Hunting with 129 sst Remington 260

[Lab rat]

So I had my first semi custom gun built its on a 700 action (blue printed) 24"lilja barrel Timny trigger
B&C stock started doing some loading for it and my load ended up being 49.1 gr of RL 22 @ 2954 fps
So hunting season comes along and I'm lucky enough to take a deer with my 260 @210 yds (bang flop) everything was great recovered the 129 sst perfect mushroom I'm thinking everything is great so the next deer season come around I shoot another deer at 138 yds behind the front shoulder once again ( bang flop) so I'm thinking if I find another bullet it will be another perfect mushroom well not so much I got some bullet fragments and core separation so I'm wondering if I need to change bullets
Or am I just overthinking this ....thanks for your time and opinion

Other bullets I've tried are Accubonds, swift sorrocos, but none of them were as accurate as the 129 sst

 

[Liberator]

I would keep using them. Two rounds and two dead deer, what's not to like. All bullets will show different expansion at times. I have gone with results for over fifty years and it's worked well for me. Chuck

 

[sea2summit]

Shoot, I use 168 SMKs mostly out of my .308 and I haven't had to shoot a deer twice. I'd go with you're over thinking it for deer.

First two pictures are the same deer just wanted to show entry exit and bonus critter.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

So I had my first semi custom gun built its on a 700 action (blue printed) 24"lilja barrel Timny trigger
B&C stock started doing some loading for it and my load ended up being 49.1 gr of RL 22 @ 2954 fps
So hunting season comes along and I'm lucky enough to take a deer with my 260 @210 yds (bang flop) everything was great recovered the 129 sst perfect mushroom I'm thinking everything is great so the next deer season come around I shoot another deer at 138 yds behind the front shoulder once again ( bang flop) so I'm thinking if I find another bullet it will be another perfect mushroom well not so much I got some bullet fragments and core separation so I'm wondering if I need to change bullets
Or am I just overthinking this ....thanks for your time and option

Other bullets I've tried are Accubonds, swift sorrocos, but none of them were as accurate as the 129 sst

Thats what you get with a cup and core vs a bonded. I have been 100% ok with the bullet fragmenting once it penetrates a few inches - this usually results in a crazy fast, clean ethical kill. If you dont want fragmentation I would recommend using bonded bullets or partitions. I am not a fan of Monos, but those will hold together as well.

 

[26Reload]

Those bucks look like blacktail....everyone knows blacktail are tougher than whitetail........ha...
Bullets did what they were supposed to to....however you range is short and shooting pretty fast for a 260....so maybe a better bullet will be in the works if you plan to keep to the high end of fps....
What about some hammers....been thinking that way myself...

 

[hunter67wa]

If your not shooting LR shoot the AB or partitions. Have you tried gamekings or grandslams?

 

[keithcandler]

129g SST is fragile, the most fragile. 129g Hornady Sp is a tough bullet if your rifle likes them.

120g Sierra flat base is a much tougher bullet than the SST also.

130g Accubond, Barnes 127g long range, 129g Nosler long range were all easy to tune in my rifles in various 6.5s.

If you hit a shoulder with the 129g SST, bullet will stop there much of the time, so quartering shots are a no no.

 

[Idahobuckeye]

I've had a lot of good results shooting my 260 with the sst. Not quite as fast as your going but from 75-500 yards we have used it on antelope and have never had anything go more than 15 yards. I agree if you want a more mushrooming bullet the interlock is a good compromise for price/performance if they shoot justnlose some bc. I've had really great results with eld x bullets as well from 20 yards (bear,cats) to distance over 500. I do however still shoot the sst that's what the gun likes and at the end of the day that's the bullet I can put on the money which imo is what counts for 95% of all bullet performance is plcement. Just my .02

 

[338 dude]

So I had my first semi custom gun built its on a 700 action (blue printed) 24"lilja barrel Timny trigger
B&C stock started doing some loading for it and my load ended up being 49.1 gr of RL 22 @ 2954 fps
So hunting season comes along and I'm lucky enough to take a deer with my 260 @210 yds (bang flop) everything was great recovered the 129 sst perfect mushroom I'm thinking everything is great so the next deer season come around I shoot another deer at 138 yds behind the front shoulder once again ( bang flop) so I'm thinking if I find another bullet it will be another perfect mushroom well not so much I got some bullet fragments and core separation so I'm wondering if I need to change bullets
Or am I just overthinking this ....thanks for your time and opinion

Other bullets I've tried are Accubonds, swift sorrocos, but none of them were as accurate as the 129 sst

 

[J E Custom]

It is not unusual for a non bonded bullet to separate the core from the jacket. Going to a bonded bullet will help depending on the POI.

There are some other bullets in the same weight class that you could try
Like the 129 grain Accubond. (What I shoot in My 260 AI). I would recommend changing bullets only If the jacket separation bothers you.
To help in your decision, weigh the core and the jacket to measure the weight loss of both bullets. If there is little difference then it is a non issue.

Your second shot was closer, there fore the velocity was faster and bullet expansion should be more severe.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Lance clay]

So I had my first semi custom gun built its on a 700 action (blue printed) 24"lilja barrel Timny trigger
B&C stock started doing some loading for it and my load ended up being 49.1 gr of RL 22 @ 2954 fps
So hunting season comes along and I'm lucky enough to take a deer with my 260 @210 yds (bang flop) everything was great recovered the 129 sst perfect mushroom I'm thinking everything is great so the next deer season come around I shoot another deer at 138 yds behind the front shoulder once again ( bang flop) so I'm thinking if I find another bullet it will be another perfect mushroom well not so much I got some bullet fragments and core separation so I'm wondering if I need to change bullets
Or am I just overthinking this ....thanks for your time and opinion

Other bullets I've tried are Accubonds, swift sorrocos, but none of them were as accurate as the 129 sst

Similar experience with sst's on my 6.5. Switching to 140 partition this year. Not the tack 0 as the sst or bt but good for the hunt and dependable with its history.

 

[keithcandler]

Heavy for caliber ssts work for me. 140sst in the 6.5, 154 and 162 in 7mm, and 180 in 30 caliber. 95g sst in the 243 is awesome at 3150.

I like playing with different bullets and powders.

If your rifle will shoot it, the Hornady 129g sp in 6.5 is one heck of a bullet on large deer and hogs.

 

[LVJ76]

Heavy for caliber ssts work for me. 140sst in the 6.5, 154 and 162 in 7mm, and 180 in 30 caliber. 95g sst in the 243 is awesome at 3150.

I like playing with different bullets and powders.

If your rifle will shoot it, the Hornady 129g sp in 6.5 is one heck of a bullet on large deer and hogs.

You are correct on this and also depends on the muzzle velocity.

I use the 139gr SST on my 7mm-08, it leaves the barrel at just over 2,800 and its still going at 1,800 at 500 yds. Key is that the bullet is not pushed at a very high velocity.

Several Mule, Coues, and Javelinas have been knocked down hard with it and with exit wounds because the bullet aint going at a say magnum speed.

For my 7mm Rem Mag I'll be trying the 154gr SST for Coues and the 162gr SST for Mulies, heavier for caliber bullets.

 

[257Tony]

In general, I've found sst's to be one of the best deer bullets around. And no, a deer shoulder won't "stop" an sst. We routinely kill big mule deer with the 123 Amax, which is even softer than the sst, no problem with shoulder shots either.