Speer Grand Slam

[Cheesehead]

I am loading some 200 grain bullets for my brothers 300 Win Mag. I have two types of Speer bullets. The Grand Slam and the "standard", both in 200 grain. What makes the Grand slam different or better or premium?

Cheese

[AtlLaw]

Used to be 2 different lead alloys making up the core.  I believe that changed, going from my not so good memory, and if so, I don't know what sets them apart now.  Interesting question.   

[LaOtto222]

Here is the description of the Grand Slam Bullets

http://www.speer-bullets.com/default.asp?s1=3&s2=7&s3=19

[Dand]

I load the 200 gr Hot Core in my 300 win and like them very much.  I might have taken a small moose with them a few years ago.  Not positive as I got the ammo mixed up - hard to tell the 180s from 200's.  I like the 180 Hot Cores too and have taken at least a couple caribou with them. I use both extensively for practice and more often carry 180 and 200 Nosler Partitions in the field. 

I used to really like the 165 Grand Slams for this same rifle, accurate and cheaper than partitions.  But found all the 165's (including Nosler Part) made too much of a mess at close range so went to heavier bullets loaded a little slower - just to save meat. Seems that about that time, though I was  prepared for 200+ ranges, all the game was encountered at 100 or less for several years.

[Cheesehead]

I have been loading the Grand Slams just because they have been laying around for ten years and my brother needs ammo for the up coming white tail hunt. They may be over kill for white tail.

Cheese

[Don Fischer]

I had to go look at the new Grand Slam. Looks like they simply thickened the jacket and kept the origional mag tip design. Then did away with the two piece core which was softer in frint and harder in back in favor of the Hot core. I really used to like the old Speer bullets years ago. The Grand Slam was the first Speer bullet to get the mag tip, which is what they are calling the protected tip. In the early mag tip advertisements, they showed a high speed photo of a bullet leaving the barrel and the tip was gone. They claimed that the heat of the bullet going down the barrel softened the lead, or maybe melted it, and when it hit the air it was blown away. I always liked the mag tip idea, lot like the tip on a core lock.

[Siskiyou]

 I believe one of the reasons Speer changed the Grand Slam bullet was they could no longer get the lead alloy used in it.  Kind of looks like they dropped the Mag-T line and re-names it the Grand Slam.

[Lloyd Smale]

its been my favorite premium bullet for years. I gives great penetration but seems to open up more then a partition or x bullet. It seems to allways give me a tad better accuracy over the other premium bullets too.

[TXSPIKE]

I've used them for years in my 7mag for whitetails.I started out using the 160gr but I was getting too much penetration,dropped down to 145gr and still got great penetration but they seemed to deliver more shock,resulting in many DRT kills.Never had a problem with these bullets fragmenting,only recovered two out of forty or so animals killed,they were both intack after much bone contact and nice mushrooms.

[Cheesehead]

I would guess the 200 grain Grand Slam in a 300 Win Mag would have tremendous penetration, especially on deer.

Cheese

[TXSPIKE]

That would be my guess.The 200gr will kill them,but the 150,165 or 180gr. may be a better choice for whitetails.Those 200gr would be awesome for elk.

[BBF]

I've used the 200 gr Speers in 30-06 as well as in the 300 Win Mag which harvested my first moose. I also shot a small mulie with the 200 gr out of the 06. Little meat loss and of course full penetration. Interestingly in three 30-06 rifles the 200 gr. Speer pushed with a full load of H-4831 has produced some of the best groups ever out of those rifles. Since Speer doesn't use the two part cores in the Grand Slams anymore I see no advantage over the  Mag Tips other then the ballistic coefficient.