Thread: Hornady SST performance - 270 120's

Since @Chunk asked and while I'm on the job. . . .

Sam and I went hunting this week, I'll be making a full report in due course. Sufficient to say a big red stag followed us home. Probably rising 3 and well over 130 kgs and possibly closer to 160 kgs - absolutely superb eating animal.

There was only a millisecond for a shot, he got plugged in front of the crease but the bullet didn't hit any shoulder bones. Bullet was a .277 Hornady 120 gn tipped SST, launched from a 6.8SPC at 2475 fps muzzle velocity. Range was about 80M so impact velocity was 2300 fps.

So the projectile went through the meaty part of his shoulder then hit a rib (40mm hole at that point) , just above but not damaging his heart. A real bang flop kill, he didn't even take a step.

When I gutted him (using moonlight and feel) his chest was full of blood and lungs trashed. No bullet came to light at that stage but I wasn't looking either.

I've just been cutting up that shoulder and there is practically no meat loss, I've got an ice cream container of scrap, which is about normal. Found the plastic tip and a few shards of jacket material when cutting off the bent bits.

There is NO damage to the ribs on the offside, the projectile never made it that far. There was a tiny bit of gut material floating about in the cavity, it could have come from the bullet angling aft or my rough gutting job.

Buggered if I know what all this means but I do like my 6.8 SPC wether it's in the Contender single shot or the CZ repeater!