Introducing the Absolute Hammer

[David Emerson]

[QUOTE="willfrye027, post: 2005338, Thought it was pretty interesting that I needed 4 more grains of powder to achieve the same velocity with the AH compared to a similar weight Barnes.

Yes, that is the whole idea of the reduced bearing surface = less pressure which needs more powder or a faster burning powder which either way is outside the "normal" load data. I have a Varget Barnes '06 load(I'm in lead free CA also) so I will be watching your data, Thanks !
[/QUOTE]
The absolute gets away so much easier. More coal

 

[T3ninja]

Whoa. 79 pages !!

 

[billcaldwell]

And I've read every one of them!

 

[jimisbell]

Me too, and I havent even started reloading...yet....but it is, seemingly, all good info.

 

[willfrye027]

151gr AH
Factory t3 30-06
FC 1x fired brass
Win LR primers
Varget
Loaded at mag length, will have to check coal

49gr—2717fps
50—2752
51–2829
52–2872
52.5–2925
53–2967
53.5–2986
54–2983
54.5–3000
55–3044
55.5—3080
56–3108
56.5–3132, 3133, 3142, 3131 (ES 11!), slight compressed load
57–3150
57.5—3187****no pressure signs*****, 3174*******small ejector mark, wasn't 100% sure*****
57.8—3167 ***********BLOWN PRIMER ******

When I saw the slight ejector mark I backed off a grain and shot a 100 yard group that was 1/2in with really low ES. This was in 10-15mph winds and pretty warm barrel. Per usual the hammers are almost too easy to find a good load with...

pressure seemed to build up REALLY fast in this combo. Maybe the compressed load? Scared myself a bit and going to have my smith check out the action....be safe everybody.

ultimately did not realize the 3200-3300 FPS goal in this combo. I could try IMR 4895 which is a little faster than Varget...but 3130 from a pretty short barreled '06 is plenty. It's also 200 FPS faster than my previous copper (Barnes) load and much better group and ES. Maybe I could achieve the same with the regular HH, But I haven't tried them.

shot the same target for the whole ladder...pretty crazy how close these bullets shoot with drastically different charges

3 shot group at 56.5gr

 

[Gord0]

123ah
6.5 Creedmoor
Lapua small primer
Rem 7 1/2
2.872" oal 2.927" to lands .055" jump
Savage 12fv 26" barrel
This rifle is about average speed wise and shows pressure I would say pretty normal. It shows first on the primer because like most factory rifles the firing pin hole is too large. I get cratered primers on factory loads which are usually near max. Barrel was cleaned to bare metal verified with bore scope.

Shooters world precision: roughly the equivalent of varget. Loaded 3 rounds at start weight to foul the bore.
40.5gr 3001 fps. primer crater
40.5 2999
40.5 2989
40.5 2982
41.0 3007 slight ejector
41.5 3036 ejector and swipe with increased bolt lift
Had high hopes for this due to burn rate and case fill. This made me less optimistic about the next pressure test which was H4895. It's a faster burning powder, but lots of things change when you actually light things on fire under pressure.
H4895
37.5gr 2884 fps
38.0 2895
38.5 2916
39.0 2938
40.0 3021
40.5 3039 primer crater
41.0 3074
41.5 3093
42.0 3143 ejector and swipe

H4895 surprised me to say the least, and makes me wonder how VV N530 would do.
Accuracy was good for just a pressure test, with everything under 1moa.

 

[mtwood24]

Hammer time with the 172 AH and 7saum this morning

 

[Farmerbrown32]

Hammer time with the 172 AH and 7saum this morning

that is badass! Great work! Looks like it performed well!!

 

[Korhil78]

Hammer time with the 172 AH and 7saum this morning

great job! How far was the shot? We need some specifics!

 

[mtwood24]

340 yards. The bullet passed through the lower lungs and exited. There was also a laceration across the outside of the heart, which I imagine was result of a fragment. The bull stayed on his feet for about 8 seconds after the shot.

 

[RH300UM]

340 yards. The bullet passed through the lower lungs and exited. There was also a laceration across the outside of the heart, which I imagine was result of a fragment. The bull stayed on his feet for about 8 seconds after the shot.

That's awesome
Congratulations
I was going to use the 155 AH in my 7saum
After extensive testing the 1 thing that held me back was my barrel twist rate (1 in 9)and the probability of a 1k shot on a bull elk.
In the end my decision was right I believe.
The 338 260 Hammer Hunter was what I thought was needed for my situation

 

[mtwood24]

The bigger the bullet, the more forgiving it can be for sure. That's why I wanted to shoot the 172's over the 155. I don't own any 30 Cal's though

 

[bads1buell]

I think I will try some of these with the next load development.

 

[Ingwe]

On a simpler note, just a few thoughts:

The Absolute Hammer seems like such a simple concept--reduced bearing surfaces causes lower pressure which enables one to use faster powder to get a substantial velocity gain.....so why didn't the teams of engineers at the major ammo and bullet manufacturers come up with this first??

Kudo's to you Steve! Incredible concept and I commend you that you turned a concept into something real instead of dreaming about it