Hornady SST-ML High Speed/Low Drag Sabot

[sharps4570]

The majority of reviews (and there are numerous of those out there) highly praise the sabot/bullet combo. A few weeks ago, I used the 250gr bullet in front of BH209 powder (rifle was a TC Triumph). The bullet grouped extremely well and I was able to very easily load/shoot around 13 rounds with just a dry swab at one point that wasn’t actually necessary.

Today, I took a friend to the range to zero his newly acquired CVA Optima. Being brand new to muzzle loading, he chose the convenience of pellets (777) behind the Hornady. We only had time enough to shoot out to 50 yards. But the powder/bullet combo (with Rem Kleanbore primer) shot extremely well with all the impact holes touching each other in a tight group. We shall see what happens out to 100 yards on our next trip.

Anyway, we allowed the barrel/breech plug to remain fouled with no swabbing done throughout the process. I was very easily able to load six times without any effort at all. The 7^th bullet also seated very easily. However, this time, the primer fired but failed to ignite the powder charge. Upon inspection, found the flashhole completely clogged with hard crud which wasn’t really a surprise since Rem Kleanbore is a dirty primer.

Nevertheless, I was quite impressed with the Hornady SST-ML (only tried the 250gr bullet) performance in terms of both superior ease of loading and accuracy, as far as the use in conjunction with 777 pellets is concerned.

I would like to think that such ability to quickly/easily load 3-4 times is ample under field conditions and will suit the needs of many folks who may opt for the use of pellets.

How the bullet will perform on game is an entirely different validation question......

[terrym]

3 of us tried that bullet in our smokeless Savages and they tumbled badly and didn't group worth a damn. They did great in front of 777 in a conventional BP gun though.

[jim]

3 of us tried that bullet in our smokeless Savages and they tumbled badly and didn't group worth a damn. They did great in front of 777 in a conventional BP gun though.

My hunting partner had a hard time finding a bullet /sabot combo for his Savage, as they seem to be a little over-bored.

[terrym]

My hunting partner had a hard time finding a bullet /sabot combo for his Savage, as they seem to be a little over-bored.

I shoot 245gr Barnes and they are great in my gun.

[oaknut]

The SST-ML shoots great out of my traditions as well providing the charge isn't too much. The grouping is excellent but bullet performance on game left me wanting more. I like dumping as much energy on target as possible and the 300grain sst flew right through both shoulders of the last buck. I have ordered some new goodies from PR will see how they do.

[Big Jack]

3 of us tried that bullet in our smokeless Savages and they tumbled badly and didn't group worth a damn. They did great in front of 777 in a conventional BP gun though.

I had good success when I used a different sabot with the bullet. You can push them hard as well.

[jaycee]

3 of us tried that bullet in our smokeless Savages and they tumbled badly and didn't group worth a damn. They did great in front of 777 in a conventional BP gun though.

My hunting partner had a hard time finding a bullet /sabot combo for his Savage, as they seem to be a little over-bored.

In my Savage ,using the 250 grn. Hornady - 50 cal. bullet- .452 dia., I discarded the red sabot that came with them and went with the black magnum sabot, tighter fit and the gun is amazingly accurate with 42.5 grn. of SR 4759 powder.

[Big Jack]

In my Savage ,using the 250 grn. Hornady - 50 cal. bullet- .452 dia., I discarded the red sabot that came with them and went with the black magnum sabot, tighter fit and the gun is amazingly accurate with 42.5 grn. of SR 4759 powder.

This is exactly what I did right down to the charge. Did you happen to chrony it?

[MikePal]

I would like to think that such ability to quickly/easily load 3-4 times is ample under field conditions and will suit the needs of many folks who may opt for the use of pellets.

The problem is that most of the guys I know found,thru lots of range time, that 100 gr of T7 was too much powder for the bullet and opened up our groups to much. So it's a trade off.

I use pre-meaured fast loaders for hunting , so it's a moot point, I just pour my 80gr T7 (loose powder) and push bullet with the ball starter in a single motion, never see/handle the powder in the field during a fast load.

[tracker]

The majority of reviews (and there are numerous of those out there) highly praise the sabot/bullet combo. A few weeks ago, I used the 250gr bullet in front of BH209 powder (rifle was a TC Triumph). The bullet grouped extremely well and I was able to very easily load/shoot around 13 rounds with just a dry swab at one point that wasn’t actually necessary.

Today, I took a friend to the range to zero his newly acquired CVA Optima. Being brand new to muzzle loading, he chose the convenience of pellets (777) behind the Hornady. We only had time enough to shoot out to 50 yards. But the powder/bullet combo (with Rem Kleanbore primer) shot extremely well with all the impact holes touching each other in a tight group. We shall see what happens out to 100 yards on our next trip.

Anyway, we allowed the barrel/breech plug to remain fouled with no swabbing done throughout the process. I was very easily able to load six times without any effort at all. The 7^th bullet also seated very easily. However, this time, the primer fired but failed to ignite the powder charge. Upon inspection, found the flashhole completely clogged with hard crud which wasn’t really a surprise since Rem Kleanbore is a dirty primer.

Nevertheless, I was quite impressed with the Hornady SST-ML (only tried the 250gr bullet) performance in terms of both superior ease of loading and accuracy, as far as the use in conjunction with 777 pellets is concerned.

I would like to think that such ability to quickly/easily load 3-4 times is ample under field conditions and will suit the needs of many folks who may opt for the use of pellets.

How the bullet will perform on game is an entirely different validation question......

We tried same bullet in same gun with white hots and found that we could only shoot 2 shots before swabbing. The third shot was nearly impossible to load.