Hammer bullet for short range bear hunting

[nralifer]

Have you ever seen, or been informed by a customer, of the failure of one of your BD or SBD bullets to expand on game at an impact velocity exceeding 1,800 fps?

No, can't say we have.

 

[pickens72]

Sure looks like you cannot read....OP never mentioned any brand.....never mentioned any Hammers.....

I've tried Hammers and they work OK also Makers but there are two facts in them why I would never use them again....#1 there made of copper not brass like a Cutting Edge Bullet brass is harder and will bend less than copper in the same designed bullet..... #2 Hammers and Makers they retain all of the bullet when mushroomed ....a Cutting Edge Bullet will expand in the first 2" of penetration then the front of the bullet will brake a way and radiate out with the "blades" cutting and slicing the base will continue going straight....I've had more animals shot in the chest cavity DRT with Cutting Edge Bullets than any other brand of bullets.....been hunting for close to 60 years been guiding for over 45 years I've see it all....

Lmao hammers dont retain all there weight! That comment tells me u know nothing bout a hammer bullet! They actually shed there petals back to where the hp is drilled to!

 

[Alibiiv]

You do know that quotation marks are used to quote something someone said don't you? Nowhere in his post did he say what you quoted.

Thank you for the grandma lesson.............

 

[DoneNOut]

I'm just glad to see @Calvin45 stepping to the plate as resident pot stir guy and weirdo. I was alone for so long till now.

 

[264WM]

My short range out to 400 yards is the 338 Federal which has fantastic shock when it hits. Just hate that they quit making them in a short barrel bolt action rifle that takes AR 10 Magazines.

 

[2buffalo]

"I'm done following it,
I had an interest; however, it has now turned into being ridiculous!!!!!"

why do you keep coming back if the thread triggers you? You are free to not open the thread. Asking Len to shut down a thread because it gets your panties in a bunch is rather childish.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Okay it may be something you're not comfortable sharing out in the open and if it's none of my business that's just fine with me…but I gotta ask cuz I'm a curious cat who hasn't used up many lives yet …

Was the turned bullet maker who helped you out early on GS Custom? I just have a hunch based on your own projectile design, some posts I recall reading as far back as 2014, and honestly just what I know about that company as being people who would definitely help the next man in line…

I'm happy with Hammers and can get them easily enough for a price in Canada now. I've wished GSC was more readily obtainable in my country for over a decade haha.

AND…I've had a number of people where I live who've never heard of hammer yet but are familiar with some of the older copper bullet makers ask about these newfangled bullets I'm loading in my .257 and, maybe this is incorrect of me, I've told them

"Imagine cutting edge and GS custom had a really awesome baby with none of the drawbacks and all of the positives of its parents" . You know, cuz the PDR lines making them easy to load for and capable of greater speeds like the GSC with the fragmenting nose and straight line shank penetration of the CEB. Not at implying this is a knockoff or copying anyone else anymore than saying every bonded bullet is just a ripoff of an old school bitterroot haha.

We used GS Custom bullets a lot in our quest for a better bullet before we started making our own. We had an exiled member of GSC when we first started but he was not capable of doing the things he told us he could. So, no real help there. At this point we had a small 2 axis cnc lathe in my garage that we didn't know how to use. We had to figure it out on our own. We had an ideal (not idea) of what we expected a bullet to do after impact. We thought if we just bought the purest copper possible that we couldn't go wrong. We were wrong. It didn't work. We did just as was suggested earlier and had bullets from other companies tested by spectrographic analysis. For the 1st year or so we used one of those coppers with sub (our) standard performance, but it was the best we could find. We continued searching for a copper that would do what we wanted. The short story is by the grace of God we found THE copper, after purchasing thousands of pounds of diff copper alloys, that we wound up recycling in the end at less than half what we paid for them. Fortunately we were small and had no ad budget and we were able to correct the errors of the 1st coppers that we marketed with. We are still experimenting with new coppers. I don't think we will ever stop trying find something better.

Paul at Maker Bullets helped us learn some machining techniques and still to this day we talk with him about the bullet business. He is a great guy. He did not help us find THE copper, nor did I expect him to.

So to answer your question, we were influenced by the products that we used in our quest, and learned from them what we wanted our bullet to be. What we saw as shortcomings that we wanted to to do better.

 

[Calvin45]

We used GS Custom bullets a lot in our quest for a better bullet before we started making our own. We had an exiled member of GSC when we first started but he was not capable of doing the things he told us he could. So, no real help there. At this point we had a small 2 axis cnc lathe in my garage that we didn't know how to use. We had to figure it out on our own. We had an ideal (not idea) of what we expected a bullet to do after impact. We thought if we just bought the purest copper possible that we couldn't go wrong. We were wrong. It didn't work. We did just as was suggested earlier and had bullets from other companies tested by spectrographic analysis. For the 1st year or so we used one of those coppers with sub (our) standard performance, but it was the best we could find. We continued searching for a copper that would do what we wanted. The short story is by the grace of God we found THE copper, after purchasing thousands of pounds of diff copper alloys, that we wound up recycling in the end at less than half what we paid for them. Fortunately we were small and had no ad budget and we were able to correct the errors of the 1st coppers that we marketed with. We are still experimenting with new coppers. I don't think we will ever stop trying find something better.

Paul at Maker Bullets helped us learn some machining techniques and still to this day we talk with him about the bullet business. He is a great guy. He did not help us find THE copper, nor did I expect him to.

So to answer your question, we were influenced by the products that we used in our quest, and learned from them what we wanted our bullet to be. What we saw as shortcomings that we wanted to to do better.

Awesome and glad to hear. Looking at a 90 grain .257 absolute hammer at the moment…scared to shoot the things, gosh they're a thing of beauty .

But shoot they will…when I get spare time and winter finally starts going away. Freaking cold up here still haha.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Look at the title

And brass is the poorest performing material we have ever tried.

 

[HARPERC]

We continued searching for a copper that would do what we wanted. The short story is by the grace of God we found THE copper, after purchasing thousands of pounds of diff copper alloys, that we wound up recycling in the end at less than half what we paid for them. Fortunately we were small and had no ad budget and we were able to correct the errors of the 1st coppers that we marketed with. We are still experimenting with new coppers. I don't think we will ever stop trying find something better.

Seeing this first hand caused me to reconsider mono bullets.

Enough copper recycled to qualify for tweaker royalty.

 

[DoneNOut]

And brass is the poorest performing material we have ever tried.

Sir, would this make a good bear gun? Happy 308 Day!

 

[TK 1985]

I remember an Alka-Seltzer commercial a few years ago. It suggested, "Try it. You'll like it."

There is a guy testing Hammer bullets A LOT. From reading his experiences I get the idea he kills more stuff in a month than I do in a decade. Recently he used a hammer Hunter 124 grain on a water buffalo with fantastic results. Therefore, I suggest you consider using other's experiences to learn rather than only your own only.

It was more a commentary on how the bigger bear out west seem to be going down so easy and how surprised I am given the hardiness of the bear in the east and my comfort level with what to use putting them down. If I were to go out west for bear I would absolutely look at what others are doing with caliber and bullet selections.

You could of said everything with out the last line as well, the one where you're a condescending ***.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Dang, seems like a website sponsored by hammer bullets!

We do sponsor the forum and this thread was started with a question about what Hammer Bullet to use for a black bear hunt. Then people came into the thread pushing whatever flavor of bullet they like. It is interesting how folks get bent about Hammer Bullets getting mentioned in other threads, yet I don't recall ever there being a thread about Hammer Bullets that someone doesn't chime in with a bullet that they prefer even thought they have never used a Hammer Bullet.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

Again- I am the original poster. I can tell you that for sure and for certain (Matthew Quigly), that the only information I was seeking was regarding Hammer Bullets and the reason that I was only seeking information regarding Hammer Bullets, is because that is the only bullet that I was considering using for this purpose. Why would that be, you ask....well, because I have had excellent customer service out of Steve and the Hammer team. This is not to say that one of the other small bullet companies wouldn't also provide excellent customer service, but I'm one of those guys that if it isn't broke, I don't fix it. I came to Steve and the Hammer team with a problem a few years ago with a 7mm RM, that had some accuracy limitations, but had a lot of sentimental value, and was never going to be sold, nor was it going to be rebarreled, or anything of the sort. Steve was same day responsive, was clear and to the point about the approach, and the results were unbelievable. All for the profit in a $65 box of bullets. I had another experience where I had a Hammer bullet that my 7mm-08 didn't like. Steve said, without prodding, if they don't work, just send them back and Ill refund your money or send you something else to try.

Ironically, the only other similar experience I've had was with the folks at Makers bullets, which Steve mentions above as one of his supporters. That is a network I want to be a part of. I'm sure I could kill a bear with a Partition out of a 308...but why? Why spend time combing the internet for them, why go through the effort of begging friends or fellow forum members to part with their inventories to help me out. Log on, click the buy button, and plan to start loading in 3 to 4 days....done. I don't see Nosler, or Hornady helping out with load data (unless you buy the book). They are spending their time designing and marketing new cartridges that are mostly unavailable. I just don't get it. Mash the easy button, support the little guy, and don't be ashamed to call yourself a supporter for the brands that provide good products and good service.