is broken down and goes nowhere. Meat loss and blood shoting is also minimal with the Sierra and Nosler bullets. Why am I even using the SST bullets you might ask, like many of you, I reload and have a large assortment and varity of bullets and brands on my reloading bench. On this particular 30-06, when first testing it I loaded up 165 grain Sierra's and 165 grain SST's with the same powder and charge weight and although the Sierra's shot under and inch the SST's shot 1/2 inch cloverleafs. With hunting season days away I decide to use the SST's to save time. After working up an accurate load I like to field test it and am reporting my findings to hopefully save you the time and expense of loading and testing the SST to find that it does not meet your expectations. Hogs make great test media and are good eating as a bonus. I will continue using the SST in my 30-06 this season but will limit its use to hunts for doe, hogs and varmits on ranches where we are reducing numbers for management purposes. With a little luck I will be able to expend my stock of SST's and will discontinue thier use. Another noteable finding was that on the few pass throughs the area around the exit hole was littered with small holes and copper fragments. Other than being an accurate bullet I do not believe the SST is constructed tuff enough for larger game animals and consider their penetration marginal at best.I believe that the particular gliding metal used in thier jacket construction is to brittle and tends to fragment rather than bend and mushroom. The only saving grace of thier performance is that regardless of shot placement all game animals dropped pretty much in thier tracks good ? yes but I still perfer an exit wound and the minimal meat loss characteristics of other bullets better.In hind sight the SST performs alot like the Berger bullets I tested I my 25 WSM a few years ago. I would like to hear from the rest of you on your opinions of the different bullets available and thier performance or lack there of.

 

James