Hammer hunter vs 215 berger

[matt_3479]

This is my single (on game) experience with Hammers. I shot an average 6x6 bull elk in Idaho at 315yds. The 181 Hammer was fired from a 30 Nosler and hit the bull broadside, high in the lungs. Admittedly not the best shot. The bull took a step or two and dropped in 10 seconds. In another 10 seconds the bull went still. The kill was caught on video through a 60x spotting scope.

I've got Hammers loaded up for 3 different cartridges this year and am anxious to see how they perform on other animals. In a few short weeks I'll be headed back to Newfoundland for another moose hunt. I've got the 236HH bullets shooting very well at 400yds when fired from my 338RUM @ 3,050 ft/sec. With a little luck I should have some good terminal info on this bullet.

Please post your results if tested on moose

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Sweet thanks for the info!! I'm planning on rebuilding my 30-378 to 338 lapua improved and I'm interested in the hammers and well as the 300 gr bergers.

Are you liking the 30 nosler?

My original 300RUM proved to be too much of a good thing, at least for me. I rebarreled to 30 Nosler and have plenty of room to load bullets long. No more need for a muzzle break which I've grown to hate when hunting. The 30 Nosler has proven to be very accurate.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Sweet thanks for the info!! I'm planning on rebuilding my 30-378 to 338 lapua improved and I'm interested in the hammers and well as the 300 gr bergers.

Are you liking the 30 nosler?

I run our 260g Hammer Hunter in my 338 lap imp at 3230 fps. Good for beyond 1000y hunting.

 

[Rhovee]

I 100 percent agree with what biggreen said. If you can push a 215 over 3100, it's time to step down to a 230.

 

[BoatTail]

My experience with Berger's seem to be different than others. I used to shoot 180 gr VLDs in a Gunwerks 7 LRM. I never saw them blow up going in , I always had a nice entry hole, but the exit hole was always huge on Antelope. Bigger than your fist. It seemed they would achieve their maximum fragmentation at about the distance at the offside body of an antelope. I could see how they would work well on larger game as the fragmentation would start and finished inside say elk size game. I stopped using them because I used the same bullet on Antelope, Deer and Elk and didn't like to waste that much meat on Antelope. Often I'd lose the off-shoulder completely due to the fragmentation. I use Hornady 175 grain ELD X's now in my 28 Nosler.

 

[dougduey]

I load Hammer bullets in 6 different cartridges, and they've become my go to hunting bullet.
Last October I took a nice Kodiak Island mountain goat with the 213 gr Hammer Hunter in my 338 Lapua. From the position the billy was in, I had to shoot him through the shoulder. The bullet went through both shoulders with about a 1.5-2" exit wound. He fell over about 5 seconds after impact. Shot was 208 yards with a velocity of 3250 fps. When caping him, we found 2 petals in the front shoulder area, so they fragmented off like they were designed, and the core of the bullet kept going through the goat. Although I never saw the internal damage since we used the gutless method to dress the goat, all you could hear was a bunch of sloshing every time you moved the carcass. I've seen the devastation on hogs and deer I've shot with the Hammers, and it's impressive. Nice part is you don't really lose any meat since they're all copper bullets.
I feel they are a pretty perfect hunting bullet. I try to keep all my shots on game 600 yards or less. I've taken some long range classes and have rung steel out to 1079 yards, but I'm not that good at doping wind at 800 yards or more. I had no problem ringing steel with Hammers out to 750 yards with my 6.5, 7mm and 338.