Was just getting ready to order some of my favorite varmint bullet for prairie dogs and sage rats, the 22 cal 50 grain TNT Speer. Called to put in an order for 2,000 or so and Cabelas was out of them. I asked the girl on the switch board when they were expecting more, and after she asked someone, she told me " before next hunting season"!

Of course it was evident that she did not know squat, that the bullet is for varmints, not deer hunting, which she was implying. Since Cabelas was the cheapest place on the planet for the TNT speers, does any one else have a favorite source?

Cabela's price was $7.99 for 100, $80.00 for a thousand, and about $11.00 for shipping.

Anyone know of a comparable source, please let us in on it, or feel free to email me instead.

Thanks to all the fellow varmint shooters.

Midway, Midsouth Shooters Supply

MidSouth's price is $8.84/100, and $69.85/1000
Actual shipping charged, and if delivered to a business, you will avoid the $1.50 home delivery surcharge (make sure you tell Midsouth).

I've wondered for years why the Speer .22 TNT isn't more popular than it seems to be. It is pin-point accurate in my .222 and almost seems to evaporate prairie dogs. On top of that, it is more economical than most .224 bullets.

Sure, there's no shortage of excellent .224 varmint bullets, but this one seems to be outstanding.

(BTW: Can't imagine Cabela's being the cheapest source on any component, their having opted for the "carriage trade" image. I variously use Graf's, Widener's, Lock, Stock, and Barrel, Natchez, and a couple of others, depending on who's got what in stock or on sale.)

As of late Cabelas has gotten very competitive in pricing their reloading goods. Used to be I would never buy that stuff from them but lately they are usually right in there.
My .221 FB shoots TNT s like they were made for the gun....and prairie dogs just hate them.

Both of my .223's love the TNT. My Savage gets marginally better groups with either the Ballistic Tip or V-Max, but we are talking probably 1/8 inch or less difference. MY CZ shoots TNTs better than anything else I've tried. 27.0 gr of H-335, standard primer, Federal brass and a 50 gr TNT equals great "hang time" on ground squirrels and sub-half inch groups from a lightweight rifle.

Midsouth Shooters Supply
Spring 2004 catalog received last week
Speer.224 50gr. HP TNT
Part # 021 4705 (page 126)
$69.85/1000

18002723000

NO I ain't got NO part of them though over the years I ave helped keep them in business!

TC, Stonecreek, et al.

Thanks for the updates guys. It looks like I will do the 1,000 boxes. Just UPS shipping from some of the other sources have gotten so high shipping the distance to the West Coast.
(Bullets, made in Idaho, shipped to Tennessee or Missouri, shipped Back to Oregon< wish we had a good west coast mail order place).

I did go down to the local BiMart here in Oregon, and they do carry a Speer 52 grain HP. Part number 1035 from Speer vs the part number of 1030 for the 50 gr TNT.

Going to try that bullet as an alternative or backup. Being only 2 grains different, load data should be the same ( or close enough) not to alter point of impact.

Good luck to all you guys during Varmint Season this year.

Ever try Calhoon Bullets ? The 37 and 42 grainers in reduced loads using Blue Dot out of my .222's are absolutely devastating on ground squirrels. No recoil and low noise. Easy on grey fox pelts too.

Seafire,
I've also had good results w/ the 22 cal 50 gr TNT, having shot many praire dogs w/ it in my 14" T/C Contenders. The TNT's don't seem to have the "sex appeal" of the various plastic-tipped bullets, but they perform well nevertheless and remain very economical. Here are a few sites to check out:
http://www.natchezss.com/category.cfm?contentID=productList&category=6&brand=SP&mfgGroup=490&subgroup=1998&CFID=234789&CFTOKEN=53029811 ($69.99/1000)

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000211030 ($69.85/1000)

http://www.lockstock.com/cart/webcart.cgi?ZOOMPAGE=YES&TOPPAGE=/products/zoomtop.txt&OCATS=Speer+Rifle+Bullet+++22+Caliber+.224+diameter+Anniversary+Pack,50+gr+HP+TNT&ZN=TEXT&CODE=1870416&ITEM=1311 ($82.02/1000, but closer to you in NE)

Might check the velocity specs for the 52 gr Speer; if you're shooting a lower velocity round like the 223, it may not work as well. I once shot different brands of 52 gr HP Match bullets in my 22 BR 15" XP-100, but quit after a few rounds of each as they were ricocheting; my 22 BR was pushing the loads at 223 rifle velocities. That's not a problem w/ the TNT as it's designed to be fragile w/in the 223's velocity range.

It's been many years since I've heard, or thought, about "Bi-Mart." Growing up in Reedsport, OR, it was always a big thing for us to get to drive to Coos Bay for a big shopping trip at the Bi-Mart. My last memory of BM was changing a dead car battery in the BM parking lot in 1980.Guess BM is one of the few large discount stores not yet put out of business by Wal-Mart.

Gary T.

Skinner:

No I have not used them on hides. I have ordered some and used them at the range. They are excellent. Calhoons site has converted me to being primarily a Blue Dot user for most of my 223 loads.

I will probably order some this year. The TNT's worked great and the pricing was excellent via Cabelas. typical for me, I could start using Cow Manure for gun powder and by next Friday the world would be out of it! As soon as I start using something, the product is canned. Before the TNTs I was using Sierras 45 gr SMP for my primary prairie dog bullet.
They canned it. Never fails.

Gary,

Thanks for the comeback. Whatever made you leave Oregon for Louisiana, I'll never know!

Yeah Bi Mart is still hanging tough. Although they did build a big Wally World, just up the street from the Bi Mart you spoke of in Coos Bay. Right across the street from the Entrance to the College there.

The other bullet you were using, the 52 grain HP Match, must have been a Sierra. The Speer bullet is supposed to be used for Varminting, as they had a Match Version also ( if memory serves me correctly.)

I am also guilty of using a 55 grain FMJ a lot on Prairie Dogs and Ground Squirrels. It definitely will riccochet and does not explode them. It is cheap to shoot. My loads only carry a Velocity of 2600 fps in 223. One must just be responsible on where they shoot and what they shoot. ( this is not an invitation for our reside hypocrits to speak up on this).

Actually my " cheap load" of the 55 FMJ and 12.5 grains of Blue Dot work out to be about 8 cents a round. Actually a lot cheaper than 22 mag ammo and a lot more effective. Brass life suffers more life span problems on the reloading press due to operator error than life span problems from shooting this low pressure load. Case life would probably be forever, if not for operator error. I have some Lake City brass with date stamps from the 1960s! Who knows how many times they have been reloaded.