Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Speer Grandslams

It always amazes me the different results people get.
In my family, we used Hornadys for years. They always shoot good, but in the late 80's we switched over to GS's. The GS's have worked perfectly on truck loads of animals. Not a single time did we experience what would be called a failure.
Last year my brother used a Hornady 139 in his 7mm-08, because it shot so well. He got the deer, but the bullet barely made it into the vitals on a shoulder shot. The only thing left was the jacket.
The few GS's that have stayed inside, have been perfect mushrooms.

I guess in the end, we use what we have confidence in.
Though, I will add, that it makes me a little nervous with how it appears Speer is changing things.
Maybe when my stock pile is down, I'll start experimenting with some Interbonds or TSX's.

Then of course there are those old boring Nosler pattitions that always follow the script and expand, penetrate and in the 50 years I have used them never ever failed. But they are so predictable and therefore boring. Whats to talk about they just work.
I use other economy bullets when it dosent matter. Like culling and control on pigs and exotics that we dont eat or care if we have to shoot them several times.
-Doc-

How about the older 275 grain GS? Elmer Keith was very fond of this bullet in the 338 and 340.

Are you sure the 338- 275 Speer was a Grandslam? I have shot a bunch of game with the old semi-spitzer 275. Awesome bullet. My replacemrnt is the 250 NP

According to the Speer website, the heaviest .338 bullet they make now is the 250 gr. Grand Slam.

I have used Grandslams in my 06 to kill two cow elk. I shot a cow opening day. Bullet hit her in the right front shoulder and exited opposite ribcage. Spun around and fell.

I have complete confidence in the 200 Grain Grandslam.

Was that the new Grandslams, or the old??

A buddy of mine shot a nice 6pt bull this season with his .338Win and 250gr GSs. I didn't get to see the carcass, but he wasn't impressed with the bullet performance. He told me that the would channels were very small, and all the way through. The bull died in relatively short order, but he felt things should have happened more quickly considering the caliber.

He's shooting an old batch of GSs that he bought at a yardsale (a large can for $20). He's not really a gun nut, and his load was picked from the manual as "the most accurate tested," so he loaded everything up w/o a chrono run, lucked into three shot groups touching @100yds so figured he had his load. I'm guessing the velocity is on the slower slide, combined with older, (harder?) bullets, kept expansion to a minimum. Anyway, now he's thinking of going to a faster .30cal magnum for quicker kills. I'm trying to explain to him that's not the answer. I'll find out what load he used, chrono it if I can, and report back later.
222

222Rem,

Your guess sounds reasonable.
The 225's have worked great in my .338-06.
They held together and punched through a bull elk, but have expanded on a smallish whitetail doe's ribcage.


By the way, the .222 is my all time favorite varminter! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I bought my last box in 2001. Should be the new ones, but I really don't know.

I use 180 Grain Grand Slams loaded from the factory in Speer's "Nitrex" ammo in my 300 Weatherby. No failures on Elk or deer, in fact I am very satisfied with them.

My experience with the Speer GS bullets is pretty limited..

Seven bull elk, three deer, two black bear.

All single shot kills with very little or no travel after the shot.

All from cartridges that I'd consider mid velocity: .300 Savage, 6,5x55 Swedish and ALL at distances under 250 yards.
IF you have concerns about how a bullet will react in your cartridge/rifle/shooting distance, consult the mfgr specifically.

The Speer GS bullet will open and mushroom well at velocities( terminal) of about 1800 fps..How they react at close yardages and sunstantially higher velocities or loner yardages where at least 1800 fs terminal velocity is stiill available I cannot say.
Hornady, Nosler, Barnes,Remington all have good bullets for hunting..
Find a load and bullet which gives you good accuracy and whatever slight plusses or minuses in bullet performance will probably evaporate in the hunting situation..With a well placed shot, dead is dead after all..
The Speer 165 GS bullets yield sub MOA accuarcy in my Savage M99 R .300 caliber rifle, better than any other bullet I have handloaded for that rifle..Jim