Howdy. I have been handloading rifle ammo for 15 years and have always used Speer bullets. I recently tried some Hornady SSTs in .243 and was impressed with the ballistics in deer hunting and target grouping so far. I very much like the fact that the polymer tips are constant and my OAL stays consistent where the lead tip Speer bullets drove me nuts with the dented tips giving differing OALs. My shots to date have been limited to 200 yards at the range and hunting. I am looking at shooting out to 600 yards. I see alot of guys running Hornady's AMax and ELDX but does anyone use the SSTs? Will the SSTs perform well enough for shooting targets at 600 yards and take deer out to 200?
Does anybody load Hornady SSTs?
- Thread starter mistergunner
- Start date
I used to, until I had a couple fall apart on me in elk and ruin a bunch of meat. The jackets would blow off and the lead would grenade leaving lead spattered all over. Threw a ton of flank and exit side front shoulder meat away in the two animals that it happened on and I said enough, and switched to Barnes TTSX for hunting. Haven't recovered one yet, well I did find a blue tip up against the exit side skin once.. I always had good accuracy with the 180 SST out of a 30-06 but the jacket separation was a deal breaker.
I used sst's in 25-06 as my go to deer slaying round for a long time. Never had any problem on any PA whitetails out to around 350yds. I never shot them beyond that to know how they would perform further but if they're good to 350, they should be good to 600. I have since traded that particular rifle away and the current 25-06 in the stable really likes Berger VLD's so I haven't used them lately..
Thanks for the feedback. I have shot one deer and one hog with the SST in .243 thus far and both were head shots with great bullet performance. The Speer bullets I have run for years performed well but I never recovered one. I tried the SSTs as I could not get the Speer bullets locally when I needed them.I have played with loading some Berger VLDs in 308 but I have not shot anything with them yet. I want a bullet that penetrates deeply, expands reliably, shoots good groups, is affordable, and is easily available.
I use the factory box of 129s for my Creedmoor, buddy uses the 123 for his Grendel and they are very effective.
I have never had any luck with Hornady Bullets, except their pistol bullets. Accuracy was never great. Accuracy with their factory was pretty good, but the brass was too soft and dented easily. AFAIC there are better bullets out there.
My nickle due to inflation.
YMMV.
My nickle due to inflation.
YMMV.
my son (13) used a 243 to harvest a medium sized wisconsin doe last fall.....shot was perfect, but the deer jumped and ran 60 yards before tipping over. entry and exit were very small, internals were soup. practically no blood trail. bullet fragments in the chest cavity.
now..i havent killed deer with a 243 personally.....270 is my favorite deer caliber....and they drop on the spot with 150 grain nosler ballistic tips. more than i can count....not one step. but i will say vastly more damage to the meat than the 243. but we are talking a 95 grain bullet versus a 150 grain...so it isnt exactly an apples to apples comparison.
this year the kid will be carrying the 270....we'll see if he likes the effect on game better than the 243.
do they work? yup. but from what i saw, and from what i hear folks say about the 243....the effect on game isnt on par with other bullets. i think it'd be a great coyote bullet, or a wolf bullet, and maybe just the ticket for pronghorn. but i'll be trying other bullets this year for whitetails with it. i love hornady bullets, but sst in the 243 didnt earn my seal of approval for deer.
now..i havent killed deer with a 243 personally.....270 is my favorite deer caliber....and they drop on the spot with 150 grain nosler ballistic tips. more than i can count....not one step. but i will say vastly more damage to the meat than the 243. but we are talking a 95 grain bullet versus a 150 grain...so it isnt exactly an apples to apples comparison.
this year the kid will be carrying the 270....we'll see if he likes the effect on game better than the 243.
do they work? yup. but from what i saw, and from what i hear folks say about the 243....the effect on game isnt on par with other bullets. i think it'd be a great coyote bullet, or a wolf bullet, and maybe just the ticket for pronghorn. but i'll be trying other bullets this year for whitetails with it. i love hornady bullets, but sst in the 243 didnt earn my seal of approval for deer.
