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 ?

[Questor]

I have used their varmint and big bullets and they are excellent. Their 50 grain TNT .223 bullet is the most accurate varmint bullet I have used, and it is also the least expensive. I have shot a couple of sheep with the 6.5mm hot cor bullet and gotten fabulous performance at both close range and at long range. What more can you want?  I have some for 375 magnum that I will be using for an upcoming buffalo hunt.

Speer doesn't get much press because, unlike other manufacturers, they are not changing their product line dramatically every year or two.

In a sense, Speer bullets are the best kept secret in shooting. I highly recommend them. Their loading manual is also the best in the industry, with Hornady being arguably about as good. Their swaged 38 caliber wadcutters are excellent too.

There may be nothing sexy about them, but they just plain work and exceed my expectations when I use them.

[Dusty Miller]

I've killed two pigs with 200 gr. Speer Grand Slams and can't complain one bit about their performance.  However, JJHack down in the Africa Hunting forum says the African Grand Slams just don't cut the mustard on dangerous game.

[Questor]

That's a common opinion with African hunters who also consider Nosler Partitions a poor choice for dangerous game. The Swift A-Frame and Woodleigh solids seem to be the best of breed for that kind of game.

[Siskiyou]

Having recovered a 30-06, 165 grain bullet after it passed threw a pine stump and almost the length of a deer I am a believer.  About two thirds of the bullet was recover.  A hunting partner was the shooter.

[The Sodbuster]

I've used their 100 grain .257 caliber spitzers with some luck.  I s'pose Speer's bullets are a lot like Sierra's.  I use a lot of Sierra's 'cause I can order them for a decent price from Cabela's.  I think Speer's sales are hurt 'cause Cabela's only carries their grand slams (I only order from Midway if Cabela's doesn't carry it.  I live in MO and have to pay sales tax on Midway orders).  

Also, Sierra does more advertising.

[Dand]

I shoot a lot of 180 gr 308 Speer hot core in my 300 win mag.  I used to use them only for practice as they were cheaper than the Nosler Partitions and very accurate.  But a friend was having great luck with the 35 cal 250 hot core in his 35 Whelen for moose and caribou.  So I started using the 180 speer on caribou with good results.

For some reason my 300 doesn't like 180 gr Hornady sapires but really works well with Speers and the Speer 200 as well.

This year I think my second shot on my moose was a 200 gr Speer and it was the anchoring shot. First shot was a 180 X bullet that I put too high to have a good effect, moose kept moving but slower.  The 200 gr landed lower on the animal, clipped the paunch on its way forward into the lung area at about 40 yards.  The moose just sagged and I knew it wasn't going anywhere.

A long time ago I used 165 30cal Grand slams on caribou.  They were accurate and really put animals down now. But my load was quite hot expecting long shots (about 3100 fps if I recall) - but for a couple seasons all my shots were at 30 - 50 yards and those bullets really damaged a lot of meat.  At that range so did 165 NOs partitions.  So I went up to 180 gr bullets loaded to about 2900 - much less meat damage.

I like the 52 gr .22 hollow point for accuracy in my 223 ruger 1.
I've shot a lot of their 41 mag bullets in my revolvers.

Yes I think Speer makes good bullets in several calibers. I have quite a few little yellow boxes on my loading shelves.

[Coyote Hunter]

I use quite a few Speer bullets, all to good effect.

.224 = 52g Match BTHP in my .22-250
.257 = 120g Grand Slam in my .257 Roberts
7mm = 160g  in my 7mm Mag (accurate and deadly on elk)
.308 = 130, 150 and 170g in my .30-30
.308 = 168g Match BTHP in my .308 Win
.44 = 240g JSP in my .44 Mag pistol and rifle
.458 = 300g UCHP and 350g FSP in my .45-70

[Cappy]

I've only just started using Speer bullets because I seem to be ablt get them a lot cheaper than anythign else right now for punching paper.

120gr in 6.5x55
200gr in 325WSM

If they turn out to be good loads I wouldn't have any problems using them on game considering I used Interlocks for years.

[catman]

I tried some Speer 165gr core locks, they were on sale.  They didn't do anything for me and went back to NP's and Sierra's for my purpose.

[Greysky]

I use certain Speer rifle and handgun bullets. But I prefer Sierra bullets for target shooting. Sort a box of Speer rifle bullets by weight. Then sort a box of Sierra bullets by weight. You will then see that Sierra pays more attention to quality control.

[Don Fischer]

I use mostly Hornady bullet's now but in years past, a lot of Speer's. I quit using Speer's when Vernon sold out, damn they had great customer service then! But I'd guess the bullet's are still the same. I've used them in 22, 25, 26, 28, 30 and 338 cal. I can't make one complaint about any of them.

As Greysky said, you weight a box of Sierra's and you won't believe how consistent they are. Every one is exactly the same. But we're talking hunting bullet's here I think and I don't like the old Sierra's for hunting, to much damage! I think another guy refered to them as "to soft". He's got that right.

Now I'm not pi$$ed at Ormak, or whoever makes Speer now, got a box here, Blount. So I'm gonna try them again and use whatever shoots best, Hornady or Speer.

[PaulS]

I've used Speers in my rifles and pistols for nearly 30 years. I have used a few Sierras, Hornady and some Noslers for dangerous or Big large game and speer has matched the accuracy of all but the Sierra Target bullets. The Noslers are the best for its purpose but for the bulk of my shooting and hunting the Speers are as good or better than anything out there for the same job.

[Questor]

Damning with faint praise seems to be the approach given to Speer bullets. I just read an article on .22 varmint bullets in this months' Handloader magazine and they just glossed over the 50 grain TNT and left a negative impression of that bullet because it's designed for .223 velocities instead of .220 swift velocities. This is a superb bullet that performs extremely well. Speer has other fine .22 bullets that are made for the higher velocities.

[qajaq59]

I use various Speer bullets for reloading in 3 different rifles and I like 'em.

[Jim n Iowa]

My 243 tends to like 80-90 grn bullets. It may be that it is easier to seat them off the lands than lighter ones, at least in my rifle. I use the Sierra hpbt #1530 which is the most accurate bullet in my rifle. I just bought some Speer 85 sbt to try out.
Jim

[kombi1976]

I use the 8mm 170gn Speer Hot-Cor Semi-Spitzer for my sported '41 Kar98k 8x57.
They grouped better than the 180gn Nosler Ballistic Tips which were about the same price for a box of 50 that I pay for a box of 100 Speers.
I haven't planted anything with them but they're very dependable.
A professional roo shooter mate likes the 25 cal 87gn for his 303/25 and says they always perform, although I prefer the Sierra GameKing 90gn HPBT for my own 303/25.
I have to say there isn't much flash about Speer but what I've tried has been effective.
I can't see me changing my 170gn load for the 8mm anytime soon, especially while the prices stay good.

[DaveinOakwoodGA]

I used the Spee 168 gr. HPBT's with great affect when I first was learning highpower shooting.  They were very accurate in the M1 rifle I started with.  I'd buy them again, if I still shot highpower.  Lately I've done more action shooting.

regards,

Dave

[Steve P]

Those speer 85s with 45grs H4831 punch one hole groups at 100 out of my .243.  

Steve