gleason.chapman
The Speer plant is just down the road from me in Lewiston, ID and they are getting ready to make a run of Gold Dots after the first of the year. There are a lot places that are out of them... I would like to think is because they are becomming so popular...
Price increase in both copper and lead is driving the cost up... even lead shot has taken a big jump... suppose price of feul has something to do with that.
Appears that Natechez doesn't sell the 3974 which is the Speer product number that you send me from Midway,
Oh, they sale it it just that they are out, I think I might have got the last 4 boxes....
Looks like Gamalliel has them.... They still list them as .451 which is what they use to be... before they were upgraded with a new nose and thicker copper...
http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/customer/product.php?productid=3284&cat=&page=3
That guys review is exactly what I have been finding... The .451 Speer 300 grain SP is no slouch... They do not advertise it as a bonded bullet but it is electroplated. I shoot a lot of them because the are less expensive and they fly through a 100 yard range about the same as the Gold Dot. A friend of mine shooting a Traditions Woodsman took a pretty nice black bear with the Sp this year and it worked great. He had been using PowerBelts - but said he would never go back now...
I really do not think Speer is capitalizing on the quality of thisbullet at - they could do a lot more advertising and they haven't - same for their "Bear Claw" rifle bullet - it is a great one and yet it remains relatively obscure in the world of reloading.
mike