Speer Grand Slams

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powdergun

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I was just cleaning up the reloading stuff and found some 7mm speer 175 grands slam bullets. As I recall these are supposed to be premium bullets up there with Barnes, Nosler partitions and such. I've never used these on animals so is there any of you out there with some first hand experience.

Are these up there with the types mentioned or are they run of the mill bullets.
 
They are considered premium bullets. Could be mistaken, but I seem to recall that it has to with expansion control and weight retension resulting from the lead in them being of regular softness in the nose and increasing hardness in the heel.
 
I have a box of 160gr and 175gr grand slams for 7mm. I bought them to load for my dad's rifle but then he started hunting with a '06. haha.. They are a a bit old but still marked 29.95/50 :) I picked up each box for 10 bucks.
 
I've used Speer Grand Slams in my .308...the 150 grain variety. The four moose that were shot with them were bang-flop kills, each and every one. I really like the Grand Slams. :)

Jeff/1911.
 
Im sure they work fine, but looking at the specs of the bullet and its price, comparing it to other bullets out there - gotta wonder why they'd even sell a box
 
Grand slams

I've taken several large Whitetail and Mule deer with 160gr GS's from my 7m/m RM , one in Alberta just 2 weeks ago. Mostly my all around deer load, but I wouldnt hesitate to use on Elk/moose in a pinch. Shots were all pass-throughs so none recovered to examine. I like them, but do plan to try Barnes TSX's someday.
Geoff
 
10 years ago I shot a 5x6 elk at about 25 yards,..twice, with 200 gr Grand Slams out of a 300 Win Mag....none recovered....loonie size exit holes....perfect performance at that range I thought. They aren't popular these days being somewhat overshadowed by newer monolithic designs but I believe they are a cut above the average cup & core bullets out there...
 
I've only used them on paper, but they shot more accurately out of one of my rifles than any other bullet. Reports from those that have used them on game lead me to believe that they are somewhere between C&C bullets and high-end premiums like TSX/PT/TTBC, etc, as far as performance goes.
 
I've killed about 10 elk and one moose and one mountain caribou with them, shooting the 250 grain .358" in a .35 whelen. That bullet pushed to 2500 fps is very consistent big critter killer. My buddy used them exclusively in his .270, and kills an elk every year and a moose whenever he gets to shoot at one. I think they are underrated by most reviewers, most comments I read are that they are just a good cup and core bullet. I disagree, they are a true premium bullet. The few that were not pass throughs were recovered with good looking mushrooms and lots of weight retention. In the Whelen they are a bit too hard for deer, I once had a long tracking job with a liver shot whitetail, the bullet just made a small pencil hole. A quicker expanding bullet would be a better choice for deer in my opinion.
 
This is a .30 cal. 180 gr, dual core Grand Slam, recovered from a 1 1/2 year old bull moose that I shot with a .300 win mag at about 225 yds.

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According to my notes, impact velocity should have been around 2500 fps.
It weighs 153 gr, for about 85% retention.
Frontal area is .477-.583".
Judging by the "smearing", it tumbled it's way to the offside skin, where it was recovered.
It literally fell out as we were skinning.
 
The older GS has a harder lead core at the base of the bullet and a softer lead core at the front. This was supposed to enable the bullet to act like the PT, in a way, since the front half of the core was designed to open quickly and widely, and the rear half was designed to remain intact and drive through the target. Lots of guys loved this bullet.

The new version is an example of cost cutting, as it has just one lead core using a "middle-of-the-road" hardness. This is the bullet I'm referring to when I say that it's somewhere between a standard C&C and a true premium.
 
Any Speer GSs that I've fired into test medium have exhibited classic expansion & weight retention; near perfect terminal performance.

Trouble is, I've never been able to get consistent accuracy with them. So I don't bother with them.
 
IIRC they were also assembled with the Hot-Cor process, which is designed to cause a sort of soldering action between core and jacket to help control slippage.
They were, along with the Nosler Partition, about the first "premium" bullet commonly marketed in North America. Intro'd in 1975.

I may try a box of the .257 120 grains after I use up my regular Hot-Cor bullets.
 
I was talking on the phone with speer right around the time they changed the bullet. They told me that going to one core was all about trying to improve accuracy. They assured me that the bullet would perform the same on game. I personally have found no difference in accuracy, but with that said, they have always performed well for me.
 
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