Back quite a few years ago I bought 4 boxes of 154grn SSTs (Hornady Custom) for a song to use in my 7mag. After the second doe I nearly blew the frontend off, I said ENOUGH. I was shooting other larger, faster guns in the same areas and using the Barnes X bullets and their then new Barnes TSXs and they were performing perfectly. Around the same time I also bought a Savage ML 10ii smokeless muzzleloader. The gun shot 250SSTs extremely well (40 someodd grains of N110 powder) but the bullets didn't perform to my liking. (I like 2 smalls holes in/out and destroying ANYTHING in the flightpath between those two holes)
I also have a box or so left of 139SSTs (Light Mag) that I originally picked up for my pet 280 (Rem Cust Shop). I NEVER had an exit wound, even when I shot a small yearling while "herd whacking" one afternoon. I likewise killed the biggest deer I've ever taken (score wise) in southern MO with that load and bullet, an OLD OLD OLD 154inch 14ptr that I nailed in the chest at 45yds. Again, no exit wound but the buck did only run about 40yds before taking his dirt nap.
I had a 7-08 but that was back in the early 90s. (I handloaded 140 Nosler Parts for it then) Now my youngest son has a new 7-08 this year and I have him shooting 120TTSXs (Barnes Vortx). If these 120s don't poke 2 holes in our big river bottom bucks I'll slide him up to 140 TSXs.
I'd equate the SSTs as Hornady's equivalent of the Nosler Ballistic Tip. Many like those, guys like myself DONT!
HL