SST's

Silentstalker

Silentstalker

Long Time Member
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3,135
Hey guy's,

I have been shooting 162 gr. SST's out of my 7mm Rem. Mag. with great performance on the bench. They have a great BC and shoot great. What do you think of them for elk? I would love to shoot the Interbond but they do not seem to make them in 162 gr??

I am wondering what you guy's think of them in real world use. Have you shot elk or moose with them and what was your experience?
If shot at medium speeds, did they hold up well?

Another bullet I like but does not seem to shoot quite as well is the 160 gr. Accubond. I am not done testing loads yet.

I primarily bow hunt but when the opportunity comes, I want my rifle to be able to shoot deer, antelope or elk without re sighting in or changing anything.

What do you guy's think?
 
From what I've seen they are just as fragile as the Ballistic Tip, which means they're a great long range or low velocity hunting bullet.

I've had little luck getting the accubond to shoot any better than a partition, give the TSX or TTSX a try.
 
I would have to agree with 440. I had my 7mm upgraded to a Christensen Arms barrel, 7STW quite a few years ago. I tried a bunch of brands, and settled on the 140 grain Barnes TSX. I use it on antelope, deer and elk. My friend shoots a 7mm also and uses 150 grain TSX. The numbers show the 150 performs a little better, but the 140 shoots a little better in my rifle. Some people think 140 is a little light for elk, but it has knocked down 5 or 6 elk, pretty much right in their tracks. I have never had one run off on me. I have weighed the bullet afterward and it still weighs exactly 140 grains. That amazed me!
 
Thanks guy's. Have you used Bergers? That 168 gr. VLD looks pretty darn good on paper too. Maybe I will have to try the TTSX and the Bergers??
 
One of the reasons I went with Barnes is the length of my magazine. Some of the loads just were too long. If I remember, Berger was one of them.
 
I am shooting a Ruger M77 MKII 7mm Mag. How would I know if the Magazine is long enough? Sounds like I should just try the Barnes and call it good!
 
I shoot 180 SSTs out of my .300 Wby and have shot BTs in the past and would say they are not nearly as fragile as the Ballistic Tip. Having shot deer with both at under 50 yards and out to 500+ the SST is much less frangible.

I have only shot one cow elk with the SST and it worked fine. But don't have much experience there so cannot recommend them for elk and cannot say as to performance in the 7mm

Bill

Look out Forkie, FTW is watching us!
 
I was shooting 150 gr factory SST ammo thru my 270WSM for a few years until they discontinued that line of product. The SST's shot exceedingly well and performed admiralty, i would use them again based on the several deer and a lope that i took with the them.

I can not recommend the Nosler Ballistic tips, have hunted them too but will not ever do so again, another story, much too fragile at higher velocity, IMO.

Like Huntindad, i would not recommend the SST for Elk sized game but hard to imagine a much better bullet for Deer.

Joey
 
i must respectfully disagree with the nosler balistic tip not being a good hunting bullet. i love them load for a lot of family and friends and they have killed a dump truck worth of game with them. they do open quickly but they also kill quickly. i don't eat guts or rib meat so the destruction is of no concern to me. i am on the other side of the fence on bullet construction. i know of more than a few animals that were trailed for ridiculous distances because the " ultra premium "
slug just punches a pencil hole thru the animal.....my 2 pennies
 
LAST EDITED ON May-31-11 AT 10:54AM (MST)[p]It's all about where you place your shots, if lung shots are all you ever take and you're good enough to never hit anywhere else them the SST and ballistic tip should be the only bullets sold. if I said that was me I'd by lying, so I want a bullet that can handle the job if my shot placement isn't a classic lung shot.

I have several loads for every gun I hunt with, I choose the one that best meets what I expect to need. if you want a one bullet do it all deal then stay to the stiffer constructed side on the scale ot you're going to lose game that's just a fact.


I took a pronghorn at 400 yards and a deer at 300 yards with the SST, both blew up worse than a ballistic tip would have. I am not impressed and I'm done with them.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-31-11 AT 02:59PM (MST)[p]I have loaded Ballistic Tips for myself,my friends and my bro.. Together we have accumulated many freezer fulls of Deer and a few Elk... Not one time did those bullets not do the job cleanly and quickly... I'd still be loading them if CA didn't have a lead ban..

Sorry for the Hi-Jack
horsepoop.gif


Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.
 
I shoot a 30-06 with 165 Ballistic Tips and would not hesitate to use them on elk.The Accubond is also a good elk bullet with the same point of impact as the BT at 200 yards.
 
Thanks again guy's for all the feedback on the bullets. I think it is interesting all the responses. I happen to prefer a tough bullet for elk myself so that was my hope in asking this question. It sounds like there is definitely a division on this bullet. I love how they shoot.

I will try a few other bullets mentioned like the 150 TTSX and the 160 Accubond (with different powders and if the SST is still top dog, I will shoot them at deer and antelope and keep looking for a great elk slug.
 
So final question. Should I go with a 160 Accubond or the 150 gr. TTSX for my bigger game load? Which one has shot the best for you and performance wise, is there a difference?
 
>So final question. Should I
>go with a 160 Accubond
>or the 150 gr. TTSX
>for my bigger game load?
> Which one has shot
>the best for you and
>performance wise, is there a
>difference?

I don't have any experience with either bullet but I would load the 160 Accubond..Much higher BC...

horsepoop.gif


Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.
 
That is kind of what I was thinking. I will load some up with a few powders and see what I get. I have got RL22 and H4831sc right now. Should get a good load out of them.

Thanks again.
 
I too have trying to decide on a bullet, have been looking at the 162gr A-Max or 162gr match hornady, also was considering the SST's. But then there is the 168gr berger.
I am going to be loading for a 280 AI, would like to shoot a bullet that will keep me right at 3000fps. Heard good things about the 140gr & 160gr accubonds. All these choices. I have also noticed that some people are using large rifle magnum primers in the 280AI, but the nosler book calls for large rifle primers.

Chuck in Boise
 
I used the SST in my 270wsm this past fall and was not happy with it. Recovered two bullets. weights 70 somthing grains and 40 something grains. I am in the process of loading partitions and the bergers for it now.
 
Where were your hits? Did they hit bone etc? I am in the process of reloading 160 Accubonds with RL 22 right now. Hopefully they shoot well!
 
I am doing some load work up right now too for a new 7mm Rem Mag using 160 gr AccuBonds. I have three groups loaded up now, they are loaded with RL22, RL25, & Retumbo. If I ever get a chance to get out and shoot them I'll let you know how it goes.

I have also shot some with H4831SC. I worked up to 63 grs. and got 5/8" groups at 100yds and 2800 fps. I am not sure if the 2800 fps is entirely correct. My chrono may have had bad batteries and the sunlight could have messed things up too. According to my reloading manual I should have been a little over 3000 fps with that load.

I am using Federal 215 Match primers & Nosler Custom brass.
 
Yes one of them forsure hit the shoulder. I was getting 2800fps with a 140gr. I just used the best group and didn't play with it because of lack of time. I would not say that is fast since I am now getting almost 3000 with a 150gr.
 
I have only used the SST's out of my .280 once and it was enough. I shot a hog with them (no better bullet tester IMO) and that bullet was in about 80 pieces. Stoned the hog but I like a bullet that stays together a little better than that.
 
I wouldn't hesitate a second to shoot SSTs at elk or moose. I have recovered several bullets and they average right around 55%retention.Hornadys ineterlock ring allows the nose of the bullet to fragment yet locks the jacket to the base of the bullet keeping the rest of the bullet in tact to break bones or penetrate. This way your energy transfer to the animal is much greater than some90% retention bullets that pass through easily every time not transfering near asmuch energy to the target.
 
I load for 2 7mm cartridges, the 7mm-08 and .280. Both shoot 139 grain SSTs very well with either IMR 4350 or RL 19. They both shoot the SST at deer/antelope. The 7mm-08 shoots 140 grain triple shocks at elk and the .280 shoots 150 grain triple shocks at elk. The Barnes bullets have really been tested on elk and always perform as advertised and result in dead elk.

On deer/antelope, the SSTs are the most accurate and I'm not nearly as concerned about them staying together. With a much smaller sample of kills, they seem to do well.

Just my 2 cents based on my experience.
 
I'm having decent luck with the 160gr accubonds, nosler brass, fed 215 primers and 66.5gr RL22. Just over 3000 fps.

I've tried retumbo, h1000, and 7828, and rl22 is shooting the best so far.

Good luck.
 
I'll add that I've had the best luck with rl22, but I've been spending more time working with it because I shoot it in a 260, 338rum, and 300rum. It's nice to have one "go too" powder for several calibers.

It is temperature sensitive though-more so than some of the others.
 
SS - try the 180 grain Sirroco. I had a friend recommend that bullet and I won't go back to anything else for my .300 They are a little more pricey but IMO worth the extra $. I have also had the chance to extract and weigh 6 bullets out of elk and they held an average of 88% of their bullet weight. That's pretty good. I will also second the RL22 powder. It seems to be a fast and complete burn. I get little velocity variance with that powder which is exactly what you want for accuracy. Good luck my friend. Come down and shoot with me sometime. Prism and I are talking about going over to that new range in Price one day. You should come too!


It's always an adventure!!!
 
ive got as many stories of sciroccos failing as working. lost the best bull ive had my crosshairs on to another hunter as he ran over the hill after a scirocco went in and out and didnt do enough damage. also hit a whitetail in the shoulder the bullet never made it into the ribcage. they fly well, but i wouldnt use a scirocco or an sst on an elk...
 
I've killed 4 bulls, 2 whitetail and 6 muleys with that same bullet. Not one went more than 3 or 4 feet. You may not like the Sirrocos lipcurl but they haven't failed me in 10+ years of using them.


It's always an adventure!!!
 
+1 on moving away from sciroccos for elk. Not a fan of pin holes on lung shots and bullets exploding on shoulder shots. Killed lots of animals w/ the scirocco and nothing has walked away, but better 180gr+ bullets out there IMO.
 
Shot a lot of stuff with the sirocco and never had a problem, but I use accubonds mostly to hunt with now. Bergers and Sierra SMKs for the steel.
 
I finally got to shoot the loads I had loaded for my 7mm today.

all these are with 160 grain accubonds, federal 215 match primers, and nosler custom brass.

64gr of RL22 shot an avg velocity of 2822 and shot a 1/8" 3 shot group at 100yds

70gr of RL25 shot an avg velocity of 3011 and shot a 5/8" 3 shot group shot group at 100yds

71gr of Retumbo shot an avg velocity of 2856 and shot a 3/4 3 shot group at 100yds.

no signs of pressure on any of them.
 
Seems like I gave right at $50 for a box of 50. I have had the rifle and brass for almost a year now and haven't had much time to shoot so my memory is a little foggy.

I looked on cabelas and it shows $57 for 50 plus you have to pay shipping, they show it out of stock but backorderable.
 
I really like working with the nosler brass. It's really easy to work with out of the box and quality is great. It's expensive though.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-11 AT 05:56PM (MST)[p]I talked the the gun smith that built my rifle and he told me to put the Retumbo back in the cabinet! He said it was way to slow for the 7mm Rem Mag. The extreme spread on the three shots with Retumbo was 67 fps. Gonna tweak the RL25 and RL22 some more.
 

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