In these days and times when bullets are are to find…I find myself considering things I used to not have to.

I have seen this discussed years ago but don’t remember the thoughts.

What are the feelings of Speer Hot-Cor bullets on deer up through elk sized game.

I guess we will never see Nosler Partitions again.

Speer, Hornady and Sierra cup core bullets is all we used for many years they will work as well today as they did back in the day, just don't drive them at high speed and shoot animals at very short or very long range.
BB

I like Speer bullets if they are heavy for caliber and not driven too fast. I'vs shot a bunch of elk and some moose with Speer 250 gr. bullets from my .35 Whelen, at 2500 FPS muzzle velocity. Perfect performance, even when heavy bone was hit.
Speer's Grand Slam bullet, even though the recent version has been simplified and cheapened, is still a pretty good bullet. I've used them in 7mm and .308" with very satisfactory results.

well, they do the job.
I'm also of the opinion they are a bit lightly constructed.

I like the 100gr boat tail in my 25-06, but even held down to 3-K fps their idea of controlled expansion and my idea of controlled expansion are two different things.

killed every deer I've ever pointed one at [and only one was needed] but I really have to stay away from the shoulder.

I'd really like them a lot more if they put another .0015-.002 into the jacket thickness, or a touch more [3-4%] zinc into the jackets alloy mix.

They are old school bullets. Use them with old school principles in mind and they will do a great job. Almost any of them are fine for deer. 180 grains @ 30-06 velocities (properly placed) work a treat on Elk.

They work if that is what is available, Speer is not my first, second or third choice.

I think y’all have answered my question — thank you.

I have found the 100gr .257s to expand really fast even blow up. When shot out of my 250-3000 and 257 Roberts.

PM sent.

Dr Easter---(that's ledvm for those that don't know--a veterinarian) you should know better than most of us that bullet placement is the whole key. Even a wimpy .222 or .223 placed right does the job.

Speer hot core in the 35 whelen worked great even on tough animals like Zebra.

The sierra bullets came apart totally.

LEDVM,
MY favorite bullet in a 7x57 for deer size game is the 130 gr flat base or boattail..another favorite was the 275 gr. speer GS, now discontinued, Old Elmer praised it, probably for rabbits knowing Elmer he was a little weird at times! I hope your wrong about Noslers, what caliber are you looking for? I might have some..

Obviously you're kidding us, Ray. We know Elmer liked that 275-grain .338 for big game. I recall them using him in one of their ads, possibly with a polar bear he'd shot at about 275 yards. I wonder if they sent him a box every year at Christmas.

Thanks to Ronco…I have some NPs coming.

But, it is coming on to 2 years since Nosler has listed any for sale on its website. I just don’t understand.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Thanks to Ronco…I have some NPs coming.

But, it is coming on to 2 years since Nosler has listed any for sale on its website. I just don’t understand.

Glad to help!

good job Ron.

who own's Nosler now?
that's where I'd start looking at where they're going or not going because of the manufacturing process.

I personally have never had luck with Hot-Cor bullets. When shooting Speer, grand slams are my “ go to” and, partition bullets are still out there but once you find them. You will need to pay through the nose to get them.

I have been please with Hot Core bullets in 308 win and 30-06. However I use 150/165 grain in 308 and 165/180 in 30-06. And Muzzle velocity under 2900 fps. I don't think I would use them in a 300 magnum unless maybe 200 grain.

I am not a fan of cup and core bullets of 130 grain in 270 win starting at 3000fps +. They work but they tend to come part at closer distances and not exit.

/speer grand slams are the hardest bullet out there. so use them on the bigger animals in larger calibers..On deer about any cup and core seems to work for me..Hornady, Rem corelokt,Silvertips, sierras, Nosler bal tips, and accubonds..in a reasonalbe caliber.. Its a great topic when you run out of interesting conversation..

My go to Mulie load for years was a 145 gn hot core from a 7mm Mag. Never had to shoot a buck more than once with it. Left a fairly sizeable exit a couple times though. Clearly the bullet failed just as the deer died.

Shot a bunch of deer (whitetail) and a couple of elk with 130 gr .270 Win, all did the job pretty well. But, nearly all were broadside shots (or almost).

Make note and you will seldom if ever be told this again by anyone:

Just for instance: because a 130 works for some folks, does not mean a 150 works in the same brand and bullet style and this applies to all manufactured bullets to one degree or the other. Hard to explain..I can think off hand the number of bullets of a certain brand and description that worked great, but when I changed weight or anything else they failed too one degree or another..
I see this in a lot of posts wherein the poster states his 150 gr bullet failed followed by another poster disagrees as he shot the same brand of bullet but a 180 and no complaints...

I recall an old post wherein the poster used 180 gr.Nosler ballistic tips and they all blew up on contact (actually they did at first) so another poster agreed and said all Nosler's were bad, it's just not so, I never had a Nosler fail with the exception of those earl ballistic tips and that was corrected. Judge the specific bullet not the maker.

Its complicated!

Shooter's Pro Shop sometimes has some Partitions seconds. I have never had an issue with their seconds. They shoot perfectly. As of a minute ago they had 30cal 165 grain, 6mm 85 grain and 270 150 grain.

Yes and theywork of big game, Ive used them for years on deer, elk most all african PG, as well as some DG in both partition and Accubonds..Also with Baistic tips on smaller PG deer and antelope..no problems if the bullet is matched to the game hunted.

Seconds are as good as first line bullets IMO, and I base that on game killing and accuracy alone.