200 grain SSTS for deer

Burntmuch · Dec 19, 2014

I'm shooting 40 cal 200 gr SSTS in my 45. I'm thinking between 2100-2200 fps . Seems like the .45 SSTS are getting mixed results. They shoot great , my only other options this yr are 180 grain XTPs. I have a 100 yd range out back, so I'm wondering should I grab a couple xtps out back & see what they do. My back stop is a sand pile, so I can dig out the bullets. Some of the SSTS mushroom others just barely deform. I'm hunting Tomarrow & day after. I need one more for the freezer. The wife's starting to give me dirty looks when I come home empty handed.
I hate sitting in a tree stand wondering if my bullet is gonna do what it's supposed to. any real world experiences with the 40 cal 200 g SSTS would be appreciated . Thanks

ronlaughlin · Dec 19, 2014

For me the 200g SST has killed two deer, and one pronghorn. Ranges were about 125 yard, 175 yard, and 315 yard. The bullet worked good at all ranges. Have only used my 45 the three times.

Lee 9 · Dec 19, 2014

They work just fine for me over a series of tests and on a number of deer so has the 250gr. I am wondering if its the 300 some people have a problem with.

ronlaughlin · Dec 19, 2014

That is a photo of the 200g SST captured in some water filled juice jugs about 15 yard away from the rifle. Powder charge was about 95g Blackhorn. The captured bullet weighed 165g.

Following is a photo from the video of the capture.

Note the first jug a way at the top right of the above photo. Here is the VIDEO showing the capture of the 200g SST. The bullet was found on the ground, about 10 feet away; i felt very very lucky to find it. It shredded the first two jugs, and went through the next two jugs, then veered off, and missed the last two jugs.

rmclaughlin · Dec 19, 2014

My go to load for my omega 45 is 200 grain shockwave and 110 bh209.This years season it brought down a big doe at 155yds,and a mainframe 10point at 180yds.It is a very accurate load.

ShawnT · Dec 19, 2014

Have any of you ever cut one in half to see how thick the jacket is compared to say the 250grn or 300grn .452's? Just curious.

Burntmuch · Dec 19, 2014

I'm doing a morning hunt Tomarrow. Hopefully I ll have a report with pics

jims · Dec 19, 2014

We have taken 8 to 10 deer with that bullet over the years without any problems at all. Also it has been a very accurate bullet. We have used some 195 Barnes also, not quite as accurate but quite a good bullet also.

hawki · Dec 20, 2014

I searched for years to find a combination for my Knight 45 that both the gun and I liked. 110 grains of blackhorn, harvester blue sabot, CCI 209m primers, and a 200 grn sst. I am not looking any more. It has worked from 15 yards to out. The last buck was at 187, after the shot as he fell I could hear the bullet hit trees after it exited. I have killed over 20 deer with this load and have never had a failure or recovered a bullet, all passed thru. I have used it on East Texas hogs, once again, no issue. You can't go wrong with this bullet.

LarryBud · Dec 20, 2014

The good news is I've shot two deer withe the 200 SST and recovered both:

The bad news is the jacket does separate. This was found on the off side of the top deer. It was a quartering away shot. 110 grains of BH 209 at 125 yards.

The bullet got the job done but it would be nice if the held together a little better. I recovered another one a few years back which did not separate and mushroomed nicely.

Omega218er · Dec 21, 2014

Hi

I'm new here but have been muzzleloading for a number of years now and have used the SST's and had two bullets do the exact same separation... :?

Muley Hunter · Dec 21, 2014

I've read too many times about the SST separating. In muzzleloaders, and CF guns.

If I could use sabots in our ML season i'd never take a chance, and use Barnes.

Burntmuch · Dec 21, 2014

Looks like you guys are taking the 45 out to 200 yards or so . What kinda of drop are you getting, say with 110 bh209 & the 200 grain SSTS. Also what kinda energy does that bullet still have. 200 yards is almost unimaginable in the areas I hunt, But I've Got a disc elite 45 that needs a purpose

sabotloader · Dec 21, 2014

Burntmuch said:
Looks like you guys are taking the 45 out to 200 yards or so . What kinda of drop are you getting, say with 110 bh209 & the 200 grain SSTS. Also what kinda energy does that bullet still have. 200 yards is almost unimaginable in the areas I hunt, But I've Got a disc elite 45 that needs a purpose

I would not use a SST or actually any Hornady lead copper bullet - all of them will separate on occasion - well all the ones I have tested. But some thing like a solid copper Barnes or brass Lehigh/Bloodline or a Nosler Partiton if the made one... they will not separate.

This chart might answer some of your question about a 40x200 grain bullet

ronlaughlin · Dec 21, 2014

Burntmuch said:
Looks like you guys are taking the 45 out to 200 yards or so . What kinda of drop are you getting, say with 110 bh209 & the 200 grain SSTS. Also what kinda energy does that bullet still have. 200 yards is almost unimaginable in the areas I hunt, But I've Got a disc elite 45 that needs a purpose

Well, the load i settled on for my 45 Omega was 115g Blackhorn, and the 200g SST. It clocks a muzzle velocity of 2250 fps. According to the following calculation it has 1257 ft lb energy at 200 yard. The chart was calculated for a 175 yard zero. The chart say the bullet will be about 2 5/8" high at 100 yard, and about 2 1/4" low at 200 yard. The values calculated, agree nicely, with real life shooting, and it is very accurate in my rifle.

JStanley · Dec 21, 2014

sabotloader said:
I would not use a SST or actually any Hornady lead copper bullet - all of them will separate on occasion - well all the ones I have tested. But some thing like a solid copper Barnes or brass Lehigh/Bloodline or a Nosler Partiton if the made one... they will not separate.

I've had a couple XTP's separate the core from the jacket. The wound channel was still pretty impressive and the deer shot with them were DRT, short/no trailing required. With TONS of due respect, Mike, isn't separating inside the target what a Bloodline does? Seems like the XTP or other lead copper bullets are accomplishing what the Bloodline does, albeit less by sheer design. I think I'd rather have a bullet that dumps it's energy into the target than pencils right through. Can it be that fragmentation inside the vitals of game is a good thing? :think:

sabotloader · Dec 21, 2014

JStanley said:
sabotloader said:

I would not use a SST or actually any Hornady lead copper bullet - all of them will separate on occasion - well all the ones I have tested. But some thing like a solid copper Barnes or brass Lehigh/Bloodline or a Nosler Partiton if the made one... they will not separate.

Click to expand...

I've had a couple XTP's separate the core from the jacket. The wound channel was still pretty impressive and the deer shot with them were DRT, short/no trailing required. With TONS of due respect, Mike, isn't separating inside the target what a Bloodline does? Seems like the XTP or other lead copper bullets are accomplishing what the Bloodline does, albeit less by sheer design. I think I'd rather have a bullet that dumps it's energy into the target than pencils right through. Can it be that fragmentation inside the vitals of game is a good thing?

Correct, the petals separate and spin off when they encounter liquid, then the core of the bullet continues on through the animal as if it were a 'Keith Nose' conical causing 'hydrostatic shock'. The Hornady separates usually after entering the hide or contacting a bone - then the lead becomes fragments. In most case you go get the animal eventually but I really do prefer - dead and down.

There are a lot of folks that would agree that a bullet that loses all of it energy in the target is preferable - I on the other prefer the bullet pass through and create 'shock' all the way through the body - and I really like the extra hole for blood escape.

Hold on to that pencil thought - because you certainly do not want that... and unfortunately there are some bullets out there that do that also.

My home made definition of a lethal bullets...

A Hunting bullet should be the most lethal big game hunting bullet available. The bullet design should allow the bullet to penetrate 2” to 3”, through bone or tissue, before it starts to expand. After the bullet starts to expand or shed it petals it should adversely affect all the surrounding internal organs. The combination between the expansion of the bullet and/or release of the petals and the creation of hydrostatic shock produces a massive wound cavity within the vital area (internal organs) that can be 13” to 15” long. I believe that in most case the bullet should pass through the body providing a secondary exit hole for blood and debris. This massive wound cavity results in the animal dropping fast since most go into shock after such a tremendous blow. Those animals that don’t go down immediately will soon succumb to blood pressure loss and/or organ failure producing a quick ethical kill. Using a bullet matching this description will normally result in an animal that goes down fast so you can enjoy the results of your hunt without having to track the wounded animal after the shot.

JStanley · Dec 22, 2014

sabotloader said:
I really like the extra hole for blood escape.

Me too.

A Hunting bullet should be the most lethal big game hunting bullet available. The bullet design should allow the bullet to penetrate 2” to 3”, through bone or tissue, before it starts to expand. After the bullet starts to expand or shed it petals it should adversely affect all the surrounding internal organs. The combination between the expansion of the bullet and/or release of the petals and the creation of hydrostatic shock produces a massive wound cavity within the vital area (internal organs) that can be 13” to 15” long. I believe that in most case the bullet should pass through the body providing a secondary exit hole for blood and debris. This massive wound cavity results in the animal dropping fast since most go into shock after such a tremendous blow. Those animals that don’t go down immediately will soon succumb to blood pressure loss and/or organ failure producing a quick ethical kill. Using a bullet matching this description will normally result in an animal that goes down fast so you can enjoy the results of your hunt without having to track the wounded animal after the shot.

Hard to argue with this.

dbowling · Dec 22, 2014

killed a ton of deer with the 240 gr. xtp over 85-100 gr. pyrodex rs and have never had a xtp fragment, jacket may seperate and be found on offside of animal but bullet has always exited the animal leaving at least a 50 cent piece sized exit hole,10 yds-165 yds, no deer made it farther then 85 yds most less then 40, some DRT. Ive killed at least 40 deer with the xtp maybe more... the xtp bullet has probably killed more deer then all others combined..the 3 deer I killed with 300 gr. xtps were same results..there are alot more expensive bullets that perform but I believe not many perform actually better, you can only get so dead and if you cant find a deer or any other animal thats been hit through the vitals in the short time it takes them to die then its not a bullet issue..just my 2 cents with 20 yrs of using the xtp. Ive killed 2-3 deer with powerbelts and 2 with shockwaves and neither made it over 80 yds either.

hawki · Dec 26, 2014

Almost all of the deer that I have taken with the SST have been broadside double lung shots. The cornfields of Iowa give you plenty of time to wait for the magic moment and get the perfect shot. Now If I were hunting deer that offer less than optimal angles another bullet would be in order, probably a different caliber. The 45s advantage is speed, that SST allows me to utilize it. The last deer that I shot was 70 yards away bullet took one rib on the way in and three on the way out and left pieces of lung tissue on the fence on the far side. What more can be asked of a bullet? I have had bad experinces with pencil wounds with the more solidly constructed bullets on these type of shots. The risk of separation is worth it for the rapid expansion. But we all have our own preferances and experinces which form them.

200 grain SSTS for deer

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