170g SST in the 8x57

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

I was recently flicking through a bullet list and discovered Hornady made an 8mm SST.

I might think differently to those wanting a blood trail at all times, and to be honest my attitude really just reflects my geography but I find the SST to be a really handy bullet for when hunting on small blocks and you dont want an expanded projectile to exit the animal and get lodged in the neighbours brickwork.

When it comes to the 8x57 though I think of the traditional RWS/ Norma ballistics of a 196g at ~2500fps max and cant say that the 170 has been on my radar until now.

Has anyone tried this bullet and is say 2750 fps an easily obtained velocity with a standard 22 inch barrel?

[Corjack]

I have thought about trying these. But the blood shot meat from the deer I have shot with other caliber SST bullets usually puts a stop to my thoughts.

[stokesrj]

Here is a pic of a 123 grain 6.5mm SST, I found it on the left shoulder of a wild boar after traveling the entire body cavity from right hip to left shoulder. I made this shot on a running boar, strongly quartering away at about 50 yards. It didn't go far, I think only what momentum carried it, perhaps 15 feet. There was very little hematoma, almost no loss of meat.

Image 2.jpg

I think the 170 grain 8mm SST would behave very similarly.

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

I note you can see where the jacket and bullet have started to separate and I'd say can be pulled apart with little help from a fingernail. Any idea of the velocity?

I currently run the 130g SST in my .270 over 54.5g of 2209 - in theory at 2900 - 3000 fps - never chronied as it just works. I've grown lazy and don't bother digging them out of rusa but haven't had one exit yet. I did dig bits of one out of a red deer a while ago and the core was detached from the copper. It's currently my go to culling load and to be honest I'd rather feed bloodshot shoulder through a mincer for cat food than have to worry about the legal implications of a bullet shank leaving the hunting ground... if the 170g 8mm performs at 2700 the way the 130g .270 performs at 2900 it gives me another option.

And just to explain my reasoning going to start a separate "off topic" thread on peri urban wild life, perhaps just as therapeutic venting...

[dchamp]

I have some and tried them once a couple of years back but since I can't use them where I lived I haven't pursued them. I tried them with 2000MR and reached 2760fps with a 1" group but that is based on just one sampling. I don't remember if there were any pressure signs and QL doesn't list that powder.

Playing with QL the various 4895 powders look the best.
47.0gr ADI2206H - 99.7% fill - 2731fps - 55571 psi
47.0gr H4895 - 99.7% - 2745 fps - 55980 psi
48.0gr IMR 4895 - 101% fill - 2744fps - 54131 psi

Dropping the 170 SST down to 2700fps it should still be doing a little over 1800fps at 600 yds at sea level. If it was legal for me to use a lead bullet here in California I would try and use the 170 SST but since it isn't I use and like the 160 TTSX.

Here is a pic of the 170 SST in the 8X57. Since it has a cannelure I seated it to it. It looks about right

IMG_1390.JPG

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

Thanks again dchamp

A quick look at my ADI manual had me thinking I'd have to come to terms with buying yet another type of powder, as up till now 2206H has not made its way into my cabinet - woe is me I might even have to use a second shelf



And who makes 2000MR? This is the first time I've heard of it

[dchamp]

Thanks again dchamp

A quick look at my ADI manual had me thinking I'd have to come to terms with buying yet another type of powder, as up till now 2206H has not made its way into my cabinet - woe is me I might even have to use a second shelf



And who makes 2000MR? This is the first time I've heard of it

Alliant, it seems to be between RL15 & RL17. It's also very similar to Hodgdon's CFE223 & Ramshots Big Game, slightly slower than Varget IMO. My son uses it in the 9.3x62 w/250gr TTSX

[stokesrj]

I note you can see where the jacket and bullet have started to separate and I'd say can be pulled apart with little help from a fingernail. Any idea of the velocity?

I thought the same but could not move the core, it is solidly held by the jacket. This one was going pretty slow, around 2550 fps at impact. In general the SST creates a wider shallower wound channel than most frangible bullets.

But for your intended use, Peri Urban, I had never heard that term before, the Nosler ballistic tip is thought to be one of the best for this purpose. However, I read an account recently in which a young lad in Poland shot a roe deer on a driven hunt with a .243 Win 95 grain Ballistic tip. The bullet went through the roe deer, traveled more than 200 meters and hit a bicyclist in the back of the head. The young hunter was not aware of the bicyclist until several days later when the police inquired. The bicyclist died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He may have been saved except nobody on the scene realized he had been shot and thought that he had only crashed his bicycle. It was only later the bullet was discover by Xray. There was evidently enough of the shank that the bullet could be matched to the young hunters rifle. He was found not to be negligent upon investigation as the shot he took was considered safe and the results unforeseeable.

From my experiences the thinly jacketed Berger bullets seem to fragment nearly totally and I've never seen one with a shank that would travel 200 meters after passing through an animal. However as you probably already know they don't make one in 8mm diameter. So probably the best bullet is what you are looking at the 170 grain SST.

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

Been trying to get hold of these since starting the thread and finding they are out of stock with both our Hornady importers.

I did find two boxes of 180g ballistic tips but held off buying them - probably a bad decision.

Has anyone tried the BT in their 8x57?

[secondtry]

Thought about it. You go first. I would be more likely to try the BT than the SST - personal taste.

[Gun Barrel Ecologist]

I'm still waiting on the barrel

Have brass, have 1 scope ready and another in transit....

Once you get to 180g is 2208 worth using?

[Corjack]

Been trying to get hold of these since starting the thread and finding they are out of stock with both our Hornady importers.

I did find two boxes of 180g ballistic tips but held off buying them - probably a bad decision.

Has anyone tried the BT in their 8x57?

Yep, shot a button buck, made a mess, lots of meat loss. Never used one since.

[deerhunter338mag]

Been trying to load these 95gr SST in my 243. Bloody hard to get a nice group with.

[dchamp]

Has anyone tried the BT in their 8x57?

Yes, I shot a pronghorn with it once. If I remember right it had a two inch entry and exit hole through it, right behind the shoulders from 300yds. It's suppose to be stronger than the 30 cal & under, Ballistic Tips. I don't know but it did shoot well in my Remington 700. Also my son took a Leopard with that same rifle and bullet a few years back. The load I used with it was 49.5gr's Varget, Fed 210 primer seated to 3.15"oal.

[slugslinger]

I concur with Corjack - bad experiences with SSTs, but not personally in 8mm.
Oddly, I've had good luck with other fairly inexpensive bullets like Speer Hot-Cor and even Hornady Interlocks (for these two, the soft lead point (not plastic) seems to make a difference. Personally, I prefer to spend just a little more and step up to Accubonds, Partitions, A-Frames, and North Forks, depending on which bullet weight you prefer. Accubonds have a pretty high BC and perform very well on lots of different game and are my all-around favorite.

Regards,