Want to try Hammer Bullets

[RockyMtnMT]

10 inch twist out of a Bartlein barrel. We spoke on the phone a couple of times and I thought the 181 would be no problem. If I misunderstood then my bad. What then would you suggest for that 300 WSM then. Thanks a bunch for responding to my post. It shows you are about your customers and your product.

Forgot to mention that I am about at 1000 ft.

Keep playing with them. They should be good. You never know though, some weird things happen sometimes. If you can, try them again when it is colder out. If the issue gets worse then I think it might be stability. Colder air makes the density go up making it harder to stabilize.

We could try the 196g, 174g, or the 166g Hammer Hunters.

 

[Rich Coyle]

"weird things happen" is certain. I have a Pac-Nor 8" twist 6.5. It won't stablize 124 Hunter so I use 130 Sledgehammer. Easy least.

 

[WYO300RUM]

I need some help please. I have read quite a lot about the Hammer bullets in this forum. They seem to be popular generally. I want to work up a load for my 6.5 CM to give them a try. I prefer something in the 130-140 gr range and am leaning towards the 130s. I've never used Hammers, but it looks like they offer two different styles. One appears to have a smaller hollow point and the other seems to have a larger hollow point (sledge hammers)?
My self imposed limit is 400 yds. In the Southeast we rarely get long shots like you guys out West. A whitetail invariably runs with a behind the shoulder shot and generally will go +(-) 100 yds after the shot. Even hunting open fields, a deer will get to thick stuff very quickly - so a blood trail is a must.
What do you recommend for getting a through and through shot with a good exit wound and not devastating meat damage?

I haven't read all the way thru yet but if you have 1 in 8 twist use 124 gr. . 7 to 7.5 use 131. Couldn't get 131 in my Creeds to shoot well. Did better in 6.5 PRC and 6.5x284 but both were 1 in 8 also. Call Steve at Hammer bullets. He'll even tell you what powder they test with. He may of already chimed in. I'll continue ready posts now

 

[WYO300RUM]

May I ask you guys a question also ? I have also wanted to try them in .264 and .308 . Do you need to start loads 3-5 grains below published powder loads for lead based bullets as I do with other monolithic bullets due to pressure increases ? If so the Barnes reloading book might be a good place to look for load development , i'm thinking ? Thanks in advance , Floyd

They aren't like Barnes.Steve says use Nosler data.

 

[freddiej]

I am not sure the bullet is going to make the difference. it seems the shot placement is all wrong. if a deer is running 100+ yards after being shot; I am left wondering what is going on. I have shot deer with 257 Roberts (90 & 100 grain), 25-06 (100 & 110 grain), 270 Win (100 & 110 grain), 270 WSM (140 grain), 338 win mag (165 grain). not once did the deer tread more than 3 paces from where it was shot. the shot placement was where I believe you are going wrong. I place the bullet just above the point of the shoulder to just under the jaw line along the mid line of the neck on a standing deer. I have shot out to 500 yards with this method and it has never failed me.
if your placement is where you want it I would suggest a slightly lighter bullet and make it go a bit faster for hydro-static shock increase and see if that will help with the deer not traveling as far after being shot. it seems that O'conner's 130 grain slug "golden bullet" theory was good for longer shots but anything below 350 yards I would use a light weight hollow point from Sierra, Barnes, Nosler or Hornady. The Creed is more or less a 260 Remington worked over. I would most likely use a 100 to 120 grain class to take deer. earlier his year a friend took 2 or 3 Montana deer with a 260 Rem and some target loads with nosler ballistic tips. I forget the weight but they were pretty much 2 to 3 paces from being hit and dropped in their tracks.

 

[Elkeater]

10 inch twist out of a Bartlein barrel. We spoke on the phone a couple of times and I thought the 181 would be no problem. If I misunderstood then my bad. What then would you suggest for that 300 WSM then. Thanks a bunch for responding to my post. It shows you are about your customers and your product.

Forgot to mention that I am about at 1000 ft.

Maybe my combination of elevation ( 8,000') and a 8 twist barrel are why I've had such good results with even the 214 hammer hunters. Really greT results with the 181.

 

[snox801]

I have been running the 124 hh in my creed and it is by far the best bullet I have ran through it. And I've run a bunch on game. I've killed many hogs all pass through even at 360 plus yards big boar.
Shot many Michigan whitetail deer and even the ones I don't hit bone still get great entrance and exit holes.
I've also killed a large audad at just over 100 yards with complete pass through of both shoulders. Went about 15 yards.
Load work is super easy I've never had a load shoot more than .5" moa.

 

[snox801]

I am not sure the bullet is going to make the difference. it seems the shot placement is all wrong. if a deer is running 100+ yards after being shot; I am left wondering what is going on. I have shot deer with 257 Roberts (90 & 100 grain), 25-06 (100 & 110 grain), 270 Win (100 & 110 grain), 270 WSM (140 grain), 338 win mag (165 grain). not once did the deer tread more than 3 paces from where it was shot. the shot placement was where I believe you are going wrong. I place the bullet just above the point of the shoulder to just under the jaw line along the mid line of the neck on a standing deer. I have shot out to 500 yards with this method and it has never failed me.
if your placement is where you want it I would suggest a slightly lighter bullet and make it go a bit faster for hydro-static shock increase and see if that will help with the deer not traveling as far after being shot. it seems that O'conner's 130 grain slug "golden bullet" theory was good for longer shots but anything below 350 yards I would use a light weight hollow point from Sierra, Barnes, Nosler or Hornady. The Creed is more or less a 260 Remington worked over. I would most likely use a 100 to 120 grain class to take deer. earlier his year a friend took 2 or 3 Montana deer with a 260 Rem and some target loads with nosler ballistic tips. I forget the weight but they were pretty much 2 to 3 paces from being hit and dropped in their tracks.

I've had them run a long way with a perfect shot with a .458 socom shoot cutting edge raptors. They can do amazing things when in an open field. Heck my brother hit a deer this year at 20 yards perfectly with his slug gun and it ran well over 100 yards to the tree line and fell.
I also like the neck shots but I had my first loss this year. 103 yards off a solid bench. 6.5 Grendel shot was spot on. Deer fell when I went back to get it it was gone nowhere in a 500 yards area. Weird things happen. I shoot 10-20 deer a year for crop damage and never lost one to that shot till now. They are crazy animals

 

[GLTaylor]

I tried to message rockymtnMN unsuccessfully. I need recommended loading for my CM for the 124 (or lighter) bullets. Also for the 6.5-06 AI.

 

[GLTaylor]

Neck shots are fine and they usually fall right there. Most of my shots over 150 yds are shoulder shots through the lungs, just behind the shoulder ( to keep down ruined meat). If you shoulder shoot a wt they invariably run. Almost without fail. Moo nhi

 

[Tommo64]

I would like to give them a try but can't seem to find them here in Australia

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I would like to give them a try but can't seem to find them here in Australia

We still be working on this for the new year.

 

[stx]

Neck shots are fine and they usually fall right there. Most of my shots over 150 yds are shoulder shots through the lungs, just behind the shoulder ( to keep down ruined meat). If you shoulder shoot a wt they invariably run. Almost without fail. Moo nhi

We shoot ALL whitetails through the shoulders broadside and when hit this way, they Very Seldom go anywhere! Most are DRT......and I run a lot of hunters through my camps each season! www.brushcountryhunts.com

 

[snox801]

We shoot ALL whitetails through the shoulders broadside and when hit this way, they Very Seldom go anywhere! Most are DRT......and I run a lot of hunters through my camps each season! www.brushcountryhunts.com

I found a study years back where they shot thousands of deer in different spot to determine which was the most reliable and fastest. They excluded head shots as the probability of a miss was to high.
They ended up finding that a shot right through the shoulder was the best. If memory serves they shot 300 deer in each shot location and measured the distance ran and averaged them. All same bullet same speed. Don't remember how far but they limited the shot distance to very short ranges.