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Yeah Daryl, I already thought of the 185 Gr Remington. I used them in other rifles I made to zero, but I never shot any game with them. I have been told they are quite good, but Remington has seen fit to pull them from their line of components they sell. It seems Remington is dedicated to doing everything wrong these days, and ignoring everything they could do right and maybe save their company.

But as you say, the 200 grain offerings of Speer and Nosler will be fine. I have not killed anything with them either, but I hear nothing but good things about the Speer bullets which shoot 5/8" groups in my rifle, and the Partitions are always good.

I have used Noslers Partitions in several other rifles over the years and I think of them as the gold-standard of hunting bullets. I have never had a failure with a partition in any gun or any bore size.
I have used .257" in 120 grain in 2 rifles
.277 in 130, 150 and 160 grain, in 5 rifles
308 in 150, 180, 200, and 220 grain these used in 8 rifles
338 in 210 grain and 250 grain in 2 rifles
and 375 in 300 grain in one rifle.

All were everything I could wish for. The only down-side I can think of to the Nosler Partitions is the price. They are not cheap.

If I can get total penetration (even if I hit bone) with good accuracy, with any expanding bullet, I am happy. I understand guns don't kill, cartridges don"t kill, and even bullets are not doing the killing, but the bullet HOLE is what kills.

I care not what bullet I use if I can depend on it to go out the other side of the game I am hunting and leave a large enough hole to kill quickly.

The best way to do that is to have a bullet that holds together, but I will admit that some bullets come apart to an extent and give me the hole I want anyway. That's OK with me also.

Hunters that use a bullet because it will shoot 1/3 MOA and ignore the fact that the bullet needs to go clear through the game, and that game may not be broadside are asking for a lost animal.
1-1/2" MOA with good solid expansion and an exit wound are FAR BETTER than 1/4 MOA with a bullet that fragments.

I used to be a very very good marksman and I am still not bad. I have built some super accurate rifles over the years too. I used to cater to bench-rest shooters a lot, and they liked my work, so I know something about making accurate rifles.

Here is the truth;
When I was at my best I could throw down a back-pack and rest my rifle over it, laying prone behind it, and shoot about 1 MOA to 1-1/4 MOA and I could do that on demand. I could win bets on a regular basis, and I did so many times. The rifles I would do that with would shoot about 1/2 MOA or 3/8 MOA over the bench rest. So I had rifles that I could prove would shoot under half inch groups at 100 yards and under 2" at 300 yards easily, but I could not do it without the use of the bench. I could not, and I never met a man who could in my life. I am talking about doing it on demand 100% of the time with no excuses.

Never met one.

I used to go to Camp Perry and to various matches in various places all over the USA. I never met such a man. I met a handful that could out shoot me as a general rule, but I never met a single person that could shoot 3/4 MOA or better without a artificial support of the types you cannot and will not have in the hunting field.

So why are hunters trying to get 3/4 MOA and better, and refusing to use bullets that may shoot 1.25 MOA because a [insert favorite brand here] target bullet will "shoot better". It is folly to pursue that kind of thinking.

What most people never think of is the fact that if you can hold 1.5 MOA on demand, that no bullet ever will miss the point of aim at 100 yards by more than 1/2 that amount. That means the worst miss the rifle will give you is 3/4 off the cross hair at 100 years or 4" off at 600 yards. A 4 inch "miss" from center of the cross hair at a small deer at a full 600 years is still well withing the kill zone.

But a spot on hit with a bad game bullet at any range means a poor blood trail, no blood trail, poor penetration, and in many cases a lost animal. These hunters just give up as a rule and go kill another one if they loose their first animal, and I know one man that did that exact thing 4 times on elk in the 2013 season. Hit 4 and brought one back. It angers me.

Those other 3 elk probably died a slow death but were not found because this man wanted to "snipe" them at long range with a highly accurate 7MM Mag and shoots Berger bullets which penetrate worse than any bullet I have ever used or seen used in over 50 years. He loves to brag about the ones he brings home, but is quite about the ones he shot and didn't bring home.

That's hard of the elk heard and deprives every one else of an elk to kill, and also deprives the heard of breeding population.

Anyway I am ranting....but my point is that I am pleased with the performance of this latest Hornady. It is not perfect, but it is quite good. They are SUPER accurate and they hold up fairly well. The one that hit heavy bone came apart, but in fairness I have to admit it did go 1/2 way through a very large bull elk lengthwise. I know the 200 Gr Nosler would have done even better, but That is not to say the Hornady SST 170 grain is a bad bullet. Just not as good as the Nosler I am sure.

The best part about this offering by Hornady is the fact that at about 32 cents per bullet you can afford to do some practice. At 90 cents per bullet, you can afford to shoot only 1/3 as many Noslers. Practice is what makes and keeps skill levels up.

An extremely good marksman with good equipment will out shoot a good marksman with extremely good equipment 95 times out of 100.

Edited by szihn (13/10/16 02:06 AM)