Speer bullets worth a look

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

Speer bullets worth a look

Post by Wapiti » 12 Jun 2026, 7:41 pm

Been using .30 cal HotCors for awhile now for stalking/hunting, and thay never fail to work. 150gn in the 308, 180 in the 300WM and 200gn in the 300RUM.
Very economical bullets, and surprisingly accurate and effective.
Anyway, I saw these online a few weeks ago, and sourced some.
Speer ad.jpg
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I thought, at that price, with the amount of shooting we have to get done, I thought I'd try some.
Now, these are NOT for "hunting" they are for animal control where all shots are either head shots or at thinner skinned ferals.
I had done a few runs with the 223 and unfortunately, the turn of a head, my slight wobble, well there is no room for error with 223, but this doesn't affect the 308. So I thought I'd give these a go.
"The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."
Aristotle.
Regards G,
AKA Dr. Doolittle
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by Wapiti » 12 Jun 2026, 7:49 pm

Used the old done-everything gun, over 6000 shots now conservatively. Home done chamber tighten, squared up action face with my home-turned mandrel, refaced crown and barrel face, ground recoil lug. In a HS alloy-bed stock, which has been lapped in the bedding "V" with a mandrel made exactly the same diameter as the action.
No skim bedding.
My standard range distance in the house yard, 110m.
Oldrem700.jpg
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Looked at the manual, tried 47gns 2206H. Not bad. Average well over 3100fps in a 20" barrel, bloody hell.
Went down, tried 46.5gns. Wow. Good deal, these bullets. Still average around 3080fps.
Speer308125.jpg
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Bullets come in a 500rd. "ammo crate" :lol: Somehow, the postie managed to bust the box, hence the tape.
"The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."
Aristotle.
Regards G,
AKA Dr. Doolittle
Wapiti
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by Wapiti » 12 Jun 2026, 7:56 pm

Then, tried 46gns. Holy crap. This is 5 shots at 110m, average speed was 3050fps.
Scope is a very battered 4.5-14x50 MK4 scope, unbreakable thing it's proved to be for 10 years.
As can be seen, these projectiles are capable of incredible accuracy, and the price, wow.
46gn2206H125varmint.jpg
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Those of you who reload, and do the type of shooting that can use the accuracy of these bullets, have a look, don't write them off because they don't have an expensive plastic tip and big glossy ad.
Head shooting is a small target that can move in an instant, doesn't hang around, and doesn't allow for stuffing around. The last thing you need is big groups with all that other stuff to worry about. Including the personal ability to be consistent.
"The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."
Aristotle.
Regards G,
AKA Dr. Doolittle
Wapiti
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Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2464
Queensland

Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by Damo300 » 12 Jun 2026, 8:42 pm

It was you that mentioned them a while back in another thread, so I went and got a couple of boxes of 75gr hollow points for my 243.

I loaded them up to what my 85gr sierras are using and they grouped nicely. Averaged 3050fps and about 1moa.
I also loaded a few a touch hotter and got an extra 100fps out of them on average but the groups had opened up again so I'll just stick with the other load.
Still can get under 1moa @ 100. That's good enough for hunting.

I plan on getting some for my 30s as well.
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by Damo300 » 12 Jun 2026, 8:58 pm

The top right is a 6 shot group from the sierras for comparison.
Yes I pulled the left shot there, but I did follow it up with another through the clover, hence the 6 shots.

The ones under were another cooked load with the speer.

And bottom left is my 30/30 at 100.
It grouped 2 inches if you're lucky.
Got barrel threaded, fitted a radial brake....Tahdah
Bloody happy with that now. Those lever revolution FTX 160gr pills go all right.
Working some 175gr Sub X down as well.

Sorry about the photo size. It's the best I can do to meet the size requirements.
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by NedKelly79 » 12 Jun 2026, 9:07 pm

Hi everyone,
Ive been using the Speer 52 grain in my 222, 222 mag, 22/250, 220 Swift and the 130 grain in the 308 for decades, the huge hollow point cavity version and they perform great, they arent as fragile as the TNT version, they work very well on everything i cull and do plenty of damage indeed.
I am a big fan of Speer, they are very accurate in all my rifles.
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by deye243 » 12 Jun 2026, 11:46 pm

I've been using speer bullets for decades the standard 55s in 223 for kangaroo destruction and those 130 grain hollow points in .308 are a freak of a bullet everything's from pigs to Sambar out of a 3006 or 308 what more could you want and don't get me started on their TNT range cheap and exceptionally explosive if you're in to paddock pizza by some .
Yes very underrated projectiles pepole just walk past don't even give them a second look because they don't have the fancy plastic tip .
Just going to a gun shop when they're busy and ask about speer projectiles and watch all the Shooters under 50 look at you like your the village idiot.
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Re: Speer bullets worth a look

Post by bigrich » 13 Jun 2026, 4:16 am

i love the speer 30cal 165gn soft point boat tails, i used them recently with a middle of the road powder charge in my 308 tikka . reliable exit wounds bigger than one inch on smallish pigs , on quartering shots on large pigs the extra penetration and energy transfer over the 150sst's i normally use was noticeable. in a 30-06 it's even more devastating . i'll have to try a box of the 130gn hollow points you mention though deye . what powder are you using ? my tikka is a 10 twist and i use adi brass . i have 2206h and BM2 powder , which i think might be more suitable than the 2208 i use for heavier projectiles . cheers
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