hornady superformance at close range

"i know the rule of thumb for hunting bullets is to shoot what is most accutate."

Not in my book. As long as the accuracy is adequate to hit within 1/2 of size of kill zone at the longest range I will use the load, the bullet performance has priority.
I've had mixed satisfaction levels with the Hornady "tipped" bullets but the spire point SP has done well. Both do tend to over expand when pushed to 3000+ fps but you're not going to be in that range so should be fine.
 
I've had mixed satisfaction levels with the Hornady "tipped" bullets but the spire point SP has done well. Both do tend to over expand when pushed to 3000+ fps but you're not going to be in that range so should be fine.
Click to expand...

That's a key point. I loaded some 30-06 loads for a friend with an old Rem 722. I loaded 150 Spire Points at 2600. He killed 5 with six shots (sixth being a finisher that he shot too far back. All exited with 1/2 dollar holes and lung/heart emulsified. With cup and core bullets, 3000fps is the magical number for explosive impact and massive destruction.
 
In my experience SSTs generally have a bit better weight retention than NBTs. They shoot so well for me I use them for elk as well as deer but I can see overexpansion being a potential problem at high velocities - .30-06 and 7mm-08 is what I load them in, no magnum cartridges. Closest shot on an elk has been 65-70 yards with the '06 and did a number on the lungs but one of two recovered bullets retained maybe 65% weight...other exited...but that's about the same results I've had with a Partition. I wouldn't want to see a shoulder shot at close range with an SST though.
 
Mobuck said this;
"i know the rule of thumb for hunting bullets is to shoot what is most accurate."

Not in my book. As long as the accuracy is adequate to hit within 1/2 of size of kill zone at the longest range I will use the load, the bullet performance has priority.

I agree with him!

Now, for deer up to about 200 pounds it's not as important as it is for larger game, but I like deer meat, so I see no reason to put up with a bullet that come apart too much.

When you get into big deer (300 pounds or so) and also elk, bears and caribou you need a bullet that holds together a lot more than you do for smaller deer.

I will accept 1.5" groups from a hunting rifle if the bullet "balls up" and doesn't shatter with much more approval than a 1/4" group from a load that has bullets that come apart.

I don't care how accurate a "hunting load" is if it's a poor choice for hunting.

Hunting loads should cover ALL the bases for the game you are hunting, not just the "perfect shots"
If you can get a perfect shot every time all you need is a 22 LR, or a bow and arrow.

Bullets that come apart are fine with me,----- on varmints and paper,

but nothing else.
 
^^^^^^^^
+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.
 
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/showthread.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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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