150 grain SST out of my wife's 300 RCM. She made a 200 yard shot on an antelope. As she pulled the trigger the antelope turned. The bullet hit the lower part of his rear ham. The bullet was lodged in between his rib cage and skin on the opposite side. For a bullet that is traveling 2833fps at 200 yards I would expect more. To top it of after the second shot she swore that she would never shoot it again due to the kick. Looks like I'm in the market for a Remington 700CDL 7mm-08!
300 RCM Not impressed
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150 grain SST out of my wife's 300 RCM. She made a 200 yard shot on an antelope. As she pulled the trigger the antelope turned. The bullet hit the lower part of his rear ham. The bullet was lodged in between his rib cage and skin on the opposite side. For a bullet that is traveling 2833fps at 200 yards I would expect more. To top it of after the second shot she swore that she would never shoot it again due to the kick. Looks like I'm in the market for a Remington 700CDL 7mm-08!
I was thinking the same thing. Yeah, and antelope is not a tough hide/meat kind of target, but an SST is built to expand pretty fast at those velocities.
Wonder if any SST shooters can comment for certain.
Biscuit Hunter
New member
On the bright side, at least the animal is dead, but I would be looking for a new bullet. I imagine that your ammo choices are pretty limited for the round. Does anyone besides Hornady even load it? You might want to try out the Interbond or the GMX. The Interbond is Hornady's version of the Accubond, but I believe that it's designed to retain a bit more weight. The GMX is their version of the Barnes TTSX, except that it uses gilding metal instead of pure copper.
Midway USA has 150 GMX's in stock, if your wife decides to continue to use the rifle.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/71...n-gilding-metal-expanding-boat-tail-box-of-20
Midway USA has 150 GMX's in stock, if your wife decides to continue to use the rifle.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/71...n-gilding-metal-expanding-boat-tail-box-of-20
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Bob Vetter
Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2010
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- 108
I 'll add my 2 cents for what its worth,
You guys are right about the bullet.
I do a lot of deer processing and get the opportunity to see lots of dead stuff shot with lots of different bullets.
This is typical performance from an SST by my account. All the deer I have seen shot with this bullet were the same. Core / Jacket separation and marginal penetration.
I caution any high velocity cartridge shooters against them due to the frangibility / separation issues when asked.
Don't get me wrong they are quite popular and do kill stuff, like your dead antelope. Not the performance I am looking for however.
A few top performers are the normal perennial favorites. Partitions, Core lokt, Interlock, and Fusion. Not flashy or new, but they darn sure work all the time.
You guys are right about the bullet.
I do a lot of deer processing and get the opportunity to see lots of dead stuff shot with lots of different bullets.
This is typical performance from an SST by my account. All the deer I have seen shot with this bullet were the same. Core / Jacket separation and marginal penetration.
I caution any high velocity cartridge shooters against them due to the frangibility / separation issues when asked.
Don't get me wrong they are quite popular and do kill stuff, like your dead antelope. Not the performance I am looking for however.
A few top performers are the normal perennial favorites. Partitions, Core lokt, Interlock, and Fusion. Not flashy or new, but they darn sure work all the time.
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The only rounds I can find are the SST's and GMX's. I blame the bullet for bad performance and my wife blames the gun for the bruises on her shoulder. She swore that she never shoot it again. That's the main reason that I'm getting her a different rifle.
sbhooper
Well-known member
This is well-stated and I have said it several times. Those bullets are not that great if you are looking for top-notch performance. They come apart easily at close range. They would probably be pretty good for the long distance stuff.
I think that the 7-08 would be a good choice for her as far as recoil. The 7-08 with a good old Interlock would be a great gun for her.
shooter25
Member
recoil for the wife
I put Limbsaver recoil pads on my wifes high powers and the recoil does not bother her no more. Might be an option to try.
I put Limbsaver recoil pads on my wifes high powers and the recoil does not bother her no more. Might be an option to try.
ismith
Well-known member
You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to bullets. Hard to beat Nosler Partitions or Accubonds.
idahofishnhunt
Well-known member
This is my daughters 139gn SST at about 100 yards that I found in her deer. Found lots of pieces of it all through the area, definitely a blow up. I'm extremely impressed with the accuracy of this bullet...but less then impressed with it's performance. Which is a shame because the cost and ballistics are a good match on them.
sagebrush
Active member
I've never had an SST fail to kill an animal. 130 gr factory loads for the .270 at 3060 fps. Deer and antelope from 70 to 463 yards and all one shot kills. To resurrect the famous quote, "How much deader than dead is dead?"
I concur that it's a bullet problem. Also, instead of getting a different rifle, you could easily buy a reloading setup and load a better bullet to kick less. I'm thinking a 125gr Accubond or 130gr Barnes TTSX could be loaded to a quite tolerable level. This is assuming she likes everything else about the rifle...
IMO the bullets mentioned above did their job, which was to kill antelope. These bullets are made to expand quickly - a broadside lung shot on an antelope or deer may meet only an inch or so of muscle, then mostly air (lungs), then another inch of muscle. It has to expand on that first inch of muscle.
Check out the Ruth bullet performance study - it was found that the softer bullets (core-lokt, SST) killed deer faster than the more stoutly constructed bullets.
Check out the Ruth bullet performance study - it was found that the softer bullets (core-lokt, SST) killed deer faster than the more stoutly constructed bullets.
ismith
Well-known member
They may be decent deer bullets on a broadside deer, but they would be absolutely awful for elk. Use a bonded bullet and all will be right in the world.
ida homer
Well-known member
Have had very good luck with Accubond's thus far. Perfect terminal ballistics on the 2 critters I killed last year. I even shot my bull with a 110gr 25-06 and it was DRT. They all expanded as advertised.
upper deck
Member
I've shot 2 antelope and 2 whitetails with a 280 and 139 SST. Never was very happy with the performance, the ones that I did recover were separated. I thought that they should have poked holes in both sides of an antelope at less that 200 yards.
On the flip side may dad has killed a couple whitetails with the GMX and I will say I have been impressed with the performance of these bullets.
I know the GMX is designed different but like I said they did a great job so far.
On the flip side may dad has killed a couple whitetails with the GMX and I will say I have been impressed with the performance of these bullets.
I know the GMX is designed different but like I said they did a great job so far.
StHubert
Member
I have a 25-06 that I shot with the 110 gr Accubond as well. Just curios how far you would feel comfortable shooting a Bull with that caliber? I might bring it as a back up gun for my Elk trip.
sbhooper
Well-known member
Yes, the SST did its job. Deer and antelope are easy to kill, but I want a bullet that I know is not going to dynamite no matter which angle I shoot at when it comes to elk. I have had the SST dynamite on small white-tails at low .308 velocities. The deer was dead, but it was pathetic performance from a bullet. It bothers me a little that Hornady puts this bullet in their Superformance instead of a standard Interlock.
Bottom line is shoot what you want, but weak bullets will eventually cost you if you use them on heavy game with heavy bones unless every shot is perfectly placed.
Bottom line is shoot what you want, but weak bullets will eventually cost you if you use them on heavy game with heavy bones unless every shot is perfectly placed.
The one thing that all of these bullets has in common is that they were taken from dead animals. So they work. They may be ugly but they work. I personally prefer not to have to dig bullet bits out of my elks steak or Deer burger so I would use something else. however...
sbhooper
Well-known member
You are right, Dan, but bullets that come unwound, will eventually fail if they hit heavy bone. The lead/copper fragments are a reasonable concern also. Frangible bullets are great for varmints, but they will not go to the big-game field with me.
