I have never used a polymer tipped bullet but decided I will give them a try this season. I picked up a box of 95 gr SSTs. My shots wont be more than 150 yds due to cover. Does anyone have any experience with these bullets?

Can't speak to 243 but SSTs in 270 are pretty thin and mess up lots of meat. They do seem to be fairly accurate.

Did this occur through fragmentation or a single wound channel?

Actually some of both. I would guess the cases of fragmentaion were caused by hitting bone. I have quit using SSTs in my 270 and now use Speer 130gr BoatTails. I do have a Weatherby 6 lug and a Rem 700 SPS both in 243 that do really well with 100gr Nosler Partitions. The Wby likes RL-22 and the 700 likes IMR-4064.

Hornady

243 6MM 100 GR RN
to 200yds
IMR 4350

use them you will like them!!!

Like the 165 gr. SST's in the .308
41.5 gr Varget

I have used the SST's in 22 hornet, 223, 243, 270, 264 Win mag, and 300 Weatherby. I have been pleased with the accuracy and performance on everything from varmints to deer and hogs.

Buddy's wife shoots them out of her 6mm. Good bullets, I like the TSX's better

i shoot 165 gr sst in my 06 and i love them. i havent taken down a deer with them, but several hogs have fallen victim. from what i've seen, they do a lot of damage and expand pretty quick in the afformentioned load. it would probably would be overkill in smaller deer. accuracy was top notch from a rem 700.

The SST is my preferred bullet for hunting in Texas. It is very accurate and performs well on game. I typically get 1"-2" exit holes, without a lot of meat damage. Deer, pigs, and yotes drop very quickly, and faster than any other bullet I've tried. I use the 130 SST out of a 270 Win at 3200 fps.

sst are like ballistic tips dont hit the shoulder thin skin rappid expand, don't need to smokem pass 3000 eighter. trust me they will explode. keep average velocities, youll have the best groups at the range, and miminal meat damage. no bone..

I think by experiences i have had with sst's they are alot better than ballistic tips! more reliable expansions and do not come apart like them. they are more like the accubonds.

Last year my buddy dropped a nice S.Texas buck with a 90 gr.BT in 6mm.Fell in it's tracks.So if the SST is as good or better than the BT then you have found a good bullet as long as your rifle likes it. Kix

I have shot the Nosler brother to this round for over 15 years. The 95 grain in my 6mm Remington. They are MOST accurate and will do ample damage to stop the deer. Becuase they detonate and the round is small, it does not mess up much meat, like the larger caliber models. If the SST is anything like the Ballistic Tips, they will do the job, HANDS DOWN.

I've killed deer, hogs, axis deer, and everything else that roams around with my 6mm......JUST DO IT!

"Becuase they detonate and the round is small, it does not mess up much meat"

The detonate?? And therefore don't damage much meat? I don't follow this logic at all.

Will be using 95gr sst in my 6mm for deer this year. Have only shot one hog with it so far. Didnt recover any bullets but it took him down.

Because of the smaller diameter bullet, say then a .308, it does less damage when the bullet FRAGMENTS.

These type bullets literally explode in tissue, bone, etc. I quit shooting them in my /06. I have used both in 6mm and 30/06 and offer my opinions based on reality.

smaller handgrenade equates to smaller damage radius.

is that logical nuff?

Not very logical... You need to play a little more with hot small calibers.

One of the worst Calibers on meat out thier is the 257 wby. Speed and a small pill= lots of RPM's.... lots of RPMs = more hydrostatic shock... more hydrostatic shock more soft tissue damage.

I think the SST is better then the Nosler BT( but the BT in the 6mm and the BT in an O6 is a different bullet... o6 has alot thicker wall) I think the SST preforms more like the Accubond then the Nos BT IMO.

There is a differance between pushing a hole through something and blowing a whole through something

Nope...There are two more important variables that are left out that have more impact on the amount of meat damage. 1) the construction of the bullet and 2) the location of the hit.

I assume that you are shooting into the lungs behind the shoulder with your 6MM to minimize damage. Put that bullet into the shoulder at close range and you may lose the whole shoulder.

Put a mre stoutly constructed 308 (or other caliber) bullet thru the shoulder, within the design parameters of the bullet, and meat damage will be less.

Bottom line: the velocity and construction of the bullet, coupled with shot placement, has much more to do with the amount of meat damage than the cartridge from which it was launched.

We are talking about the SST and/or BALLISTIC TIP bullet, so I cannot see the logic in "1) the construction of the bullet". My statements are based upon these thin skinned projectiles in 6mm and 308.

I reload and hunt extensively with most all calibers and have seen first hand experience in the field of how they perform.

If your in doubt, go load some 165 gr. Ballistic Tip .308 bullets to just under max load. Unless your a magazine/internet hunter you won't want these loads "pushing a hole" in your animal for meat purposes. Than do the same with the .244's.

"just under a max load" in what cartridge? 300 Savage? 308Win? 300Weatherby? Big difference in velocity!

I would agree that if you push a 165gr 308 bullet beyond its design envelope, it will act like a varmint bullet and mess up a lot of meat (unless, of course the shot is behind the shoulder, thru the lungs, where there is little usable meat). Nosler, in fact states the maximum recommended impact velocity on their website.

Run the 85gr tsx in the .243 it will do the trick.

Don't shoot them in the meat.

I think the accuracy is fantastic and you should not damage much meat because the sst is a bonded bullet it should not fragment at all. Just my thoughts and opinion.