300 WSM, hammer hunter 181, build questions

[Bucklowery]

The hammers can be seated deep and still perform well. Sometimes they need to have a little crimp to get the one hole groups
Thanks

Buck

 

[Boisedoc]

I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. With the design of the hammer. The bearing surface is ONLY the ribbed portion correct? No jokes please fellas

 

[Don Titus]

I tried and tried to like the hammer hunters. Couldn't get them to shoot better than about .75-1 MOA. They performed well on game at close range but they were too long for my WSM. You would need a custom reamer to be able to seat those bullets long enough to not take up too much powder capacity. Even the 169s were just too long for my WSM.

Try the 174 Hammer Hunters, they were made for rifles with short mags and don't mind "jumping" at all…

 

[sable tireur]

That badlands bullet really long. Once again can't tell the bearing surface but did you use a SAAMI spec reamer?

Yes, it's 1.650" in length.

No, this bullet, like so many of the heavy for caliber and lathe turned solids, are too long for the SAAMI reamer. I usually buy a custom throating reamer for projects like this so I can experiment with different throat lengths and bullets. Mine is set up in the XM magazine length of 3.200" minus a few thousandths for feeding. It works just fine and does not require a long action.

The SAAMI reamer was designed for specific uses, but not for the heavy for caliber and solid bullets. When you work within the parameters of the SAAMI reamer you have a very useful hunting cartridge.

 

[Bull_Mtn]

My rifle is a Mod 70 Win .300 WSM. The mag box is 3" long. 1:10 twist, 24" barrel. The 181 HH, has produced the best 100 yd groups of any of the Hammer bullets I have tried. Less than 1/2 MOA is typical. The only modifications are a muzzle brake, Timney trigger, and Boyd Agility Stock with pillar bedding. My recipe is Fed Brass, CCI LRM primer, 64.6 gr RL-16 at 2.950 OAL. 2990 fps. I could go faster, but the groups started to spread.

 

[Wedgy]

20" barrel 10 twist 181HH coated HBN 63.9 grains H4350 fed 215M Hornady brass 2.9" COAL gives 2,942 fps, every 300 WSM I have loaded for did better with 0.003-0.005" neck tension.

 

[Boisedoc]

Thanks everyone. I built this rifle. Wound up going with a SAAMI Spec chamber. Put a 21" barrel from Hells Canyon Armory on a BAT machine long action. It's sitting in a XLR chassis. I wound up deciding to go the 212 eldx bullet with a goal of getting at least 2700 fps without pushing pressure hard. With H4350 at 60.5 grains, well within parameters, it shoots an Es of 7fps and with the suppressor on hits 2710. I can get 2750 at 62.5 grains and I'm sure more if I wanted. It's a tack driver and doesn't kick the life out of you even at 8.25lbs. 2700 isn't too fast for the bullet at close range and still puts that projectile in the sweet spot well out past where I have no business shooting. So it's great for timber whitetail or open country elk or moose in AK. In short it is almost the perfect North American setup IMO. I love it.