Hammer HHT vs Absolute

I'm looking for a new mono to shoot in my 7mm this fall and have narrowed it down to the 132gr HHT and the 140gr Absolute.
From what I can tell, velocity should be similar and BCs pretty much line up as well. How easy are the HHTs to work up a load for compared to the Absolutes? I know the Absolutes are a bit more tricky in regards to powder burn rates which is something else I'm considering as well.
Currently, I'm shooting the 166gr Atip at 3k' but would like to pick up a bit more speed and get the performance of a mono.

wilkup said:

I'm looking for a new mono to shoot in my 7mm this fall and have narrowed it down to the 132gr HHT and the 140gr Absolute.
From what I can tell, velocity should be similar and BCs pretty much line up as well. How easy are the HHTs to work up a load for compared to the Absolutes? I know the Absolutes are a bit more tricky in regards to powder burn rates which is something else I'm considering as well.
Currently, I'm shooting the 166gr Atip at 3k' but would like to pick up a bit more speed and get the performance of a mono.

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Personally, I've found the regular Hammer Hunters to be easier to developed loads for than the HHTs and they allow more flexibility in seating depth. I haven't shot any Absolutes.

Not sure about your reloading experience, but Hammer Hunters are similar to other mono's as far as burn rates and pressure testing, so easy transition from more conventional bullets. I believe GLTaylor has a lot of hammer reloading data as well as the Hammer forum. Give Steve a call. He's always super helpful. He can direct you and get you very close generally.

The 7 mag will respond well to the Absolute design. As in added velocity from the lower engraving pressure. The older inefficient cartridges see greater velocity increases. You will want to look at powders that are on the fast side for what it's typically used for the weight class of bullet. If you look at same weight conventional bullet data, like Hodgdon or Nosler, you can use the max listed load as a start load and work up from there. Only do this with the Absolutes. The other Hammers will be more conventional for load data. Finding that powder that shines with the Absolutes is sometimes a little more challenging. As a general rule Hammers are not picky about jump. If you have a picky rifle the Absolute could be more difficult because it will be tough to get very close to the lands. This is rare.

All that said, I am very high on the Hammer HHT line of bullets. I have not found them any more difficult to find accuracy. We did reduce the number of drive bands on the HHT's compared to the other Hammers. If a loader is trying to line up the case mouth with a drive band, this could be seen as more restrictive in COAL options. I generally ignore drive band location relative to the case mouth. My method with all of the Hammers is to start with the longest COAL that will function in the rifle without touching the lands. If I can reach the lands then I back off 20 thou and call that my longest COAL. They certainly don't mind jumping. In most cases the magazine dictates COAL. Once I have found my longest starting COAL then I ladder up to find pressure. I am a one shot one charge ladder guy. Shot at the same spot. I like to find pressure and back off a bit, so I know where it is. The vast majority of the time, at this point we have a nice solid sub moa load and we are zeroing and headed to confirm drops. If the rifle isn't shooting well at this point I am more apt to change components. If it is close to accuracy but not quite, then I will try a seating depth test. Since we started with the longest COAL there is only one way to go. Start seating deeper. I go 15-20 thou at a time. I only load two at a time. No point in shooting more of the first two are good. More shots won't make the group better. There is a lot of guys that will use a crimp at the top end of the ladder to tune the load with great results. I generally don't crimp. Only because I'm lazy and don't want the extra step if I don't have to. With this method we are usually done with load development in less than 15 shots. Some rifles are picky and take more effort with different components to find what it likes.

All my rifles are running the HHT's if available for the caliber. I very much like the protection of the meplat from accidental damage. The terminal performance is on par with the Hammer Hunters or Absolutes. Maybe a bit better at low to mid velocity impacts. Which I did not think was possible. We had tried several times before and could not get a tipped bullet to work as well as our open hollow point. Particularly at low velocity. Between tip material and how we married the tip to the bullet, we were able to meet our terminal performance standards and better.

Hope that helps. Thanks.

As @RockyMtnMT said, the Absolute Hunter likes a faster burning powder for bullet weight.

When they first came out, I had seen where Hammer said that they were for a more advanced reloader.
Just meaning they behave differently than what most people are used to.

Personally I'd be comfortable loading up the Hammer Hunter and calling it good.

I've done load development on 3 rifles with the absolute's and I just did a small powder ladder for accuracy after pressure ladder at the coal that fit. I made a quick tape turret for my brother's 270wsm that works extremely good out to 500 meters which is where I'd draw the line with these bullets ( 116's) depending on what you're hunting. Definitely work extremely good on animals as a friend in Moses lake shares his 270wsm with his son and grandson with 116's to shoot 3 mule deer every year for the last 3 years and sends me pictures of the bullet performance. They are definitely not very wind resistant so probably if I did it all over I'd use the hht's. The new kestrel library seems to work pretty good on a couple different bullets I've loaded for but definitely need to test for windage. I've done both crimp and non crimp. If you plan on practicing a lot, i wouldn't crimp because of brass life. Hope this helps

I should add they have a number of different rifles they could use but he says he's never seen them die so fast

I have used Hammer Hunters and Absolutes, with the Absolutes you have to be able to read pressures as stated previously but if you are using the HH or HHT you have to be able to do that as well. I am looking forward to a 140 Absolute in my new 7PRC.

I should've said I've loaded Hammers (Lever/Hunter) in several rifles over the years, just don't have any experience with the Absolute or HHT lines.
If the HHT is as simple as the Hunter to load for, and it sounds like it is, I'll be going that direction.

std7mag said:

As @RockyMtnMT said, the Absolute Hunter likes a faster burning powder for bullet weight.

When they first came out, I had seen where Hammer said that they were for a more advanced reloader.
Just meaning they behave differently than what most people are used to.

Personally I'd be comfortable loading up the Hammer Hunter and calling it good.

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X2. I am PLENTY satisfied with the Hammer Hunter line.

Varmint Hunter said:

Personally, I've found the regular Hammer Hunters to be easier to developed loads for than the HHTs and they allow more flexibility in seating depth. I haven't shot any Absolutes.

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I've only tested in 300 wm with 180 HH and 182 HHT with same loads and in 3 different rifles. The HH shoots tighter groups in all 3. They hit close to the same spot. I had a CDS dial made for the 182 HHT. Wishing I'd of had it made for 180 HH. I don't think it will be more than couple inches different up to 500 yards.

WYO300RUM said:

I've only tested in 300 wm with 180 HH and 182 HHT with same loads and in 3 different rifles. The HH shoots tighter groups in all 3. They hit close to the same spot. I had a CDS dial made for the 182 HHT. Wishing I'd of had it made for 180 HH. I don't think it will be more than couple inches different up to 500 yards.

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Just a thought but:
When my custom turret doesn't exactly match my load anymore (happens all the time LOL)
I use the 400 mark on the turret and sight dead on at 400yds. Shorter distances are always very close. Distances over 500yds will need a little tweaking.

Instead of using expensive custom turrets I wrap white electrical tape around the circumference of the turret with corresponding yardage marks based on the DOPE. Whenever a new or different load is used then I just peel off the tape and start new. I have been using this method for a few years and have had no issues.

Varmint Hunter said:

Just a thought but:
When my custom turret doesn't exactly match my load anymore (happens all the time LOL)
I use the 400 mark on the turret and sight dead on at 400yds. Shorter distances are always very close. Distances over 500yds will need a little tweaking.

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Very good idea ! I pulled the Vx6 4x24 off my 300 RUM and put on my Tikka 300 wm. It had a 215 Berger load CDS dial for the RUM on it.