Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Speer Grandslams

Ok i've read it all from Partitions to Accubonds to Interbonds...has anyone out there tried the grandslams? Are they as tough as Speer makes them out to be? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

No...I don't think so from past experience. Total seperation on all three in one elk

I've only shot one elk, so take this for what it's worth.
The one bull I got was with my .338-06 loaded with 225 Grandslams. Muzzle velocity is 2675 fps. It was about 125 yards shot. The bull was quartering toward me and slightly below me. I hit him in the front right shoulder, centered on the shoulder blade. The bullet exited out the other side about at the last rib.
The wound channel was very uniform. It showed good expansion, but not too much. The exit was about 1.5 inchs in dia.

I've used Grandslams alot for whitetails, in 6mm's, 7mm-08, 7x57, .308, .30-06, and the .338-06, and have never had one appear to fail. I've never pushed one out of a magnum, so have no idea how they hold up at higher velocities.

sgt217,

What are the specifics of your failures?
Caliber, cartridge, velocity, bullet weight?

Thanks,

One thing to keep in mind is that the GS design was changed a few years ago so recommendations based on the old design may not apply to today's version. The intricacies of the new version (moreso lack thereof) do not command a premium price IMHO.

Can't comment on any differences between the new and old and if fact don't know if the ones I have are old or new! I can say that they have worked great for me. I have used 140 6.5's, 180 30's and 100 6mm's. I'm not a big fan of killing big game with 243's but my buddy had to use it for his kids deer and elk hunts and this is the bullet we used- killed 2 big kaibab mulies and 2 cow elk- all one shot kills with good expansion and complete penetration on broadside shots.

The 180's are superb out of 30-06's and the 200 are excellent out of 300 mags. A neighbor took his 30-06 to Africa and killed 9 0r 10 animals with 165 GS's including a zebra, eland and kudu. Said he was very pleased with the results. I don't think they expand as nicely as partitions but they do seem to work quite well-

I've not used either the old or the newer GS's on elk, so that alone may disqualify my remarks, but I've used the older 165 grain .30 caliber GS's on deer and I simply have no complaints -- they created a very good wound channel and an exit of nearly or about 1"+ in diameter over the 175+ to 250 yard+ ranges out of my .300 Win Mag loaded to 3200+ fps mv. They created less peripheral damage than some heavier bullets I'd tried (less blood-shot meat).

I know that the small exit diameters I mentioned may give some reason to wonder, but it never seemed an explosive bullet to me in any way even though the wound channel was always significant.

I have used the 160 GR. .284 Grand slams at 3100 FPS from a 7mm Remington mag ( 79 grains of H-870) to take a number of Moose. What I found was that on several occasions the front part of the bullet would shear off and then the bullets path would become eratic. Most shots were under 100 yards. I have since returned to the 160 grain Nosler Partion in this gun, the grand slams were quite accurate, have not used them for about ten years.

I've used both new and old on elk with excellent results. Have only recovered one (new design) in 20+ years and it was in good shape after destroying both shoulders of a 5x5 bull. Still on one piece but had lost lead due to smearing while passing through a lot of bone.

Coyote- can you give me some pointers on how to tell if a box of GS bullets on a store's shelf is the old or new style? Has Speer changed the number or done anything else to indicate they're the new design?

If its on the shelf today its likely the new style - unless the store has very low inventory turnover.

They changed the box but I don't know (or really care) which are which - I've had good luck with both. As a bonus, the 160g's tend to be very accurate in my 7mm Mag.

I used exactly one 165 gr GS on a small muley buck over ten years ago. The Bullets were old stock when I bought them. Out of a .30/06 with around 55.0 gr of H4350 (memory) it poleaxed the little fork horn quite well with a frontal headshot at an upward angle. Broke his neck at the skull/spine juncture and exited. Just about the worst 165 grain bullet in the world would have done as well under those conditions.
I've heard too many contrary comments on the GS bullet to be fully confident that they are indeed in the same league as the Nosler Partition. At one time they may have been close enough to be a viable option, but now I'm not convinced that they have truly evolved or improved with the years; but quite possibly have DEvolved (softer) and are just another bullet that's trying to strike a balance between deer and elk.AW

You may be right, although 6 of the last 7 elk my buddy and I have taken fell to Grand Slams. I like bullets that hold together and have switched to bonded bullets for hunting, as has my buddy � North Forks for me, Seer Trophy Bonded for him. IMHO these and the Swift A-Frames are the best expanding bullets on the market.

Why do you think they got softer?

The comparisons I've made with a friend that uses Partitions in his 06 are the opposite.
The PT wounds seem to be vary wide initially, and then a smaller diameter through.
The GS's tend to have a more consistant wound diameter all the way through. I've haven't seen one GS that appeared to be too soft. The few GS's that we've recovered have wider mushrooms then PT's too. IMO

All Hot-Cors now have a one-piece "ternary alloy" core, including the GS. Gone is the two-part harder in the rear core. Also gone is the locking ring. The only difference between the Mag-Tip and the GS is a little heel-fold. But it must cost a lot to make that fold because they retail for nearly twice as much as the MT. I guess part of marketing is putting a price on something to align the product with a certain market sector. I'm sure the new GS works pretty well, just like most bullets work well most of the time. However, I do not see the new design as a premium and won't pay a premium price for them. IMHO, Speer should do away with the new GS design and either expand the Mag-Tip line or bring back and expand the Deep-Shok line. After all, they already have the TBBC as a premium line. Just my two cents...

Was checking out Speer's websight this morning. It appears that the only difference from the standard Hot-Core and the newer GS's is a thicker jacket, and no point on the nose. I don't even see the Mag-tip listed anymore?

The Mag-tip is still there. It is considered just a variation of their Hot Core line, and doesn't show up as a separate "type" of bullet, but is on their list of "standard" rifle bullets. I've often wondered about the difference between the Mag-tip and the current Grand Slam.

I do not consider the Grand Slam of today a premium bullet worth twice the price of a Hornady or Mag Tip and neither does my recovery box.
Feature for feature there isnt any significant difference in terminal performance or accuracy between the Magtip,Hornady and GS. My 7mm-08 and .284 Win like the 145 gr and it retains a bit more weight then the Hot Core.
-Doc-

All things considered, I'd have to pick the Hornady Interlock as the best all-around conventional bullet I've used for deer. (No, I haven't tried every single bullet available.) The others have been by and large good, but the Hornady has been superbly reliable in every instance. Their new bonded offering JJH has written about is really interesting, as are a number of other new offerings from other companies.

I don't doubt your recovery box results, by the way...

I used 165 gr slams out of a 30-06loaded with 59.5 gr of IMR4831 when I had the problems. I have since gone back to Hornadys and shot 165 gr out of a 300 saum with no problems. I was just disapointed with the performance of the GS's and won't go back. I did get the bull and he did not go far but I was not happy with the bullets...