speer bullets
- Thread starter sako2
- Start date
FrankenMauser
New member
I've seen the .358" 180 gr in action on cow elk.
I could be mis-remembering, but I believe they performed as advertised. ...Even in .358 Win, rather than .35 Remington/.356 Win as Speer intended.
(I think I was quite hungover that morning
and it wasn't my elk -- I just had to help dress and pack it.)
Other than that, I can't recall any other hunters using the Hot Core. Most of the guys I hunt with tend to use more Hornady and Nosler bullets.
I believe the Speer HCs are adequate, and they have been fairly consistently accurate in my testing. We (my 'hunting buddies') just tend to swing another direction. ....Lots of Partitions, Interlocks, and (before Remington got greedy) Core-Lokts for me.
I have some Speer HCs and I'll use them some day. But for now, I'm a big fan of the Nosler Partition.
I could be mis-remembering, but I believe they performed as advertised. ...Even in .358 Win, rather than .35 Remington/.356 Win as Speer intended.
(I think I was quite hungover that morning
and it wasn't my elk -- I just had to help dress and pack it.)Other than that, I can't recall any other hunters using the Hot Core. Most of the guys I hunt with tend to use more Hornady and Nosler bullets.
I believe the Speer HCs are adequate, and they have been fairly consistently accurate in my testing. We (my 'hunting buddies') just tend to swing another direction. ....Lots of Partitions, Interlocks, and (before Remington got greedy) Core-Lokts for me.
I have some Speer HCs and I'll use them some day. But for now, I'm a big fan of the Nosler Partition.
Crankylove
New member
They were 250's. In the left side ribs, through heart and lungs, out the other side. And hungover or not, you still packed that rear quarter out pretty good.
The 250 grain Hot Cor is my go-to bullet for my .358 Winchester. I've taken the cow elk, and antelope with them, and have no complaints. They are accurate, relatively inexpensive, and usually in stock in my local stores.
They seem to expand, and still hold together pretty well, but, in my .358, I'm only pushing them at about 2,225-2,250 fps.
My plan when I purchased the rifle was to also run some Partitions, a couple of Hornadys, and some Barnes through it, but the Hot Cors have done well enough, I've never really had a reason to go to anything else.
I picked up a box of 165 gr bullets to load in my 308 and 30-06 a few years ago when components were hard find. They were the only thing on the shelf.
Accuracy for me was so-so and compared to other brands the BC's were poor. I asked the same question on some gun forums at the time and came to the conclusion that they would work, but there are better options.
I ended up loading them for plinking at the range and never hunted with them.
Accuracy for me was so-so and compared to other brands the BC's were poor. I asked the same question on some gun forums at the time and came to the conclusion that they would work, but there are better options.
I ended up loading them for plinking at the range and never hunted with them.
I used 7mm 175gr mag tip on bull elk tags back in late 70's early 80's and shot few deer with Grand Slam.
We used to have dealer that came to Denver gun shows and he sold bulk Speer bullets mid 90's and I never hunted with them but shot lot of paper/varmint s with Speer 30 cal 165gr hot core. Back then they were little more than Rem bulk price on bullets.
We used to have dealer that came to Denver gun shows and he sold bulk Speer bullets mid 90's and I never hunted with them but shot lot of paper/varmint s with Speer 30 cal 165gr hot core. Back then they were little more than Rem bulk price on bullets.
That one is a good one as long as it's not pushed too fast.
Seems to be fine in 308 Winchester on deer and elk at top velocities (from the 308,) but I have a friend that used them an elk in Oregon from his 300 Win Mag and the bullets came apart and penetration was so-so.
I used them for a while in a Smith Ent M-14 and they were very accurate and I did fine with them killing Nevada, Oregon and Idaho mule deer. My ex-wife also killed a few deer in Nevada with her Spanish Mauser in 308 (1916 variant) but I loaded the ammo at the starting load given in the manual.
It was very accurate from her rifle too.
So if I were to give some advice I'd say it's fine for any 30 cal up to an 30-06, but I would look for a bullet with a heavier/thicker jacket if I wanted to shoot a 300 mag of any type.
Seems to be fine in 308 Winchester on deer and elk at top velocities (from the 308,) but I have a friend that used them an elk in Oregon from his 300 Win Mag and the bullets came apart and penetration was so-so.
I used them for a while in a Smith Ent M-14 and they were very accurate and I did fine with them killing Nevada, Oregon and Idaho mule deer. My ex-wife also killed a few deer in Nevada with her Spanish Mauser in 308 (1916 variant) but I loaded the ammo at the starting load given in the manual.
It was very accurate from her rifle too.
So if I were to give some advice I'd say it's fine for any 30 cal up to an 30-06, but I would look for a bullet with a heavier/thicker jacket if I wanted to shoot a 300 mag of any type.
Last edited:
What cartridge is this bullet for? Grand Slam used to be their premium, controlled expansion big game bullet, and Mag tip was for use in higher velocity applications like 300 mag.
I can't speak to Hot Core but it is a class of hunting bullets that includes the hunting bullets and Mag Tips. I liked the Grand Slams in 7mm mag, but never used for elk.
I can't speak to Hot Core but it is a class of hunting bullets that includes the hunting bullets and Mag Tips. I liked the Grand Slams in 7mm mag, but never used for elk.
When "Hot Cores" first came out in the Sixties, I bought a box, stood one on end and cut it in half, through the middle. I found that despite that Speer implied that the cores were bound to the jackets, the cores were loose...they were only retained by shape of the jacket. However, that was then, this is now...they might have improved/changed them.
Also in the Sixties, I was occasionally buying .44 Speer pistol bullets for reloading. I was frustrated to find that in most boxes of 100, there would be at least one defective bullet in the nature of having a core cut too short and not filling the jacket. Despite the fact that I liked the design of those pistol bullets, I decided to stop buying them and their rifle bullets inasmuch as if there quality control was that bad for their pistol bullets, I reasoned that it was likely no better for their rifle bullets.
Sorry Speer...no Speer bullets for me.
Also in the Sixties, I was occasionally buying .44 Speer pistol bullets for reloading. I was frustrated to find that in most boxes of 100, there would be at least one defective bullet in the nature of having a core cut too short and not filling the jacket. Despite the fact that I liked the design of those pistol bullets, I decided to stop buying them and their rifle bullets inasmuch as if there quality control was that bad for their pistol bullets, I reasoned that it was likely no better for their rifle bullets.
Sorry Speer...no Speer bullets for me.
FrankenMauser
New member
I guess I was mis-remembering, but I don't know that I can blame it on the beer.
I thought you had issues with the 250s being over magazine length in your rifle, and went back to the 180s.
reynolds357
New member
They are good bullets. They will stay together as good as any other bonded bullet of similar construction. I hunted with them almost exclusively until I got hooked on Berger.
Jack O'Conner
New member
I load the 44 caliber 270 grain bullet in my CVA modern muzzle loader rifle for deer. I've NEVER recovered a bullet; penetration has always been 100%. Damage to the chest organs is always impressive, too.
Jack
Jack
I have used the 200 gr HC in 30-06 and 300 WM for Elk.
But, Elk are strange critters and they sometimes don't know when to die.
I was backing a buddy one time on an Elk hunt. He was using a 338 WM with a 225 gr or maybe a 250 gr bullet and I think it was a HOrnady and this was before they had all the different styles now (SST, AB LRAB, Interlock, etc).
He nailed it thru the heart with full penetration and a good hole on the off side. The first shot and the Elk did even act as though it had been hit. He popped off another round and the Elk fell over backwards DRT. Both shots performed as they should have. Distance was maybe 120 yds or so. Chalk it up to Elk as being tough and tenacious.
But, Elk are strange critters and they sometimes don't know when to die.
I was backing a buddy one time on an Elk hunt. He was using a 338 WM with a 225 gr or maybe a 250 gr bullet and I think it was a HOrnady and this was before they had all the different styles now (SST, AB LRAB, Interlock, etc).
He nailed it thru the heart with full penetration and a good hole on the off side. The first shot and the Elk did even act as though it had been hit. He popped off another round and the Elk fell over backwards DRT. Both shots performed as they should have. Distance was maybe 120 yds or so. Chalk it up to Elk as being tough and tenacious.