Hornady A-max or SST

P

Pat B

New member
Was looking around the Hornady website and for .30 cal 150 grain bullets they have what appear to me to be similar bullets. Other than a canalure what is the difference between the amax and sst?? And is there any difference in performance on a deer??
I have to add a comment that this is one awesome site for beginner or even an old hand.....thanks

pat
 
The SST are very fragile on deer out of a 30-06 at 2950. I would opt for the standard Hornady 150g Sp flat base which is a whale of a deer bullet with 59.0g of IMR or H 4350.

I think that the SST in the 150g Weight is better kept in the 2650 range or less for short range shots out of a 308 or 30/06.
 
The only A-max that has not been a head shot was longways through an antelope. 192 yards, 2700 fps .308 and it mushroomed perfectly. In between front legs and stuck near the rear of a hind quarter. I'm a big fan of the A-max.

Lt
 
I would have no problem shooting anything with an Amax. I have and still do use them for hunting. I have never shot an animal with an SST, so it would not be fair for me to comment on their performance.
 
The Standard Hornady Interlock flat base is a semi premium bullet in as far as weight retention is concerned.

You have to balance the need for BC vs weight retention for penetration.

The SST stands for Super Shock Tip, and that bullet sure does that to an animal. I shot a buck with a 270 Winchester at 270 yards with a 130g SST and the insides of that animal looked like it had been hit with a 300 Win Mag shooting the 150's at 3300 fps.

Shooting up close with the SST's depending on the weight and caliber can cause some really massive damage as the tip opens the bullet upon impact.

The 7mm 162g SST is a really tough bullets, not bad BC either. I shoot this bullet at 3100 out of a 7 Mag with Retumbo and Fed 215's.
 
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This year for Dear and Elk I used the 180 grain SST out of my .300 Win Mag. The dear dropped in it's spot at 250 yards and the elk went 20 yards and dropped. I love this SST. For my .300 Win Mag 72.5 grains of IMR 4831 with CCI 250 primers is the set up for me.
 
I quit using the 150gr SST out of my .308. Lost a nice doe couple years ago because of bullet splash. 100 yard shot and all I found was a ton of hair. I think if you keep the velocity down, they are a good bullet. I was pushing the 150gr just over 3000fps and at close distances it was just to much.
 
I have killed 3 or 4 deer with 165 SST's. 30-06. I don't know my load off-hand but they shoot very well in my M70 FWT. And they kill deer very well also. They all ran 30-60 yards and died. They were shot from about 75 yards up to 200.
I can't comment on the differences between SST & AMAX
 
Killing deer with a 30-06 or 270 from 20 yards to 400+ yards doesn't require anything better than the cheapest bullet that your rifle groups well. Either are perhaps over kill on deer.
We kill a bunch on bean and cotton fields under less than ideal shooting conditions.
Even at close range if placed in the right spot, deer don't go far.
If you know where the crosshairs were when the gun fired, that is a dead animal.
Heart shot deer mostly will go 100 yards - wide open - and if in the thick, most often circle, like a C, but not always. They may not be found in the direction that they left in.
If you don't see it go down and can't track, do a grid search. I am not a fan of heart shots if any other is available.
 
I must either be a **** good shot or we have sorry excuses for deer. I have killed 30+ deer and the only runner I have ever had was the 8point I shot back during gun season, ( first shot hit leg) I have shot deer with a .223, .243, and a 30-06 over the course of 5 years. Never ever had one run, at the most they took a few steps and fell. A well placed shot anchors them.
 
Thanks guys for the responses. I have been using the Hornady Interlock 150 gr in my .30-06 with good results. I've used it on antelope, whitetail and mule deer, black bear, and elk. I step up to Grand Slam 180gr for moose. I have used 125gr Sierra Pro Hunters for antelope and whitetail deer also with good luck.

I ordered some 125gr Nosler Ballistic Tips for coyote, but 150gr BT's showed up. I did take them thinking that I would use them on coyote with my standard 150gr loading. But these puppies came to me at 75$ per 100 out the gun shop door. A bit much for my pockets. So, I was thinking about the A-Max and SST.

Ackleyman, thanks for responses. Looks like I might give a try to the SST for coyote after the NBT's run out. What's your take of using the Interlock 150gr on coyote??

Pat
 
Pat, the 150g Interlock will do a good job, even if you hit them square in the stomach.

If you want to get creative, the 130 speer TNT is a very accurate bullet and fast.
 
"But these puppies came to me at 75$ per 100 out the gun shop door."?!?!?!?!?!

75 cents a piece for Nosler BT's 150 gr's??!?!?!?!??!? That's heck of a mark-up!! Does Barnes know about this??
 
thats nuts. just bought some 150gr sst for 28 for 100. thats 28 cents per. the nosler ballistic tips i saw were 32 cents per bullet.
 
Hes from Canada, I believe thats why the price gouge....

Yikes, Id love to move to Canada one day, but you know what, with NBT's priced like that, I dont know if I could ever afford it! LOL. Id have to start loading rem crap lokts.

Thats just plain ridiculous for NBTs...Canada or not.
 
We have a Canadian outlet for Wholesale Sports/Outdoor Outfitters and I checked their prices. 24.99 for 50 NBT 150gr plus 9.00 for shipping comes to 33.99 per 50 or 67.98 per 100.
Plus sales taxes.........yeah kind'o bits to live out of the way.
 


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