Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Speer hot-cor bullets

Anyone using speer hot-cor bullets on deer or elk. I had some 180gr for my 30/06 laying around and loaded some up for the hell of it. Used H4831sc and the damn thing shoots hellovagood. Max charge is 62.0gr of H4831sc and I shot a 5 shot group that measured .716 and a 3 shot group that measured .313 so really liking this so far. Just wondering the performance on game.

I've shot a couple of deer with the .30 caliber 165 grain version, no excessive damage, got an exit, and very dead deer.

I was starting them out at 2800 fps from an '06.

I have shot several deer with the old Speer 105 gr. .243 Hot Core bullet from the .243 Winchester with excellent results. Always got an exit and a dead deer in short order.

Shot 2 nice sized buck with 150 gr from a 270 loaded to about 2850 fps. 1 shot each and both bullets made it out the far side. Just behind the shoulder on both. Neither was DRT, but neither went far, maybe 35-40 yards tops.

I have shot a bunch of them but haven't killed anything bigger than a deer with one. The 200 gr. Hot-cor is my elk bullet in my '06.

I have killed deer with 150's and 180's in my '06. All of them were DRT.

Alright this is what I was wanting to hear. Time to load!

I used 200gr speer hot cor in my 325 wsm. They performed pretty good on caribou.

Very good, solid bullets. Start them at 30-06/180 speeds (or 308/165 or 6.5 Creedmoor/140, if you prefer) and you're golden. Drop deer, elk, bear, etc. very effectively.

Speer's 250 grain .358 was my go to for a couple decades in .350RM.

I only switched to 225 grain partitions for more velocity and range when my 9.3 rifle usurped the .350's heavy bullets at modest range role' and the 9.3 is, too, throwing Speer HCs.

LCC, it's an old-fashioned, low drama, reliable combination. On deer, they are low expansion, and deep penetrating, so watch you shot placement, but expect minimal meat damage.

On elk I prefer the 180's to the 200's. They allow you to keep your velocity up, and give you better expansion, and plenty of penetration. Just what you are looking for if you like a low drama, low cost solution to your Elk problem.

A .30 caliber 200 gr. spitzer at 2600 fps is pretty flat shooting and I like the extra sectional density for a tough raking shot if I need to take one...but we are getting off topic.

If I remember correctly I also shot a deer with a 120 gr. Hot-cor out of a .257 Roberts.

Dan, it's just a matter of preference, neither answer is wrong. I'm comfortable with the penetration of the 180 on a rake shot and prefer the extra expansion.

Very true!

Haven't used that particular bullet (Speer Hot-Cor) in the 30-06, but I have killed a few moose with H4831 and 180-190 grain bullets. It seems to be an awfully well-suited powder to the '06 at this weight.

If one can get even a lug nut going at half of a 30-06's velocity, it will kill stuff.

I shot the 180's out of my savage '06 and my chronograph averaged the 5 shots at 2731fps. I'll find out what it does on white tail in two weeks. Elk next year.

+1 for Hotcors. Killed lots of deer and elk with the 130-180 in my 30-06 and the same type of critters with a 95 Mauser in 7x57 I had years ago with the 145, I believe. Great bullets for the price, but I have heard bad things when pushing them to fast.

120 Hot core is my bullet of choice in my 260 and I used to use the 90 grainer in a 243 and killed a few with the same bullet in a 6mm Rem.

Deer and antelope all died with one shot.

I've been loading Speers in everything from 243 to 35W without complaint for decades. Accurate and dependable performance.

WN

Question? Isn't the hot core, and the Fusion, the same bullet?
G