Thread: Hornady 150 sst going to fast

As a fan of these projectiles in my 308 rifles they have always been 1 shop flop deer fall over straightaway.
These going at around 2600 fps.
Recently had some loaded up that are doing well over 2850 fps and the bloody deer just stand there and look at me .
Just shot 4 over the last couple of days and all but 1 took 2 shots in the chest shoulder area before they fell over .
Anyone else had similar experiences?.
Is there a point where speed becomes an issue.

Try 3000ft/s out of a 22inch barrel.Some deer will just stand,nearly dead absorbing the shot.Then take a step and fall over.If they are not walking more than 2 steps,dont be too trigger happy to fire another shot.Give them time to fall off the wheels.

Found 139gr SST handloads in my 7mm08 had the same effect. Whereas the 308 fiocchi loaded SSTs flattened reds on the spot.
What range where you shooting?

Interesting to hear, I'm about to start load development with 150g sst on my 16in .308, was worrying about not having enough fps..

Are you thinking the projectiles are breaking apart at that speed or??

Originally Posted by Hornady ELDX

As a fan of these projectiles in my 308 rifles they have always been 1 shop flop deer fall over straightaway.
These going at around 2600 fps.
Recently had some loaded up that are doing well over 2850 fps and the bloody deer just stand there and look at me .
Just shot 4 over the last couple of days and all but 1 took 2 shots in the chest shoulder area before they fell over .
Anyone else had similar experiences?.
Is there a point where speed becomes an issue.

Greetings,
Generally the faster a projectile is travelling the quicker it expands and the less it penetrates. More velocity does not always result in faster kills as you have discovered and it looks like the sweet spot for your hunting is around that 2,600 fps.
Regards Grandpamac.

Maybe you could load them to about 2700 fps that way you get a bit more energy and better trajectory and maybe still the bang flops.

take out the front wheels...end of issue...but it will be messy.... same deal with 130grn NBT in .270w zip through chest and deer just stands there with pulped internals,hit bone and they fall over.

Originally Posted by Jukes

Interesting to hear, I'm about to start load development with 150g sst on my 16in .308, was worrying about not having enough fps..

Are you thinking the projectiles are breaking apart at that speed or??

I did some load development recently for a young fella who had been shooting Hdy Superperformance 150gn SST and wanted them matched if possible. 16 in X-Bolt Suppressed.

We chronoed the Hdy at late 2800s fps. Made some enquires on this forum and went straight to 45.6gn AR2206H. Chronoed average of 3 at 2830 and very accurate. Loaded 10 up and half of them showed ejector imprinting, one had a blown primer. Knocked it back to 45gn, no primer issues, a couple of shiny spots from ejector. Still very accurate and averaging around 2800fps. We decided to drop it back to 44.8. Waiting for him to shoot some.

The previous loads he was grouping 3 touching shots on a painted gong at 300m. Still has to take it hunting tho. Personally I'd be happy with 2700 if it still had that kind of accuracy. Heck of a nice rifle setup. Be keen to hear what you come up with.

On my last 308 I had some blow up on shoulder blade shots needing a follow up shot at 40m -50m, the speed was 2800 fps. Get them in a cress rib shot and it's a bang flop. Also had the same issue with 130gr SST in 270win shoulder shots blowing up need more than one bullet to get them on the ground.

SST are known for not preforming at higher speeds, aka the 130gn in a 270 at 3000+ at closer ranges.
I used some factory ammo 129gn SST in my 260 when I first got it, 2650fps over the chrono and they killed very well inside 250yds.

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

SST are known for not preforming at higher speeds, aka the 130gn in a 270 at 3000+ at closer ranges.
I used some factory ammo 129gn SST in my 260 when I first got it, 2650fps over the chrono and they killed very well inside 250yds.

I run the 129 SST at 2700 fps in my 6.5x55 and they work a treat.

Shot 10 deer last summer using 308 Hornady Superformance ssts 150gr.Two big bodied stags just fell over shot thru the sholders,not one step.Bullet travelling at 2776 ft/s out of a 18in barrel.If i shoot small deer,fallow or yearllings,you gota make sure you smackem thru the sholders.Gut shot,you pencil them and they will walk a few mtrs.Shot across the sholder,most projectiles mush room under the opposite skin.Iv been using Hornady ssts 150gr -165gr for the 15 yrs,very accurate and deadly ammo.I dont reload.

I shot the 180s at 2400 out of my 16 308 and they worked very well slow might be the key

I've had multiple failures up close with them,they can fail to penitrate the vitals up close launched at 2700-2900
Work great at 200y plus .
I swore off them as a do all bullet....maybe ok out of a short barrel.

when they first came out, many moons ago they were marketed as a 500yd +, projectile. so work better when the sting has gone out of their tail.
i used 130grn ones in a .270 and shot deer from 10 yards out to about 350yards, i found they worked good but i didn't like the little slivers of lead
that was all the way thru the entry hole. Not sure what speed that they were doing, but they weren't going at warp speed.