Speer Bullets ?

[Country Boy]

I see topics on about every bullet made but not much on speer, aren't they any good ? I just bought a Stevens 200 .243 and I want to use .85 grn bullets for both varmits and deer. I see Speer has a .85 grn sp and was wondering if it is any good ie. accurate/killing power etc. What has been your experience with Speer bullets ?

[PaulS]

Country Boy,

I use Speer bullets, almost exclusively, and they are as good as any non-premium bullet out there. They are available in my area, inexpensive but not the cheapest, and have always provided good groups and results on the game animals that I don't use premiums on. When I go after bear or elk I use Nosler Partitions. I quit hunting bear when they made dogs illegal here in this state for everyone but the State game folks. I am sure that the 165 grain bullet that I use would take an elk without problems but I feel the 180 grain Nosler provides a comfortable margin for me. (my brother laughs at me because I shoot sub MOA groups and don't need the edge but I am always careful where a life is offered to take it in the most humane way I can.

Every gun is different so give the Speers a try in your gun and see if they shoot - if they do then you will have no problem with terminal performance if you do your job at the soft end of the shooting.

[Savage]

Country Boy,
I no longer load for rifles but, I have had reasonable success with Speer bullets in both 6mm and 7mm. My best accuracy in both rifles was with Sierra bullets tho----------.
Savage

[Swamp Yankee]

For me, I don't use them because Speer doesen't recomend the use of their bullets with certian Lee loading dies. Being that all but one set are Lee's I've followed their instructions.  I have never heard of anyone complain about them, all reports have been positive.   Jim

[Dusty Miller]

I've killed a couple of pigs with the Speer 200 gr. Grand Slams and they worked as advertised.  However, down in the Africa Hunting forum JJHack sez the African Grand Slams just don't cut the mustard on dangerous game.

[str8shooter48]

For me, I don't use them because Speer doesen't recomend the use of their bullets with certian Lee loading dies. Being that all but one set are Lee's I've followed their instructions.  I have never heard of anyone complain about them, all reports have been positive.   Jim

Where did you see or read information about not using Speer bullets with Lee dies? It sound pretty fishy to me. The only reason I can think of. I believe mother company of Speer is or was also the mother company of RCBS. :wink:

[Swamp Yankee]

Str8,
     The warning is on the Lee rifle die instructions at the very bottom of the page.......Jim

[Don Fischer]

I use lot's of Hornady bullet's now but am ready to give Speer a try again. Nothing wrong with Hornady's, great bullet's!

Year's ago befor Vernon sold out to OMARK I used Speer hot core's in 7mm Rem Mag, 280Rem, 308 Win, 25-06 and a 243 Win ( never cared for the 243 but still have one). Here's my experience with Speer hot core bullet's. One of the best bullet's on the market. I did penetration test's into bundles of newspaper at 100 yds and found that Speer's maintained 86% of their weight(if memory serves me). The difference between them and Hornady's is that the Speer bullet's didn't shoot loose in their jacket's. I've used Speer and Hornady's on a lot of deer, a few elk, a few antelope, a few black bear's and lot's of varmits. If either brand ever failed, I haven't seen it. I've also used Herter bullet's (defunct and probally good thing) and Sierra bullet's on game. The only failure I ever had with either was a 140gr Sierra out of a 7mm Rem Mag at abour 60 yds on a black bear. More a problem of a bad choice of bullet than a bad bullet. But I never liked how the Sierra bullet's tore up the inside of game so quit using them on game. They are fabilous on varmits and target shooting.

I've shot a few Nosler's but not enough to give an opinion either way. The only thing I use them in now is my 243, the 70gr bal tip. I would suggest you use a heavier bullet for game, deer, in your 243. I believe most people that have bullet's fail have tried to make a to light bullet do in to hot a cartridge do to much. I've heard good thing's about 90 gr 24 cal bullet's on game but stick to the belief that for game that the 243 is suitable for, the 100 and 105 gr bullet's are best. Keep in mind, I've only shot a few deer with a 243, not my favorite cartridge. Keep in mind also that there is nothing magic about a bullet, you live within it's capabilities and it will preform.

[Don Fischer]

I use lot's of Hornady bullet's now but am ready to give Speer a try again. Nothing wrong with Hornady's, great bullet's!

Year's ago befor Vernon sold out to OMARK I used Speer hot core's in 7mm Rem Mag, 280Rem, 308 Win, 25-06 and a 243 Win ( never cared for the 243 but still have one). Here's my experience with Speer hot core bullet's. One of the best bullet's on the market. I did penetration test's into bundles of newspaper at 100 yds and found that Speer's maintained 86% of their weight(if memory serves me). The difference between them and Hornady's is that the Speer bullet's didn't shoot loose in their jacket's. I've used Speer and Hornady's on a lot of deer, a few elk, a few antelope, a few black bear's and lot's of varmits. If either brand ever failed, I haven't seen it. I've also used Herter bullet's (defunct and probally good thing) and Sierra bullet's on game. The only failure I ever had with either was a 140gr Sierra out of a 7mm Rem Mag at abour 60 yds on a black bear. More a problem of a bad choice of bullet than a bad bullet. But I never liked how the Sierra bullet's tore up the inside of game so quit using them on game. They are fabilous on varmits and target shooting.

I've shot a few Nosler's but not enough to give an opinion either way. The only thing I use them in now is my 243, the 70gr bal tip. I would suggest you use a heavier bullet for game, deer, in your 243. I believe most people that have bullet's fail have tried to make a to light bullet do in to hot a cartridge do to much. I've heard good thing's about 90 gr 24 cal bullet's on game but stick to the belief that for game that the 243 is suitable for, the 100 and 105 gr bullet's are best. Keep in mind, I've only shot a few deer with a 243, not my favorite cartridge. Keep in mind also that there is nothing magic about a bullet, you live within it's capabilities and it will preform.

[str8shooter48]

Str8,
     The warning is on the Lee rifle die instructions at the very bottom of the page.......Jim

Swamp your right I never picked up on that one. I have used Lee dies with Speer bullets in my 6mmRem never had a problem.

I usually have two set of dies on hand for each caliber. A set of Lee Collet dies, and a RCBS full length set.

Wonder where the problem lies, with the sizer or the seating dies? Either way I have it covered. Maybe I'll get in touch with Speer tommorow and see whats up. I was planning to start loading for my 308 in the spring and was going to try the Speer 150gr HotCor bullets. now maybe not.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[str8shooter48]

Swamp here's the scoop on Speer bullets and Lee dies. It was in Speers FAQ section. I don't use a factory crimp die so no problem.

Q.
 I bought a reloading die set and there’s a note with the dies that says something like, “Speer does not recommend using their bullets with these dies.” What’s the deal?
 
A.
 Speer never made such a broad recommendation. Speer’s recommendation is: Do not apply a crimp to any bullet that does not have a crimp groove. The die company in question markets a die to produce a “factory crimp” and recommends it be used on any bullet. Speer’s tests, and those by another bullet maker and an independent gun writer, show that crimping a bullet that doesn’t have a crimp groove degrades group size by an average of 40 percent. Other than the crimp die, we have no problem with our bullets in that firm’s dies, although our preference is for RCBS® products. We express our thanks to the die maker for allowing us to make contact with so many new SPEER customers.

You would think the people at Lee would clarify the situation in their instructions.

[Questor]

I believe that Lee puts it more plainly:

"Thank you for wasting your money on this die set. Although you will eventually realize that you should have taken the money and burned it, we appreciate the gesture because it keeps us in the business of making the worst reloading components available."

[Savage]

Questor,
I currently have several sets of Lee/RCBS/Lyman dies. I prefer the Lee dies over the other two brands. Dillon dies are the best I've used, but I don't currently own any. Just curious, what is it that you don't like about the Lee dies?
Savage