Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Has anyone killed deer with these bullets yet? I ove the accuracy out of my new Omega, and i was wondering if anyone on here has used the on deer. I have heard other places that they are awesome, and wanted to see if anyone on here had an opinion. Thanks

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

For the past 2 years I have shot only 250 gr. SST's, from an Omega, Encore and Savage ML II. In the past 2 years I have hit and retrieved 18 deer, from 10 to 230 yds. 5 of them at 200+ yds. I have only recovered 1 bullet from a gut pile, all the rest pass through. I have shot a lot of different kind of saboted bullets and I plan to use Hornady's 250 SST next year.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I used T/C 250 gr. Shock Waves which I think are made by Hornady. I shoot an Omega with 100 gr. of Trip 7. I shot a doe, took out both lungs , bullet passed through. Shot a 185 lb. 8 pt. buck. It was a quatering away shot and I hit him a little to far back. The bullet went through the paunch,one lung ,and the off side shoulder, ending up under the hide in a perfect mushroom.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

My results are the same as Oldsnow's.
I started using them the last month of last year and took two last year and four this year w/ my muzzle loader, three does and three bucks.
I shoot an Encore 50 cal w/ 250 grain shockwaves and two 50 grain pellets of 777.
Ranges varied from 60 to 150yards.

Two were broadside and were complete passthrough, two were quartering and complete passthrough. Normally, I would wait for a good broadside, standing shot. I aim and shoot my muzzle loader like it was my bow for shots, go for double lung hits. Never lost a deer w/ this strategy. May have to walk a few yards, but always leaves a blood trail my 6 year old could find.

One of the two that I did not get complete passthrough was a doe at 125 yards. It was a shot I normally would have waited for, but as it was the last 10 mins of daylight on the last day of this season, I went ahead and took it. The doe was facing me at 125 yards feeding, would not turn. So, I aimed just below and between the shoulder blades. She dropped where she stood, bullet entered in the top, center of the neck, just below the shoulder blades, took out both lungs and assorted vitals and deposited itself just under the skin on the inside of one of the thighs. That, is what you call a complete passthrough. The bullet retained about 80% of it's mass and was somewhat disfigured because of passing through the bones in the neck.

The second I did not get complete pass through was also a shot I normally would not take. During the rut this year I was watching a spike chase around a doe and yearling when I saw a big deer approaching from about 130 yards. He was quartering from my left to in front of me and walking at a fair pace. I knew that if he got close enuff to clearly see the spike, he would charge him and probably chase him off. Also knew that if he did this, I would probably not get a shot. So, I picked an opening I knew he would pass through and, left handed, waited for him to come into vision. As he did, I fired. The bullet struck him just behind his front, left shoulder, went between two ribs, took out a lung, passed through about 8 lbs of corn (from a neighbor) and came to rest just under the skin on the back of the right, rear, hip. Perfect mushroom, probably 90% weight retention.

I think by my experience, you can see, that I am not looking for any new bullets any time soon.
Good luck
Hank

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Awesome, thanks for the replies. It looks like I wont be needing to switch bullets any time soon!

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Hi,

I had a question for Oldsnow's. What kind of powder, and how many grains are you using with this bullet?

Thanks,

Mike

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I also use these in my Omega pushed by 130 gr pellets 777,awsome result,accuracy and terminal preformance on deer:D

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I use the 250 grain shockwaves which is literally the exact same thing as the sst and it's an awesome bullet. I push it with 130 grains 777 pellets in my Optima and took 4 deer with it last season, 4 shots 4 kills. The farthest was a buck at 205 paces and it hit right on without any holdover even while i had the scope zeroed in at 150 yds. The bullet even mushroomed perfectly at that distance, the other 3 does were from 90 to 125 yards and all were pass throughs and none ever went farther than 25 yards. If anyone ever asks I would always recommend either the shockwaves or SST before trying anything else.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Michael I use Pyrodex pellets, 2, 50 gr. and 1, 30 gr. I lite this with a Remington 209-4 primer.
No crud ring with Pyrodex and 209-4's

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

5 one shot, zero run after the shot.

300gr SST, 120gr BM'3. Developed primarily for elk and dangerous game.

Best ML projectile I've ever tossed at a deer.