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Hornady SST

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benstt

Professional
Founding Member
Have any of you used Hornady's SSTs in your hunting rifles? I put together a batch of 50 165s over IMR 4895 and got a ~1.2 inch group at 100 with my Saint .308 and a Sig Tango4 1-4x. That's a lot better results than I thought I'd get. I'm very happy with the precision from those bullets but effectiveness and mushrooming are unknown quantities at the moment. Have any of you used them to take a whitetail?
 
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HansGruber said:
I used 120gr SST’s out of a 14” .30-30 Contender with good effects.

Performed well; mushroomed nicely, normally got full penetration, a couple times ended up under the skin on the exiting side.

150’s should do the same…
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Great, I'm glad to hear it. I'm using 165s, so they should drop a deer easy. It's for my brother, who I don't trust to land a precise first shot, so I want him to have a quick second if need be.
 
I have SSTs in 26, 27 and 30cal, but haven't used any yet. 123, 130 and 180s. I would have to drop back to a 120 as for 130 would need to be single fed in a 6.8spc. Those 123s should be going 3,400 to 3,500fps from my 264wm (32" barrel). Awaiting for updates from QL along with Quick Design. I see fun fun fun in the works!
 
benstt said:
Have any of you used Hornady's SSTs in your hunting rifles? I put together a batch of 50 165s over IMR 4895 and got a ~1.2 inch group at 100 with my Saint .308 and a Sig Tango4 1-4x. That's a lot better results than I thought I'd get. I'm very happy with the precision from those bullets but effectiveness and mushrooming are unknown quantities at the moment. Have any of you used them to take a whitetail?
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Hello, Yep I shoot a 129 grn Hornady SST in my 6.5 Creedmoore weekly with great 5 shot groupings of less then 3/4" weekly at 100 yds. I do reload my own ammo, and set the bullet jump for this bullet at .018-.020. I have been bench-rest shooting for several years, and tested several powders. I find the Superperformance powder at 45.2 grn drives the bullet at 2800-2900 ft. pretty well and consistancy stays the same week after week. I have the same accuracy with Hornady ELD Match 130 grn bullet. Hope it helps
 
Hello, Yep I shoot a 129 grn Hornady SST in my 6.5 Creedmoore weekly with great 5 shot groupings of less then 3/4" weekly at 100 yds. I do reload my own ammo, and set the bullet jump for this bullet at .018-.020. I have been bench-rest shooting for several years, and tested several powders. I find the Superperformance powder at 45.2 grn drives the bullet at 2800-2900 ft. pretty well and consistancy stays the same week after week. I have the same accuracy with Hornady ELD Match 130 grn bullet. Hope it helps
 
While I have never specifically loaded the 125 grain SST's, I have loaded plenty of Hornady bullets in my life and they tend to be the most accurate, whether pistol or rifle. And that's mixing in Barnes, Nosler, Remington, Speer, etc.
 
I am in agreement with you. Although the Speer bullets are very fine also. I have found that the major problem with some shooters is that they seam to fall short on case preparation. If the bullet retention is not exactly the same due to not chamfering or leaving a high spot from chamfering, then it may not be pressed in concentric. The bullet retention needs to be exactly the same to achieve a consistant good grouping pattern. I do prefer seating lube when pressing in bullets. This reduces the force from press fitting in the bullet.
 
I also shoot my .243 with the 95 grn SST bullet for varmint hunting and bench-rest shooting and it shoots spot on at 150 yds. Again I find that case prep is so important for consistency. Never having a 300 Weatherby mag, must be a real loss for most of us... LOL
 
ONESHOT said:
I also shoot my .243 with the 95 grn SST bullet for varmint hunting and bench-rest shooting and it shoots spot on at 150 yds. Again I find that case prep is so important for consistency. Never having a 300 Weatherby mag, must be a real loss for most of us... LOL
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But your shoulder is thankful! 😉
 
benstt said:
Have any of you used Hornady's SSTs in your hunting rifles? I put together a batch of 50 165s over IMR 4895 and got a ~1.2 inch group at 100 with my Saint .308 and a Sig Tango4 1-4x. That's a lot better results than I thought I'd get. I'm very happy with the precision from those bullets but effectiveness and mushrooming are unknown quantities at the moment. Have any of you used them to take a whitetail?
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Yes sir
Son dropped a big one yesterday with the round
 
ONESHOT said:
I also shoot my .243 with the 95 grn SST bullet for varmint hunting and bench-rest shooting and it shoots spot on at 150 yds. Again I find that case prep is so important for consistency. Never having a 300 Weatherby mag, must be a real loss for most of us... LOL
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Would you try 90edlx?
 
ONESHOT said:
I am in agreement with you. Although the Speer bullets are very fine also. I have found that the major problem with some shooters is that they seam to fall short on case preparation. If the bullet retention is not exactly the same due to not chamfering or leaving a high spot from chamfering, then it may not be pressed in concentric. The bullet retention needs to be exactly the same to achieve a consistant good grouping pattern. I do prefer seating lube when pressing in bullets. This reduces the force from press fitting in the bullet.
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This is a very valid point. Bullet retention and squeeze is probably as important as any facet of reloading for accuracy as anything else with possible exception of powder type and charge.

And to this point there is not a better straight walled, handgun, case crimp die in the world than the "Lee" Carbide Factory Crimp die which simply cannot be beat for consistent crimping whether every case has been judiciously prepped after firing in your gun, or if some vary slightly as with 'pick-ups' from the range.

I won't say there's not another as good, simply because I've not personally tried/tested them all. But I will say you won't find a better one at any price. (y)(y)(y) YMMV !!!
 
I know factory SST are predominantly fast, in comparison to other offerings in the weight. I, however have not loaded these specifically and understand that rolling your own allows one to tailor the load with powder seating depth and even brass. Also, you may get better results with an optic with more magnification. The bullet itself is a great bullet with good results.
 
Yes, the SST and the ELD are both bullets that can be loaded for more ballistics. The factory loaded ammo seams to be around 2600 ft per/sec, but I load them both for my 129 grn, and 130 grn. 6.5 creedmoore at 2900 for better accuracy at 200-300 yds, and my bench-rest shooting weekly. As with all rifles they all need to be fine tuned for powder type and amount, and then set the bullet jump for the best accuracy. Once you find the sweet spot, you are pretty well good to go. I do like all the Hornady loading products...
 
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