Speer bullets. Anyone ever kilt something with them?

[BlueWater]

I am new to hand loading and am wondering if any one can tell me how the Speer spitzers preform in the real world. I have kilt lots of critters with most factory loads but this handloading thing is opening up a whole new world of choices for me. Any help would be well, helpfull.

Bluewater.
( on this board make my tag line should read: "take your kids hunting".)

[Bait O' Eggs]

I have been hand loading since I was 12 and started hunting (26 yrs ago). Dad would make us load our bullets before hunting season. We did it by the book and never had a problem.

About 10 years ago I was loading and playing around with trying to get a better trajectory, adding more powder seemed to be a simple method, while keeping the bullet weight up. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Not a real wise thing to do.

I was careful and loaded 1 grain of powder at a time more in each batch of bullets then I went and shot that load. I would inspect the brass and if all looked good I would add one more grain in the next batch. At some point you will start to crack necks, split the sides of the casing, and the primers will actually come out of the brass. Not long before the primers start popping out, you will flatten the radius on the back of the primer. I can tell you all of this from experience. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I guess I just gotta go figure it out for myself [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

The maximum load for my 300 mag per my book is 73 grains of IMR 4831. My dad has a very old book that says 80 grains. This is what kind of what got me playing with it. I have been told but dont know if it is true, IMR has changed their recipe for 4831 between the time dads book was published and mine, (dads book is old). I got up to about 80 grains and had all kinds of problems with the brass not being reusable. If the brass was even reusable I couldnt get the primers to stay in the brass because that hole had been stretched out. Nothing like getting ready to slip a shell in the gun and the primer falls out in your hand.

I never had any intention of hunting with this load when I was playing around, it was just all interesting. My book told me they loaded until they saw brass damage and flattened primers and then they backed off 6% for a safe load. I have to agree that when I got up about 6% I experience all the problems they described.

I got called out of town on work for about a month and didnt get back till just before elk season. All I had loaded up was some of these hot shells I had been playing with. I contemplated buying some factory loads since I didnt have time to hand load and decided I have never hunted factory loads why would I start now. Opening day we find a very nice 5 point bull elk, after a few hours of trying to get into position I take a shot and miss. He was standing there trying to figure out what was going on, and what that loud noise was, while I was trying to figure out why that brass wouldnt come out of the gun. The elk summed up what was going on after a couple minutes and left, I could have shot 10 times while he stood there, all while I was still stuck with a brass jammed in the gun. I could get it to come out of the barrel but it wouldnt come off the end of the bolt [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Every time I worked the bolt it would just go back in the gun, and them back out, and then back in and then back out ........ I finally had to remove the bolt from the gun and pry the empty brass off the end of the bolt. All this while a bull is a couple hundred yards out there. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I was like a crack addict trying to get the needle in and shaking so bad I couldnt figure out what was going on. You would be surprised how many times you can work the bolt when a bull is standing there looking around. I had broke the spring in the ejector pin on the face of the bolt. I dont know why that brass stuck to the face of the bolt but it did. After that shot the rest of the season I had to remove the bolt from the gun to get the empty brass out. It was kind of like a very slow single shot gun. I learned right there the hard way, not to mess around with the loads. It would have been the biggest bull I had ever killed and it got away because I was playing with reloading.

A couple years ago I got into trying to shoot a better pattern, rather than a better trajectory. This is where hand loading really makes sense. I started bench rest shooting my gun and loading different bullets and powder. It is amazing how it all comes together when you get a load the gun likes. And an answer to your original question, I shoot speer bullets now. I tried at least 5 different bullets with 4 different powders in 3 weights each and the speer 180 grain boat tails with 73 grains of IMR 4831 and an overall bullet length of 3.58 inches seemed to agree with my gun. I now stick to what works and dont play around in the red zone.

Dont make the mistakes I did, stick to what is recommended. I do recommend playing around with different bullets and weights of different powders loads (per book [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ) until you find what your gun will nicely pattern.

I usually dont find the bullet in the animal since it usually exits the other side. A couple years ago I did recover a bullet from an elk that had broke a shoulder blade on each side and a rib and was stuck under the hide and didnt quite exit. The 180 grain bullet was 107 grains at this point. That is a loss of about 40% of its weight. I dont know what is good or bad in retained weight. But this bullet had done a lot of work since I shot it, I would expect it to have lost some weight. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Bait O' Eggs]

As another note for you, I believe there are "Spitzer" and "Spitzer boat tails". I wish I had a reference book handy.

I shoot the boat tails because they have a higher ballistic coeffecient. ie) a higher ballistic coeffecient means less air drag, hence the result shoots flatter because it is more aerodynamic. Not sure I used all the correct terms there, but you should get the general idea.

I have never played with any of the high end premium bullets, like grand slams, etc... I havent had a problem with killing when the cheaper bullets are placed in the right spot. Dead is dead.

[Get Bit]

BW,
Started playing with .270 handloads when I had a neighbor that had all the equipment. After several powders and bullets(Speer,Hornady,Nosler,Barnes,etc) I found the Nosler ballistic tips. Ballistic tips are far less expensive then the partitions or the eqiuv. and boy do they shoot well in my gun. I think that's the key in handloading, and like BOE said earlier, finding the combo that's right for your gun.Be sure to stay safe and follow the reloading book. I too have heard that today's powders are hotter then they used to be.
Good Luck,
Get Bit

[BlueWater]

Thanks guys! I'll be loading up my first batch this week end. Sounds like the best aproach is to pick the bullet grain that handles the game I am after and then let my rifle pick the right one by how it groups.
On another note don't feel bad about the bigest elk you almost got BOE. One day while elk hunting with my father in law and hunting hard for all week we decided to take one more pass down through the brush. We drove to the end of an old grade and while I was waiting for him to get set up nature called for me. I steped off the road about 15 yards and had just started the one hand stand when a 6 point bull along with his heard of about 10 cows stood up on the other side of the old growth blow down I was peeing on. Having already learned the lesson that your rifle goes with you when you leave the truck I finished my current activity and picked up my other rifle as quick as I could with out peeing all over my self.
By this time the heard had started to mill around and the bull, not quite ready for some reason to let go of his cows, started to trying to keep them rounded up. Thinking I was about to get a 20 yard shot at the big boy I raised my rifle, put the cross hairs on him and nearly broke my finger when I went to pull the trigger. In dissorentation from my previous activity I had forgot to take off the safety!!
Then it was over elk exploded around me they must have smelled me before but not seen me until I raised my rifle. (My hands where below the stump until I let go of my first gun) After finally taking off the safty on my mauser action, ejecting a pefectly good round an the ground, and ******* another round I did get a quick shot at the bull. None the less I missed him clean as he lived another day.
I can without a doubt say this I the most excitement I have ever had or will ever have peeing in the woods!
Thanks again for the help guys.

later! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
BlueWater

take your kids hunting