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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 11,505
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 11,505 |
I use 125 TNTs for target shooting out to 200 yards with my Garand and 03A3. Light recoil, reasonable price and they're more accurate than I can hold. The 125 grain TNTs have a reputation for being good in Garands for 200 yard targets.
Don't blame me. I voted for Trump.
Democrats would burn this country to the ground, if they could rule over the ashes.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,822
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,822 |
Four Speer bullets are mainstays on my bench;
.224 - 70gr RNSP for .223
.308 - 100 gr "Plinker" RN half-jackets in .308, .30-40 Krag, and .30-06 for opportunistic small game hunting and for loads to teach young 'uns and small ladies to shoot.
.308 - 130 gr FP in .30-30, 30-40 Krag, .308 Win, and .30-06 for youth/ladies loads for whitetails and pigs.
.458 - 400 gr FP for .45-70 & .458WM for 1600-1800fps "plinking" loads for "trigger time" and practicing fundamentals.
Other than that, I have a mix of Bergers, Noslers, Hornadys, and Sierras depending on the caliber and anticipated use.
My LGS doesn't carry many Speer offerings. Hornady and Sierra fill 75% of the shelf space with Nosler and Speer behind them.
Ed
"Not in an open forum, where truth has less value than opinions, where all opinions are equally welcome regardless of their origins, rationale, inanity, or truth, where opinions are neither of equal value nor decisive." Ken Howell
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,771
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 4,771 |
150gr Hot Cors were my choice for 30-06 loads maybe 20-25 years ago. Inexpensive at the time, worked really well on whitetails and were accurate enough. Even loaded up a coupla boxes of the 165gr version, when no one around here had any 150s.
At the time I was loading for myself (two rifles) and a few others, so probably went through several hundred bullets over about a 5 year period.
The 150gr Hot Cor proved a tad too tough in my 8x57 loads, as expansion on deer was iffy to nonexistant. Switched to 150gr Sierras, then 125gr Hornady spire points, which is my prefered load. Or will be until I run out of 'em.
If three or more people think you're a dimwit, chances are at least one of them is right.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 141
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 141 |
I really like speer bullets. I use them in a .243win, 280rem, & 30-06. I like the spbt for the .243, and the mag-tip & grand slams for the 280 & 30-06. One thing I have always wondered about is all the dislike for the newer version of the grand slam. Switching to a single lead core instead of 2 different ones is what everybody complains about. But now if you think about it, you have the same bullet as the mag-tip with the exception being, the grand slam has the heel lock, making it "better", maybe. Lots have said they like the mag-tip, but no longer like the GS. Makes no sense to me. I have only used the MT & GS on deer and a few bison for butcher with very good results. I Haven't tried them on elk, but plan to someday. I love the 7mm -160gr. magtip & grand slam, and the .308 - 180gr, mag-tip & grand slam. I AM ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE 180GR. MAG-TIP, wish they wouldn't have discontinued them.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,612
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,612 |
My own testing of the new 165 gr G.S. showed it would lose it's core which didn't happen with the previous dual core version. It became just an expensive Mag Tip bullet, there are better bullets out there for the same money now. I do miss the 180 gr Mag Tip as well, it was a great bullet at a great price.
Gerry.
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,120
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,120 |
The Speer 235 grain .375 bullet is my go-to bullet for all "lighter" game - up to moose - kudu - etc.
Great bullet! Astonishing accuracy!
Terry
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11 |
outdoorsman74,
I tested the 200-grain .30 caliber "new" Grand Slam from a .300 Winchester Magnum in dry newspaper, which provides a very good indication of what might happen when a bullet it hits heavy bone. Two out of five lost their cores.
I liked the old Grand Slam a lot, since it always held together in tests or game.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,104
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,104 |
Glad y'all reminded me that I'm out of Speer 130gr .308HPs. Great bullet..
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,439
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,439 |
Speer 270gr 9.3's were super accurate and deadly on WTails at a max load of RL15 out of a CZ550 for 10 years for me. 1st 4 rounds with a 3 gr under max break in load gave me 3 rnds touching and a "flyer", with all 4 covered by a quarter.
Miss the 9.3 CZ, don't miss the heavy arsed rifle out in the field, so it became a box blind shooter that a neighbor lusted for for 2 years and finally talked me out of it. His first shot on game at a 250 hog at 240 yards was spot on DRT. Ron
TIME FOR TERM LIMITS !!!! Politicians are just like diapers, they need to be changed often and regularly for the same reason...Robin Williams.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 10,784 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 10,784 Likes: 1 |
I like the handgun bullets more than rifle from Speer. That being said I have a finicky Cooper that loves the 130 BTSP. At 7mm-08 speeds it should do just fine.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,226
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,226 |
When I started reloading in '80 or '81, I was exclusively loading 38 caliber pistol bullets. I would save my pennies for "yellow boxes" of 148 HBWC and **wow** jacketed high velocity bullets like the uber-cool 110 JHP (which got me to Blue Dot instead of Bullseye!). Speer was the only choice at our drugstore that had a gun counter. Reloading Manual #10 was my first; I almost wore it out--cover-to-cover many times. Vernon Speer was almost family. ;o)
Sad to watch the company change hands, etc. over the years. I want them to win, but I've always turned to Hornady, Sierra, Nosler and Barnes for game.
Murphy was a grunt.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,314
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,314 |
How come no love for Speer Rilfe bullets. Rarely mentioned here on the Fire and never see them at my LGS. Would seem that Barnes (TTSX), Nosler and Hornady are about IT!!
Because when you compare them to everything else, they suck. Dave I read this whole thread again and realized Travis hit the nail on the head with one sentence.
I enjoy handguns and I really like shotguns,...but I love rifles!
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11 |
That's true, but this is the "Ask The Gunwriters" forum. If Travis really wants to be a gunwriter (and he has confessed to at least mild yearnings in that direction) he needs to quit summing stuff up in one sentence.
I did that once in my youth, submitting several pieces to Gray's Sporting Journal that as I pointed out in my cover letter, went directly to today's need for short, to-the-point articles for ultra-busy hunters and anglers. Here are some samples:
How To Shoot Ruffed Grouse"--Shoot fast. How To Catch Big Brown Trout"--Fish at night. How To Kill Big Mule Deer"--Don't shoot the small ones.
Gray's ran all of them, but did not pay worth a s--t. I learned my lesson, but obviously Travis hasn't learned anything so far.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 6,033
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 6,033 |
That's true, but this is the "Ask The Gunwriters" forum. If Travis really wants to be a gunwriter (and he has confessed to at least mild yearnings in that direction) he needs to quit summing stuff up in one sentence.
I did that once in my youth, submitting several pieces to Gray's Sporting Journal that as I pointed out in my cover letter, went directly to today's need for short, to-the-point articles for ultra-busy hunters and anglers. Here are some samples:
How To Shoot Ruffed Grouse"--Shoot fast. How To Catch Big Brown Trout"--Fish at night. How To Kill Big Mule Deer"--Don't shoot the small ones.
Gray's ran all of them, but did not pay worth a s--t. I learned my lesson, but obviously Travis hasn't learned anything so far.
When its time to fight, you fight like you are the third monkey on the ramp to get on Noah's Arc... and brother, it is starting to rain!
The chair is against the wall.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,314
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,314 |
That's true, but this is the "Ask The Gunwriters" forum. If Travis really wants to be a gunwriter (and he has confessed to at least mild yearnings in that direction) he needs to quit summing stuff up in one sentence.
I did that once in my youth, submitting several pieces to Gray's Sporting Journal that as I pointed out in my cover letter, went directly to today's need for short, to-the-point articles for ultra-busy hunters and anglers. Here are some samples:
How To Shoot Ruffed Grouse"--Shoot fast. How To Catch Big Brown Trout"--Fish at night. How To Kill Big Mule Deer"--Don't shoot the small ones.
Gray's ran all of them, but did not pay worth a s--t. I learned my lesson, but obviously Travis hasn't learned anything so far. Ha! (But I really did like the DeepCurl)
I enjoy handguns and I really like shotguns,...but I love rifles!
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 14,807
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 14,807 |
I load the .35 Speer 180 gr for my .358 Winchesters. My late dad made a tool that swages a spitzer nose on them.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,704 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,704 Likes: 1 |
My Kimber .22 Hornet likes the Speer 45 spitzer.
My .240 Weatherby really likes the 105 spitzer which isn't around anymore although I have a few left.
One of the most accurate bullets in my 7 MM Weatherby is their 175 Mag Tip which has been discontinued; the 160 Hot Cor is right there with it.
My son's .308 Model 7 really likes the 150 Hot Cor.
The .30 cal 170 FP has done really welli in a couple of .30/30's.
The 7MM 160 Deep Curl has been very accurate in several 7 Mags. Fortunately I have a pretty good supply.
A pistol bullet that I really liked but I believe has been discontinued, is the .38 cal. 146 semi-jacketed semi-wadcutter HP. VERY accurate in every .38 or.357 I've used them in.
Their lead 158semi-wadcutter HP has also been very accurate in my .38's and .357's when loaded at around 1000fps.
Last edited by navlav8r; 06/16/15.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 624
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 624 |
In my mind, Speer is all about doing volume through universal distribution of Gold Dots and Lawman for handguns. Gold Dots are one of the top three, all of which differ only slightly in their performance. Lawman is pretty nice practice ammo if a given spec doesn't happen to spray from your gun, and reasonably affordable if you look in the right places. When it comes to the rest of their stuff, I can't figure out who buys it, although this thread has provided a few answers to that.
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9,189
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9,189 |
My dad always had a lot of Speer yellow on the bench when I was a kid. He used them on a bunch of stuff in a bunch of different guns, and I've inherited some of his stash. Speer and RCBS seemed like they were joined at the hip back then. And Speer seems to be stuck in 1980.
I thought JB summed the Speer situation up nicely. Speers aren't just the vanilla of bullets; they are the cheap, artificially-flavored vanilla. At least in rifle bullets. I do like their BTSP for hunting though. They are rather soft, but they work well for the broadside ribs shots I take. I pick the heavier-for-caliber versions; they go through and make a big hole. I'd not trust them for anything other than mostly broadside ribs shots though.
There's just no reason to use Speers other over designs, unless you have a specific caliber/cartridge combo where they work well, and don't want to bother finding a replacement. Their shoddy marketing/distribution practices, in particular their discarding of the handloading market, have sullied them for me and many with whom I've interacted.
I belong on eroding granite, among the pines.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,149 Likes: 11 |
I don't think the Speer company itself "discarded the handloading market." Instead I suspect ATK, which owns Speer, told them they'd primarily be making bullets for Federal and CCI ammunition, rather than for handloaders. That's what sometimes happens when a company becomes part of a much larger conglomerate.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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