Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .375 Speer 285gr Grand Slam $$$

I got a .375 Ruger Alaskan on the way so I went to the local Wholesales Sport to look for some bullets. I was shocked to see the Speer 285gr Grand Slam at $66 a box! I got some 250gr TTSX for cheaper than that!!

I've had good results in tests with the Grand Slam in my Whelen and don't remember paying a premium for them. It's just a cup and core bullet with a stiff jacket, why is it so expensive?

The 358 Grand Slam was a dual core still the new ones are all one piece cores. Not sure why they are so expensive but I think there are far better than the new Grand Slams especially for the money. The TTSX will be good I'm sure, I had great results with both the 260 and 300 gr Accubonds in my Ruger. The Accubond became my bullet of choice after the Speer's were made cheaper

You getting ready for Africa?
There's nothing in this land mass that the 270 Hornady won't kill at $35 a box.

That's my point. I wasn't specifically looking for those bullets but that's what they had on the shelf. Since they are not monometal, bonded, no partition or fancy plastic tip why the premium price for a cup and core compared to the other similar offerings (like the 270gr Hornady)?

At one time there were Tungsten filled bullets. Tungsten has gone really pricey.

At one time maybe but not anymore.

Because the people buying them can afford them.
Mercedes is the same steel and plastic Volkswagen uses.
They figure that it's a bullet made for hunting big game mostly African. Therefore is going to be purchased by people is salary range that 66 dollars is a tip after dinner.

Or the 250 SGK at a similar price point.

The 285 Speer GS did not group as well as the 260 Nosler or some of the 300 gr. bullets in my Ruger Alaskan.
Those that made the best groups were the 300 gr. Kodiak and 300 gr. Hornady.
Very best group came with the 250 Sierra but I didn't buy the 375 Ruger to shoot that light of a bullet since I shoot that weight in my Whelen.
Just my findings..... YMMV..

not directed at anyone in particular, but if you are looking for economy, the .375 is not the path to get there.

if i remember correctly, the original grand slams had a core comprised of two different lead alloys, the front being softer than the rear. later grand slams have a single core and redesigned jacket.

Great bullet... in 243 for deer. But running at most medium bore velocities I'll take a standard cup and core... interlock at most for everything on this land mass.
Meaning, obviously, there are extremes they break the rule but they would be so fast outside the norm as to not be considered.
A GS run at max from a weatherby at max smelling distance into the shoulder of a Yukon moose... perhaps.
But 99% of what gets killed on this side of the Atlantic can be done with the soft point round nose.

IIRC, Speer made both a "Grand Slam" and an "African Grand Slam." The "African" version was the tungsten core version.

And it was a solid, not an expanding bullet.

Not worth the price at all. I do have a bunch of the older "dual" core ones, but no way I would pay that price for the new style. A Hornady SP will do the same job at half the price.

These 285's have really long noses. I calculated I would have to trim my wildcat's case back, shorter than 2.5 inches to use them in a standard M-98 Magazine. The 376 Steyr is already there.

I think a 375 Weatherby or a 375 Ruger in a long action, would make a better fit for this torpedo.