7mm Sherman Max and 177 Gr hammer hunter

Korhil78

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
3,572
Location
New Mexico
I just loaded up a ladder to shoot in the morning at 500 yards (weather permitting) with the 177 Gr hammer hunter and RL26. I went from 61.5 to 66 Gr of powder in .5 Gr increments so I should be able to find a node and max pressure within that range. Should be very interesting. I will update this thread with pictures after I shoot in the morning.
 
Got out today, the wind was blowing a little so I shot the ladder at 400 yards.

Bullet: 177 Gr hammer hunter .010" off rifling.
Powder: RL26 61.5-66 Gr
Primer: CCI Large rifle magnum

I only got to 64 Gr before I hit pressure so I just stopped. There was a nice little round stamp from the ejector. Below are the results. I was hoping for a little more speed but if I can get above 3000 FPS, I will be happy. Was really hoping to get to 3100 FPS with no pressure but it didn't happen. 62.5-63-5 Gr shot a 1.6" group at 400 yards so I am thinking that is where I will start with groups and see how it does.

5C0FE79A-E594-4C39-A22A-F8493867A3C1.jpeg
 
Got out today, the wind was blowing a little so I shot the ladder at 400 yards.

Bullet: 177 Gr hammer hunter .010" off rifling.
Powder: RL26 61.5-66 Gr
Primer: CCI Large rifle magnum

I only got to 64 Gr before I hit pressure so I just stopped. There was a nice little round stamp from the ejector. Below are the results. I was hoping for a little more speed but if I can get above 3000 FPS, I will be happy. Was really hoping to get to 3100 FPS with no pressure but it didn't happen. 62.5-63-5 Gr shot a 1.6" group at 400 yards so I am thinking that is where I will start with groups and see how it does.

View attachment 162862
Nice! What length barrel?
 
Yeah that's what I'm thinking. I really want to build one of these and a 338 max. When you shoot more post your results.
 
Yea...I am thinking that the Hammer hunters are pressuring out a little faster than the Berger bullets so you will get more speed. Which is true to most all mono bullets vs. lead core bullets of the same weight.
 
Last edited:
All of the Hammers that I have loaded for have like a slightly faster powder then I would have expected from the equivalent weight lead core bullet. But I've also primarily shot all the Hammers in 22"-23" barrels.

I only have one rifle that I also used a Barnes in, and the Hammer was much closer to the lead core loads then the Barnes. But I dont think they are as hard as the typical mono bullet, and I believe those grooves are also there to decrease pressure.
 
An update on my load development with177 Gr hammer hunters and RL26. Went well this morning. I took notice of my small Ladder test last time and noticed that there was a lull in velocity increase from 63.5-64 gr so I loaded up 3 rounds each of 63.3, 63.5, 63.7 and 63.9. Bullets were seated at .020" off the rifling.

7mm Sherman Max
ADG brass (fireformed and annealed)
CCI large rifle magnum primer
177 Gr hammer hunter

All loads were shot at 400 yards and all were sub MOA but 63.9 Gr really shined at 1/4 MOA. I didn't have a chrono with me this time but from previous testing it is right around 3040 FPS. I will load 5-10 rounds at 63.9 Gr and test it out at 800 yards with a labradar and see how it goes. Pictures are below.

C621BE94-A2E6-4601-95E7-86C24365023F.jpeg
5F587502-6BC5-4A21-9A6F-CAA1C6BFD64A.jpeg
2FC1A196-6DDA-4C47-8CC2-2E0104CEFD5C.jpeg
D5342D02-5C3D-4471-8DEC-D8B8A5CF3238.jpeg
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top