Question about the 50 cal 250gr hornady sst bullet

tyef350 · Sep 5, 2013

I have always hunted elk with a rifle. I have a 30-06 and shoot a 180gr. I have killed a few elk with one shot. This is my first year hunting with a muzzy. I'm seeing a lot of people saying go with the 300gr. I have been shooting the hornady sst 250gr at the range and feel good about it. I guess what I'm saying is would it be worth starting all over and work all the kinks out with the 300gr or stay with the 250gr. I was told the 250 has more distance. The 250gr is a lot bigger then the odd 6 180gr, so in my eyes should knock down a bull. Thanks for any help.

txhunter58 · Sep 5, 2013

Muzzy vs 30-06 = apples vs oranges

What a well constructed bullet will do at 30-06 velocities vs a bullet at muzzy velocities is not a fair comparison

Bottom line is the slower the bullet goes, bigger is better.

300 gr would be my very minimum for an elk. Some people swear by the 250 barnes bullet (pure copper) but you really don't lose enough trajectory at muzzy ranges to worry about, so I still think 300 wins in my book.

I will be heading to colorado with a 350 gr Hornady FPB next week!

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

rotorhead · Sep 5, 2013

A couple years ago my dad had a muzzy elk tag. He used the hornady sst 250. Absolutely not a problem with it. I would not be afraid to use the 250 at all. The 250 did pattern a lot better than the 300 grain. Not sure why but his TC Omega liked the 250 better.

Timberbuck · Sep 5, 2013

The .50 cal 250 grain SST is not a tough bullet at all. Its a deer bullet at best.

You need to remember it is all ready .50 cal in diameter so compairing it to your 180 .30 cal it would need to weigh much more to penetrate to the same ability.

I would recommend a Barnes TMZ or TEZ in 250-300 grains .
TC makes a bonded version of their shockwave sabot in 300 grains which I would also consider.

It should be easy to re sight in with the new bullets as you have your gun on paper allready.

tyef350 · Sep 5, 2013

Man I hate being told both sides. Running out of time lol. I'm shooting a tight group at 200, and have a chart with my bullet drop. I'm shooting max load bh209 does that help.

txhunter58 · Sep 5, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Sep-06-13 AT 05:46AM (MST)[p]A 243 will kill an elk cleanly under the right conditions. Unless you go with a tougher constructed 250 grain, I would go with the 300.

If you push a muzzleloading bullet to max loads, you need a tougher bullet for good terminal performance. The closer you get to a pure lead bullet, the bigger the bullet needs to be and the slower it needs to go.

My elk load (good out to 150 yards) is 95 grains of fffg 777 and the 350 gr Hornady FPB.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

mickeymouseoutfitters · Sep 6, 2013

30-06 shoots at 3000 fps and a muzzleloader shoots at 1500 fps. Muzzleloaders have half the energy of a high powered rifle. 350 grain bullet is my minimum on a muzzleloader.

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I'm not one for telling my grandson how big of turd I had to pinch off from having to eat so much meat. I want to give him the antlers that hang from my wall and tell him the unforgettable experience that came with each and every one.

hangfire · Sep 6, 2013

Try the 290 grain Barnes, shoots flat and the all copper construction will have no problems taking down a bull.

rotorhead · Sep 6, 2013

350, do what makes you feel comfortable. I agree fully with what everyone has said. I have just seen personally what the 250 grain will do to a bull elk. The bull lunged forward and that's all he wrote.
It's your hunt you need to shoot what you feel comfortable with. Good luck.

Mulieking12 · Sep 7, 2013

Go with the 250 gr TC/Shockwave bonded core. Same exact shape as the hornady...should basically shoot the same out of your gun but it will hold up better, penetrate further than the hornady. It's getting late in the year to work up a load for the 300.

txhunter58 · Sep 7, 2013

It may take just as much time to work up that 250 gr as it does the 300.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

Bill_in_MI · Sep 8, 2013

I hate the muzzleloader version of the SST, fragmentation grenade that it is...

Mac88 · Sep 8, 2013

I'm useing 250 sst, with 130 grains. In my t/c omega. Barns 250 tmz will not fit down my muzzy not matter what. I'm having good luck with the grouping at 100 yards. And have almost zero drop at 200. Stick with what shoots good In your gun.

Bill_in_MI · Sep 8, 2013

Have you tried the TEZ sabots? That's what I use in my omega over 110-120gr of BH 209.

My comment is based on a shoulder shot on a big MO whitetail at around 150 yards. Giant crater on shoulder, tons of blood/hair. Deer went over 800 yards before we lost blood. This was public land and I think someone may have found the deer as we didn't with 2 days of looking. Close to a B&C class buck too...

Anyways, I've never lost an animal hit with a barnes and I've shot more than a few.

Accuracy and ability to penetrate at all reasonable velocities is critical IMO

Mac88 · Sep 8, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Sep-08-13 AT 09:13PM (MST)[p]Will barns ez slide down better? Also will they shoot as straight? The sst are really nice and tight.

Bill_in_MI · Sep 8, 2013

The Barnes TEZ 250 or 290 gr flat tail polymer tip bullets are still a tight fit in my omega and will shoot 3" groups at 200 yards.

As has been said many times, the drop on the 290 is so close to the 250 that I'd shoot the 290. Accuracy seems to be similar.

Try 115 gr of BH209 and Rem lg rifle primers

tyef350 · Sep 17, 2013

Well I switched to the Barnes 250gr t-ez. After most of Sat I feel pretty good about them. Seems I had a tighter pattern arty 200 yards with the hornady sst low drag, but it's still a pretty tight pattern.

Bill_in_MI · Sep 17, 2013

If you are shooting powder try dropping 5 to 10 grains off your load and see what that does to your drop and group. I bet your group tightens and the difference in drop is almost negligible at 200 yards.

What powder/primer combo are you shooting?

tyef350 · Sep 18, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-13 AT 01:43PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-13 AT 01:42?PM (MST)

I was going to shoot blackhorn, and cci 209 primers. At the range this weekend I had a miss fire, and about 6 delayed fires. I went back to blackhorn, and Winchester 777's and never had one problem with that combo. I would drop my powder a little and try it, but I don't have time to go back to the range before I leave.

tyef350 · Oct 6, 2013

Well I switched to the Barnes t-ez bullets. I lost my dream bull. I was New to muzzy hunting this year. So I didn't know what bullet was good for what. I started freaking out about the hornady sst, cause so many was against them. I switched to the Barnes and still lost my dream bull. I wish I would of asked this sooner, so I could if started all over with a bigger bullet. I nailed him hard as heck. 3 guys that watched him said he would be dead just inside the tree line. Well 3 days never found him. If anyone finds a dead 350-360 bull on the Wasatch hit me up please. I'll pay you if you find him. Pm me with any questions.

horncrzy · Oct 7, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Oct-07-13 AT 05:58PM (MST)[p]I highly doubt it was due to the bullet.... Where did you hit him "hard"? a hard hit in the chest is different from a hard hit in the guts.....Elk are tough animals i watched my brother shoot one this year and it took three hits in the shoulder with 180 grain accubonds out of a .300 WSM.....finally hit it in the neck and put it down. But having said that the bull was dead on his feet after the first shot. There is a very high possibility that the shots were a little far back and due to addrenalin the bull decided to get out of dodge. If you hit the bull hard in the chest cavity the bull would have been dead.....I used to use the SST's and had really good results with them. I went to the 290 TEZ and my groups are just as tight but I have more penetration and knockdown withe the 290. If I do my part I can clover leaf three shots at 100 yards. I am either guessing a Liver shot and your bull took some time to die or the 250's didn't penetrate the shoulder. How far were you shooting at the bull? I sure hope you find your bull! Good luck and keep us posted!