120 hammer hunter experience

[Rosebud]

Sounds like you have it figured out with kimber. Nothing beats results like that.

 

[LVJ76]

RL17 will work great as well with 120gr bullets.

 

[john k]

I shoot a 120 gr. Hammer Hunter in my 7mm-08, and have taken three elk and a number of deer. They have worked quite well on all the animals, with none traveling more than 20 yards. I've been using Varget and have been getting 5-shot groups right at 1.5". I've recently been shooting IMR-8208 XBR, and I've been impressed with that powder behind the 120 gr. HH. Here is my load data:

Kimber Montana 7mm-08
22" barrel
120 gr. Hammer Hunter
CCI 200 primer
2.76" OAL
1/8 turn FCD

Varget
45.0 gr - 3080 fps, 1.5" 5-shot groups

IMR-8208 XBR
41.0 gr - 2889 fps
42.0 gr - 2975 fps
43.0 gr - 3053 fps
44.0 gr - 3160 fps
45.0 gr - 3196 fps (stiff bolt lift)
I settled on 44.0 gr., and have been getting 1" or better 5-shot groups.

Thanks for the valuable info. Probably will have a hard time finding that powder. There was a recent thread stating IMR Enduron powders will be discontinued. Have plenty of Varget. Thanks again

 

[Calvin45]

So I've been playing with 140 absolute hammers in my 7-08ai. I've got one load down around .6 MOA. I'm not super happy with the accuracy. What's interesting is that a mild charge of imr 4166 with a 120 vmax will consistently do .2 MOA. So I'm thinking this rifle might like shorter bullets. It's an 8twist proof.

What I'm looking for is if anyone has any real world velocity for a 120 hammer hunter or 119 absolute hammer in a 7-08 or ai version. The 140 AH is going 2940 and I'm order to outdo that with a 120 out to 600 yards I'd have to be doing 3200 with the 120gr.

Light and fast is where it's at with monos anyways, Barnes, hammer, cutting edge, don't care…velocity is most important with these.

 

[James DeTorre]

Doing good with RS BG , 49 grains, Nosler new brass, CCI mag primers.
Next up Mule Deer hunt!

 

[Elkeater]

So I got my hands in Lee factory crimp die. I also switched over to varget from 4166. Using the 140AH i Ran up from 43.0 gr til I hit pressure at 46.0. I saw a flat spot in the velocity at about 45.0 to 45.4. Picked 45.2 and loaded to mag length of 2.840" and a 1/4 turn in the factory crimp and shot a group. .895 MOA. Messed with seating depth. .040 off the lands put three into the .3s .120 off the lands put three into the .6s.

So maybe with a little tweaking I'm back to a very solid load. The 140 AH is doing about 3005 fps at the muzzle.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I think there is a bit more velocity to be had. Go find that point where pressure is TOO high. Then back off a bit. Tinker there.

That .6" load. How did it shoot at 500y? Wondering if it might have been more impressive there?

 

[Elkeater]

I think there is a bit more velocity to be had. Go find that point where pressure is TOO high. Then back off a bit. Tinker there.

That .6" load. How did it shoot at 500y? Wondering if it might have been more impressive there?

Might be a bit more velocity but I think I have a slow barrel too. 46.0 grains had a sticky bolt. I haven't shot either the .3 load or the .6 load beyond 100 yards yet. I'll be loading a few more of each and shooting at 300 yards (max distance at my local range) next to see what they do. The .3 load would be single feed while the .6 load fits in the mag box. I may play a bit with the seating depth on that .6 load too. The .6 load stack two into one ragged hole then threw the third one out half an inch.

 

[Elkeater]

I think there is a bit more velocity to be had. Go find that point where pressure is TOO high. Then back off a bit. Tinker there.

That .6" load. How did it shoot at 500y? Wondering if it might have been more impressive there?

Went out to 300 yards today. The .6 load did not hold up at distance. It opened up to 1.1 MOA. The .3 load held up well. Even with a 7-10mph wind and some mirage I still shot a .465 MOA group at 300 yards. MV is a touch over 3,000 fps. Very happy with a 140gr bullet at 3k in a short action rifle.