Few months ago I bought several boxes of SST's--270 cal 140gr and 30 cal 150 gr for $12/box. Have never used SST's. Seems i recall someone comparing them to ballistic tips, which I am not fond of except for varmints. Are they a decent bullet for goats and deer? thanks

Over the years I have shot 5 or 6 deer(whitetail) with 150 and 165 grain BT's from my .30-06. I was always amazed at the destruction of meat. I have started shooting 180 grain SST's from the same rifle. To date I have shot 1 Antelope and 4 Whitetails with it. I recovered one bullet with 61% weight retention from a frontal shot. I have been impressed with the lack of extensive damage from the SST's. I know some have probably shot alot more animals with both but these are my observations. I do plan on using 139 gr. SST's in my 7x57 this fall. Good luck.

In a word, NO. They will work for broad side shot's into the vitals but, If you ever hit bone they go off just like a varmint bullet. Meat and fur will fly. I took 3 deer with the SST's the first two went down like they should, the third (bad shot) was a nightmare and wasted more meat than was saved. I'll never use them again for game. They'd be great for song dogs or plinking.

Terry

I shoot a 139 gr. SST through my 7mm STW. I have never lost a deer when using this bullet, all shots have been inside of 300 yards, and the furthest a deer traveled was 15 yards. Most have dropped right in their tracks. I call that decent success.

Good bullet in the hornady light mag out of 20 inch barreled 7-08. This is a rental gun which took a dozen or so animals this season with that load. All broadside shots on stag and boar exited. More damage to animal than with barnes tsx (my favorite). Frontal shot on stag gave penetration into intestines, aprox 3ft.

The SST is reasonably comparable to the ballistic tip.

Accuracy typically is excellent and they are thinly constructed for destruction in deer/pronghorn size animals.

I wouldn't hesitate to use them for that purpose. I'd rather use an interlock however.

For me they have performed exactly like Ballistic Tips which is good and bad.

Dan,

They are very explosive bullets. Pretty accurate from some of the rifles I tried them in and terrible in others.

They will absolutely disentegrate sometimes even on lungs shots on small deer.

Several compare them to NBTs but, from my experience they are much more explosive and the dang tips break off a good bit on the SSTs from the normal rigors of hunting. I've had better luck w/ the NBTs penetrating through the animal which I believe is due to the thicker jacket and solid base. The SSTs seem to shed the jacket easily at impact.

I do have a relative that has had good results at 308 win velocities.

I've fired them in 30-06, 300 WM, and 270 win.

Good Luck!

Reloader

I shot a pig with SST's and it went right through him. A small entry hole and a small exit hole. Then I shot a doe with an SST and it near tore the shoulder off of it. Neither one took a step after being hit. I'm going to try them again this year and see how they perform again.

I've had good results with the 165 grain .308" SST on deer. I did not notice much difference bewtween them and the standard interlock, but they have a much higher BC.

I have been getting good groups out of my 7x57 Ruger No. 1 with the 139 grainers. No deer shot with it to date. Have been using the 165 grainers on groundhogs out of a FN SPR A1. It is a heavy rifle, and I was able to see head splash through the scope during a long shot the weekend. You definitely do not have to worry about lack of expansion out of these projos. I'd say they are fine for deer at reasonable velocities.

I have taken one antelope and 3 deer with my 7mm08 and the 139 gr SST. The goat and two of the deer were good heart/lung shots with little meat damage and no recovered bullet. The other deer was a long shot on the shoulder. Totally destroyed both front shoulders. Sub MOA in my rifle. I like the SST for whitetail and antelopes, but you have to accept what the bullet will do, depending on where it hits.

I use the Hornady 95gr. SST in my .243Win. and also in my 6mm Rem. It's quite the good deer killer and very accurate.
Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I like the SST's more than the BT's because they are a little bit tougher. The key is not too much velocity (not much over 2800fps in 7mm) if you are concerned about meat damage. I have killed several pronghorns and a deer with them. All but two were lung shots, All but one have been complete passthroughs. The one that did not pass through was a quartering shot mid-back in the spine @ 200yrds on an Antelope (I was hot and tired on the last afternoon and had forgotten to readjust elevation 5moa after considering a long shot, and strong wind gust nudged me in a sitting position as the trigger broke, excuses excuses..... ). The two that hit shoulders and spine were very destructive, but I don't know too many bullets that would not be while still allowing for proper expansion on lung shots.

Deke.

First off,they vary with weight and caliber.Don't use the 225gr.338 except as a fill in for Accubonds.But the 165gr .308 are slightly tougher than the same weight BTs. 2% and <.5".I use the 180gr .308 SST for deer.

I have taken several animals (whitetail, antelope, feral hogs) with the Lt Mg 139 gr SST in my 280 Rem. Good news and bad news. No animals lost and most went little distance. However, on a couple of 200+ feral hogs bullets failed to exit on broadside lung shots. I much prefer to have exit wounds. I still shoot this ammo with the 280 simply because it is so accurate and does an acceptable job. Would not use it on larger game.

I have never shot the SST bullets I've always used the innerlocks. They kill the deer dead and I would think that the SST would to if it shoots streight. Guess I'll have to try them out.

I'm with some of the others. I used them once in a 7mm, tried to break a deer down quick to keep it from going down into an arroyo. The bullet hit bone and exploded. They ain't for me, I imagine they'd work good if you gutshot deer on a regular basis.

After having some trouble getting my old 243 to shoot, I tried some 95 gr. SST's last year before hunting season. I was able to get a load that easily shot under and inch and had excellent velocity to boot. I killed 5 deer with this load last year between 100 and 200 yards and the bullets all performed flawlessly. All 5 deer dropped like a stone. I can't complain one bit.

I put a 140gr from a 264 Mag thru the shoulder of a mature buck facing almost directly at me at about 60 yards. It broke the shoulder, made mush of the lungs and exited out the ham. Great performance at a velocity that I was at first concerned about...