Do any of you hunt with this bullet? It seems like a reasonable option in the 2600-2700fps muzzle velocity range. Yes, I am aware that a TSX/Partition or whatever may out penetrate it, but that is not my question. Just looking for some experiences. I bought a couple of boxes "for fun". Mostly asking because it is July and I won't get to go hunting for a few months yet. ie - the long stretch between hunts is starting to get to me!
.308" 200gr Speer
- Thread starter 1899
- Start date
I push it to 180 grain in 308 (@ ~2600fps - i don't have a chrono). A 200 grain bullet with a BC of 0.556 is good and would work, but the powder density and velocity might be a limiting factor in range. At short range it would probably be very precise. Try it out!
Note: I don't have reloading data for those bullets but I would start there. Looking at other 200gr bullets it seems to be ~2550fps average.
Note: I don't have reloading data for those bullets but I would start there. Looking at other 200gr bullets it seems to be ~2550fps average.
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I've used 200gr in my 30.06 for several years but went back to 180s, as it didn't give me any advantage. I've loaded everything from 125gr up to 250gr. I always went back to 180gr for max hunting load. If I was just shooting paper, I'd be shooting 150s
I have never hunted with them and won't but here are the results from my cow femur/muscle wrap experiment.
Bullet: 200gr Speer SP
Penetration: 3"
Weight retention: 14.5gr (7.25%)
Expansion diameter: .533"
Impact speed: ~2825
Horrible results. Speer bullets are soft. No you won't be aiming for moose femurs on purpose but since all the other bullets went through the same test there are far better non premium bullets available. The current production 168gr btip comes to mind. That's the perfect bullet for 308/3006 if you are talking non premium imho. If you are just double lung shooting deer then pretty much anything works of course.
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Damn! Those results really surprise me. We've shot a fair number of game animals with speers (hot cors) over the years, mostly in .270 and .308 chamberings. Even 130's from a .270 @ 3100+ fps never gave us any notable failures to penetrate or kill effectively. I can't recall any 130's blowing through the far side of a moose, but they have certainly always gone deep enough into the boiler to do a whole lot of wrecking things, and they did sometimes smash through a front femur on the way in.
impact speed as a lot to do with it : at 2300 or 2400 the results wont the same for sure.
all the best.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
I use a 200grn accubond in my 300WM, fantastic on moose, hell on deer.... but thats not your question 
I have a Win Model 70 chanbered in 308 that for some reason is not accurate with lighter bullets, its very troublesome and annoying, but more to the point... it will shoot 200grn bullets into an accectable group and has been used for deer with this combination.
but as pointed out above, the 308 is limited by case capacity and with a 200grn bullet your getting close to the edge of what the 308 can do.
I have a Win Model 70 chanbered in 308 that for some reason is not accurate with lighter bullets, its very troublesome and annoying, but more to the point... it will shoot 200grn bullets into an accectable group and has been used for deer with this combination.
but as pointed out above, the 308 is limited by case capacity and with a 200grn bullet your getting close to the edge of what the 308 can do.
A number of years ago, I had a 300 H&H Mag that was pretty fussy about what it liked to shoot well.
Guess what shot best? Yup, the 200 grain Speer H-C.
So my son and I took it hunting.
Shot a moose apiece with it, one broadside, and one facing straight on.
Both animals DRT. But, even at H&H velocities, it was evident that these bullets are "soft" [2800 fps muzzle]
Not much left of the bullet to recover from either animal.
Regards, Eagleye.
Guess what shot best? Yup, the 200 grain Speer H-C.
So my son and I took it hunting.
Shot a moose apiece with it, one broadside, and one facing straight on.
Both animals DRT. But, even at H&H velocities, it was evident that these bullets are "soft" [2800 fps muzzle]
Not much left of the bullet to recover from either animal.
Regards, Eagleye.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Even .308 will push 200gr to 2600fps (Hodgdon data), so it's perfect for the .308 as well. That's the significantly more velocity than the 7x57 175gr, a load known for its effectiveness.
Kind of thinking a similar way. I suspect the 200gr Speer is superior to most, if not all, soft point bullets of 75 years ago.
Dave - I've got a bunch to burn through. I'm curious to see how well they shoot - and I will be below your H&H velocity, so perhaps they will hold up a bit better? Either that or I'll just use them for plinking.
I would not be afraid to try them at 308 Velocities. They should be just fine.
I use them for load development in my big 30's, then switch over to the Partition for the actual hunt.
They are usually not far apart, group-wise.
Cheers, Dave.
