280 Remington

[highoctane]

Good to know. Did you ever try the 139 or 162 SST?

Ive never used the 162's but have used the 139 a little bit and they shot good, can't remember the numbers but I like the 154's the best. I use the 139 SST in my 7-08 from time to time. Find yourself an accurate load, with good speed, within the design parameters of the bullet and just go kill stuff with it. The SST bullet with do what you want it to.

Here is a 154 gr SST that I recovered from a 8 pt. Deer was facing me, bullet entered on the neck and stopped in the chest just shy of the diaphragm. It also encountered some bone on the way. Shot was about 50 yds. Bullet weighed approximately 90 grs after recovery.

 

[salmonchaser]

During my guiding career we had a group of guys take most or all of our deer hunts for quite a few years. Good group of guys and the second or third year they were all shooting sst out of a variety of dual purpose cartidges; 7mm, 06 a 300 or two kind of thing. Their goal was to get it done the first day or two and then we would bird hunt for a couple days. I’ve never seen a bullet create so much blood shot meat on the off side. Never had one of those deer take more than a jump before piling up, they were DRT. I skinned 8 or 10 deer that first weekend shot with the sst and developed a pretty strong bias against them. I was able to convert a few of the guys to Ballistic tips and Accubonds over the years. Less drama for me in the skinning shed.

 

[Ralt71]

Good to know. Did you ever try the 139 or 162 SST?

The SST are so soft.. the come apart pretty bad and make a mess of your game. I have avoided them for some time now due to this.

 

[6.5_sWv]

Im getting in the low 2900's, with 1/2 to 3/4 inch accuracy @ 100. When they first came out they were a little soft, just like the first years of the Ballistic Tips. Im not sure whether they toughened the jacket or if they added a little more antimony to the lead but whatever it was they hold up really well. I've recovered a couple and they exhibited no separation with about 65-70 % weight retention.

I'll probably used them the rest of my life due to finding a good deal on several thousand a few years ago.

Ive used the SST in 123gr 6.5mm / 130gr .277" / 170gr 8mm / and 200gr .338" flavors (6.5cm, 270win, 8x57, 338-06) and have yet to experience the blow up like some people on the internet go on and on about. Every shot taken on any animal there will be lots of variables and no 2 hunters will likely ever experience the same bullet performance or witness the same terminal effects on game. Also take into account that every hunter has a different opinion or definition of what he/she expect from a bullet.
Me personally, I like them and will continue to use them for deer, and wouldn't hesitate to shoot a black bear or wild pig with one. I doubt I'd use a SST on elk or moose.

 

[michsteve]

The SST are so soft.. the come apart pretty bad and make a mess of your game. I have avoided them for some time now due to this.

Never used these bullets but if I shoot any soft bullets I tend to always go for a heavier weight in the caliber range to have that extra weight and energy to get a pass thru this is especially important if the bullet is losing half of its weight.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

My limited SST experience has been the 129,140 in 6.5x55Have seen my son use them in 270 Win, 338-06 and 8x57. Grandson used them in a 260Rem. Personally, I think if not hotrod, they work on whitetails just fine. Have had the Nosler BT to go rapid sometimes depending on the caliber and weight used. It's a judgement call each will have to make for their selves.

 

[RL338]

The SST are so soft.. the come apart pretty bad and make a mess of your game. I have avoided them for some time now due to this.

117gr SST are explosive out if a 257 Wby. Won’t do that again.

 

[highoctane]

The SST are so soft.. the come apart pretty bad and make a mess of your game. I have avoided them for some time now due to this.

I have used the 154 and 139 gr SST bullet for several years now and have killed 20-25 deer with them with most shots within 65 yds and have not experienced any of what you described here but isn't it great that we have choices.