First time load development with Hammer bullets

[PapaSmurff]

Make sure you verify drops at long range with actual shots and don't just rely on using BC and ballistic calculation. I worked up a fantastic shooting load in my 28 Nosler only to find out later that for some reason the hammer was being deformed and BC drastically altered by my rifle.

I will do. Before I start these test tomorrow afternoon, can you recommend a better way to do it other than using a gallon water jug with newspaper/magazines in boxes stacked behind to catch the bullets or is that about the best way to do it since I don't have any gel blocks?

 

[nimrod_gn]

I will do. Before I start these test tomorrow afternoon, can you recommend a better way to do it other than using a gallon water jug with newspaper/magazines in boxes stacked behind to catch the bullets or is that about the best way to do it since I don't have any gel blocks?

You don't need to test bullet expansion. You need to verify actual drops at long range by shooting big enough pieces of paper, carboard, etc to verify actual drop versus expected.

 

[PapaSmurff]

You don't need to test bullet expansion. You need to verify actual drops at long range by shooting big enough pieces of paper, carboard, etc to verify actual drop versus expected.

I can definitely verify the drops all the way out to 1,225 yards on my range as I have targets already positioned at almost every 100 yards till that distance. However, what I'm wondering about is how they will act as far as terminal performance once they hit the deer/elk/Canadian moose that I'm gonna be hunting with them this year. If they just tumble and don't expand because of my slower 11 twist barrel then they probably won't penetrate very well, but I don't know. I am planning on testing the actual shot drops all the way out to at least 1,000 once I complete an expansion test to make sure that they will still open up and not simply bend over sideways and tumble. I'm really hoping that they test well this weekend because I don't think I've ever had a rifle/load for big game that shot under .1 MOA consistently before even in my custom builds. We will see what happens with both expansion and with varified shot drops this weekend. I'll will report my findings throughout this weekend.

 

[SouthLoganCountyShooter]

I was using Norma 202 on the 85 HH. Seemed to really climb in velocity when going up in 1/2 grain increments:

41.0 2906
41.5 2964
42.0 3006
42.5 3066 2 out of 4 shots had a slight sticky bolt
43.0 3092 very sticky bolt. 0.001" head growth

Granted, this little rifle has a 16" barrel, but I was expecting a bit more velocity from those 85gr HH

I'm running 97abh in my creedmoor. 20" I'm at sea level and humid. Im getting over 3300 with imr4166 but it's running the edge of over pressure. In my rifle 43.5 is max. 44 is heavy bolt and stuck case. I'm going to do load development with 202 see what happens.

 

[SouthLoganCountyShooter]

I'm at 3430fps in a 20" vanguard with IMR4166, the 24" is over 3500fps.

I love them little hammers and 4166. I'm not getting as much speed as you. But I'm at sea level and humid. I was debating on load development with 202 and tac. What charge weight are you running with 4166. I ran all the way up to 44. 43.5 is max in my rifle.

 

[sndmn11]

I love them little hammers and 4166. I'm not getting as much speed as you. But I'm at sea level and humid. I was debating on load development with 202 and tac. What charge weight are you running with 4166. I ran all the way up to 44. 43.5 is max in my rifle.

46.1 is that load. It took over 47gr to get a little bolt lift stiffness.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I can definitely verify the drops all the way out to 1,225 yards on my range as I have targets already positioned at almost every 100 yards till that distance. However, what I'm wondering about is how they will act as far as terminal performance once they hit the deer/elk/Canadian moose that I'm gonna be hunting with them this year. If they just tumble and don't expand because of my slower 11 twist barrel then they probably won't penetrate very well, but I don't know. I am planning on testing the actual shot drops all the way out to at least 1,000 once I complete an expansion test to make sure that they will still open up and not simply bend over sideways and tumble. I'm really hoping that they test well this weekend because I don't think I've ever had a rifle/load for big game that shot under .1 MOA consistently before even in my custom builds. We will see what happens with both expansion and with varified shot drops this weekend. I'll will report my findings throughout this weekend.

That's a very slow twist rate for Hammer bullets. I kind think you are running into problems especially at longer ranges. All the writing here lead you to faster twist rates with Hammer bullets. Butterbean can probable help here or some others. It's probably find under 500yds with that twist rate of 11. I having a rifle being built but it's 7 twist rate for using Hammer bullets. Hammer bullets have a great BC, and there are longer bullets, but I think they need to be turned up in twist rate to stabilize at longer ranges. Call or email Hammer about your twist rate. It's better to get the straight from the horses mouth than the horses A**. Like me.

 

[ajkellerusmc]

I am loving them in those preliminary test results today for sure! I have always been a Berger or a Hornady guy and I'm an outfitter for elk in Colorado. Have lots of successful kills with Hornady's and Berger's both but usually don't get very many exit holes with those brands. From everything I read about Hammers I will get exits most of the time, especially with the 181's. Regardless I know they kill good and with that kind of accuracy (.0625 MOA) I already feel lucky!

We took a cow Elk last fall with a 124g hammer in 6.5PRC. In 33 years of hunting Elk I have never seen a heart shredded the way this one was. That bullet is incredible, I found several pedals but the main shank passed thru at 96yds.

 

[nimrod_gn]

I can definitely verify the drops all the way out to 1,225 yards on my range as I have targets already positioned at almost every 100 yards till that distance. However, what I'm wondering about is how they will act as far as terminal performance once they hit the deer/elk/Canadian moose that I'm gonna be hunting with them this year. If they just tumble and don't expand because of my slower 11 twist barrel then they probably won't penetrate very well, but I don't know. I am planning on testing the actual shot drops all the way out to at least 1,000 once I complete an expansion test to make sure that they will still open up and not simply bend over sideways and tumble. I'm really hoping that they test well this weekend because I don't think I've ever had a rifle/load for big game that shot under .1 MOA consistently before even in my custom builds. We will see what happens with both expansion and with varified shot drops this weekend. I'll will report my findings throughout this weekend.

I think you can relax about the terminal performance issue as long as your impact velocity is over 1800 fps they will perform superbly

 

[PapaSmurff]

Ok, so I conducted the expansion test today with very surprising results! I tested the 166 Hammer Hunters as well as the 181 Hammer Hunters; 2 bullets of each at a 400 yard target distance. The muzzle velocity of the 166's were around 3279 FPS. The Muzzle velocity of the 181's were averaging 3,175. Impact velocity for both bullets at 400 yards we're around 2,450-2,500 FPS. The initial thoughts from most people including myself, was that the 166's might perform properly by braking off all the petals into large pieces, leaving the shank as one solid piece intact to continue penetrating. That partially happened on one of the 166's, and did not happen at all on the second bullet. The big surprise is that the 181's which shouldn't have performed well at all actually performed flawlessly! Breaking off all the front petals into large peeled back shanks or chunks and left the core unit of both bullets intact to continue forward exactly how Hammer designed them to. I was definitely expecting the 166's to do better and the 181's to perform under satisfaction when shot out of a 1 in 11" twist barrel; especially at a range of 400 yards. Exactly the opposite occurred.. Posting a picture of all 4 bullets that were recovered one at a time after each shot into the gallon sized water jug with a cardboard case full of magazines stacked behind it to catch the bullet. The two 166 Hammer Hunters are pictured on the left side of the picture. The two 181's are on the right side of the picture. You can see the results for yourself. I've learned as of now it's always important to conduct an expansion test of your own like I did today to give you a better idea of how your bullets are going to perform at real world hunting distances. Very surprising results indeed!

 

[Old Rooster]

Thanks for all your hard work.It sure helped me

 

[MTGEEZER]

Ok, so I conducted the expansion test today with very surprising results! I tested the 166 Hammer Hunters as well as the 181 Hammer Hunters; 2 bullets of each at a 400 yard target distance. The muzzle velocity of the 166's were around 3279 FPS. The Muzzle velocity of the 181's were averaging 3,175. Impact velocity for both bullets at 400 yards we're around 2,450-2,500 FPS. The initial thoughts from most people including myself, was that the 166's might perform properly by braking off all the petals into large pieces, leaving the shank as one solid piece intact to continue penetrating. That partially happened on one of the 166's, and did not happen at all on the second bullet. The big surprise is that the 181's which shouldn't have performed well at all actually performed flawlessly! Breaking off all the front petals into large peeled back shanks or chunks and left the core unit of both bullets intact to continue forward exactly how Hammer designed them to. I was definitely expecting the 166's to do better and the 181's to perform under satisfaction when shot out of a 1 in 11" twist barrel; especially at a range of 400 yards. Exactly the opposite occurred.. Posting a picture of all 4 bullets that were recovered one at a time after each shot into the gallon sized water jug with a cardboard case full of magazines stacked behind it to catch the bullet. The two 166 Hammer Hunters are pictured on the left side of the picture. The two 181's are on the right side of the picture. You can see the results for yourself. I've learned as of now it's always important to conduct an expansion test of your own like I did today to give you a better idea of how your bullets are going to perform at real world hunting distances. Very surprising results indeed!

PapaSmurf, I, too, run a 1 in 11"twist 300 Winnie and I have the 24" barrel. What length is your Blaser barrel and what brass are you running? Dan in MT

 

[PapaSmurff]

PapaSmurf, I, too, run a 1 in 11"twist 300 Winnie and I have the 24" barrel. What length is your Blaser barrel and what brass are you running? Dan in MT

It's a 25 3/4" factory match contour Blaser R8 barrel with a fat bastard gen-2 muzzle brake on it. I'm using new Lapua brand brass for all my testing this weekend in the 300 Win. I'm probably gonna do some testing tomorrow using my 300 Norma Mag which has a 26" barrel with 1 in 8" twist. I've got some of 214 and 199 Hammer Hunters that I've been saving to test in it. Think I'll take a short break from the Win Mag tomorrow and try to fire off some loads for the Norma with those heavier Hammers to see how they perform.

 

[MTGEEZER]

It's a 25 3/4" factory match contour Blaser R8 barrel with a fat bastard gen-2 muzzle brake on it. I'm using new Lapua brand brass for all my testing this weekend in the 300 Win. I'm probably gonna do some testing tomorrow using my 300 Norma Mag which has a 26" barrel with 1 in 8" twist. I've got some of 214 and 199 Hammer Hunters that I've been saving to test in it. Think I'll take a short break from the Win Mag tomorrow and try to fire off some loads for the Norma with those heavier Hammers to see how they perform.

Thank you for the info! Sounds like a fantastic rig and able to quickly change barrels. I always thought that was a way cool way to go. I actually just down sized to the 137 Hammer Hunter and am hoping to reach 3400FPS but think 3360 or so is more realistic. Hammers like to be pushed hard! Thanks again for sharing.