First off I like hornady. Before hornady I shot Remington corelokt. (.270 wm) The bullet did great but I had 2 misfires in a row and decided to try something else. The higher muzzle velocity of the sst caught my eye so I switched. After several years, 12 elk along with several deer and antelope I’ve concluded that they really suck for big game. The exit holes are minimal. Expansion absolutely sucks. Not much for blood trails and the last bull I shot broadside through both lungs took 10 minutes to die! I would have shot again but he was out of sight. I could hear him dying though as I walked closer. Am I the only one with this experience?
Sst and gmx bullets suck.
- Thread starter wyoboypt
- Start date
AvidIndoorsman
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 18,399
I've always reloaded and never used hornady, I have been using Swift A-frames and Partitions... making the switch to E-tips this year. Personally I like a bullet that doesn't expand ie explode/ has more penetration as I think it gives you more latitude on quartering away shots, and doesn't expose your meat to as much lead (hence switch to E-tips).
Double lung that takes 10 min... sounds like a high lung shot, not sure if any bullet premium bullet would have worked any better.
Double lung that takes 10 min... sounds like a high lung shot, not sure if any bullet premium bullet would have worked any better.
I'm a little worried about "slick holeing" now that I've switched to GMX this year. I've had it happen with big whitetails once or twice when I was younger. There is member here who has killed a lot of deer with copper and hasn't had a bad experience yet? So who knows, I do think one will have to make generally better shots with copper.
The X-rays of the corelokt shot deer are just too much for me, I don't want to poison the critters with gut piles and bloodshot meat.
The X-rays of the corelokt shot deer are just too much for me, I don't want to poison the critters with gut piles and bloodshot meat.
AvidIndoorsman
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 18,399
^ Exactly my thinking.
There have been a few threads on here where people discussed the SST's lack of performance on elk. I personally know someone who put 5-6 (however many he had with him) SSTs through a bull's ribcage and had to wait 15-20 minutes before it died. I shoot only bonded bullets (Hornady Interbonds or Federal Trophy Bonded Tip) at elk and haven't had to trail one more than 100 yards so far. No experience with copper to speak from.
cahunter805
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 27, 2014
- Messages
- 2,460
270win and 140gr accubonds is what I’d try! Great combo.
WildWill
Well-known member
Hornady sst do exactly what they're designed to do and are amazing at killing deer and antelope. I have killed dozens of deer and a couple antelope with the sst using 270, 308, and 30-06 and the bullet has always performed perfectly. All the comments about them performing poorly on elk isn't suprising. What is a suprise is all the people who are shocked when they use a ballistic tip type round likes sst on large big game like elk (which it's not designed for) then are shocked when they get less then optimal results. My preferred elk round is federal premium Sierra gameking.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Was it the SST or GMX that you're saying the exit holes are minimal? I have yet to shoot an animal with an SST, but I'm thinking you would have experienced too much expansion if anything. Was it the GMX that didn't expand?
TexAg09
Active member
I've had them perform poorly on mule deer as well. .308 150grain
antelopedundee
Well-known member
I was going to try 130 grain 6.5mm SSTs for antelope this year, but reports of excessive fragmentation has me reconsidering that. I'll stick with Hornady 117 grain interlocks in a .25-06 or .25/.284. The 129 grain 6.5mm interlocks are awesome on lopes and deer and in my experience aren't exactly slouches when it comes to fragmenting.
D
Deleted member 20812
Guest
Yep.
I don't like SSTs for game as they all fragmented badly on the animals I shot but they shoot really well. I've only shot one deer with a GMX and it worked as well as any mono bullet I've used and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
After messing with seating depth I was even able to get their POI almost the same. The GMX preferred a lot more jump to the lands.
After messing with seating depth I was even able to get their POI almost the same. The GMX preferred a lot more jump to the lands.
belly-deep
Active member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 3,459
Interlock is still the best bullet Hornady makes.
I had a GMX do me well with a sample of one, though.
With so many good bullets out there, I don’t think I’ll ever try the SST from the stories I’ve heard. That and the fact that if I need an accurate poly tipped bullet for deer, the Nosler BT is hard to beat. And it will also work on much bigger game.
I had a GMX do me well with a sample of one, though.
With so many good bullets out there, I don’t think I’ll ever try the SST from the stories I’ve heard. That and the fact that if I need an accurate poly tipped bullet for deer, the Nosler BT is hard to beat. And it will also work on much bigger game.
std7mag
Well-known member
I've never shot a bullet that "explodes". That is saved for the military and the gimmick "anti-terrorist" rounds.
I do use SST's quite a bit, at the range. Same BC as a Ballistic Tip (7mm) but almost half the cost.
The Berger VLD Hunting has done well by me (penetrates 3-5 inches before coming apart), but i've yet to be able to hunt elk.
Our Fearless Leaser uses the Nosler E-Tip with great success!
I do use SST's quite a bit, at the range. Same BC as a Ballistic Tip (7mm) but almost half the cost.
The Berger VLD Hunting has done well by me (penetrates 3-5 inches before coming apart), but i've yet to be able to hunt elk.
Our Fearless Leaser uses the Nosler E-Tip with great success!
Similar threads
