Speer Bullets

[ArtP]

Besides what Speer has to say about these two lines of bullets on their website, which is vague, does anyone know the difference between Hot-Cor's and DeepCurl's with respect to terminal performance at .270 velocities?

There is no free lunch and there's always a trade-off between expansion and how well a bullet holds together. It's my assumption, one of these bullets opens faster and the other penetrates deeper.

Extra Credit:

How do you think these two Speer bullets compare to Sierra GK/PH?

 

[buck460XVR]

The Deep Curls are a plated bullet whereas the Hot-Cors are a traditional cup and core jacketed. Since the Deep-Curls for .270 are heavier than the Hot-Cors it just seems logical they would give better penetration whereas the lighter Hot-Cors would have higher velocity and quicker expansion. I do not use Speer bullets for rifle, but I do use their Deep-Curls(formerly Gold-Dots) in my .460 and .44s and have been happy with their terminal performance on deer size game.

 

[ArtP]

I didn't even catch that the DeepCurls are only available in 150 weight for .277 -- no 130's. That pretty much settles it.

I use that same DeepCurl in .44 mag as well in a 270gr.

 

[sage5907]

ArtP, I shoot Speer bullets for hunting and they are a great bullet. The 130 grain hot-cor is a well constructed bullet that when used on a deer will expand well and penetrate completely through the animal usually to be found under the skin on the far side. It is a one shot lethal killer on deer with either a shoulder shot or a lung shot. My 270's will shoot minute of angle groups with 56 grains of IMR 4831. The Speer 130 grain boattail is even a better load of deer as it expands slightly faster. I also shoot it with 56 grains of IMR 4831. BW

 

[sage5907]

I have shot both the Speer hot-cor 270 caliber and the Sierra game king and to me the hot-core is more heavily constructed than the Sierra. The Speer boattail in 270 is more comparable to the Sierra and appear to provide similar performance. BW

 

[ArtP]

Shooter,

I'd like to thank you for the input. I don't have anything "real" for comparison, but I too think the Sierra, though plenty accurate, may open just a little too much if one were forced to take a quartering shot.

I've been working up loads with RL22 using Sierra bullets and would like to use the best data to start up trials for a hunting bullet. It's my understanding IMR 4831 and RL22 are very similar. If you've got anything to offer, I'm all ears.

 

[sage5907]

ArtP, either the Speer hot-cor, the Speer boattail or Sierra Game King are all great hunting bullets. You won't be giving up anything by shooting any one of them. All of them are super accurate. The Speer hot-cor may give you slightly better penetration, and both the Speer boattail and Sierra are super accurate. I like a bullet that will completely expand inside the animal and not shoot completely through, and all my 270 hunting is done with a Speer boattail. I don't know anything about RL22 because I've been shooting IMR 4831 for years and have never found a need to change. I've found a 270 easy to load for and all of my rifles have shot minute of angle groups. BW

 

[interlock]

Hi. I have also hunted with all of these bullets and killed plenty of deer with all. I would agree that the hot cor, being bonded, expands less quickly than the others that are designed for longer range shots.

all are deadly bullets... but if you are driving them fast at close range then the hotcor is your bullet. if it is mainly 200yards plus or muzzle velocity is lower then go with the gameking or spbt from speer.

The deep curl is a new bullet and it seems designed with scores inside the jacket to open like petals...

I haven't used it. but i wonder if it has been designed so they can say it is the all new thing? really thier other bullets are great anyway.

interlock (another great bullet)

 

[ArtP]

Just wanted to thank you guys for responding. I read all the comments!

I went to the range today and had VERY good results with Sierra bullets and horrible results with Partitions. This came as no surprise.

I'm looking for something a little tougher than Sierra's but more accurate and less expensive than the premium names. Speer comes up and I like what they offer. I just may try them.

I don't mind paying a dollar per component bullet to hunt. But I handload and put bullets through an accuracy test, and that gets more expensive both in real cost and wear-n-tear on rifles.