# Hornady SST's for elk?



## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

I just picked up a .338 and I am looking for some goos bullets to shoot for elk and hopefully Moose. Have any of you used the Hornady SST? do they hold up well for elk or are thye meant for deer and other thin skin game? I don't reload so I am looking for some factory loads with decent bullets.


----------



## Huntoholic (Sep 17, 2008)

Personally I love the Hornady PSP and SST. They have always performed on both deer and elk. 

In my 30.06's these are my go to bullets, but in my .300 win mag I'm still having trouble with my grouping. Same make and model of rifle. For the .300 I switched over to the barnes TSX and the grouping closed right up. I have not had a chance yet to shoot anything with the TSX, so I cannot tell you it does.


----------



## gwailow (Jan 20, 2008)

Shoot the 225gr Barnes TTSX.


----------



## jungle (May 10, 2008)

Congrats on a great caliber. What kind of rifle did you get? 

The 225 grain Barnes Triple Shock, in either the Tipped Triple shock or regular Triple Shock or even Barnes-X should work well. My handloads group the flat base Triple Shock at 3/4" at 200 yards. My rifle just eats them up and yours should too. For some reason these bullets are like magic in the 338 as you can see from other posts. I am dying to try the Tipped TSX variety in 225 grain but I have convinced myself not to mess with sniper-level perfection. 

So I decided to produce some reduced loads with the 210 gran Tipped TSX at 2850 fps to duplicate the 300 Win. Magnum 180grain ballistics, except that the momentum in my load will be far greater.  2 for 1 deal. Cool. 

Once, I hit a running bull moose with a factory load 225 grain Barnes X at about 75 yards just as it disappeared behind some trees; and it toppled over, must have been head over heals because when we found it behind the tree, the moose was facing the opposite direction. The bullet entered just behind the front shoulder and exited just behind the opposite shoulder while the moose was running! In other words the bullet arrived at the opposite side of the running moose just as the opposite shoulder and leg moved forward out of the way. But I digress.....

Every elk I have taken has not moved much, a few feet or a few yards after being hit. One cow elk went about 25 yards but that was from a full trot with about 200 head of elk so it was mostly her momentum that carried her. 

I tracked a cow elk wounded by a buddy for a little over a mile. When I finally jumped her, she headed for private ground about 100 yards away, so I hit her twice behind the shoulder as fast as I could shoot. She toppled over in some downfall so fast I could not see for the recoil. I thought I had missed at first...

I have an extra box of some El Dorado Barnes X Factory loads that are very accurate, and not overly powerful, in the Barnes X bullet. Not a bad place to start if you want to buy my extra box for $25.00. I used this load to kill my moose.



You can also buy Barnes Vortex Factory ammo actually loaded by Barnes at Cabelas I think. I believe this factory line of ammo is loaded with their Tipped TSX product.

The factory Remington Ultra Bonded Core lokt is great stuff too. I took a 300 class bull elk with this stuff at over 300 yards in the pouring rain with their 225 grain bullet. Very accurate, and the bull did not move after the first shot landed behind the shoulder. I put a second one in him just as an assurance shot but he went right down after that. My hand could cover both shots.

But since further developing my handloads, I doubt I will ever shoot anything other than TSXs ever again in my 338. 

Forget the Hornady SSTs for this application, albeit a great bullet. 

Well, PM me if you want that extra box of factory 225 grains Barnes-X ammo, for $25.00. Just promise me the brass when you are done!


----------



## ultramagfan2000 (Nov 27, 2009)

I would NOT use the SST on Elk they break up way to bad. They leave very shallow wounds everywhere and barely penetrate out of a 300 win mag and a 300RUM. How ever I shoot the SST alot because the point of impact is identical to the interbond in my 300 RUM and they cost half as much as the interbonds so they are my plinking ammo. I do like the interbonds for elk they still only retain around 65% of their weight but it kills elk plenty.


----------

