hornady superformance at close range - Page 2

Dufus · December 12, 2016, 07:25 PM

^^^^^^^^
+1 Wyo.

Over my almost 59 years in the field and pulling triggers a little longer than that, if a bullet does not hold together, you might just as well be shooting #9 bird shot at your game animals.

I would not use a Hornady SST on anything larger than a Texas hill country white tail and they might weigh 130 to 150 lbs live. They are very tenacious, but with the right bullet, they are DRT every time with a good shot.

Those are just my thoughts and experience. Others most certainly will have different opinions.

Wyosmith · December 12, 2016, 07:55 PM

I killed a large bodied bull elk with an 8X57 Mauser a few months ago with a 170 Gr SST. 2 of them in fact. In the 8MM 170 grain SST I was impressed with the bullet and at 2650 FPS from the muzzle, I would recommend it for deer. I did find it to be a bit too thin for elk however. Super accurate. See the whole report on this site here.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=580818

Here are the 2 recovered bullets and one cut in half for comparison.

I would call this an elk bullet if the jacket was about 2 X as thick from the ogive clear back through the shank. As it is I'd call it "just OK" for elk, but not as good as a 180 grain Barnes X or the new Hornady GMX.

I would use it again for about any deer from an 8X57.

The one that separated hit the top of the pelvis and shattered about 8" of solid bone so I have to say that was a bit harder test than we should expect a deer bullet to pass. Deer bones are just not that big.

Even after destroying the top of the pelvis it went up the body and came to rest about mid body at the back of the ribs, so I can't cuss it too bad. A smaller SST like a 30, 7MM, 270 or 25 cal, or one shot faster may not do as well.

The other side of that argument is that it's OK to kill deer with elk bullets. They may not open up 100% on a deer, but they really don't have to. If they open up 50% on a deer you will be fine and the blood trail is easy enough for a blind man to follow.

If I have to choose I will always take a bullet that 50% too tough over one that's 50% too frangible.

reynolds357 · December 12, 2016, 09:44 PM

Dufus, I guarantee you the Bergers launched from my 7 RUM do a heck of a lot more damage than #9 birdshot and they explode into multiple pieces.

Lwh4207 · January 19, 2017, 07:32 AM

I shot a big buck at 30 feet this year with a sst bullet. He was down right there with no meat loss. I shot him behind the shoulder though. That was with 300 win mag. Advertised velocity was 3130.

jersurf101 · January 19, 2017, 08:54 AM

I switched to Hornady Superformance powder in my 300 wsm this year. After failures with cup and core projectiles, including the 150 sst I switched to the Nosler partition 150. I see a lot of "you don't need premium bullets for white tails" on Internet forums. I will tell you this, you don't need them but they perform much better. I took four deer in chronological order 280 yards, 165yards, 300 yards and 7 yards. The partition performed f,awlessly at all distances. You really can eat closer to the hole and no blow ups. All went staight through. My suggestion is if you are looking for speed use a well constructed bullet.

December 12, 2016, 07:55 PM	#27
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	I killed a large bodied bull elk with an 8X57 Mauser a few months ago with a 170 Gr SST. 2 of them in fact. In the 8MM 170 grain SST I was impressed with the bullet and at 2650 FPS from the muzzle, I would recommend it for deer. I did find it to be a bit too thin for elk however. Super accurate. See the whole report on this site here. https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=580818 Here are the 2 recovered bullets and one cut in half for comparison. I would call this an elk bullet if the jacket was about 2 X as thick from the ogive clear back through the shank. As it is I'd call it "just OK" for elk, but not as good as a 180 grain Barnes X or the new Hornady GMX. I would use it again for about any deer from an 8X57. The one that separated hit the top of the pelvis and shattered about 8" of solid bone so I have to say that was a bit harder test than we should expect a deer bullet to pass. Deer bones are just not that big. Even after destroying the top of the pelvis it went up the body and came to rest about mid body at the back of the ribs, so I can't cuss it too bad. A smaller SST like a 30, 7MM, 270 or 25 cal, or one shot faster may not do as well. The other side of that argument is that it's OK to kill deer with elk bullets. They may not open up 100% on a deer, but they really don't have to. If they open up 50% on a deer you will be fine and the blood trail is easy enough for a blind man to follow. If I have to choose I will always take a bullet that 50% too tough over one that's 50% too frangible. Last edited by Wyosmith; December 12, 2016 at 08:02 PM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

December 12, 2016, 07:25 PM	#26
Dufus Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2014 Posts: 1,965	^^^^^^^^ +1 Wyo. Over my almost 59 years in the field and pulling triggers a little longer than that, if a bullet does not hold together, you might just as well be shooting #9 bird shot at your game animals. I would not use a Hornady SST on anything larger than a Texas hill country white tail and they might weigh 130 to 150 lbs live. They are very tenacious, but with the right bullet, they are DRT every time with a good shot. Those are just my thoughts and experience. Others most certainly will have different opinions.

December 12, 2016, 09:44 PM	#28
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,164	Dufus, I guarantee you the Bergers launched from my 7 RUM do a heck of a lot more damage than #9 birdshot and they explode into multiple pieces.

January 19, 2017, 07:32 AM	#29
Lwh4207 Member Join Date: January 9, 2016 Posts: 50	I shot a big buck at 30 feet this year with a sst bullet. He was down right there with no meat loss. I shot him behind the shoulder though. That was with 300 win mag. Advertised velocity was 3130.

January 19, 2017, 08:54 AM	#30
jersurf101 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2013 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 553	I switched to Hornady Superformance powder in my 300 wsm this year. After failures with cup and core projectiles, including the 150 sst I switched to the Nosler partition 150. I see a lot of "you don't need premium bullets for white tails" on Internet forums. I will tell you this, you don't need them but they perform much better. I took four deer in chronological order 280 yards, 165yards, 300 yards and 7 yards. The partition performed f,awlessly at all distances. You really can eat closer to the hole and no blow ups. All went staight through. My suggestion is if you are looking for speed use a well constructed bullet.