Speer Hot Core Bullets

[Linkerman]

I started loading Speer Hot Core bullets over the summer for practice rounds and have been very impressed with the results on paper. I have found them to shoot exceptionally well, very accurate, not powder sensitive (although some like other powders and charges a bit better than others), overall a very easy and accurate bullet to load. Have any of you guys hunted with them? If so what did you hunt and how did they perform on game animals? I know, I know, I know……..that there are MUCH BETTER options, such as Barnes TTSX, Barnes TXS, Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond etc.. But I am just curious how the Hot Cores have performed on game.

264 Win mag; 140 grains
270 Win; 130 grains
7mm-08; 130 grains
7mm Rem Mag; 145 grains
30-06; 165 grains
300 Win Mag; 180 grains

 

[45-70guy]

When we are in Canada , the vast majority of moose hunters we talk to use them to great extent. In the common “slow” calibers.
Say 30-06 , 35 whelen. Heavy and slow they do their job just fine. The reason those guys say they use them…. Because they are cheap.
I’ve personally never hunted game with them but have reloaded them with great results using a number of powders and charge weights all giving great accuracy.
Cup and core bullets work great so long as they are not driven beyond their designed velocity.

 

[sgt_zim]

I started loading Speer Hot Core bullets over the summer for practice rounds and have been very impressed with the results on paper. I have found them to shoot exceptionally well, very accurate, not powder sensitive (although some like other powders and charges a bit better than others), overall a very easy and accurate bullet to load. Have any of you guys hunted with them? If so what did you hunt and how did they perform on game animals? I know, I know, I know……..that there are MUCH BETTER options, such as Barnes TTSX, Barnes TXS, Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond etc.. But I am just curious how the Hot Cores have performed on game.

264 Win mag; 140 grains
270 Win; 130 grains
7mm-08; 130 grains
7mm Rem Mag; 145 grains
30-06; 165 grains
300 Win Mag; 180 grains

All of those are likely in the 3k fps neighborhood. Cup-and-core perform more reliably when impact speeds are nearer to 2500 fps than 3k.

264 WM - just begging for 160 gr Woodleighs (PPSN has a BC of .51). At 2850, that's an honest 600+ yard configuration for elk.
270 Win - at those speeds, I personally wouldn't hunt with anything that isn't bonded.
7mm-08 - all 7mm hit the sweet spot on 160 - 175 gr pills. Even a slow Partition at 2400 still gets you to 400 yards in elk country with enough punch at the end to do the job
7mm RM - absolutely zero reason to use anything other than 175 gr.
30-06 - bump those hot cors up to 180 gr, you're in business
300 WM - anything lighter than 200 gr should be a bonded premium or mono. no exceptions.

I'm not trying to be an ass, but I can tell you are impressed by/lean into speed. High speed is no advantage at ordinary hunting distances, and is in fact a disadvantage with cup-and-cores out to 100 or 150 yards.

The entire reason premiums even exist is because cup-and-cores cannot reliably withstand high impact speeds. Even for white tails, this is a thing. A friend of my dad's and a neighbor to my place in W Feliciana parish in LA got 5 shots on a large white tail buck from about 30 yards or so. 5 good hits with a 308 Win and 150 gr Winchesters or Remingtons in the boiler room resulted in a got-away, killed by another neighbor a week or 2 later. 5 nasty flesh wounds, infected and maggot-filled.

John Nosler had a similar experience with a moose at about 70 or 80 yards and his 300 H&H mag back in the late 1940s. He figured there had to be something better, there wasn't, so in 1952, the Nosler Partition hit the market. The rest is history.

 

[Gomer]

I use a lot of cup and core bullets. I’ve had great luck getting Hot-Cors to shoot well. I agree with @sgt_zim that using heavy-for caliber versions at milder velocities is the best bet. I took a cow elk with a 160gr Hot Cor fired out of my 7x57 at 2600 fps. Shot was about 125 yards, broadside. She stumbled a
few yards and went down. I was surprised to find an exit wound.

 

[pc3]

I started loading Speer Hot Core bullets over the summer for practice rounds and have been very impressed with the results on paper. I have found them to shoot exceptionally well, very accurate, not powder sensitive (although some like other powders and charges a bit better than others), overall a very easy and accurate bullet to load. Have any of you guys hunted with them? If so what did you hunt and how did they perform on game animals? I know, I know, I know……..that there are MUCH BETTER options, such as Barnes TTSX, Barnes TXS, Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond etc.. But I am just curious how the Hot Cores have performed on game.

264 Win mag; 140 grains
270 Win; 130 grains
7mm-08; 130 grains
7mm Rem Mag; 145 grains
30-06; 165 grains
300 Win Mag; 180 grains

Speer Hotcor .270 cal 150gr

My son has taken:

5 x Fallow
1 x Bull Thar
2x Warthog
1x Bless Bock
1 x Wildebeest

A stack of ferals/vermin.

this bullet at .270 speeds is amazing, it also worked well in my cz550 9.3 when I owned that (270 gr)
I also use the 400 gr flats in my 45/70

Chasing some for my impending .350

 

[Linkerman]

Thanks for the input guys. I am definitely not chasing speed. I usually start with the “standard for caliber weight” bullets which are typically on the lighter side. I start all of my loads at the starting charge weight and if they shoot well at near published speeds I am done, I don’t hot rod my loads. Next I will try some of the Hot Core heavy for caliber loads at starting published charges to see how they shoot. Anyhow, just rambling now…….just thought that the Hot Cores shot very well for an inexpensive bullet.

 

[LeftySixgun]

Accuracy wise Ive been very happy with HotCors over a few different calibers. I dont have any hunting experience YET! But I plan to change that come hunting season this year. Mostly 30 cal 180gr and 145 and 160gr 7mm.

 

[LeftySixgun]

I use a lot of cup and core bullets. I’ve had great luck getting Hot-Cors to shoot well. I agree with @sgt_zim that using heavy-for caliber versions at milder velocities is the best bet. I took a cow elk with a 160gr Hot Cor fired out of my 7x57 at 2600 fps. Shot was about 125 yards, broadside. She stumbled a
few yards and went down. I was surprised to find an exit wound.

What is your load with that 160 HC? Im getting about 2650fps in my 20" 7x57 with R-17

 

[Joker12]

I've taken several whitetail deer with them with great results. All with 165gr from an '06.

 

[Gomer]

What is your load with that 160 HC? Im getting about 2650fps in my 20" 7x57 with R-17

I’m using 49.5gr of RL19. But, I have less than a pound left and when it’s gone, I will have to come up with something else. I haven’t seen RL19 anywhere in several years. I do have RL17, so I may try that.

 

[LeftySixgun]

I’m using 49.5gr of RL19. But, I have less than a pound left and when it’s gone, I will have to come up with something else. I haven’t seen RL19 anywhere in several years. I do have RL17, so I may try that.

I used 47.0gr of R-17 and the 160gr HC, and .100" jump

 

[318AE]

Thanks for the input guys. I am definitely not chasing speed. I usually start with the “standard for caliber weight” bullets which are typically on the lighter side. I start all of my loads at the starting charge weight and if they shoot well at near published speeds I am done, I don’t hot rod my loads. Next I will try some of the Hot Core heavy for caliber loads at starting published charges to see how they shoot. Anyhow, just rambling now…….just thought that the Hot Cores shot very well for an inexpensive bullet.

You’ve got some really good advice so far. While you’re not loading for speed, you are selecting many “fast” cartridges (I would say all three that end in “mag” and the 270). Heavy for caliber works for these bullets - it slows impact velocity and retained weight is a little less important, and there is just more weight. But yes, they are inexpensive and tend to be quite accurate. They just don’t hold together at higher speeds.

 

[Joker12]

I’m using 49.5gr of RL19. But, I have less than a pound left and when it’s gone, I will have to come up with something else. I haven’t seen RL19 anywhere in several years. I do have RL17, so I may try that.

I shoot 165gr bullets in my 7x57 using 49gr of IMR4831 for 2700fps with good accuracy. If you can find any it could replace the R19.