What's the difference between the Hornady SST and ELD-X (factory loads)? I shoot a Sako Finnlight 85 in 7mm mag and it loves the Hornady SST 154gr at the range, but I haven't been impressed with the results in the field. I'm thinking about trying the 162gr ELD-X and Barnes 160gr TSX.

I can't tell you the technical difference between eld-x and sst but I've hunted and killed deer with both in 6.5 Creedmoor.

I didn't care for the results on the sst's. Killed two bucks with the sst's. Both were less than 100 yds when shot and both were dead within 40 yards. Neither bled a drop. In my opinion the bullet expanded/ frangmented too quickly at that range and didn't exit, thus no blood. On one deer no problem because he never left my sight. The other one ran into a briar thicket. Had to walk circles to find him which was not fun.

I've had better results with the eld-x at longer and shorter ranges. Good pass throughs with expansion. Dead deer with blood trail if needed. I'm sticking with eld-x again this year.

I've hunted with Barnes tsx in a 300 mag with good results. I would hesitate to hunt with it either.

I can only speak of the SST bullets. I shot them in my 270 Win. Those things left the best blood trail of anything that I've ever shot.

Nosler ballistic tips for blood and partitions for penetration. I shot one deer with 308 and 165 sst and had not blood trail at all, deer went about 20 yds into some plantation and briars. I'll stay with nosler.

I don't need blood trails when deer are dead within 20 yds. I killed an elk with the eldX and plenty of deer with ttsx. Both way outperform the SST by a mile.

Don't shoot a ballistic tip. Shoot something like a partition, accubond, or ttsx.

If you only new the deer I've killed personally with bt's you would say wow! Never had a single issue in 20 or so years with multiple calibers.

I wouldn't shoot ballistic silvertips again, if they were free. They were terrible. I much prefer the sst to them.

I have a couple of boxes of Winchester Silvertips I'd be willing to trade with anyone. My gun doesn't like Winchester ammo. That's a 30:06 caliber too.

I am not sure if the jackets are the same but the ELD-x has a “special” heat shielded tip to keep the bullet from deforming for long range shots.
Z
Never shot an ELD-X however have shot deer with both the SST and Amax with no issue.

I have shot 2 of them with SST in my 270. exit wounds on both. the first was right at 100 yards. i hit her high shoulder and right through a vertebra. decent exit wound but she fell in her tracks because that entire vertebra exploded. i mean 100% mush. exit wound must have been the base of the bullet. it wasn't huge.

2nd deer was around 65 yards. hit behind the shoulder. bullet entered between 2 ribs. exit wound busted through a rib. tall grass looked like you sprayed it with a blood fire hose. I found a piece of lung the size of a golf ball on the ground about 5 yards beyond where I had shot it. deer went about 15 yards and dropped.

exit hole was about the size of a golf ball. blood everywhere.

Bullets are funny things. 1 bullet may do great if you hit the shoulder blade, and another fail. but then the same 2 bullets with a good shot behind the shoulder may yield opposite results. thus, the variety of anecdotal stories.

different situations can call for different bullets. I use Core-Lokt in y 30-30 because I only take it into the woods where there is brush vs the open fields for my 270. need a tougher bullet for brush.

The bullet itself looks totally different and by the info on the projectile box the sst=.460bc and eldx=.538bc.These are 270win data by the way. Sst= 130gr,cannelure,bright red polymer tip and different profile compared to the eldx=145gr,non cannelure,dark red tip and more sleek profile. Havent cut one down the middle yet but from the picture on the box the sst looks more like an interlock with a polymer tip when deformed compared to the eldx.

SST’s are one of the worst hunting bullets IMO. I do like the ELD-X though.

The eldX is designed to run and open at slower speeds than barnes ttsx. Barnes has to have speed. EldX does not.

Yea me too. With Nosler's. Now... I've never shot Winchester's ballistic tip so I can't speak to that.

I couldn't tell you how many I've killed with 7mm 140 Nosler BT in 7mm-08, 7-30 Waters and/or .308/30-06 165 Nosler BT.

Let's just call it a train car load.

Winchester ballistic silvertips are Nosler Ballistic tips with a moly costing.

I have blown up a 338 cal. 200 gr ballistic tip on a deer. Shot him in the shoulder at 20 yards and bullet completely fragmented. Had to chaser him down and put another shot into the boiler room.

I've shot quite a few with a bt again, but quit shooting them and won't go back. I don't want my bullet to blow up. had it happen on a decent 7 pt and got horrible penetration. killed him though.

At those speeds they are probably pretty wonderful whitetail bullets. I think the people who have problems with them are the ones that try to push them way too fast out of magnum rifles.

I would say that is a safe assumption...

Or shot it in the arse.

I had a sst 139 grain bullet blow up on a doe with a shoulder shot with a 7mm08 superformance at 70 yards. My cousin just shot a nice 8 with his 7 mag with 139 grain sst superformance. He shotvit in the heart and it didn't exit. It dropped the deer and left a softball size hole at the impact. This year I ordered a couple of boxes of the eldx's for my 300 win mag in 200 grain and some 150's for my 7mm08. I ended up liking how they grouped so I ordered a custom turret for my vortex viper on my 300. I shot a 8 at 200 yards and dropped it with the 300. It made a nice exit and the rib cage was damaged pretty bad. I shot a doe the next week at 60 yards through the lungs with the 7mm08 and it ran about 50 yards and had a bigger exit hole than what the 300 made. And it was equally as devastating on the deer when I skinned it out. They are my new favorite bullet.