Thread: Issues with 165gr SST at short range

Ye 2600,bit of dial up for 650yds.My eyes can't see that far.

Originally Posted by Jus

Could be at close range the bang gets their adrenaline pumping more than at longer ranges where the bang isn't quite so loud?

They wouldn’t hear the bang.

Greetings All,
If the SST load is fine at longer range where the pointy boat tail projectile is an advantage then why not, as suggested, cook up a short range load for that. The Hornady Interlok is mentioned above would be an option. I found that the .308 was somewhat velocity sensitive with the faster projectiles shooting a bit higher and managed to get the rifle zeroed for 100 with the slower projectiles and 200 with the faster with the same zero setting. Two grains less powder did the trick. This was back in the days before dial up reticles and most of us would not dream of fiddling with the sight setting once the rifle was zeroed.
Regards Grandpamac.

If they died instantly, but they're obviously not as they're running?

I use 165 sst in 308. My approach has been when bush stalking have the first round a soft point. See anything out at range then just cycle that round out to the sst

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In the distant past, used to use 139 SSTs in my 7-08 with a fairly hot load. The word grenade was pretty accurate for what you found inside, near soup.

My game butcher processed two I dropped off and he asked what magnum I was using. All sorts of shrapnel exiting.

Should have said they wouldn’t notice the bang. The bullet will get to the deer before the sound, and I think the pain and concussion would make the sound arriving a bit later insignificant. My grandfather who fought in Africa told me “you don’t hear the one that gets ya”

Originally Posted by 6x47

In the distant past, used to use 139 SSTs in my 7-08 with a fairly hot load. The word grenade was pretty accurate for what you found inside, near soup.

My game butcher processed two I dropped off and he asked what magnum I was using. All sorts of shrapnel exiting.

Only ever used the SSTs in a 6.5 CM and thats the last time I will ever use them, had bought a Howa superlite for walkabout shits and giggles and bumped into a mega mob of Mountain boars. Had a perfect rearend shot on a 110 kg plus Boar and the slapping sound on his right ham wasnt at close range wasnt what I expected, there wasnt an opportunity for a follow up and then I had to watch it hobble the last 50ms from 600m away as it got to back to the forest. Ive gone back to Mono's in all my hunting rifle as they dont shed SD at any range.

Short range deer inevitably run with such bullet weights in .30 calibres. The 130 HP are vastly superior at short range (under 150 metres) but not so good at longer range. Horses for courses really. Take the ammo that best suits the average expected range in your hunting area.

Or fuel load....too easy to have short range load up spout and mag full of normal loads... Yip those 130 GRN Speer "hand grenades " work very well,if a tad messy. I went other way and used 180 GRN round nose Hornady and had no reason to complain.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

Lets modify your blank statement a little, "blows up as soon as it hits something" and change it to something more realistic like: "some SST bullets disintegrate faster than ideal at a give weight/velocity/range/impact zone" .Why did you expect "bang flop"? I expect bang flop when I shoot deer, but I am using a specific bullet impacting a specific zone on my deer to get that result. Hiffing a lump of lead and copper in the general direction of an animal gets all sorts of results irrespective of bullet design.

There seems to be some real questions on the performance of this projectile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKh2CQ7BMl0&t=58s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUobNW5bVU These clips are titled SST - meat smasher? and Top five worst hunting bullets. - Nathan Foster at Terminal Ballistics research also has a tutorial on annealing this projectile. https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Abo...e+Gallery.html The purpose of the annealing is to improve its performance when it hits an animal, not its flight characteristics. This is a collection of evidence toward a projectile that has real limitations if you are hunting for meat or if you want a clean kill.
I'm not sure how your opinions contribute to Ed123's query and the ad hominem responses don't contribute at all.

well it was so much easier when I started hunting the shop sold CAC 308 and one could get 150 grain or 180 grain that was it - then 40 years of supplied ammo no choice easy as