New Hornady SST bullet for Grendel

[wiuprof]

I got an e-mail from Hornady yesterday featuring new products and this caught my eye. Thanks, in part, to some forum members for getting the ball rolling. This bullet will probably replace the 129 SST as my preferred antelope projectile in my 260 Rem. and two 6.5-284's that I use out west.

http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5mm-.264-123-gr-SST-Grendel-LBC-Lapua

We'll see how it does in my 20" and 16" Grendels as well. I'm guessing it might be a little long for that case, as it is probably the spitting image of the 123 A-max. I get 2530 fps out of that bullet in my 20" upper with AA-2520. I always thought a 105-110 SST would be an ideal hunting weight for the Grendel. I can't wait to try some of these.

[Drifter]

Good to see progress. Thanks for the link.


Now for the questions...

When is expected availability?

Is the group buy going to happen?

Which retailer(s) will get the initial shipments?

[leopard6.5]

They ( Hornady) are also listing loaded ammo: http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5-Grendel-123-gr-SST

These are priced right at what they have the 123 Amax's listed at retail( Amax $29.73, SST $29.68) so hopefully we'll be able to get them at around $20.00 per box of loaded ammo which is what I'm getting them( Amax) for now.

Lee

[Y85]

now that is some welcome news -- any idea where to get the loaded ammo?

[Whelenon]

That's goog news. The 123 SST is very welcome addition. It should prove to be great hunting round.

[KentuckyBuddha]

I can't wait to try those! A smaller faster bullet as the OP suggested with an even better BC would be something else...can you imagine how fast that would be. The inside 400 yard ballistics would be something else too!


I hope they come out with a blend of superformance powder for 6.5 grendel as well!

[michaelmew]

When is expected availability?

Is the group buy going to happen?

Which retailer(s) will get the initial shipments?

Bob, can you give any updates that answer these questions? The link Leopard posted shows loaded cartidges, but I thought they were just doing bullets first. Can you shed some light on that as well?

Thanks

-mm

[leopard6.5]

mm- Here's the link for just the bullets in case anyone wants to see it: http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5mm-....ndel-LBC-Lapua

Lee

[Bigfoot]

I'll be loading for a 260 very soon, curious what the recommended impact velocity is on the top end.

Anybody know?

[JASmith]

I do not know for sure, but the initial response I got from one of Hornady's marketing folks suggests that the recommended impact velocity range will be about the same as the rest of the SST line.

This conflicts with the initial announcement that the bullet is designed for 'Grendel Velocities' so there is some mystery. I hope we can get some clarification soon because the standard SST minimum velocity will adversely affect the maximum range over which one should use the Grendel on medium game.

One hopes that Hornady will clarify in the next few weeks. In the meantime, let's get the bullet some exercise on varmint hogs at distance in the Grendel and up close with the 260. That experience will go a long way toward calibrating the Hornady recommendations.

[Bigfoot]

I'm puzzled too, why make a bullet that's so similar in performance to an existing product? Seems to me that Hornadys marketing would want a slightly different bullet ie: either lighter or stiffer to attract other shooters applications yet Hornady markets it as a Grendel specific bullet.

I've seen them do this before with the 7.62x39 specific 123g V-MAX that they turned into a SST but in that case they dropped the V-MAX. Will they drop the 6.5mm 123 A-MAX too?

[LRRPF52]

The AMAX is meant to be a target bullet. People have been using it as a hunting bullet with great success, but it was meant as a paper puncher at long range.

The SST is specifically meant as a hunting bullet, with premium features, at an affordable price. It is a very welcome addition to the Grendel line-up. It will be interesting to see if it adds additional terminal performance for the Grendel over the 123gr AMAX. Bullet construction says that it should.

[Drifter]

I do not know for sure, but the initial response I got from one of Hornady's marketing folks suggests that the recommended impact velocity range will be about the same as the rest of the SST line.

This conflicts with the initial announcement that the bullet is designed for 'Grendel Velocities' so there is some mystery. I hope we can get some clarification soon because the standard SST minimum velocity will adversely affect the maximum range over which one should use the Grendel on medium game.

If I remember correctly, the SST supposedly gets reliable expansion down to 1600 fps. Based on the listed BC, and a general MV of 2500 fps, that equates to ~575 yards (with ~700 ft-lbs of energy)

The 123gr A-max actually does reasonably well at longer distances, and I believe it will expand at velocities even less than 1600 fps. But the issue with the A-max can be inadequate penetration at closer range, and the jacket and core are more likely to separate at higher impact velocities. The SST's Interlock design should alleviate this issue, while still performing reasonably well for longer distances.

Don't know about the rest of you, but it doesn't seem easy finding a hunting bullet that shoots anywhere near as well as the 123gr A-max. The Nosler 120 BT isn't difficult to dial in, but it doesn't have an impressive BC, and I think it needs 1800 or 1900 fps to expand. Barnes TTSX's can be dialed in, but they also have a relatively low BC and high expansion threshold.

The tricky part of bullet design is getting performance on game both near and far (expansion at long distance, while holding together and penetrating at close range). The SST is Hornady's answer to this, and the 123gr version is potentially a very fitting match for the Grendel.

With a little luck, load data from the A-max might carry over to the new SST for any particular barrel, and it would be extra nice if there was little variation in POI between the two. The A-max is arguably the easiest bullet to load for regarding accuracy in the Grendel, and perhaps the new SST will share similar traits.

[sneaky one]

The 123 sst , It will be fine as the non- bonded unit, testing it, as far as on game performance is concerned will find out all the facts. The I bond needs to be a bit lighter tho--due to less lead loss thru the game animal, from my 107-thru 115 gr. tests. That's the best sweet spot on this one. I've been testing these for a while now. The GMx is the lead free option. If a perfect 100 can be made... that is the one! I am lucky that I can turn any bullet down to fit my needs-etc. Many of you can find a way also to do as I do on this item.

[JASmith]

Check http://www.hornady.com/bullets and scroll down to SST and the velocities are listed: "Recommended muzzle velocity range: 2000 to 3300 fps."

What is not clear is how much slower the bullet can be and still properly expand. The rep I talked with answered in a way that suggested it is not much slower than the recommended minimum muzzle velocity of 2000 fps.

I really would like to see 1600 fps as the number since that gets a lot of range and correlates very nicely with the minimum velocity needed to get Hornady's HITS score in the medium game category.

We'll learn a lot when we start testing at distances where the velocity drops to 1400-1800 fps.