~ Could this be Speer Gold Dot ammo? . . .

[6hold]

Checked out a few items at Kittery Trading Post in Maine Monday.​

My four siblings and I took a leisurely day trip up to Kittery, Maine for some shopping at the factory outlet stores and a nice seafood dinner at Warren‘s Seafood House. I bought some powder at Kittery Trading Post while checking out the guns and ammo section (man has that changed, haven‘t been there in decades):

Winchester 231, one pound $20
IMR 4895, one pound $23​

This seems like decent prices, I haven’t shopped around in Massachusetts for powder but it must be about the same or perhaps a little less maybe. They have a 5% sales tax there also. They didn't have the powder on the guns and ammo floor they have it sent up from the basement for each sale, must be for safety reasons.

I was surprised to see some Speer 38 special+P for sale in a rather innocuous bulk package. It was 250 rounds for $119.95 (about 50 cents a round), marked down from $139.95. I was thinking that it had some kind of second-rate case or something so I took a peek at a pkg. that someone had open. It contained jacketed hollow point, with a nice nickel case. I could be wrong but this is just what this ammo looks like (below) and it has the same weight bullet.

Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel Ammunition is loaded with bonded core bullets and designed for home defense and personal protection. Bonding the jacket to the core means the elimination of core-jacket separations and superior weight retention. The nickel plated cases create a smoother functioning bullet and increased durability. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.​

Technical Information:
Muzzle Velocity: 860 fps
Muzzle Energy: 222 ft. lbs.​

(Is this ammo as good for barrels four to eight inches long also?)​

I asked a sales person if they were reloadable and if so why are they packaged like they were. He stated that they are the regular Speer 38 special+P ammo but that a large storehouse full got water damage to the packaging and had to be repackaged and sold in the bulk size packaging. Some wording on the box stated:

“NOT TO BE REPACKAGED”​

The other caliber boxes I saw on display was 40 S&W, 250 rounds for $109.95 marked down from $119.95. Large and small CCI pistol primers were $3 a hundred with a maximum of 500 per caliber that you can buy.

I journeyed around the Net and found a couple forums stating that they saw the same Speer ammo for sale but with different reasons why they were repackaged in bulk the way they were. Does anyone have some info that may enlighten us more on this?

 

[NavelOfficer]

Powder prices are reasonable. Anywhere from $18 to $26 a pound seems the norm these days.
The Speer ni-plated is reloadable. The "Not to be repackaged" bit is to keep the package together as intended, kind of like individually-wrapped candies in a bulk bag, that's all.
KTP does have an assortment, for sure. Make sure you look for the bargains on the reloading counter...sometimes you can find a few bargains.

 

[coastie]

It is probably Gold Dot. I have heard a couple of stories about the bulk Speer ammo. One is that it is contract over runs and the other is that the lots failed the dunk test. If you look at the packages they all say not for LE use for practice only. I have never heard of anyone having any issues with it. Friend ordered some when ammoman had it and it shot fine. I think there was .380, 9mm, .357 Sig, .45 and .45 GAP avail as well at one time.

 

[6hold]

Navel Officer
coastie

Thanks for your take on this. I wish I had bought a box of the Speer now but if I keep buying ammo I’ll never get back to reloading. ​

 

[Jasper]

the majority of the 250round bulk-pack's ive seen @ KTP were LEO-Practice-Only ammo. IE, contract ammunition that may or may not have made the grade in performance testing, may or may not be an over-run, etc. the last box i saw was .40S&W Speer GoldDot, and the box specifically said "for practice ONLY".

 

[GSG]

There's no way in heck that I would use self defense ammo that was repackaged because it got wet. Not worth the risk to me. I might buy some as a cheap way to target practice with defense loads, but that's it, I wouldn't carry it.

It sounds like what you saw was Speer's "re-classified" ammo. I've fired a few hundred rounds of their reclassified stuff at the range without a single hiccup, but there's a reasn they're selling it cheap...don't trust your life to it.

 

[6hold]

Jasper
GSG

Nice info to get folks, thanks. That link you gave GSG was informative about this ammo, here's a tad more from that site:​

"The ammunition that has been reclassified somehow failed to meet a contract stipulation. It is safe to shoot. Most is likely suitable for defensive use, but it would depend on the exact problem. A large quantity fell out for poor nickel plating on the cases. This nickel plating would not compromise the use of the ammunition, but flaking could present functional problems. Inspection of the ammunition you have should be able to determine if there is any worry in that regard. Other lots were reclassified for other reasons. In general I feel it is best to use it for practice and to prove functioning in the gun and stay with ammunition that was not reclassified for actual carry." - Guy Neill, Blount Sporting Equipment Group​

 

[GSG]

That link you gave GSG was informative about this ammo

Not a problem. I got a fantastic deal on some Speer range ammo because it was "reclassified," but I was a little suspicious of the low price, so I did some research and that's what I found.

 

[Ziptar]

Interesting, I picked up a box of .45 Colt CCI Blazer 200 gr this weekend. It is aluminum cased but the bullet looks exactly like the Gold Dots in the picture. Makes me wonder if there is "reclassified" .45 Colt with Nickeled Cases out there at similar prices.

 

[GSG]

Interesting, I picked up a box of .45 Colt CCI Blazer 200 gr this weekend. It is aluminum cased but the bullet looks exactly like the Gold Dots in the picture. Makes me wonder if there is "reclassified" .45 Colt with Nickeled Cases out there at similar prices.

All the "reclassified" Speer ammo that I've seen or heard of is either bulk packaged in lots of 250 rounds each, or is in the normal factory box, but the box has a clear sticker on it with the words "Re-classified, not for LE use" or something to that effect. If it doesn't have that I'd say you're all set, but if it's only range ammo I wouldn't pay much attention to it.

 

[iefstath]

When KTP got a bunch of this in January, maybe the same stuff, I know it was an overrun of a Homeland Security order. But that was being sold at $169.