Speer Bullets thread

[General RE LEE]

I need to buy some. Midway has them sometimes for cheap.

 

[FLS]

I like them And started reloading with them.
I ve used the 150 Mag Tip in my .300 Savage model 99.It performs well at modest speeds. Still have a couple of boxes left.
The 300 grain hollow point is my 45/70 favorite bullet. I’ve killed several big deer and hogs with it.
The 165 grain flat based spitzer is really good in the 308.
The 87 grain TNT launched out of a 25-06 will turn a coyote inside out.

 

[BLJ]

Hoping to try some 200 Hot Cors in the 308 soon.

 

[gerry35]

I picked up 3 of the older yellow boxes of the 358 250 gr Hot Cor at an auction a couple of years ago for about one third of the price so had to get them. In my 35 Whelen I usually load the premium 200 and 225 gr bullets but am going to try these bullets with some CFE 223. Whenever we get our grizzly season back I might go old school and use these.

The 180 gr Hot Cor in 358 is a tough little bullet too, have some of those left over from when I had my BLR 358 Win, maybe next time I carry the Whelen for black bear I'll load some up.

 

[houser52]

Ordered some 130gr. Speer Hot-Cor on Wednesday to try in my
7-08. Powder Valley had a pretty good price on them.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I picked up 3 of the older yellow boxes of the 358 250 gr Hot Cor at an auction a couple of years ago for about one third of the price so had to get them. In my 35 Whelen I usually load the premium 200 and 225 gr bullets but am going to try these bullets with some CFE 223. Whenever we get our grizzly season back I might go old school and use these.

The 180 gr Hot Cor in 358 is a tough little bullet too, have some of those left over from when I had my BLR 358 Win, maybe next time I carry the Whelen for black bear I'll load some up.

The 180 hot cors shoot great out of my .35 Whelen. I can put 10 shots inside a 4” square at 100 with those.

 

[bluetick]

I’ve used 165 gr BTSP out of my .30-06 For twenty years with great success. Im not much for experimenting with different loads and quickly found this load worked very well so it became my mainstay. 58 gr IMR 4350. The price is right too for a box of bullets.

 

[gerry35]

I’ve used 165 gr BTSP out of my .30-06 For twenty years with great success. Im not much for experimenting with different loads and quickly found this load worked very well so it became my mainstay. 58 gr IMR 4350. The price is right too for a box of bullets.

The classic 30-06 load that just plain works! I used that powder too almost exclusively with either 165 or 180 gr bullets.

 

[menhaden_man]

Just bought some of the new impact bullets. Haven’t tried them yet but I wager they shoot great with 42.5 grains of Varget in my 308.

 

[35WhelenAI]

I picked up 3 of the older yellow boxes of the 358 250 gr Hot Cor at an auction a couple of years ago for about one third of the price so had to get them. In my 35 Whelen I usually load the premium 200 and 225 gr bullets but am going to try these bullets with some CFE 223. Whenever we get our grizzly season back I might go old school and use these.

The 180 gr Hot Cor in 358 is a tough little bullet too, have some of those left over from when I had my BLR 358 Win, maybe next time I carry the Whelen for black bear I'll load some up.

The 250 gr Speer Hot Cor has been down the barrel of my 35 AI more than a few times in the past few decades. Did some recent loading with Alliant 2000-MR and the Speer data for the 250 gr Hot Cor. Measured 2628 fps using a couple grains up from the starting charge weight they recommend for the standard Whelen over the Magneto-speed. There was no measureable case head expansion and no traditional signs of pressure. I can see the potential to reach their published velocity safely.


For the 200 gr Hot Cor in a .308, should do well at that speed. I shot a muley buck years ago at 100 yds broadside with a 300 Win Mag and the 200 gr Hot Cor loaded to 2820 fps MV. Made the most destructive mess inside an animal's vital cavity I've ever seen and a tangerine size exit hole after nicking a rib going in.

 

[Weldor]

I just ran through Elk and Deer season shooting 140 soft points 6.5 prc. Both worked just fine. They have been hard to get down here. I like the looks of the new impact. I still have Deep Curl in 308 somewhere.

 

[gerry35]

I have some 277 150 gr Deep Curl bullets too now that you mention it. Should be very similar as a Federal Fusion bullet. Looking forward to trying them out too.

 

[49ereric]

I bought 8mm hot core 200 grain when there was a rebate years several ago.
loaded them in my 8mm/338 for deer season but all I got was a dog that was chasing a deer. Haven’t loaded any in the 8x57 yet.
bought 3000 125 grain tnt 30 cal when there was a rebate for plinking or running dogs.
using them in reduced .308 blue dot loads and some full power loads with 748.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

I load a minimum charge of IMR4350 with the 160btsp out of a 7RM just for plinking and short range whitetails. Shoots about 2550 and prints some of the best groups I've seen out of the gun. It's a fantastic simple bullet

 

[gerry35]

Just bought some of the new impact bullets. Haven’t tried them yet but I wager they shoot great with 42.5 grains of Varget in my 308.

View attachment 649130View attachment 649129

Please let us know how it shoots for you. Great looking bullet.

 

[saltfork]

I always liked Speers, and still shoot a few. One of my favorites was the 130 gr HP from a .308. Fast killer on whitetails. Same for the 115 gr HP from a. 284 win. Worked really well on deer and pigs mostly short ranges within 150 yards or so. I shot a few deer with the 165 gr hotcor out of a .300 win mag, but thought maybe it was a little too stout, for deer anyway. I also had good luck with the old 120 gr boattail from a. 25-06.

 

[tops911]

Speer used to be "the Bullet" and really support reloaders; however, it does not seem that way anymore. I rarely see more than a couple of boxes of bullets at various different stores. I was that way long before the covid stupidity. I actually thought they stopped all together supporting reloading. When I started reloading in the 1970s I'd see shelves full of Speer bullets and maybe a couple boxes of Noslers, now it's the other way, lots of Noslers and maybe a couple boxes of Speer.

 

[Zig4648]

Speer bullets are great for whitetail etc, thin skinned animals. They are not bonded so they open extremely quickly. So penetrating a thick skin black bear I would use penetrating bullet.

 

[gerry35]

Speer used to be "the Bullet" and really support reloaders; however, it does not seem that way anymore. I rarely see more than a couple of boxes of bullets at various different stores. I was that way long before the covid stupidity. I actually thought they stopped all together supporting reloading. When I started reloading in the 1970s I'd see shelves full of Speer bullets and maybe a couple boxes of Noslers, now it's the other way, lots of Noslers and maybe a couple boxes of Speer.

Someone mentioned a few years ago that Speer's parent company was using them to make bullets for everyone else and ignoring the reloading market. They made a lot of stuff for Federal and probably the military too. Under their new management it slowly seems to be getting better for us who reload. When bullets show up here they sell out quickly so I jump on them when I see them.

 

[gerry35]

Speer bullets are great for whitetail etc, thin skinned animals. They are not bonded so they open extremely quickly. So penetrating a thick skin black bear I would use penetrating bullet.

They have worked well for bear and moose too so I wouldn't hesitate to use them.