.300 win mag vs. .338 win mag Hornady Superformance SSTs 

Iv reloaded sst in the 270. They are junk. I live in Saskatchewan, lost a big buck with them. Good hit at 150yds but no blood trail. 130gr ttsx ,3 days ago dropped a 2 year old bull moose where he stood at 200 plus yards. Hit center shoulder, tore the side of its heart off, shredded it lungs, shot through the other shoulder and exited. Lost about 4 pounds of meat. That's why you use a Barnes ttsx.

The SST's are a great example of making sure you match the bullet type to the impact velocity. At close ranges from magnum velocities, they are a terrible match. For heavy-for-caliber non-magnum cartridges, I think they would be fine (although I would not use them). I am a fan of monolithic bullets for two reasons. I don't want so much lead in the meat, and I prefer an exit hole.

Took one mule deer buck with the 180gr SST in 308 Win. The lower velocity and 120yd range allowed it to perform very well. Deer was quartered away and the shot hit right behind the left shoulder and exited right Infront of the right shoulder. He never took a step. Dead on contact. I think had the shot been a little different I would have destroyed a lot of meat, but luckily the path cleared the majority of the shoulder meat.

I have a Parker Hale 300 WM. I reload using 180gr Nosler Partitions, H1000 powder Federal Magnum primers, and mostly Federal brass. I have never lost a moose with this combination.

Well done. Thank you for the great video

SST is the perfect bullet for deer sized game. Used them in 6.5 Creedmoor, .270win, .270WSM, .308 and 30-06. Never had a whitetail take more than 10 steps. I wouldn’t use it for a moose or elk but it’s not meant for that.

Apprecieate the time, effort and money to do these videos. Will be looking forward to the barnes tests.

Thanks for sharing this video, 👊🏻

A .338 Winchester magnum loaded correctly for the game hunted can drop all the big game on all continents. Bullet diameter is a plus but taken too far long distance is compromised. The 338 Winchester magnum is the ideal big bore long distance magnum compromise cartridge.

Good video! Your bullet fragments are deflecting up due to your inclined shooting angle. You will capture more if you place your targets at ground level while shooting prone.

The sst is basically a soft point and requires velocities under 2700 fps to function properly.the 180 grain ones work pretty good in a 308 with a mild charge. They tend to stay together that way just don't shoot under 50 yards

The 180 at 30-06 or 308 speeds seem to work ok on deer. The 130gr 270 flying at 3150 plus gives terrible penetration. The 140gr 6.5 at creedmoor velocity also has been fairly decent on whitetails for me. In my opinion they need to be heavy for caliber and slower than 2800 or so to get enough penetration. The hornady interlock is a better option for cup and core bullets. I'll shoot the rest of the SSTs I have but won't be buying any more. I've had really good results with the very inexpensive speer hot cors so ill probably stick with them, as far as cheap bullets go. I have 50 rounds of 270 130gr SST loaded that shoot really accurately and fast, but im not going to use them for deer anymore. They'll sure turn a coyote inside out nicely though!

You don't do enough 338 content. It really is all you actually need up there.

I’m not a rifle expert but I fired my buddies 338 Lapua it about blew my arm off lmao , Wasn’t ready for the kick wow 😮

I wouldn’t use them for my high powered rifles but the 120 grain SST in 6.8SPC did pretty well at the much lower speed on a youth antlerless moose tag.

I like the SST for target shooting, great accuracy. I think is okay for whitetail or hogs, but not much else.

I loaded some 130 grain SST in my 270 WSM at about 3,100 fps. Failed to fully penetrate on a broadside lung shot on a Whitetail. Switched to Triple Shocks.

I have never used them but I have heard that they're no good. I do however like your videos, they are real real and informative.

Good review. You would benefit greatly from better recoil management. A good brake will eliminate the massive recoil change. The reverse acceleration of the weapon changes the ballistics due to the sudden rearward movement. Good luck, keep it up

I’ve had the opposite issue with sst (7RM), tried all three (139, 154, and 162) factory superformance. At close ranges (under 200y) on deer, bullets don’t expand but instead exit like a FMJ sabot spear. They work good on deer at longer ranges and elk/moose shorter distances as well. For under 200y, I’ve found their interlock American W-tl very good, much better than other brands and types of bullets at higher prices. Hornady factory ammo, especially their superformance is very consistent and accurate for long range hunting. Shot a buck at ~500y with 162 sst, luckily it was a heart shot but had decent expansion, broke through the shoulder blade upon exit, didn’t find any shrapnel or seen any excessive damage, which is very good for an elk bullet. I’ve seen it with other hunter buddies, who use high velocity long range premium bullets at close ranges on deer, had issues with bullet expansion, needing follow up shots. I usually carry different ammo and bullet types, and use accordingly, game drops dead easy. Otherwise, after an all day hunt, night long searchlight operation for wounded game in the predator country foothills forestry aren’t fun. Hunt another day or even another year for that clean and sure shot.

Just found a box of Barnes TTSX 210 grn. 338 win. This is probably the one to use on Moose.

I have used SST bullets in 30-06, 270, 6.5 creedmoor, and 257 roberts, to name a few. The 30-06 made a royal mess of an antelope, wasted near half of the total meat on the antelope. Dropped it where it stood but it was still alive when I got to it so I finished it off. I hit a muley buck in the neck dropping it on the spot but I think the bullet blew up on the spine. Couldn't even see any damage to the deer until we skinned it out and saw that it was hit in the neck. Gave the rest of that ammo to my nephew, but told him my experience with it. He has since taken a number of muley bucks with it and last fall an antelope buck. On the antelope, he hit it in the ribs behind the shoulder and found the remnant of the jacket under the hide on the other side. He is happy as can be with it. It just made me glad I don't use it anymore. I tried the 129 gr SST in the 6.5 creedmoor because it was the fastest, I figured that SST would be dramatic in its expansion, and because it was what my rifle shot best. I took a couple antelope with it. The bullet did only adequate expansion on the antelope, ranges from 105 yds to 165 yds. Antelope ran much farther than I cared for before they went down. I used the SST in 257 Roberts because it was the only ammo I could find at the time, that my rifle would shoot decently. Took it out and popped 3 antelope with it. Ranges of 237, 227, and 107 yds. In this case, all three animals dropped in their tracks with the bullets doing extensive internal damage and exiting the other side. The first was broadside and almost cut the heart in two. Have a picture of that. The other two were steeply angling and the bullet traversed over half the length of the antelope before exiting. I don't much care for the wildly varying performance on the game. This fall I'm going to try the federal terminal ascent in a couple different calibers. Expansion tests and reviews I've seen look pretty promising.

I shot a pronghorn at about 100 yards with my 6.8 SPC II. The buck was facing me straight on. At the shot he tried to take a step and dropped. I was suprised to find 16 grains of the core just under the membrane of a hind quarter, about 6 inches shy of complete penetration. Not an ounce of meat lost. I was on a family members ranch that is overrun with them and only allows a few people a year to hunt so I knew I could get close and would get a buck. I wouldn't use an SST for my serious hunting. I only use Nosler partitions in my 30/06 and 338 WM.

Good video. Maybe shooting at targets at the same elevation as your rifle will help you capture the projectile, instead of shooting at elevated targets.

I load the 125 grain SST .308 bullets in .300AAC blackout. The book recommends 2400-3200fps for that bullet. They load it in there factory reduced recoil ammunition for .308 and 30-06 at an advertised 2700fps. I get 2000fps and 2200fps out of 8” and 16” barrels respectively. I doubt I would get much expansion or fragmentation at those slow velocities. It would be interesting to test one day. Maybe even load up some .308 and 30-06 with the same bullet to see where they start to work and where start to break up.

Have a 300 win Mag in a SAKO, one of my most favorite I own. Have a 338 RUM my elk thumper, but use Barnes 225 & 250 gr … one and done

I run both and they are great!

I hunt large pigs here in Australia with my 338 Winchester Magnum using the Hornady 200 grain SST & have found the SST a great bullet as it blows up inside the Animal, But if i was going to Hunt large Game i would use a much Tougher Bullet like a Hornady 250 grain SP Interlock or Speer 250 grain Grand Slam or a Nosler Accubond, I would not use a 225 gain SST on a Large Buffalo or Red deer, In my 300wsm i use the Hornady 150 grain BTSP interlock for pigs then the Same Projectile but in a 180 grain for Red deer & Sambar Deer, SST's are a good bullet but not for big game - Happy Hunting Folks.

I hear this a lot on larger game. Deer and down is fine. We’ve had no issues in 06 and down. I’d definitely use it as an anti personnel round.

Sst is perfect for whitetails. I dropped 4 deer last year with superformance 129gr 6.5 creed. 11pt at 238yd, big doe at ~245yd, and two small does and 480yds. All drt plopped right over, all high shoulder shots through and through with and exit you could almost stick both your thumbs in

Agree. The fragmentation for something I want in my freezer is a no.

Good info thanks Chuck. A friend of mine uses SST 160 grain on Sika deer out of a 7MM Ackley improved but sika are small deer and his 7MM is not going particularly fast. I think MV was 2700 fps. Me - I am using Sierra Gamchangers at the moment (06 AI). Maybe not as good as your Barnes but they are dropping the deer good. Thanks for sharing Dave

Build a 2 x 12 frame to bracket your water filled milk jugs four milk jugs wide and eight milk jugs deep. Use Nosler Partition or Barnes TTSX to get bullets that will hold together and penetrate. Leave it three sided and put heavy duty hanging hooks on each open side and use a tie down to connect the open end of the 2 x 12 three sided wooden bracket together.

Mornin Chuck!!

Hi the sst works great with my BLR 257mag with 117gr.taken deer at 200 300 yds ,an they pretty much didnt go 10ft from impact .they designed the super shok bullet for deer down game ive never lost a deer with it

You guys produce very informative videos. This one is lacking context. The bullets performed exactly as they're intended to. Along with the ELDX, these are advertised as performing well at extended ranges. Because 1. Accuracy. 2. They have consistent expansion at sub optimal velocity. I would throw in the Nosler ballistic tip and most Berger bullets into this category. Many hunters actually prefer that violent and rapid expansion. RSO has done videos on this topic. There are 3 types of bullet performance. 1. Pass through (blood trail). 2. Rapid expansion (hydrostatic shock) 3. Controlled expansion (energy deposit). All have there merits and detractors. Anything is terrible if don't use it as intended.

So far in my h&r 22-250 there 50 gr round all I found that I'm happy with so far.

so I just shot 2 antelope with my 6.5 grendel with SSTs, vicious wounds, instant death on both, not even a twitch. I got a pass through on a quartering away shot that went in the last rib and came out the front quarter at an impact velocity of about 2450 ish. water is harder on bullets than flesh in most cases, but I think the SSTs are fantastic in cartridges that shoot slower than 2600 at 100 yds. (edit) quartering shots on large game not advised

I've shot deer and elk with my 7mm mag with sst bullets, one shot kills at around 200 yards. Didn't have to track at all, they dropped within 5 yards of where I shot them.

For class 2 game and predators probably only thing I could ever see them being useful for. Even for class 2 game...so much meat damage and lead fragments.

I have found that if I go with a heavier bullet in my 308 the sst does really well. I have stepped up to 180gr and never had a deer take another step. Ranges are 100-200 yards. Excellent terminal performance by doing that. When I ran 150gr for a while and deer would run

So which is better as an all-around, do most out to 450 yards, hunting cartridge?

The 200 grain 338 SST is fantastic pairing with the 338 federal. Obviously the 338 Fed doesn’t have near the charge that a 338 win mag uses…. On deer that is

I got 3000 fps with my 20 inch barrel with that superformance ammo so at least they don't overstate velocity. If they combined that superformance powder with a bonded bullet it would be a best seller.

Oh Hornady podcast a few weeks back where they go through their product line when talking about the eldx they want it to expand and fragment. Their thought is west coast hunters take game at 500 yards and east cost hunters want pass through for blood trails.

Yea,,would like to see the barnes tsx trial in both rifles

They work good enough for Texas Whitetails, and they fly real good. But for larger game I would definitely use a bonded core projectile.

With a 3006, I have noticed that the 165 gr SSTs blew apart, but still killed Elk sized deer well on a shoulder shot. The 180 gr SSTs held together much better than the lighter ones and I recovered the still jacketed bullet on the opposite side shoulder. The 180 gr projectiles performed very much as per Hornady’s gel testing. Not sure how the 180 gr SSTs would go with deer in the 300 wm. Perhaps they might blow up more. I think the wood at the front is a harsh test. Anything will open up after hitting wood like that. Might have been better having the wood behind the first line of bottles to more simulate internal bones being hit.

In my opinion, cup and core, ballistic tip bullets were designed for broadside lung shots on average sized deer. Hit anything hard and they will blow apart. The .338 was traveling slow enough that impact velocity shouldn't have been much of an issue. For the .300...maybe. What distance were you shooting? Looked about 75yds to me.

I shot a buck with my 338 and the bullet did not even go through the deer it blew apart at the shoulder and the buck ran about 50 yards. I was surprised!! I don't remember what the bullet was, this was around 15 years ago or so.

SST is a whitetail bullet just because a bullet breaks up some it is not a failure, kills deer quickly. I have used 6.5 and 338 on whitetail deer very effective.

I know it works well in 308 and 300blk in 125gr variety

Haha intro sums it up

On a side note, I shot a monster 370lb 190 class Mule deer at 30yds broadside with a 200gr Nosler Partition in 300WM. It was a hot reload in a Ruger M77 at around 3100fps. It left a baseball size entry hole in the ribs, bullet exploded into pieces. Deer flew up in the air and bounced off a tree and never even twitched. Looked like he was hit by a car. Bullet fragments everywhere. Never seen anything like it. We found the copper with no lead remaining front or back

I'm baffled that Hornady decides to put a SST bullet in it's Superformance ammo.... Why not put the new CX monolithic bullet in the Superformance line? Also good to see your 300 Win mag getting 3100 FPS with a 180 gr bullet.

being as these are long range cartridges i wonder how they would stay together at 500+ yards bullet would be much slower at that point.

Great info, I wanted a 300 win mag and I would have bought this ammo

SST's are awesome in small caliber varmint rounds. Who decided to make them in medium or large bore?

My 2506 or 270 they worked great on deer here in Wisconsin. Prefer their inter lock bullet those imo are wicked on thin skin game.

I shoot a 300 wsm with hornady sst bullets but I reload my own they shoot fantastic

That 140 gr sst is devastating on Texas whitetail pigs and axis with 270 win and the animals fold up or only go 10-15 yards. But I heard a story about a buddy using it on cow elk and she went half mile in thick country before went down in a canyon bottom. It was pass thru decent exit wound from 115 yards but the lungs were not as damaged as he thought they should have been based on shot which to me said didn’t expand as well at that closer range high velocity. Decent blood trail that could track. That sst is my go to for feral hogs because they flip over squealing as they die almost ever time because energy punches them hard and tears their organs to rubbish. Fun to watch test. Like to see that test real big game bullets

Personally Id rather have a sst or ballistic tip over a all copper, for muledeer sized game, Ive found bullets like Berger, Hornady, Nosler ballistic tips, seems to kill alot faster than something that passes through, but thats just me

Pro tip..get someone who doesn't fire guns all day to mix your audio levels, lol Other then that good video.

I would have to try with the same tip weights, for example 200 grains

I lost a deer 15 years ago qorh 3006 sst . That was last time I used them.

I have a box of the 225 sst superformance 338. I just can’t seem to figure out what it is good for. Too much speed. Would be much better off with a GMX or CX. Maybe long distance on deer but still many better options out there with smaller cartridges. To me it’s just a paper puncher.

Might get better penetration at greater distances, slower velocity. Trouble there is, it's hunting, anywhere from point blank range to beyond 300 yards makes for unreliable entry/exit wounds. Stick with arctic ground squirrels for clean kills.

I've never had good luck with Hornady bullets holding together. Maybe it's because I shoot Barnes and nosler and have never had a problem with those.

Never had a problem with SSTs in my 270 or 30-06. All deer either dropped in their tracks or went 15-30 yards and dropped. All handloaded to average velocities, all deer shot through the ribcage behind the shoulder.

I’d like to see a good test with the new deer season copper

SST bullets in my opinion are only good for coyotes and paper. Even 243 and Chucks favorite 270. they just explode/Fragment in deer. Exit wounds are important and I don't like picking fragments out of deer. I would never complain about a hornady factory load in any caliber with an SST on accuracy, to me they are a varmint bullet not a medium or large game bullet. Keep up the good video's

I have a bullet from a 165gr sst 30-06, recovered from a whitetail buck.

Why is the SST the worst hunting bullet? Kills things dead and last time I checked, you can't get more dead than dead. Works great on caribou, whitetail, antelope, and other light skinned and bodied animals.

I can’t find either of those in stock anywhere. Stuff is like gold right now

I like Federal Fusion

I personally really like the 180 gr SST It just folded a elk this year at 144 yards I was using a 300WM.

Remington core-lokt seems to be bonded very well. I never find any fragmentation.

Can you compare Barnes, Fusions and SSTs in impact?

Please do the 185gr Barnes TTSX in 338 Win Mag Also 250gr Sierra Game King in 338 Win Mag

Let me first state the only magnums i own are .357 revolvers. Most of my "big game" hunting is mule deer and antelope and cow elk. I see no problem using cup and core soft points or ballistic tips on the first two out of most non-magnum calibers at 2800 fps or slower. I use bonded bullets on elk, though, because I've seen soft points fail to penetrate and all copper fail to expand at those lower velocities. As for hunting with a magnum, should i ever own one, I would stick with bonded bullets, like the Swift scirocco. The SST might be fine at long distance where the velocity has dropped enough it wont fragment, but up close, nope. Same for Eld-x. Ive seen them explode out of a 6.5 creedmoor on a doe mule deer shot at close range. Yeah, she died, but she was pretty messed up. My only other comment is the shooting into water at high velocity generally is really tough on bullets. Gel is expensive, I know! Maybe you've already tried the SST into gel, but if not, perhaps the bullets would hold together better?

Barns tripple shock , are the best

300 win mag has more energy than a 338. Interesting.

When you want frangible ammo for home defense: Hornady SST

I do not fool around , SST s for paper . Interbond for hunting .

I've used the site in 270 and 338 win mag. It's like a varmint bullet. Even out to 568 yards in my 338 win mag it was a fair bullet at that distance.

My 270 in 130 grain SST will lay a good brutal lick on a coyote, have yet to try it on any white tail though.

So what 300 and 338 bullets are actually good for 800 lb yogi bears on a picnic basket tirade?

I’ve killed three elk with them in 338wm one shot kills all dropped where they stood. Bullets absolutely crushed the shoulders

Never been a Hornaday bullet fan. Much prefer Searria bullet.

To get better penetration using a SST bullet, just Moly coat it ........

Chuke would shoot the chronograph for you if you would just give him a chance

Where I live, we call the SST: super suck tip.

Appreciate your video. But I think your basic argument seems more like a cup/core vs bonded bullet argument. I know people who never cared for the original Remington Core-Lokts because they're not bonded, but they've probably knocked over more deer than any other single bullet design ever. I like the SSTs. I use them in .243, 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R with great success. Granted, mine are all handloads. But SST's do spectacular damage when put in the boiler-room with very short tracking,,,,if any. I also use Sierra GameKings a lot,,,also not bonded,,,,and almost always find jacket/core separation. But so long as my deer or elk is dead, who cares.

Good video. Dont run bullet any more mist a big doe do to them in 243 win with little wind shooting down hill and i swear hit it bc jump act hit but no blood. But how looks clean miss. Im stick with Nosler Silvertip ballistic tips the all black moly coated one with grey tips . Iv taken small do at baseball pitching range tool out lungs and hart and off shoulder all must off have full inside 10 yards big blood trail. As big rifles i like bonded bullets. But have ran cup and core Remington cor-loc with no issues but do thoe big body buck have them run 100 yards with pass through shots 7mm mag act never hit nothing left lugs hart hit.

So, will any animals show up to eat the baloney?

I will stick with federal or Winchester for the ammo I shoot.

This seems like it would be perfect if black powder??? I shot one out of my black powder pistol (optima V2). With a 300 grain .452” muzzleloading SST should have been going around 1,400 FPS or so. It punched through 3.5 milk jugs and was expanded to .65” (1” with jacket). It was together and looked perfect. I think these unbonded ballistic tips shouldn’t go beyond about 2,200 fps??? Loading it in .300WM or .338WM is just ridiculous as this video shows. However every bullet has an application. And every bullet loses effectiveness outside that application!!! SST is an initialism for “super shock tip”!!! So you can’t complain given it did what it was meant to!!!

Those bullets do the same that bergers do amd theres alot of berger fan boys that swear by berger me personally i think nosler ballsitcs is the best for smaller animals around 200lbs iv killd 100s of axis deer hogs and spanish goats with that bullet i wouldnt shoot a elk with it tho

For cup core bullets the power point and core lokt perform better than the sst in my opinion

Great round for home defense! 😂