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.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

The SST has been my primary bullet the past two seasons. Altogether, I've now harvested about 15 deer with the 250-grain SST (and 250 shockWave - which is the same bullet). My longest shot has been 208 yards (2004 season). The shot took out a nice 150-class Nebraska 10-pointer, dropping the deer on the spot. I did recover the bullet...and it was very, very nicely expanded. I've yet to have a deer go more than 20 yards after being hit with this bullet.

Toby Bridges,
PigBuster

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I agree!

I'm tossing the 300gr SST with 120gr BM'3 from an Omega and on four deer last year it was like they were hit by a Tractor Trailer. Zero runs after the shot. Just they way I like them!
:D

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Yes I agree the shockwave and sst are amazing on deer. they give great accuracy and the damage done is plenty to kill a deer. I havent had all my deer drop like some say they have but if they only go 20 yards its the same to me.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I have had good luck with the 300 gr. T/C Shockwave (SST) as well. Last fall, on opening day of muzzle loader season, I stumbled onto a nice 6 X 6 bull elk feeding in a meadow with about 20 cows. After a short stalk, I took a 75 yard shot at the bull from a quartering away angle. The elk made a mad dash for about 50 yards and piled up. Bullet hit the center of the chest, angled forward through the lungs, broke the off shoulder, and was found just under the hide. It was somewhat deformed and had lost its core in the last couple inches of travel - but the performance on an animal of this size was impressive. I'll be using it again, ahead of 130 grains of Pyrodex Pellets, this September.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Roskoe,

If you were hunting in Colorado...I hope it was during the general firearms season.

One of these days the Colorado Division of Wildlife will wake up and realize that a good saboted bullet like the 300-grain SST is far superior for cleanly taking elk (during the muzzleloader season) than the old patched round ball. Regulations there that prohibit the use of saboted bullets during the muzzleloader seasons are out dated...and need to be changed.

Toby Bridges,
PigBuster

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

It was at our family ranch in New Mexico.

Are you the same Toby Bridges who contributed a bunch of R & D for the Savage "smokeless" muzzleloader? You may have had a hand in a component of my Colorado-legal load. I use a 410 grain Hornady Great Plains bullet with a MMP ballistic bridge sub-base; over 120 grains of ffg Triple 7. Weren't you involved in the development of the ballistic bridge sub-base?

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Roskoe...

If it shoots great...I'll take credit. If it shoots lousy...it must have been some other Toby Bridges!

Yep, I kept after my good buddy Del Ramsey at MMP to come up with an improved sub-base (Ballsitic Bridge Sub-Base) that would protect the bottom of saboted bullets from all the heat and excessive pressure of heavy hunting loads.

It's good to see someone using it under a hollow-based conical as well.

How does it shoot?

Toby Bridges,
PigBuster

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

It shoots very well - especially considering how badly it shoots without it :>) This bullet performs pretty well at around 1400 fps without the sub-base, but higher charges must be deforming the base, as accuracy gets worse as the charge goes up. After reading some stuff about your experience with smokeless powders, I thought about some bullets I had tried in the past that might be good candidates for some "insulation" between the powder and bullet base. The base of the 410 gr. Hornady Great Plains matches very closely with the dome front the ballistic bridge sub-base. With 120 gr. of FFg Triple 7, I can get 2" groups at 100 yards with open sights - which is about as good as I can shoot without a scope. One caution - this load, at 1702 fps, has some recoil. It would be tough to take off the bench with the "Benchmaster" rest.

PS: Did one of your smokeless load really blow up a Savage gun like is rumored?

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I gotta say I LOVE the SSTs for muzzleloaders. My customers have just turned the lights out of PLENTY of deer with them and I can honestly say that across the board, they have shown to be the most accurate bullets in more guns than anyother bullets we've sold for 20 years! Performance wise, again they are awesome. We strongly recommend them to folks shooting them in guns with magnum charges (130grns+) and they are our sole recommendation for customers buying the Savage smokeless guns.

Last season I got a Savage ML10II and put the 300grn SSTs over 45grns of N110 (appx 2300fps) and all I can say is WOW! They melt deer inside of 300yds like any centerfire rifle. The first deer I shot with them lastyear was a doe at 110yds and I purposefully shot her through both shoulders to test the bullet. It cleanly exited the off shoulder and needless to say she dropped so fast the other deer around her just stood there looking around.

I am a died in the wool Barnes X man and I was shooting them through my dozen+ year old Knight, but the SSTs in my new Savage surpassed my expectations. There are about 5 others shooting SST/Savage ML10s in my circle of buds and workers and too the man we are ALL very happy with the bullets performance. Like I said, we have many many customers who are elated with them as well and we sell T/C smokepoles 5 too 1 over everything else.

You WONT be disappointed! ;)
RA

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

This is the one bullet I really want to work, but am having trouble with it. I get unexplained flyers in 3-5 shot groups. I might get sub2MOA groups, and then one about 4" away. I switched to different sabots. Tried cutting the sabot down, but nothing improved. I get much better results form XTP's. I still have a bunch of the 250gr and 300gr left. Would love it they worked for me.

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Two questions:

1) What's on your bore walls when shooting these bullets.... ie... lubes-oils?
2) How many powder grains & what powder did these flyers occur with?

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

Beleive me Triple I have tried it all. Nothing is on the bore walls. I use no 13 every other round or spit.

Same sabot as the XTP mag, and it does fine. Barnes Expander does the best. I have heard this common theme around ml pages also from very experienced people. Some recommended a different sabot where the leafs were not near as long or trim them. Thats the reason I bought some harvester .45 sabots.

I also tried pellets, pyrodex loose and 777 pellets. Loads from 90gr-120gr. Might try 777 loose next time.

Anything to add?

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

ya might want to try T/C's cheap shot sabots....the ones that are all lead and match the XTP's they make which are like the SST from what i hear....ones i used in my T/C hawken make a 2" hole in and out.........................bob

RE: Hornady SST performance on deer
 

I was wondering what kind of powder charge you put behind the Cheap Shots when you shoot out of the Hawkins? I like trying different loads.