Hornady 30cal 125 sst v 110 vmax

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Jmc
.17 HMR
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Hornady 30cal 125 sst v 110 vmax

Post by Jmc »

Hi all just seeing if anyone has tried eather of these projectiles was going to try some on foxes.
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The Raven
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Re: Hornady 30cal 125 sst v 110 vmax

Post by The Raven »

I’ve used the Hornady 130gr NON-SSTs in 308W and they did well. Haven’t tried anything lighter than that.

I’ve found the 130gr SSTs work a treat in 270W though. :)

Let us know how you go, I’d be interested to know the results.


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Cammo
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Re: Hornady 30cal 125 sst v 110 vmax

Post by Cammo »

Just loaded some Barnes 110gr Tac-TX in my 300 Blackout but have yet to hunt with them. The write up on them is favourable but they are not cheap.

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Tony Z
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Re: Hornady 30cal 125 sst v 110 vmax

Post by Tony Z »

I use both exclusively in my two 7.62x39s. The 125 SST at around 2600+fps. The 110 Vmax, not sure as i haven't chronographed them. I also use the 110s in the Apache and 300 AAC and have tried the SSTs in both as well.

The 110s in my view are a bullet that is about placement. Heart shots and head shots, body shots not so much on bigger game where surface wounds can and do occur. The 110s can be extremely destructive on meat hence why i use them to head shoot deer in daylight hours. The 125s for shoulder/neck shots never failed me yet on any size hog but for bigger deer i do prefer to use a 308 and 150 SST. On wild dogs, as with your foxes, the 110 is the pick. The SST will do just fine as well but it will most likely exit.
Accuracy wise, the 110s in all four rifles are bug hole accurate and are limited only by the 2-7× scopes all of them wear. The 125 SSTs are sub inch accurate at a 100 yards which is very good for a bullet with a cannelure.
BUT and this is a big but, at higher velocity like from a 308 or 300 WSM, the 110s fail up close. They just explode on the surface and the hogs, or deer, not that i do, will run off badly wounded. The 125s are way better.


The pic below is from my Howa Mini 7.62x39 at 200 yards with both pills and CFE BLK. The SST group is impressive but not really representative as that size is more the norm at a 100 yds. In my view it is a one off and I would expect around double as the norm.
Of interest is the POI, identical to 200 yards yet two different bullets at two completely different velocities but exact same powder charge. The other Ruskie is the same as is the Apache. The 300 AAC is the wild child, just simply no real grunt (pressure) to launch either to be effective for much. Just a toy in my view but with the 110s, not that i have, they should work OK on mid sized hogs and dogs at close up ranges.
The mini has a 1 in 17 twist Krieger barrel 24 inches long. The slow twist barrel i used in my old 30 BR Hunterclass rifle. The key in my opinion to get the 125 TNT and 110 Vmax to really sing is a slower twist rate. But that is irrelevant for killing hogs and deer, or a fox, it just means you can place the bullet precisely.

Don't over look the 125 TNT. They are super BR type accurate and explode crows like a hand grenade and do hold together for hard bodied animals like hogs and deer.
As a footnote, the TNT jacket is hexagonal internally, not cylindrical like other bullets. The point being the jacket locks the core like a spanner on a nut and has no slippage and is one factor as to why they are so accurate and why they were once used as a standby for 30 cal rifles in Hunter BR when good custom bullets were in short supply. I have shot multiple groups under a half inch at 200 yards with them with a number of BR rifles over the years. In the low point ones at a hundred where of all the bullets in all the barrels i have ever owned over many years, the 125 TNT has produced the smallest group at a hundred yards at around 61 thou. They are very underated and unknown to most and kill well beyond their original hype of just blowing up varmints. The only caution is at 308 power in 10 twist barrels, they do come apart in a blue haze when really pushed hard. Ruskie speed is perfect, but ideally 3000 plus fps in a 14 twist or slower. Fast twist and fast speed kills accuracy, or the bullet, which is unfortunate. This is where the 110 Vmax does shine, you can spin them up over 3600 fps and still hold a group with them. Why or how, i have no idea but i have read of them being used in US Outlaw Hunterclass, an unlimited rifle Hunterclass at 300 yards only, in 300 WSMs using this bullet at 4000 fps. Albeit with 19 twist barrels.
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