Around the 1983 hunting season, I had a late season antlerless permit in Utah and killed a mule deer dow with the 70 grain speer .224. Bullet performed flawlessly and penetrated and exited. Clasic bullet wound with a golf ball-sized hole where the bullet exited, hair sprayed all around in a cone pattern.

Deer was quartering away at 125-150 yards. I didn't continue to compensate my lead properly when I shot and hit her in the rt-side kidney area. Bullet traversed 18-20 inches of this doe and even went through the top of the spinal column along with everything else in the way (not actually touching the spinal cord although there might have been some shock to it). The doe went down within 50 feet.

The .223 Rem load for this hunt was taken from the Speer #10 manual (green colored one) using IMR4064 in military brass. I was shooting a M788 w/ 24" tube. Muzzle velocity was @2950 fps for an extimated 1000 foot/pounds of muzzle energy. The manual this load was from featured the Mini-14 as the test rifle for the .223 data. Speer for the last couple of manuals uses a 22 or 24 inch bolt-rifle, but this #10 manual used a 18 1/2 inch semi-auto repeater. That M788 was a shooter! I was in college at the time and sold it. The year I hunted with it was the only rifle I had at the time. The short list of .224 bullets i'd use on deer include this 70 grain Speer, the 64 grain Winchester, the 60 grain Nosler Partition (of course!) and maybe the 63 grain Sierra, that I previous thought was too fragile.

I've shot 'em in my 1:9" Mini-14. I forget the load I used, but it was about a maximum Speer book load of 748. Shot as well as anything else has in that Mini-14, which doesn't necessarily mean much.

Thanks Guys

I'll be working with a friend this spring, on an AR-15 with a 1-9 twist. I am hoping that this little rifle will not give any problems with the 70 gr. Speer. Sounds like quite a good bullet to me, but without a canalure, so I am wondering how it will work in feeding. If it dose, I think it may be a really good "do everything" bullet in the AR-15. He will use it mostly on coyotes, but wants it for use for about everything he'll do on His farm. I'll let everyone know how things go.
Thanks again


Please send as much info as you have, I'll keep reading.

Without a cannilure?


Try getting and trying a Lee Factory Crimp Die. When properly installed in a single-stage press, as the ram is pushed up into the die, a four-sided collet-type sizer will crimp the cartridge neck much like a Winchester factory crimp looks like, even into a bullet without a cannilure. One of Lee Precision's better or worthwhile products IMO.

Yeah, it makes its own cannelure.

YES, HATS OFF TO THE LEE FACTORY CRIMP DIE. AND IT IS LEE'S BEST PRODUCT OF ALL TIME.