Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters ELD-x vs Hornady SST

The thread about the ELD-x prompted me to start a new thread. It seems there are a lot of people who weigh in on the ELD-x and many more who swear by the Interlock. Myself, I have never been let down by the flat base Interlock on game (whitetails, mule deer, antelope, and a handful of elk) in 30-06 and .270 WCF.

Since all the cool kids are infatuated with high BC bullets these days thought I'd try something new and spent time this past winter working up loads with the SST in .270 WCF (140gr/150gr) and 30-06 (180gr). Found accuracy nodes for all aforementioned and pleased with how they work punching paper.

As an aside, I have been really put off lately by Nosler's pricing and though I like Partitions and Accubonds their price points are getting a little out of control.

My question is this: given the design of the SST vs the ELD-x shouldn't the SST be a better bullet on game, theoretically? It seems the SST has the construction of the Interlock jacket along with the plastic tip and boat tail of the ELD-x. Seems like the SST combines the best features of the Interlock and the ELD-x.

I think you are missing something here.

The ELD-x IS an interlock design.

The only real difference in the ELD-X - and the SST bullets are in terms of downrange ballistics.

The ELD-x bullets have more of a match nose profile which give them a Higher B.C. and they also have the translucent red Heat shield tip of the ELD match slugs.

Given bullets of the same caliber and weight, the SST and ELDX bullets perform the same on game animals from all the reports I have heard. They both are a soft, non bonded, quick expanding bullet more along the lines of the Ballistic tip hunting bullets. Just as with the Interlocks ,if you want them to hold together and penetrated consistently, it is best to stick with the heavier weights for caliber and try to keep the impact velocities under 3K FPS

I've had issues with SSTs blowing up, whereas the ELD-X (on non-bone shots) seems to hold up a bit better. Interlock has always been solid and analogous to the old Remington Core-Lokt on the whitetail I've shot.

Both are really just plastic-tipped C'n'C bullets, so I wouldn't put them up against anything bonded and expect better, or even equal, performance.

I think the newer SST's are probably better than days of old, although the older ones were okay for me if used sanely.

I'd heard the SST's received a toughening up, while the Interlock of the ELD X ain't much of one. While the ELD X has worked fine for me, it isn't exactly a tough bullet either. I'd like to try some SST's again, just for grins.

I agree with the OP, Nosler has probably pushed alot of folks into the Hornady camp as of late.

Any thoughts on whether the cannelure ring helps hold the SST together as compared to the ELD-x not having the cannelure? The cross section images of the SST makes me think the cannelure should help hold the SST together better than the ELD-x.

Good post Scotty. I'll be keeping an eye on how the SST's work for you on bigger game like elk. I was thinking along the lines of the OP and thought the SST would be better on game, since it is basically an interlock with a poly tip. Around here, they are only $33.49/box for the most recent ones I bought for my new 270's. I've yet to try them in my fwt, but the new std wt likes them just fine. Also, when guys talk about bullets working on game, I don't think about deer, as I've seen just about everything work on deer. They are actually quite easily killed. Elk on the other hand, is an entirely different subject. But like the OP, I've had great results from the standard ol interlock. As they say, they are the "poor man's partition". And yes, screw Nosler until they pull their heads out of their azzes. I will not buy any more, unless I find them super cheap at a hole in the wall mom and pop shop where they are on a clearance rack.

Have posted this before, but here goes:

The first SSTs were indeed too "soft," apparently because Hornady (like Nosler not long before them with Ballistic Tips) didn't realize how much adding a plastic tip would affect expansion. But also like Nosler, Hornady figured out how toughen them, probably both by using a harder core alloy and modifying the jackets.

About 2018 I went on a South Texas hunt for deer and pigs with several other gun writers and industry people. The rifles used were Franchi Momentums in .308 Winchester, and the ammo Fiochhi factory loaded with 150-grain SSTs. The advertised muzzle velocity was the typical 2800+, and all together we killed 20 animals, including both a whitetail buck and a boar weighing right around 200 pounds. The buck was quartering toward the hunter, and the bullet entered the chest and angled through, exiting in front of the opposite ham. The boar was shot though both shoulders and the spine. NONE of the bullets were recovered, and the longest shot was around 150 yards.

Now, the .308's moderate muzzle velocity is one reason it performs so reliably on big game, but I was still impressed that all the bullets exited.

OK. Generally speaking (same impact velocity and same bullet weight) which bullet holds together better; the SST or the ELD-x? I understand bullet weights are a little more limited in ELD-x and don't generally have the exact weight equivalent in SST.

We could compare the .308 diameter/caliber 178gr ELD-x and the 180gr SST.
We could also compare the .277 diameter/caliber 145gr ELD-x and the 150gr SST.
We could also compare the .264 diameter/caliber 143gr ELD-x and the 140gr SST.

Which is a tougher bullet in these cases? The ELD-x or the SST.

Thank you MD for your great input.

I recall a young spike cull buck i shot head on with a 130 SST out of a 270 WSM down in Alabama. Of course instant DRT. Bullet entered left shoulder and did exit in at least dozens of fragments. Both hams completely ruined. Nothing edible remained to be donated, not even a few amino acids.
I have not shot an SST since then. I much prefer the InterLock in my 270 and 708, 308 and 30:06, having shot many animals from impala to Zebra to Kudu in addition to dozens of deer. Alway great hold together performance. While not a total fanboy of the interLock, I do reload and hunt with TTSX and Acubonds. (I grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska and knew both Joyce and Steve Hornady, having hunted with them as a teenager)

What do you estimate the impact velocity to have been on that 130 SST out of your 270 WSM?

Who really know, but likely 3100 plus and obviously waaay too much but still from a book.

Where lies the distinction between old and new SST? I killed several deer a few seasons ago with a 165 SST out of a 300WM at 3000 fps. An accurate and mild load out of my 700P. All bullets disintegrated, but exited deer. All shots on deer were between 100 and 225 yards. Ditto with average sized pigs on bullet performance.

I just loaded those rounds that year, I think 3 years ago, but the boxes of SST had been around for several years before I loaded them in those rounds.

The ones I had issues with in my 6.8SPC were from back in 2014, factory Hornady loads. I do have a few boxes for 270 Win, but never bothered loading them - given the nail-bomb performance out of the 6.8, I figured faster velocity would make it even worse.

Haven't taken the time to do a comparison in my standard test-media, dry newspaper, but the ELD-X did perform very well on a mule deer hunt in northern New Mexico. My hunting partner and I were both using Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor 143 ELD-X factory loads, again on a hunt with Franchi Momentum rifles. My partner got the first buck at a little over 300 yards, as it angled away. The buck hopped a little, then trotted about 30 yards before falling. We found the bullet in the far shoulder, retaining 74.1% of its weight.

I got my buck a day or so later. It was standing broadside in a patch of Gambel oaks at what turned out to be just exactly 100 yards. The only opening was high on the buck's shoulder, and at the shot he dropped instantly. The bullet broken both shoulders and the spine, and was found under the hide over the far shoulder, retaining 60.2% of its weight.

Again, however, the muzzle velocity wasn't extreme, around 2700 fps--but both were big-bodied bucks. Didn't get to weigh them field-dressed, but the boned meat from mine weighed exactly 100 pounds, and the rule-of-thumb is boned meat weighs about 1/3 of live weight. My partner's buck was noticeably bigger-bodied.

The most accurate bullet I've used on my 270's is the 130 gr SST. At longer range shots its performed perfectly. I did shoot a buck at about 10 yds in the neck. It nearly took its head off. Completely exploded on the exit. Never seen a bigger mess. Would any bullet have done that at 10 yds though?

Hope to report on how a 143ELD-X performs on a nice 6 point bull in October. They shoot tight little groups on paper from my Tikka w/ RL-16.

Thanks for you reply MD. Two questions:
I think I know the answer to this question, however, “What was your opinion on the wound channels?” That is a solid will penetrate well too, but…
What’s been your experience with ELD X bullets?
Thanks again

Using my 260 Rem with 129gr SST on whitetail, I've had ONE exit. Over 10 deer taken, all inside 75 yards. The only exit was heart shot at 25 yds. Broadside shots behind shoulder, through shoulder, neck shot at 30 yards doe facing me......never an exit. All deer died quickly, half were DRT, but interesting we had completely opposite results with only one exit.

i used 130gr Nosler BT with a max load of IMR4320 in my 270 Winchester. lung soup with chunks of heart was on the table for deer less than 100 yards away. the bullet never exited until i shot a doe some 150+/- yards away. the bullet mushroomed perfectly, unfortunately it exited out the deer. there was no throwing meat away because of bloodshot meat.

this is my theory, your free to disagree, but after 12 or so deer, i decided to download the BT. i went from 3100+/-fps to 2800+/-fps on my 270 Win and 130gr Nosler BT and found the BT mushroomed almost perfectly for deer under 100 yards.

it was also used by my 6.5 Creedmoor and 120gr Nosler BT and Superformance powder that goes 2700-2800fps.

i have a 270 Win and 140gr Hornady SST with IMR4350 that goes 2800fps+/-. this is load that i haven't killed a deer, because i went to cast bullets for deer.

so my theory is no matter what caliber, only go to 2800fps for a mushroom bullet. go over 2800fps and you have a frag grenade. leaking the deer (mushroom) you can find it if it runs. putting a hole in the deer and then it fragments and it runs not leaving a blood trail, then your tracker skills better be up to par.

How do you define "a mushroom bullet"?