Hammer Hunters?

[mightyman]

Story.. then the question:

So a few years ago i ordered some 284 Cal-143g Hammer Hunter to try on my 7mm Mag
they worked tremendously, and very accurate!

So while deer hunting in VA i shot 3 bucks.

Hiwever each one ran like it was NOT hit. Tracked but no blood trail… nothing.
In the spring while working on stands and trapsing through woods… we found each of them!
I sooo hate to do this.

Also on TX i shot a large 10 point.. same thing. No blood!
However just as i was giving up searxh thinking i missed..i saw one drop of blood on the underside of a leaf
Way back in thicket was the deer. One small perfectly placed shot, no exit.

I have since switched back to Nosler 168 AccuBond Long Range.. and no issues and great accuracy. Long and short range

I still have about 150 loaded Hammers.

Now the question after the story: headed to MT this year elk hunting again in Sept. what can i expect if i decided to use the hammers?
Or stick with accubonds

Thanks

 

[WeiserBucks]

You have experience with them and already know what to expect.

 

[Petey308]

Popcorn will be ready soon….

 

[Petey308]

Must be the wrong twist rate on your barrel, bad shot placement, bad batch of copper, hit some brush with the bullet after the shot, or just a crazy conspiracy.

In all seriousness though, I definitely wouldn't feel confident in your position using them on your next hunt. You raise a valid concern and it would be nice to get some good answers.

I guess in the meantime you can work on providing answers to the questions that will likely come, about the things I mentioned above. What's your twist rate? What's your muzzle velocity? Any pictures of the animals afterwards?

 

[Arcola]

Stick with the ABLRs. PM me if you want to sell the HHs.

 

[mightyman]

It's a Bartlein barrell 1 n 8 twist
No pictures of anything recovered as they were in the woods for four months
no muzzle velocity either so as previously stated here I'm going with the Accubonds

I'll just use the hammers on hogs down here
Thanks for all the input

 

[Petey308]

It's a Bartlein barrell 1 n 8 twist
No pictures of anything recovered as they were in the woods for four months
no muzzle velocity either so as previously stated here I'm going with the Accubonds

I'll just use the hammers on hogs down here
Thanks for all the input

I appreciate the info and I'm legitimately sorry for your misfortunes. However it all ends up, I hope your next hunts go great!

 

[CRP003]

Story.. then the question:

So a few years ago i ordered some 284 Cal-143g Hammer Hunter to try on my 7mm Mag
they worked tremendously, and very accurate!

So while deer hunting in VA i shot 3 bucks.

Hiwever each one ran like it was NOT hit. Tracked but no blood trail… nothing.
In the spring while working on stands and trapsing through woods… we found each of them!
I sooo hate to do this.

Also on TX i shot a large 10 point.. same thing. No blood!
However just as i was giving up searxh thinking i missed..i saw one drop of blood on the underside of a leaf
Way back in thicket was the deer. One small perfectly placed shot, no exit.

I have since switched back to Nosler 168 AccuBond Long Range.. and no issues and great accuracy. Long and short range

I still have about 150 loaded Hammers.

Now the question after the story: headed to MT this year elk hunting again in Sept. what can i expect if i decided to use the hammers?
Or stick with accubonds

Thanks

Thanks for sharing even though you'll likely take a beating. It's alway good to follow information to see if patterns arise.

 

[mightyman]

Thanks so much… appreciate the kind thoughts

 

[carpassasin]

I don't know the answer but so far with the 300 wm and 180 HH I've taken several mule deer and black tail with zero issues. Also, several with the 6.5 PRC and124 most at ranges from 4 to 6 hundred.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

Any idea about what your MV is with the 7mag? How far were your shots on the deer?

Tagging in just because I've been considering 67gr 257cal hammers in my 25-06 coyote rifle. Obviously that's not a 7mm nor a magnum but I'd like as much info as possible on the bullets in general. Do they have to be pushed fast to work correctly? Can they be too fast? I know very little about the hammers.

 

[DocTorT]

I also have the 124g HHs (original)- never got around to loading yet. Looking forward to it, and also have an elk hunt. Either those or 147 eldm's.

 

[Pizzaman1]

Story.. then the question:

So a few years ago i ordered some 284 Cal-143g Hammer Hunter to try on my 7mm Mag
they worked tremendously, and very accurate!

So while deer hunting in VA i shot 3 bucks.

Hiwever each one ran like it was NOT hit. Tracked but no blood trail… nothing.
In the spring while working on stands and trapsing through woods… we found each of them!
I sooo hate to do this.

Also on TX i shot a large 10 point.. same thing. No blood!
However just as i was giving up searxh thinking i missed..i saw one drop of blood on the underside of a leaf
Way back in thicket was the deer. One small perfectly placed shot, no exit.

I have since switched back to Nosler 168 AccuBond Long Range.. and no issues and great accuracy. Long and short range

I still have about 150 loaded Hammers.

Now the question after the story: headed to MT this year elk hunting again in Sept. what can i expect if i decided to use the hammers?
Or stick with accubonds

Thanks

If you have had bad results with that particular projectile, why on earth would you take a chance on them again, especially on an animal three times the size of the game the projectile didn't work on according to what you wanted?? Go with what ya know!

 

[Window]

Story.. then the question:

So a few years ago i ordered some 284 Cal-143g Hammer Hunter to try on my 7mm Mag
they worked tremendously, and very accurate!

So while deer hunting in VA i shot 3 bucks.

Hiwever each one ran like it was NOT hit. Tracked but no blood trail… nothing.
In the spring while working on stands and trapsing through woods… we found each of them!
I sooo hate to do this.

Also on TX i shot a large 10 point.. same thing. No blood!
However just as i was giving up searxh thinking i missed..i saw one drop of blood on the underside of a leaf
Way back in thicket was the deer. One small perfectly placed shot, no exit.

I have since switched back to Nosler 168 AccuBond Long Range.. and no issues and great accuracy. Long and short range

I still have about 150 loaded Hammers.

Now the question after the story: headed to MT this year elk hunting again in Sept. what can i expect if i decided to use the hammers?
Or stick with accubonds

Thanks

To date, we've taken a ton of deer and elk with the Hammer Hunter and fortunately have not lost an animal yet. We've had few that gone 50 to upwards to 100 yards without a drop of blood before they start bleeding. All were lung shot. I shot a doe a couple weeks ago right at dark in the middle of a food plot at 165 yards with the 117 Hammer Hunters out of a 270 Wby mag. She was slightly quartered to me and I shot dead center in the crease. When the trigger broke I thought I'd see a white belly with my make eye but all I saw was dust in the air where the bullet hit the ground. I got back on the scope and saw her on a death run headed towards the wood line about 75 yards from where she was standing when I shot her. I was able to get a good mark on her as she entered the timber and thought no big deal she dead. Went to the truck, got the flashlights and went to where I shot her, found where the bullet hit the ground and started tracking her tracks and no blood. Got to the wood line where she entered and still no blood. Not wanting to mess up sings to track her, I decided to go back at daylight the next morning because the temps were well below freezing. The next morning resuming the search at the location she entered the wood line with no blood, I decided to start making slow sweeping arches hoping to find blood or sign of any kind. Luckily I found her roughly 100 yards in the woods. I hit her exactly where I was aiming center crease half way up and down. When I flipped her there was a string of fat three fingers thick 8 to 10 inches long stuck out the exit hole at here diaphragm. It had obviously plugged the exit hole. When I gutted her, I cut loose string of now frozen fat from the inside and pulled it through the diameter size exit hole. Sorry for the long post, but strange things do happen.