The Rounds Up: Speer Gold Dot .308 Personal Protection with Ballistic Gel Testing

[@chrismarshall4486]

See that’s what I like. Nobody ever shoots ballistic gel from a distance. I like to see how it performs at realistic distances not just 10 ft away. Awesome video. Thanks for making them.

[@peterking1038]

I use the Speer Gold Dot .308 168 grain SP for hunting. It works fantastic. It groups well and does as advertised. I dropped a cow elk at 275 yards with it in 2018.

[@Magaville]

I reloaded some 168 gr for my savage predator 5 shot group at 100 yards under 1 inch Speer ammo is underrated

[@barfy362]

That series of shots on the ballistic gel wreaking increasing amounts of havoc on your gel blocks, tripod, and table is the hardest I've ever laughed during a gel test. :D

[@g_dawwg]

Very impressive tests and data! Thnx for posting! I must say, I laughed out loud when the gel block basically exploded and knocked over your tripod/camera OMG!

[@TheGreyState]

Thanks man! Yeah, it was pretty funny. When I tested the Hornady Critical Defense Rifle in .308 it was a slap to this round’s punch. Lol. Thanks again for watching and commenting, glad I could be somewhat entertaining 🤣

[@sniperstevan7165]

That round is insane

[@scottythebody0811]

Damn good review. Thanks for posting.

[@KnifeCursed]

Awesome to see you on Parler man! I really enjoy your reviews.

[@TheGreyState]

All the cool kids are doing it 🤣 Thanks for your support!

[@tylarhaugan7908]

I use these in my 18 308 bolt gun only 27 a box right now. Perfect deer load

[@Billfish57]

I have seen a lot of reviews on bullets and I like your's just about the best. Great work as always here. One round that has never made it on to the internet that I would love to see, it a gel block test of the Leigh Defense "Close Quarter" ammo, it comes in 300 BK out and 308win. I would love to see the 308 win because it is supposed to be the best self defense round, it is 79 grain, @3400 fps and dumps all it's energy in 10". Not one reviewer has ever shot that into a gel block, where it would preform great I'm sure. Some have shot it into concrete and steel but they don't seem to understand what it's made for. Not over penetrating. The 300 black out has been show, but for some reason, never the 308 win. Thanks again.

[@TheGreyState]

Thanks for the comment and solid recommendation/ask. I’ll add it to my “to do” list. Sounds like a cool cool round, and right up my alley for testing.

[@TheCelestialWolf]

Subbed. I have been wanting to see that round tested for a while!

[@robertgoodrich8953]

@@TheCelestialWolfMe too,as long as you start giving us permanent cavity sizes! Gold dot is my stack it deep ammo. Just got 500 rounds. Lehigh Controlled Chaos has a bigger permanent cavity, buts almost twice the cost. Worth it for a few boxes for home defense, but not for distance or for SHTF( cost to stack is too high!)

[@smokedbrisket3033]

If you haven't yet, try the 168 gr gold dots. Not sure why they load those 150s so slow, but I'm getting about 2850 fps out of the 168s, using Win748. I've distance tested to verify my chrony wasn't telling me stories, and predicted holdover out to 600 yards was always within 0.1 mil. I don't get quite as tight of groups with them as I do with ELD-X 178 or VLDH 175, but they're all 1MOA or better. pretty good considering I don't cull brass for being too light/heavy.

[@Subtlenimbus]

They are slow indeed. Out of my Savage Scout with a 16.5” barrel I load 150s to 2700 FPS.

[@diggernash1]

Speer Gold Dots are the bullets found in Federal Fusion. They perform excellent on game. They shoot accurately in my rifles, but I am reloading and tuning to each gun.

[@mterwill9]

From what I can tell this is the same bullet used in the Federal Fusion as well.

[@robertgoodrich8953]

Federal Fusion is $35 a box at Palmetto State Armory. Gold Dot is $23 a box on ammoseek! Your choice for te same bullet!

[@CircleBrewery]

I have some in 168 grn for my 308. Hope to use them for hunting. Thanks for the video I like the performance you show 👍🏼

[@donalddugan6557]

With good glass, your bolt should be stacking rounds at 100 yards. It looks like you had a little wind going on. The bullets have a slightly lower B.C., so that could be a reason. However, the semi did group better than the bolt. That is puzzling, since the velocities were more consistent from the bolt. I will try the rounds. They have good potential.

[@bryantitus6634]

Spoiler.... The 150 gr gold dot is a federal fusion bullet. Not a bad thing. But it is a thing.

[@strongmakeit6244]

223 same thing federal fusion

[@GetMeThere1]

I appreciate the 10 shot grouping. It's the only way to get a realistic estimate of the sort of accuracy available. Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to produce bonded bullets which have high accuracy potential.

[@sbtiger556]

Out of my Savage FP10, I use the 168 and 150 grain version of this. From my Savage it groups BETTER than even the best match rounds. I get less than half MOA every time with both 150 and 168 The last two deer i shot fell like a rock and neither moved at all. One was 207 pounds at 160 yards Bottom line, Speer Gold Dot 308 is the BEST round for any application. It does it all extremely well. The 556 versions do an excellent job as well. In 556 I use the 75 grain Gold Dot and Black Hills 50 grain TSX Optimized. Those two rounds fit any and every application I need them for and perhaps Hornady TAP T2 75 grain and Black Hills OTM with the plastic tip in 77 grain for fragmenting uses. FBIT3 in 62 grain would be a backup if these aren’t available

[@bobbygreen2291]

I’ve reloaded over fifty years ,,and I’ve tried nickel plated brass in many rifles ,,I never ever got groups that were near normal for the rifle I was shooting them in ,,,with high quality rifles like you used in this video ,,and some good lapua brass , large rifle primer pockets ,,some 168 grain gold dots ,,IMR - 4895 powder ,, and cci bench rest two primers ,,I am betting you would see groups that these nice rifles are capable of ,,as for performance of the bullets those bullets are among the best made.

[@charliemartin6126]

Great video Bud.

[@45oneshoystop]

Good, informative video. The projectile looks like the 338 Win Mag round that that I use/load. The Speer Grand Slam is the best hunting bullet I have ever used. Speer also makes a 308 Grand Slam that I may start using for my 308. If you reload I bet you can tune a round for the bolt gun to match the AR group or better.

[@UnforgivingDemon]

Impressive round, can you test the 62gr and 75gr Gold Dot next.

[@TheGreyState]

Definitely, if I can find them.

[@TheKalkara131]

@@TheGreyState Good luck with that! For what it's worth though, I tested all 3 223 loadings and they all did well.

[@martinfernandez5005]

The 140gr out of my .264 WM is hitting a 3" group at 300 yards on a paper plate off of sticks. At 3000 fps through a 1"x6" caught between the fifth and sixth water jug. Completely expanded to just under 1".

[@abledemo1]

Good vid man, awesome quality

[@2wheeleddemon999]

I've been using the Winchester power points in 180grn or 150grn to take hogs and deer for a long time and never had one run or needed a second shot. I wonder how these would compare?

[@TheGreyState]

Kind of what I was thinking, the gel tests at 100 looked promising.

[@tylarhaugan7908]

They work great out of my 18 inch 308 bang flop on deer. There 168 gold dot id use for sure on elk

[@arkanraznatovic3008]

Great job all around! Nice gear too man u got some nice shit

[@TheGreyState]

Thanks man, appreciate the comment. Have a good one!

[@dang879]

Love your reviews man, would love you send you some military ammo to test. M855a1, M80A1, MK318 and MK319.

[@robertblumer2578]

Excellent Work😎😎😎

[@jeffsimon2144]

I picked up some 168 gr Speer Gold Dots to load for my 308 hunting rifle- let me know if you want them bud. I assume you're still going out to Young's occasionally?

[@TheGreyState]

Thanks Jeff! Hope you’re doing well! Thanks I might be in touch. I might have a lead on some factory rounds. Haven’t been up to young’s as much as I’d like. Work has been steady.

[@41i3n]

@@TheGreyState Jumped on some 168s that were for sale as well. Surprised I found em! Any luck getting some for review?

[@alquinn3562]

I used to use corlokts in 308. At 100 yards the corlokts grouped better. At 200 yards the gold dots grouped better so I experienced the same phenomena. Both rounds were 168 grains (It was a head scratcher. 🤷‍♂️)I use the gold dots for deer and they drop fast. Great round for deer

[@TheKalkara131]

Awesome video, nice info. I'll definitely sub

[@zekethefishgeek8690]

They are absolute eater devils 😈 on a whitetail deer. They seem to pattern VERY well too...

[@TheGreyState]

Good to know, that’s what I was thinking would be the case. Have a good one!.PJ

[@zekethefishgeek8690]

I do... thank you for the positive reinforcement.

[@bobgordon1754]

If your rifle is shooting a pattern you need to get rid of it. Shotguns shoot patterns. Rifles shoot groups. And yes it does matter.

[@o5245607]

What kind of buttstock is on your AR and is that something you added or did it come stock with the rifle? Enjoyed the video and the information.

[@FraserFir-sb4lk]

Magpul PRS Gen 3.

[@al01100]

This is what I've got in my tavor 7 for serious social work at the house.

[@asdfghjk2933]

Social work at the house...with a .308? Interesting choice.

[@al01100]

@@asdfghjk2933 indeed. Should guests with ill intent arrive in the wee hours, this is how they'll be entertained.

[@asdfghjk2933]

​@@al01100 Seems a bit overkill to me, but you sure as heck won't be outgunned with that setup. How is the recoil impulse of the tavor 7?

[@al01100]

​@asdfghjk it is a softer shooting setup than my M1A's and it's much more compact. Pretty much any gas gun in 308 is tolerable for all but the most recoil shy people. My home gun used to be a 1301 beretta loaded with 3" 15pellet 00buck from federal but, only 6 rounds on tap and, as light as that gun is, it's pretty lively with high horsepower defensive stuff. The more I shoot this Tavor and get used to its unique features, the more I like it. It's not a gun you'd want to hike out with though, it's almost 12lbs with 20rnds and my steiner T332

[@ryusekai]

Great vid thanks

[@CaptMeatstick]

Great video, you got a sub from me. Keep it up.

[@InkwellFoto]

What's the twist rate on that 18" Daniel Defense?

[@JohnLloydScharf]

21 inches in synthetic gel is 18 inches in FBI 39 degree gel.

[@eggersm.r.5752]

For defense which do you believe would be better, this or the Hornady you tested?

[@TheGreyState]

Wow, that would be a tough one. They are so similar in speed and weight but totally different in behavior. I might have to do a shootout in respect to barrier blindness to really have a more well rounded opinion. I thought about this question a lot on the drive in to work this morning, and the best I could come up was both staggered /alternating in a mag. Kind of like a 1,2 double tap combination. The Speer felt like a hammer/slug and the Hornady more explosive.

[@eggersm.r.5752]

@@TheGreyState I'd love to see that shootout between them. Especially to see how they do with barriers and such.

[@InkwellFoto]

@@TheGreyState I'm in for that comparison

[@985shane]

Outdoorlimited has them in stock

[@Tadders]

"10" barrels or less" what??? Who tf is using a 10" .308 and WHY?

[@robertgoodrich8953]

Where is the data on permanent wound cavity?

[@12monkey57]

I would be interested in seeing this gel test at 50 yds

[@no.step.on.snek.2423]

I like 556 .. light , small.. devistating... But theres alot of advantsges to 762...

[@nickolasthefrog]

Compare the cost and performance of bulk 762 NATO to 77gr hand fed organic shade grown 556 and the 308 rifle starts to look practical.

[@nc_mtbmedic1399]

Same as the federal fusion

[@whillhern]

Federal fusion in a different uniform.

[@Matts05jeeprubicon]

Strap your blocks down in the future. It will keep them put.

[@TheGreyState]

Trade off - I want to capture temporary cavitation. Straps prevent that

[@Matts05jeeprubicon]

@@TheGreyState You have awesome content. Keep it up!. I have the sniper pack from clear ballistics. I test my handloads for hunting in them. I strap them to keep them put.

[@vicerichter1163]

If you're using a 308 for "personal defense", you 100% done fucked up and Im willing to bet you've involved yourself with the wrong people to begin with.

[@wolverinekut]

👍

[@robdavidson2569]

very similar to 150gr fusion

[@Magaville]

My 308 Tikka shoots those Bullets 1/2 moa

[@fatedixon3454]

14:20 saved some time

[@Lucysdad66]

All that money in that bolt gun and you diddent get a left handed one hmmm..

[@TheMerlinmk19]

wow that is some slow stuff...I can get that bullet out over 2715 in my 18" loaded both safely and correctly.

[@justinclackler8990]

Why would this round be sketchy legally for self defense? Sounds more like a sketchy legal system if this is true...

[@justinclackler8990]

It's literally made for self defense, and abides by FBI protocols for shooting 2 legged offenders without over penetration, this is opposite of sketchy in my opinion compared to 90% of other ammo. If I am missing something please inform me, wouldn't be first time I've been wrong.

[@cole4406]

I thought he was only referring to the shooting a target at 100 part being sketchy

[@rdwakefield]

Why use Jesus the name above all names...as you do...and to say holy crap...is something the devil would say...

[@thegoodfriendsnetwork]

If that a hunting round you'll starve...

[@paulweaver6064]

Alot of personal defense rounds just aren't the same and what I've found is they fragmented badly those look like they hold together. A .308 for personal defense is actually for not just short range it'd also for the guy with a rifle shooting at you so it still needs to be accurate. My choice for a short barrel self defense round is a Federal 180 grain in what I call after the Paul Pelosi attack a short handled hammer. Did you measure the diameter if the wound track from the vid it looked like it might have been 3" or surpassed 3" that's good. Anything less than 18" in depth isn't good for medium or lg game it should work way.out there for.hogs and out to 300 for deere.

[@strongmakeit6244]

If you can find it to hard to get