While searching for an inexpensive lightweight bullet for targets, plinking, coyotes, antelope and the like, I ran into the 150 grain Speer Hot Core. Two different pre 64 model 70s just loved the things, both at about 2 grains under max. Anyone out there have any experience with these things on antelope or deer? Cheap, super accurate and ????

Wayne

Wayne, I've used the Plain Jane Speers a lot on deer... my favorite cup n' core bullet. They hold together and work. Biggest Whitetail I ever shot was with a 150 Speer FB at 2,700 from a .308. He went 240 lbs on the hoof. The bullet punched both shoulders and exited. He was piled up inside 20 feet. I used the 120 Speer quite a bit in the 250 Savage as well with great results.

240 lbs on the hoof, man that's about like our spike bulls isn't it.

That thing had to be a tortuga!

Dober

The Speer 150 grain out of my Winchester 70 featherweight and Savage 99E (both in .308)is both accurate and has great on game performance. I have taken game animals from the size of eastern whitetail deer and smaller and this bullet always does its job. I've been reloading the 150 / .308 Speer since 1989 and it is still my go to bullet. I also use this same bullet at the range and out at 200 yards on a good day I can keep them inside 1 1/2 inches from the rifles mentioned. I also have good luck with the 145 grain / .284 bullet out of my 7mm Remington Magnum rifle.

cur dog

I have used it too, on mule deer. No problem. I use the Hornady more as it has been more acurate on the whole but I would be vary happy with either...tj3006

Speer 120g Hot Core bullets are wonderfully accurate in my .25-06. Havent killt anything with them yet.

Dober, I'll dig up a photo of that buck for you to see. I've got a pic of Cole when he was about two years old standing next to it with his binky in his mouth. That deer was flat ginormous.

Brad,

Have you used the 87gr Speer hot core in the 250 savage???

Doc

FWIW I use the 87 gr Hot Core in my 20in 1899 TD. I didn't realize how much I prefer accuracy to bullet weight until I did.

It is a 1.5-2.5 inch gun with 100 grainers but sub one inch with the 87 gr.

Bullet holds together really well too.

As to the Speers in general I like the flat base Hot Core bullets though I have used more 165's than 150's.

The BT's aren't Hot Core as most know and they do not hold together nearley as well.

Mac, find that pic man, I'd love to see Magnum in a pic like that...

Dober

I've had good luck with the 87 hot core in the 250 Savage, and my son has real good luck with the 150 and 165 in the 300 Savage, both early 50's M99s. Key seems to be keeping impact velocity under 3K, same as most cup and cores.

Duh, I think it just hit me. Is the Hot-Core Speer's replacement for the good old flat based cup and core bullet we've been using for 50 years? If so, no wonder the thing works. The 55 grain in the M-70 bull barrel Swift and the 20X Unertl Programmable was my "money" gun for years. (About 30 years ago)

Wayne

I've been using sper hot cor's for a long time in a 270, 30-06, and I'm going to try them in a new 308. I've had nothing but excellent performance from them.

The Speer Hot Cores that I've used (.30 caliber, 150 gr Spitzer, 150 gr FN) have been very reliable performers. Not quite as accurate as Sierras and Hornadys in my rifles off the bench, but functionally about the same for any hunting purposes you might have. If they are super accurate in your rifles, that's a great bonus.

Good shooting!

Took a Savage 99 in 250 out antelope hunting with 87gr Speer HotCor and it performed just beautifully. I'm a Partition bigot, but I wouldn't hesitate to use HotCor's on antelope or deer.

Like Calhoun, I am biased towards Partitions in 25 & 27 cal rifles. BUT, the Hot Core out of a 35 Whelen has performed without fail. So, I save a little money, get good accuracy, and great terminal performance. My confidence is complete in this bullet!

I have read other posts on these bullets. Based upon Speer's website and you guys' experience, it sounds to me as though these are basically bonded bullets.

Do ya'll think they would be too soft for magnum velocities?

My wife shot the 120 speer out of her Swede for several years. Worked well on Antelope and Mule Deer. I have used the 275gr. .338 on Elk. It performed very well, and was very accurate to boot.

JB has stated that the so called bonding of the Hot Core doesn't appear to exist. The few bullets we've been able to recover seem to bare that out. With the oxidation rates of copper and molten lead, it would be hard to get the "solder joint" effect and get a well balanced bullet. That said however, I've been favorably impressed with the performance on our Kansas whitetails with the 87 Speer out of my old M99.
As to magnum velocities, I'd still rather keep them under about 2800-3000 fps at impact.

The 120 gr. Speer H/C is very accurate in my Ruger #1B. I haven't had a chance to try it on game yet. About the only bullet that will shoot worth a hoot in my Ruger 77 RSI is the 165 gr. Speer H/C, but is a deer slayer supreme for me. The only other Speer H/C/ I shoot is the 250 gr. in my .35 Whelen. Maybe I'll get a chance to see what it can do one of these days, that is if I ever draw another elk tag. Didn't get on again this year. Makes it six tagless years in a row. I do know that friends of mine in Canada swear by the 250 gr. Speer H/C for moose, often stating complete pass through on broadside shots and the moose not moving very far after the hit.
Paul B.

Yeah, there is no "bonding" in the Hot-Cor. I have even sectioned bullets and the core falls right away from the jacket.

That said, there is nothing wrong with them, though some lots of bullets can have spotty accuracy due (I assume, again from experience sectioning them) to occasional bubbles in the lead core, which don't do anything for accuracy.

If I recall correctly, I have taken big game with many different Hot-Cores, including the 105-grain 6mm, 87 .25, 100 .25, 140 6.5mm, 150 .270, 130 7mm, 165 .30, 200 .338 and 270 9.3mm. Only one that I know of ever separated core and jacket, and that was a 105 6mm from a .243 that hit a whitetail buck at about 250 yards. The jacket was found at the entrance hole, but the core went on inside and killed the deer. At the other extreme, a 165 from a .30-06 killed another whitetail buck with a rear-angling shot at about 150 yards. That bullet was recovered from the far shoulder, retaining 85% of its weight and looking like a magazine ad.

Impact velocity has not been over 2800 or so with any of them, even the 140 6.5mm from the .264 Winchester Magnum. Indeed, muzzle velocity has rarely been much over 2800. That is one key to performance with any traditional lead-core bullet.

I must also point out that the boattailed bullets in Speer's line are NOT Hot-Cor, but are swaged with a relatively soft lead core. They tend to be a little more accurate but also don't hold together as well, which I suspect has nothing to do with the boattail but instead the softer core.

I have loaded the 145 grain HotCor to about 3000fps for a buddy with a 7mm Mag. I saw him take a doe with it once,bang flop,dead deer with a big wound channel and an exit wound. The deer was at about 90 yards or so.

They seem to work as well as hornady interlocks,which means that I hold them in high regard. Good bullet for deer for sure.

Britt

I have used them in .270 130 grain. And in 7mm 145 and 160 grain. Soft deer bullets that open fast and penetrate well. I shot end to end through a whitetail with the 145.

However, I didn't notice that the Speer boat tails are not "Hotcors" and I didn't like the results of the boat tail on a close up mule deer.

Hot-Cors are my favorite deer bullet. I've used .243 cal 105gr, .257 cal 120 gr, .264 cal 120 and 140 gr, .277 cal 130 and 150 gr, .284 cal 145 and 160 gr, .308 cal 150, 165, and 180 gr, and .358 cal 250 gr. Have also used various Mag Tips and Grand Slams, and the .458 cal 300 gr UCHP (Uni-Cor). They all work very well. I have been let down by a few bullets of other brands, but never by a Speer Hot-Cor.

-

Two years back, a friend gifted me with 600 once fired Remington 30-30 cases. I loaded 500 of them with the Speer 170 grain FP hot core, and IMR 4320 powder.
This is a very accurate load in my Marlin 336 (hovers around an inch at 100 yards) and also in my old Savage 170 pump 30-30.

Kills deer dead, and does an exellent job on hogs as well.

I took my first buck with a 150 gr flat nose through my 30 WCF when I was a kid. One shot, one kill. After college I got out again and took a coyote through the lungs with a bullet from that original box. It performed well there also.

I use the 150 SP hot core in my '06 for whitetails today and it is my 'go to' general purpose bullet. Like others here, I've been told that in .338 cal the 225 is a good elk and moose bullet. I've heard that while it is not 'bonded' in the strictest sense it does hold together better than cold swagged cup'n'core versions.

Only one I can vouch for is the 145 grain 7mm. They work "great" at 7mm Mauser velocities.....Fishster

True dat. I killed a nice 10-pointer last year with that combo. Seat the 145 grainer over 50 grains of H4350 and go make steak.

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I have used a lot 160 and 175 grs 7 mm Speer Hot Core Mag Tip in 7x57. They seems to be very tought and usually pass completely Red Deer hit broadside including soots in the spine or shoulder. I don`t know if the Mag Tip are made the same as the spitser Hot Core.

PatagoniaHunter,

I'm loading up 175 grain Mag Tips for my 7mm-08.

Was down your way back in '94. What a time we had. A month spent fishing from Bariloche down to Esquel. Wish I was still there!!!

SH

HUNTS,
I am also a fly-fisher!! I can assure you that the fishing in that area, "my" area actually, is better than ever !!! And the hunting for Red Deer is also great.
My Best Wishes!

My experience is with the 257 120gr Hot Core from a 257AI at about 3050fps, a 145gr Hot Core form a 280 and a 7Mag at about 3000 fps and a 130gr Hot core 270 at about 3000fps. Many, many dead deer...and a couple of caribou....all with perfect performance, from the mid '60's 'til last deer season.

Starting in the mid 80s I loaded a mess of 150gr Hot Cors for myself and a cousin, both in 30-06. Good accuracy, excellent results on whitetails. Figure between the two of us, a minimum of two dozen dead deer with that bullet. Also later loaded some of his ammo with the 165gr version when I ran out of the 150s, same results.

Didn't use any for several years, then killed my doe last season with a 1942 vintage US Rem (pretty much original military) and one 150gr Hot Cor. Appears they still work fairly well in a 30-06. They are one of the best "inexpensive" bullets around, in my opinion.

Also killed a few deer with the 8x57 and the 150gr Hot Cor, but switched to a 150gr Sierra, then the 125gr Hornady. The 150gr 8mm Hot Cors were a tad too tough in my experiences, never got much expansion with them in my 8x57 loads.

Mule Deer wrote:


Neither pro nor con.

I've taken several cow/spike elk as well as mule deer from does to 5x5, 250 lb bucks with the 180 gr Spitzer BT in 30-06 running about 2700 fps; range from 100 to 300 yds. I've always hit just ribs and vitals, never shoulders/bone nor driven at angles or through "feet" of muscle/vicera to get to the vitals. I've never recovered one of those Speers to date. Internal ispection shows a simple "in/out" effect with about 1/2" diameter exits. No large amounts of blood shot meat either.

Just FYI.

I have been using the Hot-cor, 145 gr. FB in my 7mm-08 with very good results. I have other 7mm bullets around, but just can't figure out why to go with anything else for a basic deer/antelope load for that rife. Shoots about 1 inch consistently and chronos right at 2700 fps. Have not recoved any bullets from about 6 deer, 2 antelope and a couple hogs. All were one shot except an insurance shot on one of the antelope.

I'm hoping to whack a bear with a 270gr 9.3 Hot Core this weekend... will provide pics if succesful...

Well I'll be. Two pages of nothing but praise for a non-premium hunting bullet. Wonders never cease.

-

They're darn accurate too, at least out of my CZ 9.3x62, I'm getting 1 1/4" groups at 100 yards off the bench. That might not set the world on fire, but the groups are large ragged overlapping .366" holes so the group size may just be a function of a large bullet

Yes, it's amazing, isn't it, that we've managed to kill all manner of big game for so many years without "premium" bullets or brain-smashing magnums, turkeys and waterfowl without 3-1/2 inch shotgun shells? I often wonder how our forefathers survived.

How very true. Many years ago,about the only inexpensive standard cup and core were those from Sierra. I was living in San Francisco (Pre-Feinstein )and working for a now long defuct gun shop. Sierra at that time were made in california and Speer and Hornady bullets beig from out of ste had to be special ordered at a cost os about a$1.00 to $1.50 more depending on caliber so I always just stck with the less expensive Sierras for whatever I was hunting and they worked just fine. I never lost a deer using them. I like the Speer Hot-cores but probably still buy Sierras from force of habit and because I have loads worked up with them that work. Like Murphy says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Paul B.

I loaded 130 gr Sierra boattails to about 3000 fps in my .270 back in the day when Sierras were the "thing." I shot several deer, elk and antelope with that load and never had a loss; in fact, most were one shot kills, DRT.

When I started loading for my 7x57 in the early 80s, I began playing around with different bullets and loads: 140 and 160 gr Sierras, 139 and 154 gr. Hornadys, 145 and 160 gr Speer Hot Cores and then, because they were suddenly all the rage, I bought some Nosler Partitions.

I butcher all my own game, and truth to tell, if I noticed any real difference in performance between Noslers and the others, it was that the Noslers seemed considerably more destructive of tissue. I wasn't happy about that, so went back to the 154 gr Hornady.

Two years ago I bought a box of 7x57 Federal Power Shoks loaded with 140 gr Speer Hot Cores to an advertised velocity of 2660 fps, and shot clean through 2 deer at the same time with that bullet, killing both. The distance was about 80 paces.(It was a freak accident - another doe was hidden in a screen of brush directly behind the doe I was aiming at. I mentioned that incident in another thread here last year.) Both were double lung shots with minimal meat loss.

The point, I suppose, is that cup and core bullets of good sectional density driven at moderate velocities hold together pretty well - at least on thin-skinned game.

Now if I were going to whack a moose with my little Mauser, I'd give serious consideration to a tougher bullet, but for the game I hunt - and the way I hunt - cup and core bullets are just fine.

Wayne: I agree with Brad; I have used the 130 Speer HotCore on deer and antelope a good deal, from the 270 Winchester and have noticed that for a cup/core bullet it does a good job. They expand nicely and penetrate pretty well,mostly exiting IME.They "behave" somewhat tougher than some other cup/cores.

My old buddy John Duarte(an early mentor, and who posts on here),told me this many years ago.

For quite some time they were the 130 gr bullet I'd reach for in a new 270, to see if the thing shot,and mostly they did fine.

Of all the 130 grain bullets I used for hunting in the 270, only the Speer Hot-Cor performed to my satisfaction.

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Like ANY make of bullet, some work in some calibers and not in others. The make/manufacturer of a bullet means zilch...For instance I have found the 130 gr. Speer bullet to be excellent on deer in the 7x57, 284 and 280, but the 270 gr. 9.3 Speer bullet is too soft on any animal..

I see this in all makes of bullets, some of their bullets work in certain calibers and not in others..The 200gr. Nosler in a 06 or 300 is a tougher bullet than the 220 gr., and that should not be, but the 210 .338 Nosler penetrates better than the 250 gr. Nosler..I have observed this in ALL makes of bullets.

Too many folks think if one manufacturers bullet works then they ALL work, such is not the case, but I have never seen this in print or stated by anyone but myself, so take it for what you think its worth as I have done no studies, just made note of many kills and come to this conclusion.

Ray,

Absolutely dead on. If others haven't seen fit to write about this phenomenon, it's because they haven't been paying attention, or just assumed the we all knew it. We ALL don't, obviously, or people wouldn't think the TSX was a cure-all in every caliber. It's not.

Wayne

ODD indeed. This has always been my admittely 2nd hand opinion of Hot Cores yet the last site I visited to check reviews of this bullet they were universally denounced as the worst bullet as far as jacket separation is concerned. 9.6 and 270 cal's.

I also have had nothing but fine results from Speer Hotcor's. I have used the 105 gr. 6MM, the 150 gr. 277, the 150 and 180gr. 308, and the 250 gr. 358. My favorite elk bullets were the 180 gr. out of my 30-06 and the 150 gr. out of my 270. I have never had a single instance of these bulets failing to give good penetration. This said I have made a habit of not hitting the onside shoulder just to test bullet integrity. I still consider the 150 gr. 30 caliber bullet at 2850 fps to be one of the best deer combinations known to man.

Rick, hard to argue with success. Amazing what works consistently if speeds are kept under 2900fps isn't it.

I have had excellent results with the unheralded Ballistic Tips from my 7x57. I think a lot of the high velocity long range hype is misplaced when most of your shots are less than 200 yards with most being under 125 yards. I have a 7MM RM that is super accurate but seldom have a hunting scenario that would really show it's qualities off, meaning where shooting opportunities would be over 300 yards.