Nos Ball Tip or Hornady SST

[BaldBeaver]

Having a hard time deciding between a 140 grain federal premium Nosler Ballistic Tip or Hornadays SST 139 grain. This is round will be fired from a .280 rem Browning X-bolt. Just looking for personal experience with the bullets. Obviously I will shoot both and see which shoots best, but experience speaks volumes.


~Jason Peterson
Mossy Oak ProStaff

"No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength."~Jack Kerouac

 

[sageadvice]

We just had this discussion and expressed our own opinions on the Nosler Ballistic tip.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID22/3188.html

There have also been several others on the Hornady SST, maybe a little stouter bullet but still has some similar characteristics as the Nosler counterpart.

You didn't mention what you were planning to do with these bullets, shoot targets, deer sized game, or the bigger stuff like Elk??

IMO, i'd go with a stouter bullet like a accubond or barnes for a all around bullet but from reading the above thread, that opinion is certainly debatable. I have had excellent results on Muleys with the SST. Good luck whichever way you decide to go!

Joey



"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[440sixpack]

I think the Honady interlock is one of the best bullets you can buy, so I tried the SST thinking it might be a little tougher than the ballistic tip. I found it to be more fragile than the ballistic tip.






Stay thirsty my friends

 

[TOPGUN]

I've never tried the BT, but gave up on the SST real quick becuas eit blows up way to quick for my liking. The Hornady SP and BTSP Interlocks, on the other hand, are the way to go IMO for animals up to deer and then their Interbond takes over.

 

[huntindad4]

I have been shooting the 180 gr.SST from my .300 Wby for a few years and killed several deer with it and love it for deer. Shot the BT for a few years out of the same gun at a bit lower velocity and did fine except on a finishing shot on a big blacktail at less than 20 yards and it did not hold up well. My personal opinion is the SST holds up a little better.

That said I also think that caliber and weight of bullet in a particular bullet can be big! Meaning, in certain bullets a 180gr .30 cal. may hold up great but a 140gr...284 may not. I think it has to do with jacket wall thickness per diameter and length. Point is my opinion based on my gun may be vastly different than yours in a different caliber.

Bill

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of
ignorance, and the gospel of envy.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've
stood up for something, sometime in your life.

- Winston Churchill

 

[arroyobuck]

Use a Corelokt. They have killed more deer and elk than all of the rest of em put together...

Disclaimer: I doubt I have nearly as much hunting experience or killed as many deer/elk as all of the new comers to the sport that have been hunting for a total of 3 or 4 years. You may want to listen to them. However, having not missed a hunting season for the last 48 years, and rarely (if ever?) having come home empty handed, I think I have enough hunting experience to say that the Hornady Spire point Flat base is a darn good bullet. It's good enough for anything in N. America.

I'm not sure about the SSTs but am planning on trying them out on deer this year and will report back if something wild happens. I have shot the Hornady Superperformance SSTs thru one of my rifles and they smoke my handloads from a velocity perspective. Accuracy was good also.

All kidding aside, I have had very good luck with Hornady Spire points (flat based) for a long time. Corelokts have done well also

 

[TOPGUN]

I would not argue one bit with statements about the Core Lokt, especially if a person doesn't reload his own ammo, as I used them for quite a few years way back when I first started deer hunting in 1963. I think Bill hit the nail on the head with this paragraph in his post as to why some of us don't like a particular bullet and some do:
"That said I also think that caliber and weight of bullet in a particular bullet can be big! Meaning, in certain bullets a 180gr .30 cal. may hold up great but a 140gr...284 may not. I think it has to do with jacket wall thickness per diameter and length. Point is my opinion based on my gun may be vastly different than yours in a different caliber."