10mm 200 grain Gold Dot Hollow Points being sold at Cabelas $28.99

[Harleycolt]

I went today looking for those and no one knew anything about them. They tried to convince me on some HSM or buffalo bore. They had very litte powder and no bullets for reloading!

[Rick R]

I called Alliant today with a question about BE-86 and since they are now owned by ATK got a Speer guy.  After answering my question about the powder I asked if he had access to Speer's ammo information.  When I said that Cabelas was carrying a Speer 10mm Gold Dot he immediately said "they're loaded to 1,150fps" before I could even ask.  He said the marketing guys released everything except the velocity data.  Apparently 1,150fps gave the best expansion and penetration for that bullet.

He also said that this will be a standard production Speer load not some one off for Cabelas. 

[The_Shadow]

What were you wanting to know about the BE-86? 
Seeing the powder charge weight at only 7.2 grains I suspect it to be BE-86 even though it was covered in the yellow primer mixture in your picture.  That also puts the velocity close to the advised 1150 fps.

[Rick R]

Actually after looking the powder I pulled down could have been BE-86.  The Speer rep described it (BE-86) as an OEM powder that was consistent enough lot to lot for canister sales.

My question about BE-86 was how flexible is it?  I was going to try to use it for some reduced loads and wanted to know if it has a narrow usage range like W296 or can you use it like Unique which will work with some pretty low densities.  He advised not to drop much more than 10% below max.

My reduced loads are looking like the recipe will be my 200gr WFN over 6.0–6.5gr of good old Unique.

Since the Gold Dots will be a production item and hopefully not made of Unobtainium It looks like they'll be my social carry load.

[The_Shadow]

BE-86 is a little faster burning than Power Pistol (which was BE-84)(both are derived from and adjusted from Bullseye hence the BE designation.  It has loads listed across many cartridges and calibers for pistols.  It is faster than W-296/H-110, and you will use less of it for nearly the same results velocity wise vs. pressures.  It is said to be flash suppressed powder as well as the lot-to-lot consistancy and clean burning too.
Some test have shown it to be pushed slightly higher than published data with good results depending on the cartridge and setup.

I committed to an 8lb jug when I first found one available because of the balance between amount of powder used vs. yield vs. economy.

Now if we could get the 200 grain Gold Dots as components I'll be happy to roll my own @ 1225 FPS!

[Rick R]

I neglected to ask if the 200gr Gold Dot bullets would be available as components.  The Speer rep was pretty enthusiastic about their performance as an anti-bruin projectile or for woods use.

Hopefully somebody will gel test some in the near future.

[The_Shadow]

If I see some locally I'll buy a box of them for documenting, but Cabelas and Bass Pro are 90 and 80 miles away respectfully...maybe Sportsman's Warehouse may get some which is closer...

[Intercooler]

I will place an order Shadow and have it delivered to my local store. We can put them through the paces!

[Blades]

I will place an order Shadow and have it delivered to my local store. We can put them through the paces!

Woo-hoo! 

[The_Shadow]

Sounds good IC, need to get a good look inside to be sure...

[REDLINE]

Now if we could get the 200 grain Gold Dots as components I'll be happy to roll my own @ 1225 FPS!

+1

Except I was specifically thinking ~1350 FPS from a 6" barrel.

[my_old_glock]

Except I was specifically thinking ~1350 FPS from a 6" barrel.

.

[sqlbullet]

Except I was specifically thinking ~1350 FPS from a 6" barrel.

Average gain from 5" to 6" at the ballistics by the inch website is 33 fps.  The gain for the one 200 grain load was 41 fps from 5" to 6", but the average gain per inch for that load from 4" to 7" was 35 fps.  If we accept 1200 fps as a SAAMI max, 1235-1241 fps is the extrapolated SAAMI max from a 6" barrel.  1350 is likely possible with a cast bullet though.

[4949shooter]

So I fired 40 rounds of this ammo through my Glock 20.

Let's just say that I was mildly disappointed. To me it felt maybe like Hornady ammo, or perhaps slightly less powerful. My shooting partner thought it was less than Hornady as well.

While I am glad Speer came out with such a load, I wish they would bump it up by 100 fps. On the positive side, it wasn't totally weak, and was certainly more powerful than the .40 cal ammo we were shooting out of a Glock 22.

It felt more or less like 45 +P to me.

[Rick R]

i assume no malfunctions?  How was accuracy out of your Glock?
I didn't notice much muzzle flash from my gun and recovery for follow up shots seemed pretty quick but I only fired @ 15 rounds out of my SR1911.
+P .45 will leave a pretty good mark.