Grand slams vs Interlocks

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freire

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Fellas i have used and still use Interlocks and have a pretty good understanding of what they are capable.
On the other hand never shot any Speer manufactured bullet, so my question is for those of you that have used them is how do they stack up against the interlocks.
Cheers
 
The old (twin core) Grand Slams were great- good expansion, weight retention and the were very accurate in the rifles I shot them out of. Haven't tried the new ones. On the other hand, I have shot a lot of game with Interlocks- I have no valid complaints about those either.
 
The newer Grand Slams don’t have the dual core as Windknot mentioned, they’re thick jacket cup and core bullets. On the bullet test I did, the Grand Slam penetrated a bit deeper and retained more weight then the Interlock. Accuracy was similar.
 
Interlocks made today are nothing write home about ,the old one's were.I hope Speer didn't mess with the Grand Slams they were also VG.
 
bcsteve said:
The newer Grand Slams don’t have the dual core as Windknot mentioned, they’re thick jacket cup and core bullets. On the bullet test I did, the Grand Slam penetrated a bit deeper and retained more weight then the Interlock. Accuracy was similar.
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I remember you posting your testing results, excellent job by the way.
If you were to choose between grand slams, interlocks or hot cores which would be your pick?
 
freire said:
I remember you posting your testing results, excellent job by the way.
If you were to choose between grand slams, interlocks or hot cores which would be your pick?
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I’d rate the Interlock and HotCore as equals with a slight edge in toughness to the Grand Slam. The test I did with my .35 Whelen was actually with those three bullets and the TSX. If I recall correctly, the IL and HC penetrated the same at 18”, the GS 19” and the TSX 20-21”.
 
I was close...

Hornady 250gr SP IL

Penetration: 17"
Expansion: 0.802, 0.793, 0.792....avrg: 0.803
Weight retention: 206.2, 206.0, 204.2....avrg: 205.1gr


Speer 250gr HC

Penetration: 18"
Expansion: 0.670, 0.796, .0774....avrg: 0.747
Weight retention: 173.8, 217.8, 209.5....avrg: 200.4


Speer 250gr GS

Penetration: 18"
Expansion: 0.656, 0.700...avrg: 0.678
Weight retention: 208.3, 212.8....avrg: 210.6
(one bullet got away)


Barnes 225gr TSX

Penetration: 20"
Expansion: 0.737, 0.755, 0.686...avrg: 0.726
Weight retention: 225.1, 225.0, 224.9...avrg: 225.0
 
ok for deer, way better choices out there for elk + moose. If you spend a couple or few thousand on a rifle/scope, why would you cheap out on ammo? simple .... only exception is Speer HC 220gr in .358cal - outstanding, especially in 358 Win and 350 Rem Mag
 
9.3 Hunter said:
ok for deer, way better choices out there for elk + moose. If you spend a couple or few thousand on a rifle/scope, why would you cheap out on ammo? simple .... only exception is Speer HC 220gr in .358cal - outstanding, especially in 358 Win and 350 Rem Mag
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I don't cheap out on ammo, i don't hunt elk but do hunt moose, black bear and deer, and for black bear and moose i exclusively use either partitions or accubonds, in my books they are two excellent bullets.
But for deer coyotes and such i don't feel the need to use those bullets, ence my question.
and i spend more than a few thousand in scopes alone.
By the way you didn't answer my question:)
 
I have used Speer Grand Slams, Hot Cors, and Hornady Interlocks to kill several elk each in my .35 Whelen rifles. In 250 gr. they are only being shot at 2500 fps muzzle velocity, and are not stressing the cup and core design unduly. I didn't find a practical difference in killing performance, but prefer the Grand slam only because I get a bigger proportion of pass thru penetration and a better blood trail with two holes. Not that it mattered. I have found that almost every elk shot through both lungs was dead within 50 yards, and few closer than 10 yards. They usually do a short death dash. Grand Slams seem better at holding together if they hit the heavy bone of the humerus/ scapula joint. I have a friend who has used Grand slams extensively in his .270 for shooting "bigger than deer" animals. With lighter 130 gr bullets at 3000 fps the stronger construction of the Grand Slam starts to pay obvious dividends over the Interlock. Better weight retention, deeper penetration, less problems with fragmentation if heavy bone is hit.
 
freire said:
Fellas i have used and still use Interlocks and have a pretty good understanding of what they are capable.
On the other hand never shot any Speer manufactured bullet, so my question is for those of you that have used them is how do they stack up against the interlocks.
Cheers
Click to expand...

Depends a great deal on the velocity range you're working in.

For instance, a 180gr interlock could over expand and penetration will be poor in 300 winmag. But at 30-06 velocity the same bullet will stand up better and penetrate further than it did in the 300 win mag.

Hard to discuss cup and core bullet performance without mentioning velocity.
 
I run 250gr interlock spitzer's in my 358 Norma Mag and they work great. No issues with penetration or expansion on moose or deer.
All die, all die quick.
I however have not shot any rhinos or hippos with them, so I guess a true test they have not had.
Compleat pass thrus with lots of expansion on everything I have shot.
Most game are not bullet proof. These bullets work amazing, not sure when elk, moose and deer became so tough we needed solid copper to kill them.
My shots have been from 50yards to 400yards, exactly the same results at all ranges.
 
leeelmer said:
I run 250gr interlock spitzer's in my 358 Norma Mag and they work great. No issues with penetration or expansion on moose or deer.
All die, all die quick.
I however have not shot any rhinos or hippos with them, so I guess a true test they have not had.
Compleat pass thrus with lots of expansion on everything I have shot.
Most game are not bullet proof. These bullets work amazing, not sure when elk, moose and deer became so tough we needed solid copper to kill them.
My shots have been from 50yards to 400yards, exactly the same results at all ranges.
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Sometimes bigger is definitely better. A 250-300gr 35 cal bullet has a larger safety margin than a .270 130gr bullet.
 
nowarningshot said:
Pushing bullets to magnum velocities, after taking two weeks off, driving a day or.two each way, thousands of dollars.....the answer is partition, accubond, TBBC, or the like. One of the cheapest controllable variable in a successful hunt is the projectile.
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Exactly right, and more so if the animal is larger than deer sized.
 
My intentions are to use them in non magnum rifles, i'm thinking along the lines of 30-06, 308, 6.5x55, 7x57, 9.3x62 and so on.
And for my magnums i will keep the partitions and accubonds, i'm with leeelmer i don't believe animals wear bulletproof vests.
I have seen a few animals that are known to be dangerous killed with a 30-06 with a simple cup and core bullet, back there and then there was no such thing as premium bullets, sometimes when there was no hunting ammo people used to cut the tips off of the fmj that were given to us by the troops when they went on patrols.
Once again i didn't ask if i should use premium or non premium for hunting, what i asked was a comparison between Interlocks, grand slams and hotcore, of the 3 wich one would you say it's a better performer.
I know i shouldn't be using interlocks in my 300 Bee but this is not what i asked.
 
So here's the real comparison. Each bullet was taken from a dead elk and shot by me. All at similar ranges, from 50-150 M. fired from a .35 Whelen, 250 grain, 2500 fps muzzle velocity. Hornady Interlock SP and RN on the left, Speer GS on the right. I normally don't find GS bullet IN elk, they just go on through. I like that. Two of these GS bullets hit some bone and then tumbled, that's why I was able to recover them. I would choose the GS over the Hornady whenever pushing them at higher velocity, or choosing lighter weight bullet, or hunting big tough critters. But the Hornady Interlock worked just fine for me , with a heavy for caliber bullet, moderate speed, and broadside shot. Edit: I just remembered the centre GS bullet was actually taken from a big mountain caribou, not an elk. Same results anyway.
 

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