I have used 130 grain SSTs at 2700 fps in my .270 on whitetail and have had great success. I had complete pass through, but the bloodshot meat was something to behold on the entrance side. Are the the SSTs inherently more explosive than the Interlocks? Would meat damage be reduced?

the SST is a bullet designed for the guy that wants superdevistation to his deer and wants to drop it in it's tracks. It has a polymer tip to start rapid expansion and a thin tapered jacket to peel back fast. It's not a bullet you want to hit the shoulder with and I'm surprised you're getting pass thrus.

Hornady bought it out to compete with the Ballistic tip that was robbing their business so badly and I personally once heard Steve Hornady say that they might have designed it a little too light.

Nevertheless it's a very accurate hunting bullet for those that want a ballistic tip type performance but a little more so.

Personally for deer I'm still using the interlocks. They're as good as ever and better than most.

If one is serious about reducing meat damage the first advice I'd offer is to quit using the .270 and pick up a .257 Roberts. Other than that start using the 150 grain interlock at about 2,600'/sec. The .270 is a lot more than whitetails need to move to the freezer.

I saw a test of just about all 180gr. 30 cal bullets in Shooting times a couple three years ago, the Interlock bullet retained more weight than the SST design, albiet not that much, a few grains more, actually, the SST, Scirroco and Balliatic tip were all about the same as far as weight retention, diameter etc.
I actually loaded some some 130 SSTs for a friend at work who didn't like the way Partition and failsafes bullets were leaving a pencil hole through some of the deer he shot, leaving not much of a blood trail, he got 3 deer with the bullets(SST)that year and was pleased with the results. Jay

For the record, the SST's have the interlock ring design just as some of the lead SP's do. I have killed one pronghorn (139grSST shoulder/brisket/neck bones, 190yrds w/7-08) and one muley (139grSST, 80yrds through the ribs, w/7-08) and both exited w/2" holes. Given the relatively short distances and large expansion, I am confident they will exit Muley sized game at most distances. I tend to think that the SST's with their interlock design will hold together better than the ballistic tips, but the ballistic tips may be more accurate.

Deke.

I was told by Hornaday a couple of years back that the SST was designed to give the same expansion and penetration as their Interlock bullet. My personal experience ( 5 or 6 deer and a couple of hogs) has confirmed that. But most of the folks on this forum and others, seem to equate SST's with Ballistic Tips.

quote:

Originally posted by Monticello:
I have used 130 grain SSTs at 2700 fps in my .270 on whitetail and have had great success. ...

Hey Monticello, That 2700fps sounds rather low for a 270Win. Are you using "Starting Loads", or are you estimating the remaining Velocity at the Point-of-Impact?

quote:

Originally posted by Monticello:
... I had complete pass through, but the bloodshot meat was something to behold on the entrance side. ...

From looking at the insides of a whole lot of Deer, I believe "High Velocity" at the Point-of-Impact with a relatively "Fragile Bullet" is responsible for the majority of Bloodshot meat. The recommendation from vapodog is one way to reduce the Bloodshot meat.

quote:

Originally posted by vapogog:
... start using the 150 grain interlock at about 2,600'/sec. . ...

The problem is achieving a good Balance of penetration and energy transfer to the Game while maintaining excellent accuracy.

quote:

Originally posted by Monticello:
... Are the the SSTs inherently more explosive than the Interlocks? Would meat damage be reduced?

The basic difference in the Design is the SST has a Hollow Point filled with a Plastic Tip. Therefore, it has the potential to be more accurate than a regular Interlock(due to the rearward weight shift) and it should open faster than a regular Interlock.

The only real problem is shooting enough Deer to be convinced of how a particuler Bullet Design actually performs. Shoot a few and the results can be misleading. Shoot a few dozen and you will begin to see a pattern. Shoot a hundred and you will see just how the Bullet performs as well as the occasional unexpected result that just doesn't act like the vast majority did.

Both Bullets you are asking about will work very well for killing Deer. Then you can fine tune the on-game performance by changing to a different Bullet Design, or weight. But, as much as a lot of folks like to think so, what one person believes provides Excellent Performance for him might not be the "Perfect" bullet for someone else.
---

If you want less Bloodshot meat, a "Slower Impact Velocity" is needed. You can increase the Weight as vapodog mentioned(so you still get deep penetration - for Exits) and use the same SST or Interlock. Then after shooting a few dozen Deer, you will notice less Bloodshot meat overall. The trade off though, is since there will be a bit less Energy Transfer, the Deer "might" run a bit farther. Fortunately the Exit Hole should provide a good Blood Trail if it is in the lower 1/3 and forward 1/3 of the Deer.

All Bullet selections result in a slightly different on-game "Performance Balance". You simply need to know what "you" want the Bullet to do once it makes Impact, the types of shots you are willing to take(Impact Angles), the distance you will take shots and the performance level of your firearm. Then you make a selection and see how well it does for you, but knowing you always have the ability to change the result by using a slightly different Bullet Design.

Best of luck to you.

We tested .308 165gr Balistic Tips and SSTs into wet phones,the SST were ever so slightly tougher.

I've always been a bit concerned with the blood shot meat and bullet fragments I was finding with 130 Interlocks out of my 270 on Kansas whitetails. Never had one not exit, but just worried about the apparent violent expansion. My son-in-law used my .257 Roberts and a 115 Partition on a doe at 150 yards this past winter, and there was very little difference in the blood shot area. The 100 gr. Interlocks out of my 250 Savage did a much cleaner job, but I'm not about to claim it's the perfect all around deer gun. However, out to 200-250 yards or so, I wouldn't feel undergunned at all.

I dont really notice any bloodshot meat with SST's, but I'm using the 165 gr .308" bullet. You might try the 140 grain SST at the same velocity (or higher). The heavier bullets are tougher and wont open as quickly.

2700 fps is the starting load in my 270. The longest shot I have taken is 150 yards. The lighter recoil is nice, and I don't need the long range ballistics.

I think for now I will continue using the 130 grain SST since I have about 125 on hand. I may increase the fps since I have the possibility of some 350 yard shots this year on a new piece of property.

I like Hornady SST Interbond's.

quote:

Originally posted by Monticello:
...I think for now I will continue using the 130 grain SST since I have about 125 on hand. I may increase the fps since I have the possibility of some 350 yard shots this year on a new piece of property.

Nothing wrong with that. As a suggestion, if you have the patience to wait until the Deer is standing sideways so you can go Lung-to-Lung, the Bloodshot meat will be in an area many folks simply toss away anyhow.

I like the ribs though. I saw them in half, roll them up and stick them in a Crock Pot until the "bones slip". No need to add anything except about 1/2" of water. Once the bones slip, it is tender enough to eat with a fork.

So, I use a slightly heavier Bullet and go for the shoulder. Little meat to use there and with a bit of luck, no tracking is required. If tracking is required, the nice Exit hole generally provides a path Ray Charles could have followed.

quote:

We tested .308 165gr Balistic Tips and SSTs into wet phones,the SST were ever so slightly tougher.

That's just not the case when using them on Deer.

We shot several deer w/ the SSTs in the past two years and very few were pass throughs. Most of the time there was tiny shreds of copper and lead throughout the internals and little(if any) damage to the opposite ribs.

The NBTs go right on through. I've only seen 3 NBTs not exit deer and hog sized game and believe me, I've seen quiet a few go down to the NBTs. The only NBTs I've ever recovered were a pefect mushroom w/ a chunk of lead sitting on the solid base on the opposite side of the game. Those three were on two big bodied corn field Bucks (Both Quartering) and one huge Boar Hog. All three were close shots w/ High Velocity Magnums.

If you grind the two different designs down for a side profile, you will notice that the NBT has a much better jacket especially, in the rear where the Solid Base is.

The SSTs are nothing but a heavier V-max in my opinion.

Good Luck!

Reloader

According to Hornady, the only difference betwee a SPInterlock and a SSTInterlock is the TIP of the bullet. They both have the same interlock design for the rest of the bullet. The plastic tip will initiate expansion sooner/quicker, but the final bullet at rest will probably be the same. The plastic tip also gives you better BC and most likely better accuracy (less tip damage and the hollow point effect that others talked about).

For those concerned with blood shot meat, put it through the lungs. Unless it is a very tough bullet like a barnes, you will have significant blood shot meat with any high velocity soft bullet in the shoulder.

Deke.

I concur with reloader the NBT's have shown better on deer out of the rifles (270 win & 7mm rem mag)I have used both SST's and NBT's. I will not say the SST didn't do the job though, just appeared more devasting/damage than the NBT ever did with less pass throughs.

As far as the interlock bullet no quams from me, always worked well. My newest rifle just prefers Nosler to Hornady bullets.

Maybe it is because I use a 7x57 and 7-08 and shoot them a around 2800-2900fps, but I find the SSTs pretty tough.Ive shot 2 pigs, 3, deer and one feral goat and all have been pass-throughs. It could be that, in this caliber, they are made tougher to compensate for use in 7RM. I believe that they SSTs in general are made to shoot at under MV 3000fps and most of the explosive performance is due to miss-application. capt david

captdavid,

I agree that SST's (and BT's 30cal and under) are not designed for more than 3000fps on big game. The BT jacket thickness changes significantly with the .338 and is a tougher bullet.

As stated before, I use the SST's in my 7-08 and have experiened excellent accuracy and pass-tru and they cost less than the BT's.

Deke.