Hammer Bullets and Hyper Velocity, The Misconception

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ButterBean

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There has been a ton of discussion on Hammers and Hyper Velocity and it has confused some folks into thinking that Hammers work at conventional speeds when they will, This is a post from my Brother from down under explaining this. And a bit of background on the man he has probably killed more animals than all of us combined ( I'm not exaggerating ) and I would not doubt that he has tested every bullet on the planet, I hope this clears the water a bit
Bean





Gday
A bit has started to filter through on you need hyper-velocity to kill with hammers

Wohh please step back & let's address what's needed to kill
The mechanics are across any brand
The triangle =
Shot placement
Penertration
Wound channel ( permanent & non )

So ill break into a couple categories & give my thoughts of where we need to look @ these

Frangible =Great in the low to mid range velocities & especially if you keep off big bones & useless actually dangerous on dangerous game
Hard quater to raking shots definitely not what I call a efficient killer
True longrange they have a place but I do say only a few select marksman or women can utilise the pill way out yonder
Move to high to hyper-velocity & they become ethically a nightmare with consistency
& here lies the major problem so your a 1k shooter & able to hit that dinner plate once all dialled & a animal gets up 50/100 yrd & impact will most likely be over 3k & you hit that solid bone its not a happy outcome ( & some even solid bone is not needed & failures occur) & facts don't lie , yes i here people say but it never has happened to me well you just shoot enough animals & it will
Meat damage can be ridiculous


Bonded
A bit better on the high velocity but less reliable on the low velocity than frangible yet @ hyper fail again as triangle wasn't supported
Meat damage can be ridiculous


Monos ( not including hammers as the meplat is your key & these rules do not apply imo)
Some Monos need speed to function
Low velocity they have more tendency to pencil or like with the barnes type ( gs ,oep, gmx etc )
Penertration is usually never a problem
High/hyper-velocity they shed petal & can become performance detrimental
Move to the ones that shed their petals ( raptor ,gpa leigh etc ) they preform way better @ lower velocity than the barnes type yet here is the big difference with the hammers its the meplat for a better word is a round nose or a less than 100% flat meplat most 40 to 75% yes they penertrate but we aren't all shooting rhino / elephant/ hippo
Broaching process makes this more pronounced i believe
They Withstand the hyper & preform pretty well & meplat is not as compromised so overall pretty good across a very wide base of velocity/ animals & angles

This is where most people relate to the need for speed in monos as it is the case in most monos as they do have a tendency to fail by fail i mean the worst fail a lost animal just like frangibles it happens

Hammers don't come into the above of a deficiency across the above velocities so use them with confidence & dont consider a low velocity as a no go zone

Now onto hammers with lost
2 animals i no of
1st animal a elk & was on Longrangehunting.com
A nice gentleman but lacking in his understanding of what went wrong or why imo ( i don't care if & would welcome if someone tells him this & gladly discuss so we all can learn )
I believe its twist related ( SF ) & he seem to shut his mind off if only he went a little extra to help others from potentially doing the same but ea to their own & i respect his decision

2nd I lost one animal a buff & let's get to the bottom of that & where the fail lied & with what
This buff was hit & not stopped in its tracks ( which seldom happens ) & thick cover was entered by the buff & due to the risk factor this little black duck wasn't entering the heavy cover when on a sunny day its dark ( rainforest like ) & the time i usually wait to follow up im not going in with a torch the next day we went some 1000 km in another direction & salted capes needed attending to
Some weeks later the animal was found & it had travelled around 100 yrd
So the pill killed just this Muppet lost his animal

Now we've had a few others that are curly ones but very few, once again SF is showing up that we should address
We are learning & this SF is not only hammer related

Sorry for the waffle but I thought its important to address where hammers fit in with the above

I dont believe they do as they have the best mechanics across the velocity brackets so where can you get reliable consistent killing from 1800fps impact to unknown impacts across multiple animals / angles / resistances
You can't they are the best

Why do I push hammers !!! simple i like helping people & I love animals & if I can help people eliminate the suffering of a less than ideal performance base of a projectile causing a longer time to death that can be avoided im happy

Under no circumstances are we saying hammers don't kill @ low velocity ( look@ kartil range reports on dead pigs hammers will kill the triangle is supported over all of the above velocities) what the speed demons are saying is just clear your heads & look @ what will potentially kill better ( youve already got the best pill across the board we just want a even better outcome )

If you've read this far I hope you please take the above on board we are not here pushing our own barrow if its a heavy needed im one of the first to point it out ( longrange is not my speciality )
Now for the ones that say I'm doing this for a financial interest
You are gravely mistaken & I will open my books to prove this is not the case
Yes I bring hammer projectiles into Aussie for others but I on sell them @ my cost as if you understood freight & customs / duties which are so costly & time consuming ( i don't take / add a cent for my time only consumables & costs are added ) imagine buying a test pk for around $100 as thats our cost with one box yet i can bring in heaps & we share the costs
I think a bloke in Canada is doing roughly the same by what I've picked up on hammertime ?

Thanks for your time reading & wish you the best in your pursuit of finding your holy grail

Cheers
 
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What he says MUST be true, this morning 10-13-21 at 10 am New Foundland time I personally tested a 186 gr hammer out of a weatherby 340 , I did NO chronograph work, 82 gr of IMR 4350 sends them all into one hole at home, I don't know how fast but it's not a max load by any stretch ,anyway it dumped my moose very quickly, in at the right side just below the half way point and just behind the elbow joint , took out a rib, both lungs and punched rite thru the other side 20 yards pile up, I'm sold, not only because the shoot so accurate, but they sure perform in the kill department as well. Give them a shot I think you will be pleasEd.
 
Great stuff. For those who haven't read it yet, this is a must read: http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/wounding.html It's one of the best pieces of research on what kills and the basis for why Hammer bullets were designed they way they are.
Exactly it isn't by accident but by design it allows the shooter too have a wider range of good terminal performance without the worry of too close or too far and makes marginal shots more lethal I've been loading and shooting by todays standards starting way too young my first deer was a small buck I shot with my first rifle a 30 M1 carbine with a filed blunt nose full metal jacket knocked him down watched him get up and run off age 13 I've been learning ever since I'll just say it's been over50 yrs ago I wish I would have been the man that thought of the Hammer I had my chances just wasn't smart enough
 
Great stuff. For those who haven't read it yet, this is a must read: http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/wounding.html It's one of the best pieces of research on what kills and the basis for why Hammer bullets were designed they way they

Im shooting hammers. My point was he had no field experience, only tests.
Yeah, but he is clear about all that and uses field experiences and observations of others. I like the article with its objective, scientific approach. Well done. Gave some support to my theories along the way as to impact timing relative to heart/lung function and terminal performance/kill response. Thanks for passing it along, bud.
 
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