120gr SST Hogs/Range Report..

[lm32188]

Let me first preface this by saying that all relevant 6.8 info I get and use is from this forum. Thanks go out to all those who work to advance the 6.8 round and provide info on here for the rest of us. I dont reload, I dont chronograph, I check but dont rely on velocity reports, but I do care about accurate factory ammunition, and I care about results. There are a lot of hogs in TX that need to take a dirt nap!!!

The consistently most accurate round out of my grandfathers (38yo) rem 700 .270 has been the 140gr Hornady SST.Works great on hogs! So when Hornady came out with the 120gr SST for the 6.8 I was pretty excited to see what they would do. I was skeptical as the 110gr SPH has been under 1" at 100 yds in my 18" ARP 6.8 (thanks H!). How would the 120gr SST do?



When first four shots clover leafed into a circle the size of a nicke, because everyone always talk about five shot groups, I got cocky and hurried the fifth shot. 1.5" high at 100yds, Zeroed at 200 yds. I was able to place 4/5 shots into a 2" circle with three of the shots just over and inch. I use a 7x56mm Meopta Meostar RD illum 4a reticle, definitely not a target scope especially at 200yds, but works well for a low light hunting scope for hogs early in the morning and late in the evening. How would the 120gr SSTs work on hogs??



You cant tell from the pic but the shot went through the back of the shldr blade and dropped the hog in its tracks at 158yds. Despite being about an inch off from the intended placement right behind the shldr, the 120gr SST seemed to perform extremely well. The bullet did not exit the opposite side and I did not dig out the bullet to see how it performed. He died right there. That works for me.



The hogs had been rooting in this particular part of the ranch about two months ago. So this weekend I put some corn and some hog wild in the rooted pits hoping to lure some of the hogs out from the woods. Low and behold out comes this boar by himself on the second morning after dropping bait. The last pic gives a better perspective on size (fairly decent). Definitely bigger when I had to drag him 60yds to the gully to drop him over.



I dont believe in one best hog round. There are plenty of bullets and loads and sizes that do the job for a lot of people on this forum. All you have to do is read around. I do believe in shot placement and I do believe that some rounds are more accurate than others in your rifle and you have to find that one (especially if you dont reload like me). For me in "my" 6.8 it has been the 110gr SPH. It now seems that the 120gr SST works in "my" rifle. I took two more hogs that weekend both DRT with neck shots under 50yds. I know three hogs arent a sample size for testing purposes. 3 dead is 3 dead in this battle against Hogs!!

Hope this helps those who were thinking about trying the 120gr SST's.

LM32188

[Ratdog68]

Nice, great to have a good report on the 120 SST.... thanks for the pix, and taking the time to share.

[future6.8owner]

sweet thanks for sharing, i have been waiting for someone to shoot something with them, i bought 2 boxes but havent shot them yet

[68WJ]

That is a GREAT grouping. All I have heard thus far is decent-poor accuracy. I have a handload ladder of SSTs sitting on my desk ready to go to the range and I can only hope for something like that.

[Dave S]

Outstanding AAR.

[treehugger49]

sweet thanks for sharing, i have been waiting for someone to shoot something with them, i bought 2 boxes but havent shot them yet

Me too, but I'm still awaiting my upper at this point.

[caporider]

Great info, thanks!

[ewilke]

thanks this is good to know.

[constructor]

Glad to hear those are working, I've been meaning to test them for over a month and just can't get to the range when the wind isn't blowing.

[dntfxr]

Very nice! Looks like a perfect combo, I don't think I'd change a thing! BTW, my .270 much prefers the SSTs too, and I've killed aot of deer with them.