Can someone tell me something on a personal note about regular speer bullets. I have an oportunity to buy some 160 boattails in .284 real cheap. I was wondering if you can get any kind of accuracy, and if they would make a good hunting round for my 7mm mauser. I usually load 162gr. hornady at 2800+ with excellent accuracy, so I thought someone out there might have some 1st hand experience. Thanks. fws

I like Speer Hot cores. They kill Deer and such just as dead as any bullet and their accuracy is on par with anything of similar construction. I used to shoot them in my 7mm Mag so a 7X57 should be no problemo.

I've found Speer bullets to be quite accurate, and to perform well on game. I load 145 gr Speer boattails in my wife's 7x57, at about 2750 fps. So far, she has killed pronghorn, mule deer, and caribou with no problems with those loads. Accuracy is more than acceptable -- around an inch or less. Within reasonable hunting ranges, I would not hesitate to shoot elk with a 160 grain Speer from a 7x57. I realize that is not a popular position with today's super-magnum craze, but people have been killing a lot of game for 110 years with Mauser's 7mm.

I'd buy them, if I were you. (Actually -- I have bought them, for many years.)

I can say this at least. The 150gr. hot cores perform better out of my fathers 30/06 than anything else I've tried loading for him.

He hunts with a Sako hunter and it's finicky. It's a tougher bullet than Nosler Ballistic tips also.

I'm loading them for my 308 BLR also but have to get some repairs done before I can test them. The price is great if you loading for deer sized game.

I have shot Speer bullets from a number of rifles, 308 165 grain, 270 130 grain, 7x57 145 grain, all with good accuracy and excellent performance on big game. The Speer Hot Cor process, or something very similar, is now considered a "Premium " bullet by other manufacturers. Speer has been giving it to us on their standard bullets for years.

Buy 'em. We all have "premium bullet" itis so bad that we tend to forget that a few tons of game has been harvested with hot cores, core lokts, and such for many many years.

I like the performance of the Speer bullets that I have used on game.

But the boatails are not "Hot Cores" as far as I know. Even then I would not hesitate to use them with 7mm Mauser. In general the rule is a 2800 max impact velocity. However on the deer I have shot with the 130 gr Speer Hot Core flat base from a 7mm Rem mag at 75 yard average distance the deer did not complain but just fell down.

The other Speer bullet that I have used a lot is the .35 cal 180 gr flat nose. This is my favorite bullet for the .358 Win.

I think of Speer as kind of a "jeans and t-shirt" kinda company. They just keep on making good stuff, and we keep shooting it. I've had good luck with their varmint bullets. FWIW, Dutch.