I don't see very many references to speer bullets on this site. I know they really haven't updated their products much over the years but I use a lot of their 7mm and 30 cal bullets in my guns. The 7mm 130gr boat tail performs perfectly on whitetails here in west Tennessee and Southern Mississippi out of my Savage 16 in 708. I have used the "Hot Cores" as well . I use the 145 gr boat tails and hot cores on pigs in my 708 with great results. Ranges here are usually less than 200 yards but for me they are good accurate bullets for reasonable prices. I have also used them in my 3006 , 300 WBY, 7mm Rem Mag and 2506.

I also use Hornaday Interlocks as well with very good reults.

I tried the 130 hot cors in my 7mm-08 but they didnt shoot all that accurate for me but I didnt do a ton of testing with it before I found a very accurate load using 120 sierra pro hunters and stuck with them. I also have some of the 130 btsp that I would like to try in it but just haven't got around to it yet.

Jambuster,

You know what works. You also know the secret to successful hunting is not always dependent on spending big bux on partitioned, monolithic or bonded bullets.

I have used Speers for years. They are one of the best kept secrets of the hunting world.

A big, double thumbs up!

My 7-08 wouldn’t shoot the Hot Cor for crap. Switched to the BTSP and it shot way better. I was surprised myself but it was worth the switch.

My 708 will shoot 145 Hot Cor three in one hole, 30-06 will shoot 180 Hot Cor under .5 inch.

I use the 52 grain HPBT match bullets for a 223, and 125 grain tnt for a 300 savage. The HPBT are on par with Sierra, good thing too as they were about 10¢ cheaper. The 125 grain is ok. I mean it’s a lever action, how great can they be? When I was younger, maybe early 80s, it seemed to me that Hornady was the bottom of the barrel. Their packaged bullets looked like seconds do today. Now the make really good stuff and Speer I feel is at the bottom. I hope Speer turns things around, I still have a place in my heart for them.

Been using Hot Cores in my 250-3000s with very good luck. 87s in the old 99R, 100s in the Ruger M77. The 50 TNT works great in my 223 as well.

I've smoked a couple of hogs with the 85 grain 6mm boat tail, no problems.

The old 52 grain HP in my 22-250 was hell on everything it touched.

I've been shooting the140gr HotCor in my 6.5 Creedmoor, the 170gr 8mm semi sp in my 8x57 and the 200gr HotCor in my 338-06. Both have proven to be very accurate in my rifles.

I have some 130 BTSP to try in the 7x57 and some 160 HotCor for trying in my 280AckImp but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I still like Speer bullets. The .224 52 grain HP was always a great fur bullet in my Swift. Rarely an exit.

I shot a lot of their 80 grain spitzers in my first centerfire rifle, a Remington 788 in 6mm. Shot a lot of woodchucks and plenty of coyotes with it.

The 25 caliber 120 grain spitzer is still my favorite in the 257 Roberts.

Their 150, 165 and 180 grain Hot Cores have taken a lot of deer for my wife and I in 308s, 30-06s and 300 H&H.

Good bullets.

Was never impressed with speer. When I first started handloading, I threw some on the scale and after seeing how inconsistent they are I gave up on them and started using Nosler, sierra, and hornady. Have used their very good older grand slams with success, but the other plain jane vanilla bullets you guys can put to better use than I can. I know they work well for hunting, but I demand better precision than what speer can offer. Been shooting extremely accurate centerfire rifles since I was 12, so I know what they are all about. YMMV..

I have pretty much forgotten about Speer with one exception. The 50gr TNT, just an amazing bullet for a 222 or 223

I've used the 125gr .308 TNT a lot for plinking and shooting pests with good results across several cartridges. I always keep a pretty good stock of those on hand for killing paper and dinging steel on the cheap.

The old 165 Grand Slams shoot fantastic from my .308 Win and work well on game, but they feed like crap in it. The 250 Savage shoots the 87gr HotCor great, but I haven't whacked any critters with them yet to see how the terminal performance is.

Speers aren't usually my first choice to try in new cartridges, but I've never really had problems with them either.

The Speer Hot-Cor is no doubt my favorite bullet and i've been using them for probably around 35yrs with excellent results in both accuracy and on game performance. The problem with Speer is that they seem to discontinue bullets on a whim and leave you hanging. My favorite two are the 120gr .257 and the 120gr .264 which were both discontinued. I stocked up on the 257 before they were gone and have enough of those to last a lifetime. I wasn't so lucky with the .264's so i had to find something else for the 260 rem. I also had a really good load worked up with the 120gr 257 deepcurl which was suppose to replace the Hot-cor but it was discontinued as well. The majority of my hunting is Deer with a few Coyotes and Hogs and like i said, the Speer Hot-Cor has always performed flawless for me on those animals. All this of course is just my opinion based on my experience using them and you know what they say about opinions .... everybody has one!

I use the 150 grain hot cor in my 270. The most accurate bullet to date that I've used in it.

started my hunting with a 87 gr hot cor in an old Savage 99 250 Savage. I killed a truck load of deer with it and now a few kids have killed their first deer with them also. Hits way above its weight class. Dad always used 130 gr hot cor in his 270. Don't remember him ever losing a deer and both still shoot very well.

The 160 Speer in a 7x57 is a fine killer. Would be the same in a 7-08. The 140 .264 bullet seems to be the same in the 260 Remington. Just plain works. I'm a hunter and judge bullets by the measure they work in the field. The 200 Speer in 30-06 and also in the 8x57 Mauser are both fine killers.

I have found the old yellow box standard Boat Tail Bullets to be extremely accurate and effective on deer size game. My son uses the 145 grain Boat Tail in his 7MM-08 while I shoot the 150 grain Boat Tail with with a mild load in my 30-06. Hot-Cors old or new just don’t shoot as accurately in our particular guns.

I like Speer. 130 in 7mm08,270 Win, 150gr 308Win, 180gr 35 Rem. As stated, Speer does discontinue bullets. Bought some 220gr 35 cal to try in my Whelen then found out their discontinued. All in all, pretty good bullet if your rifle will group them.

I have tried the Grand .308 150 grain and for a cheap hunting bullet they perform very well but alas Speer discontinued that bullet and since I have tried the Hot Core .308 150 grain and accuracy is only decent, Im sure its good enough for hunting but I like a little better as to why I reload. I have weighed the Hot Core's and they are not as consistant as some other brands but I guess in this case you get what you pay for.....Good hunting....Hb

I used the old Nitrex ammo with 165 gr Grand Slams in .308 for many seasons on deer and elk. They were very accurate out of my rifle. The worst shooting loads were Speer 180 gr SP in Federal ammo. I’ve got some GS in various calibers that I’m going to load for grins. The 150 gr Hot Cor shoots well in my .308 with a healthy dose of TAC.

Several of my rifles have liked the cheap Speer BTSP. They work well at moderate velocities. Did I mention that they’re often cheap?

That is one cartridge I wish Speer had not discontinued. Quite a few years back I acquired four boxes of that .308 Nitrex ammo and it was the only factory load that would come close to a usable group in my Ruger M77 RSI. Best it would do was 1.5" but everything else was in the 4 to 6" range. Same with reloads. Worked up the the 165 gr. Speer HC to duplicate that Nitrex load Just used the plain hot core and not the Grand Slams. I still have one box of that Nitrex ammo left and it's only a partial.

I run the 200 gr. Hot Core in my .300 Win. Mag. and the 250 gr. hot core in my .35 Whelen when I feel the need for that bullet. Most of the time I run the 225 gr. TSX in that rifle.
Paul B.

I hope all the companies that produce ammunition and reloading components prosper. I have no particular animosity toward Speer. I used to (in the 70's, 80's, and 90's) use a fair number of their bullets. Over time I have mostly drifted away from Speer bullets toward Nosler, Barnes, and Hornady. I still occasionally reach for box of Speers but they are not my "go to bullet" in any of the cartridges I load for with one exception. That exception is the Speer 400 gr FP in my 450 Marlin and 45/70. That is a great bullet and I see no advantage looking elsewhere to feed my punkin' rollers.

I have been loading the 120 Speer BTSP in my son's .25-06. Has proven to be plenty accurate (sub-MOA) and terminal performance has been very good from what I have seen the past couple seasons on coyotes, deer and antelope. We just changed optics and hope to see soon if their published BC is accurate.

My .25-06 shoots the 100 grain Hot-Cor well and out of a massive sample of one critter I have no complaints.

I love the 250 Speer in my .35 Whelen more then the rifle does. Can't seem to get it to shoot much better then 1.5 MOA so I have been mostly shooting Sierras in that.

I use 120’s in my 25-06, very happy with them

I'm pretty sure their BC numbers are a bit on the optimistic side when it comes to the BTSP. I often use Sierra Gameking BC numbers, as they are likely closer to reality.

Speer does tend to optimism that way.

The 7mm 145 gr Speer is a short bullet and does well in the 284 Win when COAL is limited like in the Win 88 and Savage 99.

The 35 caliber Speer 250 grain has been a great Moose bullet in my 35 Whelen.

I think some bullet companies are quite content having inflated bc numbers, they don't have to go to the trouble of testing their bc's and they get increased sales because of the inflated bc's. I often buy Speer because of the excellent value for money and many of their bullets are accurate and perform very well on game. I have greater loyalty to the bullet companies that are honest or more precise with their bc figures.

Began my hunting career with Speer hot core hand loaded bullets. I had more issues with the management choices of Speer bullets than the actual bullets as time rolled on.

Speer claimed at one time 'The worlds finest bullets'..... Well, that has been a LONG time ago now.

Over the years the hot core always delivered the goods though. Affordable, Decent groups, broke heavy bones, Expanded well, dug deep. Never doubted the bullets. Grand slams pushed deeper.

I once did a crude weight retention comparison between the horn 7mm 162gr. btsp and the 7mm Speer 160gr. Hot core spitzer. Close range 25 yards, into a large block of cedar wood. The Speer beat the hornady in weight and penatration, not by much but it did better... Again, long ago specifics lost, but the Speer did do better.

Anymore, I have leaned away from Speer bullets. They have spells were bullets seemed not priority and discontinue different bullets, offer a new bullet for a short bit and discontinue it... I kinda had it with Speer being wierd. They seem alright now but for how long. Tired of it, now nosler and hornady are filling gaps for good in different guns and loads.

Good bullets, but run by maniacal [bleep]

I like Speer bullets, I have some loads with the .358 180 FN that shoot very well in my .356 Win and 35 Rem. In my 270 or 280, I've never had them shoot as consistently well as the Sierra PH, Nosler BT or Hornady IL.

Had great luck with the HotCor 270/130 & 30/150 & 180. I’m new to the .338/200 but I have high hopes

I forgot to add what a stone cold killer the 220 and 250 .358 bullets are for me. They’re not sexy but man they’ve shot well and been excellent on animals.

And their UniCor or DeepCurl or whatever they are called in their handgun bullets are the best going until you get into the A-Frames or heavy cast. The 270 in the 444 is really accurate and man does it leave large holes in deer.

The 70 grain Speer semi-spritzer is great for deer and pigs. I see no reason to use a premium bullet on deer or similar sized game. All that is needed is the correct weight bullet driven at reasonable speeds ( not too fast)

I tend to prefer Hornady and Nosler, but I have had some good results with some Speer bullets. The .30 130gn HP has been a standard over here for pigs in the .308. My Ruger Ultralight would put three into an inch or less which is pretty good with the skinny little barrel. The 6.5mm 120gn shot as well as the Sierra 120gn, both going into under an inch at 100m from my M12. Whereas the 6.5mm 140gn wouldn't do better than 2.5 - 3 inches. The .30 165gn BT shot superbly from my 30-06 and flattened pigs.

The 87 grain 25 caliber Hot-Cor has been a godsend for many 99's with 1"-14" ROT. It is even my go to bullet in my 99 with a 1"-10" ROT.

Jack O'Connor published a 130 gr Speer load for the 7x57 in a Outdoor Life magazine some years back: 50 grs IMR 4320, 53,000 PSI, 3100 fps. and out of curiosity I worked a load up to that in a rifle with a 24" bbl and about 3060 in a 22" bbl. That's pushing the old 270 Winchester.

I am using SB6.5 and getting around 3075'ish in my 7-08 with that bullet and the 132 BBC. Thinking it will be a good load for my little Featherweight.

Both the 145 Grand Slam and the 145 BTSP shoot lights out in my 1185 Browning in 7 Mag. Midsouth just notified me they had some 145 Grand Slams back in stock and I may need to check my supply and order some more.

SPEER has had some good bullets over the years, but the bean counters get involved and ruin the product. The Grand Slams are a perfect example of that, and the TBBC's are as well. Where are the Mag-Tips? My 7mm RM loved the 160grs. They have fallen completely behind in bullet technology, yet still charge premium prices. There are many better options today. MY shooting endeavors have left them in the scrap pile.

I have used them for years, like most bullets individual rifles either like em or not. Honorable mention are the 150 and 180 gr. .308 Hotcors, the 160 gr. .284 Hotcor., the 150 gr. Hotcor .277. The BTSP's always seem to be accurate but a bit soft at times. I have been using the 145 gr. 7MM BTSP for a couple of years from my 7-08 and so far it kills well and is a very accurate bullet. I really liked the 150 gr. FNSP shot out of various 30-30 and a 30-30 Ackley. Good performance on game and good accuracy. The 52 grain .224 HP has been a stellar varmint bullet. When I think about the amount of game I have shot using this one manufacturers bullets what a pile of animals. I can say the same for Nosler, Sierra's, and Hornady's. Lucky to have had such a long and varied hunting experience.

going to give the 257/120 grain hot core a try this year seems a lot of
people like that bullet

Have a few, but don't recall the old days. Used them but drifted in a different direction. Evidence below. Note that the box of Speers have not been opened...

There's still a couple of Speers that I dream of - the old discontinued .22" 70 grain semi-pointed for the Savage .22 High Power, and the rarely available .257 87 grain HotCor which is the bullet that guarantees success in the Savage 99/1899 .250-3000's. I scarf them up when I find them which isn't often. (Luckily I'm pretty well set on both accounts at the moment but that may not last.)

I got some of the 87s directly from Speer a few months back. Prices are a bit high, but they tend to have stuff retailers don't sometimes.

Speer's problems are not their's that they made... it has been by the companies that have bought Speer after the original folks are ALL gone.

I still find Speer bullets quite serviceable in what I shoot.. maybe I am just lucky, but I haven't had issues with them...

they do what I ask of them....

What I use for deer, always seem to be minute of deer.. and result in an easy kill...

What I use for varmints, results in a lot of dead varmints... easily minute of sage rat...

I'm not real hot to try something new... which is what the market always seems to push, because that is what sells..

I tend to use stuff that has worked for me and continues to do so....why change horses in mid stream?

I've been in business a long time and still am.... much of the problems of the business world is bad management...


back in the 80s there was some business professional, who use to be on the lecture circuit, doing programs on business management.
this guy commanded $50.000 for a one day seminar.... Sadly I forget his name.... but I was with several fortune 250 companies, and they would hire this guy for weeks at a time, touring the country getting seminars at their various branches around the country... Big Bucks...

and he was always in demand... contracts 2 and 3 years out.... His books sold like crazy....

Finally he wrote a book about High Level management, that torpedoed his career. He pointed out that what was ruining American business was Universities and Colleges thru out American, were turning out zillions of MBA grads nationwide... and all they were taught were new business theory applications... in the process many American businesses were failing after decades of success and were struggling to find out what they were doing wrong.

This guy pointed out that they were adopting University Business theories, that just plain didn't work....made by people who were academics, and most had no on the street business experiences. They just got their MBAs, and then a PhD in business, and then went into Academia, with big name Universities...

He pointed out that Japan and their business management practices were being copied by many up and coming American companies, who were all doing very well... while big corporations were struggling at best... He pointed out that the USA had thousands upon thousands of MBA programs nationwide.... He pointed out Japan, had NONE. Not one single one...

Instead, people ear marked to go into upper level management, started out being put on the floor with the people in manufacturing and those in the sales dept in the field.... just like in the way our military is... you have to learn to be a private, before you can learn to be a general... you are trained for your career from the ground up....

MBA programs, filled your brains full of theory and then just let you loose on the streets, with a high paying job and big benefits and NO REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE IN ANYTHING.

He also pointed out that the average fortune 500 company president made 4000 times the hourly salary average than one of the workers on the manufacturing floor made. In Japan, the average large company president made 400 times the salary of an average factory worker on the floor.

Back on topic, this is the type of things that has happened to companies like Speer, which is owned by who in hell this week or this month?

Meanwhile Nosler, Hornady etc are still ran internally by people who know their business, and have detailed working knowledge of manufacturing processes on the floor and what the marketing dept is telling them.

And the fate of the guy, who I speak of above and whose name I can't remember for the life of me... after he put out that book, pointing out what was wrong with American business and why many of our biggest companies were failing... well his phone quit ringing and he faded into history.... but I am sure he left the scene with a very fat bank account to console himself with....

You have plenty of competition looking for 87 grain .257 HotCor's.

Don't I know it! In addition to Savge's they work a dream in my Ruger #1 .250-3000 which with its faster twist can handle heavier/longer bullets, but why change up if they work a treat? In hopes of shrinking groups a hair? Meh, 1/2-3/4MOA is plenty good enough, and those .25 87's have been killing deer with alacrity for a looooong time.

Speer's got em in stock right now (1230pm cst 7/11/22)

$29.99 per 100.

https://www.speer.com/bullets/rifle_bullets/hot-cor_rifle_bullet/19-1241.html

Speer was my "go to bullet" for years and then they became hard to find (local anyway). I changed bullets due to that fact and just never saw a need to change back. I had very good luck with them out of my 270 and 444 Marlin.

Thanks for the heads up.

BTW, if you buy 4 boxes, shipping is free.

I hope you have the 120 Hot-Cors in possession. They've been discontinued.
They only offer 120 BTSP now.

I once considered starting a thread on deer killed by a .257 87 gr HotCor, but then I would be accused of just showing off.

The Speer .284 115 gr hollow point showcases the bullet weight versatility of a 7x57mm. I have had two rifles shoot sub MOA with a load of IMR 4320.

I would love to see it.

it certainly does, but can also kill above its weight class....

shot a 210 pound blacktail, that was grazing in suburban neighborhoods of why it weighed so much...

but out of county property of about 1800 acres of woods, put its lights out at 35 yds,

with a 115 grain HP Speer, behind 30 grains of SR 4759.... he never saw me, he was crossing a notch between two hill tops on the same ridge.

heart shot out of a 7mm Mauser in a Win Featherweight....

when hit never took another step....

I shot the 115 Speer hp in my 7mm08 for prairie dogs. Easy 1/2” loads and really ruined the dogs. Remington 788 with short heavy barrel.

after seeing what it did to a deer's heart, I can imagine what it would do to a prairie dog....

probably didn't look much like a prairie dog post mortem.. probably looked more like a pizza run over by a semi....

Have used them as long as I can remember and still have a slew of green boxes on my bullet shelves. 45-70 is probably the only caliber I shoot that I don't have at least one Sierra bullet for. I also have Nosler , Winchester, Hornady, Remington , Speer , Hawk , Barnes , Privi , and some vintage and custom stuff that ain't available anymore. I miss a lot of the discontinued bullets , that is a fact . What is also a fact is that the bullets that have come along to replace most of them are so good that missing them is strictly a nostalgia thing . Now days the only thing tat would be harder than trying to buy a good bullet would be trying to buy a bad one.

my philosophy is if it worked well in the past, It will still work well in the future..

I've always had good luck with Speer bullets....

I buy Speers when ever I find them available.

Different round but same here. Not terrible shooting just Sierra's get the nod more and more due to seeming to make prettier groups.

The second most accurate load I had for the 350 Rem was with 250 grain SPEER bullets (most accurate was with Interlocks):

350 RM, Remington 600, 250 grain SPEER, 9 1/2M, 56 grains IMR4320, 0.66 MOA

In my 256 Win Mag the most accurate load was factory Winchester, alas I don't have any anymore. But the following was one of the two most accurate hand loads. It is devastating on cotton tails.

256 Win, Winchester 92, 75 SPEER, 16 grains IMR4227 0.700, 1.13 MOA (group sizes averaged .7" at 59 yards)

My cousin likes the 170 Grain SPEER bullets in his 8x57 - he says it is the most accurate load he's tried. I believe he said that was with IMR4064.

The old Speer Deep Shocks are the best cup and cores ever made. Still have a couple of thousand 165s and 180s.
George

The Speer 170 SMP, is the only bullet I shoot in my 8 mm Mausers....with speeds as low at 1800 fps and as fast as 3100 fps...

it works at both speeds, and every thing in between... and no shortage of accuracy...

I've always looked at the 8 x 57, its like its a big copy of the 223 Rem.. So I use powders I'd load in my 223s... SR 4759, IMR 4198 and RL 7 being the main 3.. but also Blue Dot, Unique and Alliant Steel....

none have EVER failed to drop what I have shot them with... usually blacktail deer...

even testing them into wood as a test media, their penetration and apparent damage to the media has been impressive...

Couldn't resist. Bought some hot core 90 grains to replace my dwindling supply of 100gr Pro hunters ( why I ever switched form 85hpbt I just don't know). PH's shoot great and work fine but am hoping the HC's may be ever so slightly tougher.

I lament going away from 140 GK's in my 260 because internet says my 1-10" was too slow but those were the best performers ever. Been using 120's but giving the 140 HC's a try. Length was about identical to the Sierra 140 ...about as scientific as I could get but cost was such I couldn't pass it up.

Do you all load Speers to same levels as other bullets? I don't hot rod anyway. Likely start with 40grains H4350 for both.

I think you will find the 90 Speer HCs to be "tougher" than the 100 gr. PHs. In my experience Speers are generally a bit stouter and the 90 and 105s that I shot in a 26" barreled B78 single shot at fairly high velos went through deer far or close up with little issue, and honestly with a bit less expansion than I personally prefer. YMMV

Dbrink thanks- I know people confuse the standard Speers , which are very soft, with hot cores. I always thought the HC's would be tougher but what I read over last three days make it sound only marginally so. Of course I just went and ordered some...... I went to Sierra's from Hornady's because I felt he Hornadys weren't expanding enough. Trying to find that middle road here.

Well I received my order from Speer and was surprised when I measured using a comparator. The 140 6.5 HC is shorter than the Game king. Thinking it might bode well for my slower twist barrel.

Shot 90gr hc into wet magazines 6inch thick setting in water and a box to hold mags together. It weighed 20gr when found it came apart after 4 inch penetration only jacket found

I use some Speers. 165 gn SBT in my sons 30-06. They shoot little groups and when he shoots deer the deer just drop. I shoot 180 gn GS in my 300 Weatherby and they group well and deer just drop dead. And neither bullet tears up a bunch of meat. The 250gn Speers group better than The Hornady 250s in my Whelen. Never have killed anything with them yet. I have no doubt fhey will work fine. They cost less than some of the other brands as well.

My dad left me around 300 270 130gr hot cor old school yellow box there just as good as a interlock I’ve killed deer from 10-300 yds silver dollar size exit on every one

Didn’t federal at one time load hot core in there ammo called hi shok

The smallest groups with my two 6.5 CMs are with 140gr Speers and Hornady's 41.5gr H4350 load. Consistent sub-moa, and one rifle is a 99 Savage.

243- I recently saw something from JB, not sure if what I read was recent or just recent to me, but he suggested a better test was dry books - not yet.

I would also consider going to the source with any questions. Nothing beats asking the people who make them.

Using the phone - online customer service - 877-426-7849

For email contact, go here - https://www.speer.com/contactus

https://www.speer.com/support.html

That 250 Speer is as good as a 250 Partition as I’ve seen.

Used the same bullet in the 6.5 Grendel ( Ruger American Bolt action) with a charge of 29 grains of W 748...

dropped a decent sized blacktail on the spot.... at about 125 yds, 2 seasons ago, when the rifle was new.