Speer bullets.

saskcop said:
There was a time that I used Speer Grand Slams exclusively in the guns that I hunted with at the time (.243, .30-06, .300 wm, .338 wm). They were at times very accurate in certain guns and no so good in other guns. They did perform well though. I have never recovered one in .243.
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With the discussion on Speer and their GS bullets I remembered buying a bulk purchase of the 165gr GS years ago on what used to be a biyearly 'shopping' trip to Kesselrings Gun Shop in Washington state. I got them primarily for use in a Winchester model 88 I had at the time and they were one of the most accurate out of the 88 at that time. This discussion reminded me and a check shows I still have 200 or 300 in my bullet shelf but nolonger have the 88 and they would be a 2nd choice to the Barnes TTSX I'm going to in my two remaining 30 cals.
 
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captonion said:
If they are more accurate (I have also found that in some cases) they are indeed worth paying a bit more.
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Not in my books. I'll take a 1MOA load using the TSX rather than a 0.75MOA load using the Speer Grand Slam, if the price is similar. Of course I'm talking about your average 200-300 yards hunting, not the long-range stuff ;)
 
Not in my books. I'll take a 1MOA load using the TSX rather than a 0.75MOA load using the Speer Grand Slam, if the price is similar.
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I have never had to settle for MOA with the TSX or TTSX,the average seems to be around 5/8MOA.

I guess that I never tried Speer bullets,because they didn't offer anything that I wanted.The only controlled expansion bullet that they offered,was the Grand Slam,and it had a relatively poor B.C..
 
Same here. I was just speaking in relative terms for illustration's sake...
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I understand,I would rather use premium bullets like the TTSX that are producing 5/8MOA for me, rather than a match bullet that produces 3/8MOA,but may or may not hold together on an elk or a moose.
 
They're the only company to make a suitable 87gr deer bullet Hot Cor in .257 for the 1-14 Savages .250-3000 that is. Mine don't like 100gr except the extinct Dominion 100gr KKSP RN and they would all go in one hole................Harold
 
Back in the late 70's when I started predator calling the Speer 52 gr. HP (huge HP) was the best fur bullet on the market out of my ADL 22-250 sporter.. It was also extremely accurate always cutting 3 shot groups below 1/2" using either H4895, H380, and H414..
The only Speer big game bullet I have shot is the 140gr .264 as loaded in the Federal Fusion factory round which shot extremely well..
I ordered some Speer "Deep Curl" (Fed. Fusion for reloaders) bullets locally late last winter IIRC and still no love..:(
 
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Jordan Smith said:
Not in my books. I'll take a 1MOA load using the TSX rather than a 0.75MOA load using the Speer Grand Slam, if the price is similar. Of course I'm talking about your average 200-300 yards hunting, not the long-range stuff ;)
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I use TSX bullets for moose in a few cals, but quit using them for deer after having a bullet failure. I shot a doe quartering away shooting up hill @ about 70yds. As I recall the bullet entered the low left side taking out one of the last two ribs, and was recovered under the hide at the base of the neck. The bullet was nothing more than a little bit bent in the middle, and had not mushroomed at all. I am lucky it had not been a broadside lung shot.It would have been like it was shot with a military ball round IMO, and I may have not recovered the deer. Even though this was my only bad experience with the TXS on deer, it will be my last, and is better suited for bigger moose sized game IMO

Here are some pictures I got from another sight of game recovered bullets after I had my bullet failure. Stories like this aren't uncommon.Just how many pass throughs do this? One is too many IMO

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TSX's
Berger's
Matchking's !!??

Relying on a small hollow point to fill up with material on on impact so it can hydraulically open up is recipe for failure. The smaller the hollow point and the stiffer the jacket the worse it is.

The exception is if the jacket is very thin. It must be so thin it can also crush open on impact, an example of this would be the various varmint bullets.


There is a reason Hornady and Nosler put a tip in their hollow point copper bullets right off the get-go. Barnes is doing it too. The mechanical expansion the tips provide is much more reliable than the hydraulic expansion needed for those tiny hollow points.



How many game bullets use tiny hollow points? Not many. The ones that do have lots of bad stories. It's a fact.
 
captonion said:
I use TSX bullets for moose in a few cals, but quit using them for deer after having a bullet failure. I shot a doe quartering away shooting up hill @ about 70yds. As I recall the bullet entered the low left side taking out one of the last two ribs, and was recovered under the hide at the base of the neck. The bullet was nothing more than a little bit bent in the middle, and had not mushroomed at all. I am lucky it had not been a broadside lung shot.It would have been like it was shot with a military ball round IMO, and I may have not recovered the deer. Even though this was my only bad experience with the TXS on deer, it will be my last, and is better suited for bigger moose sized game IMO

Here are some pictures I got from another sight of game recovered bullets after I had my bullet failure. Stories like this aren't uncommon.Just how many pass throughs do this? One is too many IMO

p1000371t.jpg

6772dscf85xbt6mm.jpg

6772225xr.jpg
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Pardon my questions:redface: but I'm just getting into using Barnes, and I'm going primarily with TTSX.
  • What caliber?
  • What weight?
  • Velocity or estimated velocity?
I would've thought at that close of a range, and especially taking into consideration the bullet remained in the animal, that it would've peeled into a good mushroom. In theory, would a TTSX mushroom easier as I've been lead to believe?
 
Having used the TSX,MRX.and TTSX on big game,I have yet to have one not expand.They do seem to work best in lighter weights,driven at higher velocities.I would not use a heavy for caliber Barnes bullet at lower velocities.I want at least 2200fps impact velocity with any of the Barnes big game bullets.
 
Republic of Alberta said:
TSX's
Berger's
Matchking's !!??
Relying on a small hollow point to fill up with material on on impact so it can hydraulically open up is recipe for failure. The smaller the hollow point and the stiffer the jacket the worse it is.
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Now that you say it like that.

When I started loading Barnes I thought these were the be-all and end-all for all my big game needs. After this bad experience it left a bad taste for me, and I went back to my old reliables. For Premiums I mostly load Nosler Ps, Grand Slams, and Swift Scirrocco bullets, because i know they work every time.

I think the TSX bullets are better suited for bigger animals with thick hides,and heavy bones where the bullets are less likely to fail. IMO Rem Core-Loct bullets are a much better choice for deer sized game.
 
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stubblejumper said:
Having use the TSX,MRX.and TTSX on big game,I have yet to have one not expand.They do seem to work best in lighter weights,driven at higher velocities.I would not use a heavy for caliber Barnes bullet at lower velocities.I want at least 2200fps impact velocity with any of the Barnes big game bullets.
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My failure was with a 140gr from a .280 Rem stroking right along @ 2800+fps.This should have been a perfect recipe, especially after taking out a rib on the way in on a quartering away shot. Like I said if this had been a broadside shot,there is a good chance I would not have recovered the deer. That alone was a good enough reason for me to quite using the bullets.
 
TSX bullets work fantastic on deer-sized game. I've killed and seen killed well over 50, and probably approaching 100, deer, caribou, antelope, sheep, etc with Barnes X/TSX bullets. Not once have I seen a failure.

Now, having said that. EVERY bullet known to man will produce a failure from time to time. Partitions have failed. TSX bullets have failed. Hornady IL's have failed. The list goes on. To assume that a bullet will never fail just because it's a premium is simply ignoring the facts. The fact is- all things man-made have a certain failure rate. Premium bullets typically have a lower rate of failure than regular C&C's, but they still fail occasionally, none-the-less.

Oh, and Bergers and MK's expand on deer-sized game just fine, too. Ask me how I know.
 
looking for speer?

When I was at WSS in Wpg 2 weeks ago they had lots of speer, and slim pickings on the rest. I know nothing about them, so I didn't buy them. I used to like Hornady, but I'm leery of them after hearing bad stories about the new Interlocks. Ended up with Seirra gamekings and Nosler accubonds in .308 165 gr. Never used them yet.
 
Another Barnes failure story.

Another one I just remembered. A hunter at my camp hit a nice buck high in the rib cage(still a lung hit) @ 40yds with a 7mm mag, using factory loaded Barnes-X PMC Eldorado ammo. We found a little hair, but no blood, and all figured it was just grazed. The buck was shot the very next chase with a single shoulder hit by another hunter. When skinned out one could see where the 7mm entered taking out one rib(cleanish break), then making a pencil sized exit wound. It was pretty obvious the bullet did not expand.
The same hunter has taken a couple moose with the same rifle/ammo combo that I was witness to where the bullets performed as they should have.Go figure!

Jordan Smith said:
TSX bullets work fantastic on deer-sized game. I've killed and seen killed well over 50, and probably approaching 100, deer, caribou, antelope, sheep, etc with Barnes X/TSX bullets. Not once have I seen a failure.
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Chances are, the instances where the bullet didn't expand you wouldn't see the failure, or the animal for that matter. An unexpanded bullet could very easily be chalked up as a miss.
 
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