Official Hammer bullets Terminal Performance (picture heavy)

[Hand Skills]

Interesting! 1:8 twist?

 

[BEEMAN]

That is interesting. Hit a tree or a branch before the animal, closing the hollow point?

 

[Huntnful]

Interesting! 1:8 twist?

1-7 twist

That is interesting. Hit a tree or a branch before the animal, closing the hollow point?

Not that I know of. Maybe just hit that first vertebrae at a steep angle or something

 

[Hard rock]

That is interesting. Hit a tree or a branch before the animal, closing the hollow point?

I guess when hunting if it can happen it will happen . I would send it too Steve and let him figure that one out . That is unusual.

 

[Wedgy]

@RockyMtnMT can give the best explanation

 

[Huntnful]

Yeah I'm not to concerned with sending it in for some analysis honestly. Expecting 100% perfect performance every time is unrealistic. Things fail. Bullets fail. I'll keep shooting them. Just enlightening anyone who thinks otherwise .

Also, it only failed to perform as designed. It didn't fail to kill the animal…

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Here's something a little different. First failure I've seen. This is a recovered .264 caliber 124 Hammer Hunter loaded at 3230fps out of a 6.5 PRC. I loaded them for my buddy. He shot a buck going straight away, slightly up hill, at 160 yards. The bullet entered near the rearward spine of the buck and was found up near the front shoulder like this. Looks like it hit something on impact that dented the tip in, preventing it from opening up at all. The buck was dead on impact though.

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There is two ways that we can see this happen. Marginal stability or an impact with something before impact with the animal. Usually it is a twig or branch strike someplace along the travel of the bullet.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

1-7 twist

Not that I know of. Maybe just hit that first vertebrae at a steep angle or something

7" twist is certainly enough for the 124g HH. Being knocked off axis during flight making the bullet hit with a yaw would be the most likely culprit. There is one other possibility. If the bullet got dropped at some point and distorted the meplat, closing the hollow point.

Just got grins you might manually check the twist on that barrel and confirm it is the advertised rate. It would not be the first one that wasn't. We just built a 25 Nosler that was supposed to be a 7" twist. Turned out to be 7 3/8" and wouldn't stabilize the bullet we were working with.

 

[Hard rock]

There is two ways that we can see this happen. Marginal stability or an impact with something before impact with the animal. Usually it is a twig or branch strike someplace along the travel of the bullet.

It looks like the bullet did not impact in a straight line path too the target . The above statement would seem logical , as far as being stable, I would say that would not be the issue in this case. Like you said twig , branch or whatever I lost one of the nicest bucks I ever shot hitting a vine deflecting the bullet too a graze wound over the spine . My hunting buddy got him the next morning . It happens

 

[codyadams]

We just built a 25 Nosler that was supposed to be a 7" twist. Turned out to be 7 3/8" and wouldn't stabilize the bullet we were working with.

Was it a button rifled or single point cut rifled barrel? I know that button rifled barrels from some manufacturers have been known for being off on their twist rates, but cut rifled are (from what I have heard, read and seen....) usually pretty good....

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Was it a button rifled or single point cut rifled barrel? I know that button rifled barrels from some manufacturers have been known for being off on their twist rates, but cut rifled are (from what I have heard, read and seen....) usually pretty good....

It was a button barrel. I think cut is more accurate, but it seems to come down to the operator. We have had 2 or 3 cut barrels that came in diff than advertised. It happens more often than one would think.

 

[Avonac]

152 hammer hunter out of a 300 WSM on a bull elk. Starting velocity is 3320, distance was 372. First shot hit low shoulder, final shot was both lungs. Bull went 25 yds and fell over. The only thing I recovered was one petal against the hide on the opposite side. Now I just need to find a replacement bullet since the 152 is discontinued.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

152 hammer hunter out of a 300 WSM on a bull elk. Starting velocity is 3320, distance was 372. First shot hit low shoulder, final shot was both lungs. Bull went 25 yds and fell over. The only thing I recovered was one petal against the hide on the opposite side. Now I just need to find a replacement bullet since the 152 is discontinued.

We replaced the 152HH with the 150 Power Hammer. Same bullet dimensionally, just a 2mm hollow point instead of the 1.5mm hollow point.

Congrats on your bull!

 

[cabelasken]

Here's something a little different. First failure I've seen. This is a recovered .264 caliber 124 Hammer Hunter loaded at 3230fps out of a 6.5 PRC. I loaded them for my buddy. He shot a buck going straight away, slightly up hill, at 160 yards. The bullet entered near the rearward spine of the buck and was found up near the front shoulder like this. Looks like it hit something on impact that dented the tip in, preventing it from opening up at all. The buck was dead on impact though.

View attachment 403081
View attachment 403082

I had almost that exact same result from a Barnes 168 TTSX out of a 300 Short mag. My bullet had glanced off the spine and traveled the length of the bull and lodged in the far shoulder. The bullet looked like it reversed upon hitting the spine and traveled the length of the bull backwards, thus preventing the bullet from expanding. The bull had been wounded by another hunter in our party and I was attempting to stop its escape. Although the bull did not take another step after the impact, another finishing shot was needed. We were happy to have been able to recover the wounded bull.