250 SST

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Rob162

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How many people actually recover these? I would expect them to expand and stay inside an animal, but I have heard quite a few talk about them passing through.
 
In my experience, they mostly shoot pretty good. I’ve taken a bunch of deer with them, usually through. I’m mostly a soft tissue shooter.

The last few years I’ve been using the Hornady XTP bullet or the copper Barnes. I’ve also been using the 45 Cal lately.

I’m also kinda big into shot placement, though I agree, some Bullets are better than others.
 
I just started using these, I like a bullet that dumps its energy inside the animal. If it kills on the spot, I don't see a need for an exit, but if not I want an exit. I know it's a lot to ask.
 
Rob162 said:
I just started using these, I like a bullet that dumps its energy inside the animal. If it kills on the spot, I don't see a need for an exit, but if not I want an exit. I know it's a lot to ask.
Click to expand...
If a bullet expands/performs - excess energy allows it to penetrate, sometimes thru.
The exit result is seen more with heavier bullets.
 
I've shot many deer with the SST. Mostly the .40 200 and the .452 300. These bullets shoot very well for accuracy. My experience is that they will break apart upon impact. It will result in a dead deer ( and I guess that's the point ) but I think we can do better. I would find lead and jacket parts all throughout the animal. Consider the blue tip bonded version or look elsewhere.

I've since moved the the Lehigh Bullets. Accurate and devastating on game. Plus, no lead in your dinner. I still shoot the lead case bullets at the range but for the once a year hunt, the best bullet I can find.
 
Rob162

Now what I am about to say is my opinion and just that, ONLY my opinion and everyone has and will have difference in their opinion's and results, SO I AM NOT IN ANYWAY TRYING TO START ANY ARGUMENTS HERE :lewis:

It all depends on what conditions you hunt ( IE ) Open fields or hardwoods , Thick brush , Long or short range hunting where your point of aim is on an animal and what the margin of error is were that bullet will hit if you miss your mark on the shot. ( IE ) Should hit and will that bullet hold up well enough to penetrate into the chest cavity for a ethical kill...
I hunt really thick river bottoms and need a complete pass threw or DRT or the chances of losing your animal is quite high so I am very picky on what bullet I hunt with. There are only 3 different bullets that I trust 110% of the time to do just what I ask of them. I have tried many different bullets in the past and although they were accurate they were less than perfect in how they performed on game on MY HUNTING applications. My first choice is BIG heavy conical's , my second choice is the Barnes bullets and my final choice is the 300gr Speer Gold Dots these 3 have more than proved their selves time after time with no lost game and game that usually only goes 20yds or less... But again this is only my opinion so good luck shoot straight and practice often.
SO you make the best choice you can based on your needs :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
At BP velocities I have had exactly 100% opposite experiences from what LarryBud has had with the 200 and 300 SST's. Complete pass throughs with evidence of expansion, but no fragments found nor evidence of fragmentation (massive damage and bloodshot meat). Until I came across this board and saw the performance of the 300 Deep Curl, I though the 300 SST was THE saboted bullet to use. That is what I had used for years in my Omega before turning to the power of the dark side (smokeless). Got rid of the Omega a couple years ago because I just quit using it (still kept the Renegade though).

I have never fired a 250 SST at an animal, so I have no input on that. However, if Hornady has a problem child, reports would seem that the 250 SST is sketchy as some say it does not expand and zips through with hardly any damage and others say it fragments like a grenade and doesn't penetrate deep enough. 250 SST reports are all over the board on the net!! That is enough to keep me away from it along with the fact that I tend towards heavy for caliber as the way I was raised on BP.
 
Never had a problem with the SSTs, usually do not exit.
 
I have used the .40/200 grain bullet for whitetails almost exclusively in my Knight Disc Elite with Lehigh conversion and Black Mag 3 (still have some left). I have shot a couple dozen deer with that combination and all of them have expired. However, I have had mixed results and I haven't hit an entry shoulder yet (thankfully). When I have hit the far side ribs, shoulders and spine, the damage has been extensive. However, that light a bullet, I'd rather stick to the boiler room then attempt a shot through skeleton. I have had 4 bullets with little to no deformation that were recovered under the opposing side hide. I've had about the same number of clean pass throughs with no indication of bullet expansion and I've had many that appear more traditional with small entries and large exits. Those that passed through without expansion or stayed in the opposing hide made for nervous tracking. Only one of those was not recovered until a week later and the animal was wasted. All shots were taken under 100 yards.

Unlike the American Press, I am not introducing my bias into this, just giving you my experience so that you can form your own judgement. On paper and in the field, these bullets hit where I send them and seem to fly well. Factoring that into my equation, I have remained with this combination all along. However, I am heading to Iowa this muzzy season and due to the "chance of a lifetime" opportunity out there, I am finalizing my testing on another. Hope this helps you with your research.
 
Corpe Nimrod said:
I have used the .40/200 grain bullet for whitetails almost exclusively in my Knight Disc Elite with Lehigh conversion and Black Mag 3 (still have some left). I have shot a couple dozen deer with that combination and all of them have expired. However, I have had mixed results and I haven't hit an entry shoulder yet (thankfully). When I have hit the far side ribs, shoulders and spine, the damage has been extensive. However, that light a bullet, I'd rather stick to the boiler room then attempt a shot through skeleton. I have had 4 bullets with little to no deformation that were recovered under the opposing side hide. I've had about the same number of clean pass throughs with no indication of bullet expansion and I've had many that appear more traditional with small entries and large exits. Those that passed through without expansion or stayed in the opposing hide made for nervous tracking. Only one of those was not recovered until a week later and the animal was wasted. All shots were taken under 100 yards.

Unlike the American Press, I am not introducing my bias into this, just giving you my experience so that you can form your own judgement. On paper and in the field, these bullets hit where I send them and seem to fly well. Factoring that into my equation, I have remained with this combination all along. However, I am heading to Iowa this muzzy season and due to the "chance of a lifetime" opportunity out there, I am finalizing my testing on another. Hope this helps you with your research.
Click to expand...

Since I am now driving my .40 caliber bullets with something other than BP, I moved to the Barnes 195 BX. Those are supposed to expand down to 900 fps and have virtually no upper limit. They will drop deer where they stand!
 
Rob162 said:
How many people actually recover these? I would expect them to expand and stay inside an animal, but I have heard quite a few talk about them passing through.
Click to expand...
I have shot two deer since I change to with the SST 250 gr recently. I was using 100 gr of Pyrodex pellets. Both were at short ranges 28 and 40 yards. Ist deer ran 35 yards before expiring. 2nd was sitting on her tummy when I shot she never moved. I failed to recover the bullets as it never dawned on me to check the expansion. I am always looking for improvement so next time I will recover the bullet if possible. Latest change was moving to BH 209.
 
I shoot the 250 gr.SST outta 1 of my rifles and have not had a kill that was not thru and thru and all were DRT. Gonna try and get the Optima's shooting them next season.
 
The BX must be your abbreviation of the Expander, eh? Had me scrambling. lol I have the 195 grain Expander for my .45 cal rifle.
 
Rob162 said:
I would expect them to expand and stay inside an animal, but I have heard quite a few talk about them passing through.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of controversy here. i don't analyze bullets that successfully take animals. Yep, some folks claim the 250 grain SST performs well on deer sized game, some claim the bullet fragments, others claim it "pencils" through the animal without expanding. The hog at my avatar was shot at about 100 yards. The bullet exited.

i'm a long term user of the 250 grain SST. The bullet performs very well for me, it usually exits a large deer hit behind the shoulder. At a distance of about 80 yards the 250 grain SST bullet that killed these two hogs penetrated the shoulders of both animals. The powder charge is 120 grains of Black MZ powder, muzzle velocity is 1,850-1900 fps.

rdZCrG9m.jpg


About half of my shots are bang flops. Seldom does a deer travel more than 50 yards after being hit.
 

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