SST vs. Ballistic Tip

[Nodak Hunter]

I recently acquired a Ruger Model 77 MK II SS in 7mm Rem Mag. I decided to do a head to head test of the 139 gr SST vs. the 140 gr BT to see which one shot better.

First of all, the BTs were a consistent 20-30 fps faster than the SSTs with the same powder charge. No big deal, must have something to do with the length of the bearing surface or something.

Secondly, the BTs always grouped a bit higher and to the right from the SST group. Once again, no big deal. Made for an easier time differentiating between groups.

Now then, the hotter the load, the tighter the SSTs grouped. That, in my book, is definitely a good thing. The BTs didn't seem to mind how fast they were going, they consistently grouped about the same.

So, the final hunting load for each bullet performed at this level:

139 gr SST
avg 3 shot group :.71"@100yds, 1.22"@200yds, 2.31"@300yds.
Muzzle vel: 3,306 fps

140 gr Ballistic Tip
avg 3 shot group:.90"@100yds, 2.04"@200 yds, 3.27"@300yds.
Muzzle vel: 3,328 fps

The accuracy and velocity differences aren't enough for me to really worry about. With either one, I can hit what I'm aiming at out to 450 yards. With the Interlock ring and cannelure on the SST, I'm inclined to believe it just may hold together a bit better, and give a bit more penetration.

Now then, also for fun, I had loaded up some 162 gr Hornady A-Maxes. I didn't chronograph them, although I think they were moving along about 3,000 fps. Accuracy was quite impressive, at least to me.

avg 3 shot group: .58"@100yds, 1.11"@200yds, 1.89"@300 yds.

I bought some 162 grain SSTs after I saw those results.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-19-2002 19:56: Message edited by: Nodak Hunter ]</font>

 

[mudstud]

Nodak Hunter,
Looks like you have a fast rifle there, not to mention very accurate! I shoot a M70 7mmRM with the regular Hornady 139 gr. boattails. My velocities are 3150. This rifle will group .5" at 100 and 2.0" at 250. It might shoot better than that actually, but I'm not the world's greatest at benchrest. What powder are you using? I'm using Reloader 22, but my loads are not that warm. I have some SST's, but I haven't gotten around to loading them up yet. I also scored some 150 gr. Scirrocos in Bismarck a few days ago, but I don't know when I will get to those. Actually I am thinking of loading up some Barnes XLC BT's next. Being able to shoot all the way through some of these critters is an advantage sometimes! mudstud

 

[Nodak Hunter]

First of all, welcome to the forum, Mudstud. It's always nice to see new folks 'round here.

I've found that BTs, SSTs, and V-Max bullets are usually about 100 fps faster than conventional Spire Point or Hot-Core bullets. As I said earlier, the bearing surfaces on these bullets are fairly short, so you can load them a bit hotter with a lower peak pressure, but longer sustained high pressure.

RE 22 is my powder of choice in the .264 Win Mag and the 7mm Rem Mag. For the .300 and .338 Win Mags, I use Viht N160. It's a bit quicker burning than Re 22, but a bit slower than Re 19, and seems to be just the right speed with 200-250 grain bullets.

Speaking of shooting all the way through critters, last fall I bagged a moose using a 180 gr SST out of my .300 Winnie. The bullet passed all the way through his rib cage, and he went down in a hurry.

Looks like you have an accurate 7 mm too.

 

[sdgunslinger]

C'mon now Nodak , don't you know Rugers are a worthless POS and can't possibly shoot groups that tight ?

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-20-2002 07:20: Message edited by: sdgunslinger ]</font>

 

[mudstud]

Nodak,
Thanks for the tips. By the way, interesting to notice that you are also a .264 shooter! I've always liked them too. I just picked up on one of those Rem 700 SS w/ 26" tube. I guess they came out last summer, but I just found out about them recently and was able to still find one. Ruger also has made two variations of the .264 as well, but with a 24" bbl. My old .264 is a Rem 700 Classic w/ 24" that I've had since 1986 I think, it is wonderfully accurate. I'm sure you know that Hornady is coming out w/ two new SST's for the .264 caliber, a 129 gr. and a 140 gr. This is really good news for .264 shooters IMHO. They should have really high B.C.'s, but I don't know what exactly yet.

Did you luck out and draw a moose tag here, or did you hunt somewhere else? I just sent in the app. Monday for the Big 3 here, like I do every year, but so far no luck. mudstud

 

[WDSWIFT]

Ndak, thanks for posting that. You got better down range accuracy out of the NBT's than we did compared to the SST's. Thanks again for posting that info. WD

 

[8mmwapiti]

I talked to Hornady today. The .264" SST bullets have not been made yet. They say in about a month. I'll be waiting.
8mm

 

[Nodak Hunter]

mudstud,

No, I ahven't gotten lucky enough to draw a "big three" here yet. I took my moose in Ontario.

WD,

My BT's were more accurate downrange than yours & Murph's compared to the SSTs? Hmm...I didn't think my BTs were too hot to begin with. How did yours do?

 

[MLM]

At the time we did not have a crony. But the 139 grain SST in my 280 were cooking. I took both Bulls using it , and with one shot each! The SST did hold a better group for me in the 7MM class bullet. WD used them in his 30-06 as well. And had great sucess. After all is said and done, I can no longer see the reason to uby the super expencive hunting bullets! Now maybe if I was going to Africa! But not for ANY game here in North America.
Mike Murphy

 

[WDSWIFT]

Ndak, I could match the groups that you got at 100yds (.7-.9), but at 200yds we were looking at some 4"+ groups and at 300yds 8"++. BUT this was with the 150gr 30cal. ONLY.

The 7mm 140gr vs the 139gr SST was closer to what you got.

We thought it was the twist in my rifle at first (1-10), but we duplicated it with 4 other '06's and a 300winny using the 150's. Never have figured it out since, and just gave up on it as an "unexplainable". I have a theory, but as MLM will attest, that is dangerous sometimes.

The varmint NBT's I'll shoot with and against about anything at any reasonalbe distance, but the 30cal 150gr NBT has a demon in it as far as I'm concerned.WD

 

[Nodak Hunter]

Murph, I agree. I've been a Partition guy for a long time, but I think the SSTs will do the job for anything on this continent other than big bears. They're a lot cheaper, and more accurate in my guns (so far), than the Partitions also.

WD,
I'm thinkin' you got a bad lot of bullets there, pardner. I'd give Nosler a call with your results, and see what they say.

I predict that the price of BTs will drop very soon, as Hornady gets a wider offering of SSTs to the shelves.

 

[WDSWIFT]

Ndak, we checked the bad lot thing out too, and we called Nosler. We tried at least 4 maybe 5 different lots of bullets, different powders, different seating depths, different primers, different rifles, same results. Needless to say we have some "extra" 30cal 150's on hand. The 165's shoot just fine, no complaints there.

I think it will be interesting to see IF the price goes down on the NBT's, or if the price goes up on the SST's. If I remember correctly, when the Vmax's came out they were quite a bit cheaper than the NBT's. Now the two are pretty comparable on price. If I was Hornady's marketing and finance guy that's what I'd do, get the demand with lower price then gradually raise it to the competition's price. I hope nobody from Hornady is reading this. WD

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-23-2002 05:04: Message edited by: WDSWIFT ]</font>

 

[Nodak Hunter]

From what I understand, Hornady plans to eventually phase out the regular Spire Points in favor of SSTs, if the market for these bullets develops the way they hope it will.

Truth be told, Hornady's sales of small caliber soft points have gone to almost nothing since they introduced the V-Maxes. I plan on using SSTs instead of Spire Points now, so maybe the same thing will happen with the larger bulelts.

One other thing to note. I've been messin' around with Barnes XLC coated bullets a lot last fall, and now this spring. I'm starting to really like 'em for heavy work. I've finally figured out how to make them shoot, and some of them can REALLY shoot. I'll post results in a couple of weeks for anyone who's interested.

 

[1_pointer]

I'd be interested in the tricks for the XLC. I think that an '06 with the 165gr XLC would be a perfect all-around rifle for big game in the Lower 48!! Since my dad left is '06 for me to play with and work up a load for I figure I could give him one load for everything.