Speer Bullets thread

[gerry35]

Post up your experience with them here.

Don't hear lots about them on here since most are going with high b.c. bullets but they are solid bullets for the ranges most people shoot at.

I have used the 6.5mm 140 gr GS. for deer and black bear and love them. When I had 30 cal rifles they were a favorite too. Deer to moose with 165-200 gr over the years in 30-06 and 308 Norma Mag.

Have a pile of 277 150 gr GS for my 6.8 Western I would like to develop a load with for black bear hunting in particular.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

The Speer BTSP is used by Federal in their Fusion line of bullets. I've univerally heard good things about them in terms of accuracy and terminal performance. I'm in the process of working up a 100 grain BTSP load for my .25-06.

Edit: I'll also add they're one of the best values out there for bullets compared to Noslers, Hornadys, and Bergers.

 

[Formidilosus]

The Speer BTSP is used by Federal in their Fusion line of bullets. I've univerally heard good things about them in terms of accuracy and terminal performance. I'm in the process of working up a 100 grain BTSP load for my .25-06.

Edit: I'll also add they're one of the best values out there for bullets compared to Noslers, Hornadys, and Bergers.

Fusions are Speer Good Dots, or in some cases identically constructed Federal versions to Gold Dots.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Fwiw, everything I know about the Speer BTSP bullets is they are a lead core inserted into a jacket. There is no bonding. Fusion is bonded by bonding the outer jacket molecularly around the lead core. To my knowledge the fusion would not be Speer BTSP, per se. Speer flat base bullets are "Hot Cor" design which pours a molten core into the jacket.

 

[ozyclint]

I recently tried to make a reduced load in my .222 and used the Speer #1017 40gr spire point and #1024 46gr flatnose because they were dirt cheap and I was trying to load down to .22mag while being cheaper than .22mag ammo.
Experiment was a failure because both bullets were very stout and wouldn't expand. They just pencil hole through stuff. Thought it might be the lower velocity but even with full loads they were not frangible at all.

Only other Speer bullet experience is in my .270win.
The 90gr TNT was explosive and deadly on small game and predators.
The 130gr and 150gr Grand Slams were a good stout bullet. Talking about the old school bullets in the clear orange plastic box. I believe the Grant Slams of today aren't the same construction of the bullets of yore.

 

[cs1]

In the past I’ve used the .30 150g #2011 in a 30-30 for my standard Texas whitetail load; shot several with them and never had a bad experience. Back in the day they were cheap and plentiful.
Their .338 200g Hot Core at 2900 fps shoots very nicely in my 338 WM and almost makes it bearable to shoot. They also work great on whitetails (slight overkill, but hey). Never took an elk or mule deer with them though.

 

[Tom-D]

I used to use a 308 125gr tnt. Shooting 300 and in they were devestating on deer and pigs almost abit too much. i once found a piece of copper jacket in the back strap of deer that was shot behind the shoulder

 

[gerry35]

I recently tried to make a reduced load in my .222 and used the Speer #1017 40gr spire point and #1024 46gr flatnose because they were dirt cheap and I was trying to load down to .22mag while being cheaper than .22mag ammo.
Experiment was a failure because both bullets were very stout and wouldn't expand. They just pencil hole through stuff. Thought it might be the lower velocity but even with full loads they were not frangible at all.

Only other Speer bullet experience is in my .270win.
The 90gr TNT was explosive and deadly on small game and predators.
The 130gr and 150gr Grand Slams were a good stout bullet. Talking about the old school bullets in the clear orange plastic box. I believe the Grant Slams of today aren't the same construction of the bullets of yore.

The new ones are one piece cores instead of the dual core they once had. My friend has used the 150 gr GS in his 270 Win and it's been impressive. That's why I'm going to try them in the 6.8 Western, quite inexpensive too which is nice.

 

[gerry35]

Their newish Impact line of bullets looks interesting. Would have use for both the 140 gr 6.5 and 150 gr 277. A guy on the Nosler site did some bullet tests on the 6.5 140 and they open up wide. Looks like a winner for Speer.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Funny, when I first started reloading, Speer and Hornady were pretty much it to buy. And Al Gore had not invented the internet yet. Lot's of loads went down my rifles and pistols with Speer bullets. They were a very dependable and accurate bullet IMO.

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

^^ Along the lines as above…

My dad started reloading around 1970. Speer was definitely popular and one of the “go to” companies at that time. In Lewiston, ID you could buy Speer seconds in bulk. Scoop them in a paper bag and pay by the pound.

I starting shooting the 175gr Mag Tip out of my 7mag in 1994. I started whacking bulls with them and they performed very well. My brother piled up a moose at 400 with 1 well placed shot with my 7 as well around that same time. After my dad saw how they were working, he switched from Partitions and Grand Slams to the 180gr Mag Tip in his 300WM. He is 76 years old and still shoots the Mag Tip to this day. Speer discontinued the Mag Tip several years ago and he’s down to about 200 left.

Definitely a dinosaur compared to several of the newer bullets, but they have done the job at 50-450 pretty well on many, many animals.

 

[gerry35]

The 180 gr Mag Tip was a favorite bullet in my 308 Norma when I had it, shot at least a couple of moose with them. Performed about as well as the Grand Slam did at the time but cost a lot less. The Grand Slam bullet these days is built a lot like the Mag Tip was back then and is priced much better than the old Grand Slam was. Basically the Mag Tip lives on under a different name.

 

[Mike 338]

It doesn't matter what they offer in their lineup if it's not available to buy when you want it.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Fusions are Speer Good Dots, or in some cases identically constructed Federal versions to Gold Dots.

Fwiw, everything I know about the Speer BTSP bullets is they are a lead core inserted into a jacket. There is no bonding. Fusion is bonded by bonding the outer jacket molecularly around the lead core. To my knowledge the fusion would not be Speer BTSP, per se. Speer flat base bullets are "Hot Cor" design which pours a molten core into the jacket.

I was mistaken and was recalling previous conversation with Form on the matter.

In .257 at least, Speer sells a 120 grain spitzer BTSP.

In 100 grain they sell:
Flat base HP
Spitzer BTSP
Spitzer flat base "Hot Cor"

I checked the Federal Fusion page, and it is definitely a different bullet than the standard Speer BTSP, and apologies for the bad direction. However, for $25/100, they're still a great value and I plan to shoot them.

 

[Mosby]

Killed my first deer with a Speer out of a 30-06. Pretty accurate and we've always gotten good penetration and expansion. My brother and his kids prefer the Grand Slam bullets for most of their hunting. I primarily shoot Barnes bullets out of rifles but nothing wrong with Speer.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I was just in my reloading room and I still have some of the old yellow plastic little boxes their bullets came in back in the 80's. Christ I'm getting old.

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

I was just in my reloading room and I still have some of the old yellow plastic little boxes their bullets came in back in the 80's. Christ I'm getting old.

Ha ha! Like these? A box of 175s and then the other box is filled with 52gr HPs… that were bought by the pound as well.

They sure flip a Prairie dog up in the air.

 

[35WhelenAI]

I was mistaken and was recalling previous conversation with Form on the matter.

In .257 at least, Speer sells a 120 grain spitzer BTSP.

In 100 grain they sell:
Flat base HP
Spitzer BTSP
Spitzer flat base "Hot Cor"

I checked the Federal Fusion page, and it is definitely a different bullet than the standard Speer BTSP, and apologies for the bad direction. However, for $25/100, they're still a great value and I plan to shoot them.

No apology needed, we are all simply helping to keep the particulars in line.

I like the old Mag Tip's in an M99 300 savage as they had a shorter overall length for a given weight. Thicker jacket compared to the standard Hot Cor with respect to construction.

Makes sense the new Grand Slam would be a similar performing bullet to the old style Mag Tip given what was shared about construction. Assuming it performs similarly, that's a great deal for the lower cost of the newer version. I have some boxes of old style Grand Slams knocking around the reloading workroom in a few calibers.

As well, a good number of the old yellow box Hot Cor, BTSP and Mag Tips in various calibers.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I shoot the 165gr BTSP (part # 2034) in my .300 Win Mag.

Even though they are "soft points", in my experience in shooting whitetails with them, they do not upset as easily as a Remington Core-Lokt, Federal Power-Shok, Winchester Power Point, Ballistic Tip, etc. I think they would be good elk medicine.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Ha ha! Like these? A box of 175s and then the other box is filled with 52gr HPs… that were bought by the pound as well.

They sure flip a Prairie dog up in the air.

YES!!!! I love those boxes. I think some of them have been refilled/relabeled 10 times or more.