Hammer bullet for short range bear hunting

[nralifer]

If it wasn't morning over there I'd think that response was tequila related


Well I was told tequila fixes everything

Night you all
Cheers

One of the things I learned early on in college. Tequila fixes a lot of things, until the next day.

 

[memtb]

Thanks for taking the time to provide that feedback. You may not have seen that I was forced to switch to a 300 WSM, due to some unforeseen circumstances on my semi-custom 308 WIN. None the less, the advice on bullet weight is valuable. I am still mulling over all of the choices, and availability thereof. I'll let everyone know what I settle on.

For what it is worth, the Hammers (or possibly any mono) seem like they could be the best of both worlds. There is some degree of energy dump, petals that shed, and create secondary wound channels, and a slug remaining that penetrates deeply, and in my case hopefully creates an exit wound, for reasons stated above.

While we (wife and I) have had good luck on bears with conventional cup and core bullets and one with a handgun cast bullet, we now ( since 1992 or 3) hunt exclusively with monos. There is a reason for that……they simply work when their velocities are kept high enough for reliable expansion. We also "Do Not" use light for caliber, we stay in the "standard/conventional" bullet weight……opting for the higher BC bullets which can extend our needed velocity envelope! In our case, keeping the velocities high enough is a non issue …..as we limit the ranges at which we shoot game. We use the KISS principle…..and simply use one bullet for all of our hunting!

If we were to attempt to shoot game at ranges beyond the expansion velocities for our cartridges (750 + yards), which is a pretty long shot at game…..we would then use a cup & core that would accommodate the reduced velocities.

For the new cartridge you're using for your hunt……your previous bullet selection should work great! memtb

 

[LDHunter]

The 165 grain Nosler Partition worked very WELL for, us in an 06 ( 1-10 Twist ) on, a 400 + pound, Idaho, "Cinnamon" Bear.
Bullet went, thru lungs and Off shoulder ( Complete Penetration @ 110 yards ) Bear hobbled, 20 yards, "Moaned" and Died,.. Quickly.
2 inch Exit hole with, a Nice, Blood Trail.
SORRY,. NOT,.. a Hammer bullet,..
I gotta read, a little more,.. carefully !

I have had way better terminal performance with Nosler Partitions than with any other bullet I've ever used. They kill very efficiently and bang flop seems to be the way they work nearly every time.

I've been very curious about Hammer bullets but the "old standard" Partitions have served me so well... well.... It's hard to switch from such an efficient game harvesting bullet.

 

[nralifer]

Pretty sure he was asking RockyMtnMT.

Glad you pointed that out. One thing we all need to bear in mind, no pun intended, is that despite Hammer CEB, and us are competitors, we are all competing against much larger companies with much greater resources. It is a huge gamble financially. The price of admission is huge for any lathe turned copper bullet manufacturer. We do our level best to provide a unique higher performance product out of a passion for shooting that may seem irrational, but we know that the stuff the "majors" are producing can use a lot of improvement. We all make bullets with different performance characteristics but at least for us profit is not the prime motivator. So if we criticize each other, it's part of doing business and not personal. The whole shooting community will be diminished if we can't innovate as we try to do. The "majors" are not doing so. They are too big, concerned with return on investment and bureaucratic and wedded to 100+year old technology.

 

[memtb]

I have had way better terminal performance with Nosler Partitions than with any other bullet I've ever used. They kill very efficiently and bang flop seems to be the way they work nearly every time.

I've been very curious about Hammer bullets but the "old standard" Partitions have served me so well... well.... It's hard to switch from such an efficient game harvesting bullet.

Partitions were the "gold standard" for many years…..however, gold has been replaced with Rhodium! Try some of the mono's…..you may be pleasantly surprised! They're very accurate, and extremely effective if used within their effective velocity window…..which will literally be from the firearm muzzle to the range at which the velocity from assured expansion is reached! That makes them a pretty darn good "near" all around bullet! memtb

 

[thomasbangs]

Just for the sake of it, I wanted to point out that the example cartridges you gave produce pretty mild velocities and that will definitely help balance penetration vs expansion with those type of bullet.

If you were to step up to bigger magnum cartridges with the same type and weight bullet, and especially with closer range shots, you can run into issues. You'd then want more bullet mass (heavier fur caliber) to get that same balance.

So it also depends on the cartridge, or more specifically the impact velocity. It also depends on the bullet and how it's constructed. Many monos, for example, work best being lighter for caliber.

The gentleman was talking about hunting with a. 308 Winchester, I was giving my experience with a 30-30 , I do not recall anything about a Magnum caliber. I also killed black bears with 30-06, 44 Magnum pistol and a couple other calibers but that would be another story for another time.

 

[JAYgs8163]

The gentleman was talking about hunting with a. 308 Winchester, I was giving my experience with a 30-30 , I do not recall anything about a Magnum caliber. I also killed black bears with 30-06, 44 Magnum pistol and a couple other calibers but that would be another story for another time.

And he (the OP) posted a little bit ago he needs to switch to a 300WSM as his 308 has PE issues and is being repaired.

 

[Tommyjohn53]

Sure looks like you cannot read....OP never mentioned any brand.....never mentioned any Hammers.....

I've tried Hammers and they work OK also Makers but there are two facts in them why I would never use them again....#1 there made of copper not brass like a Cutting Edge Bullet brass is harder and will bend less than copper in the same designed bullet..... #2 Hammers and Makers they retain all of the bullet when mushroomed ....a Cutting Edge Bullet will expand in the first 2" of penetration then the front of the bullet will brake a way and radiate out with the "blades" cutting and slicing the base will continue going straight....I've had more animals shot in the chest cavity DRT with Cutting Edge Bullets than any other brand of bullets.....been hunting for close to 60 years been guiding for over 45 years I've see it all....

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

Dang, seems like a website sponsored by hammer bullets!

 

[Tommyjohn53]

I shot a big South Texas doe this past season at 147 yards using my 6.5 PRC with 124 grain Hammer Hunters through the front shoulder and she ran maybe 10 yards before she piled up dead! They're good bullets and would recommend them to anyone!

 

[Quintus]

I run the 160 HH to help maintain stability at impact. It gives up some BC to the 166, but it absolutely mashes from a 10 twist with excellent wound channels and penetration.

 

[Petey308]

The gentleman was talking about hunting with a. 308 Winchester, I was giving my experience with a 30-30 , I do not recall anything about a Magnum caliber. I also killed black bears with 30-06, 44 Magnum pistol and a couple other calibers but that would be another story for another time.

And I get that, but wanted to give clarity as while you're example was fine, things can rapidly change in that equation when you start changing caliber/impact velocity.

I felt it was worth mentioning. Sorry if you don't agree. I wasn't arguing with you, I was only adding clarity. Lots of people read through these threads to gain info.

 

[Alibiiv]

Hammers are intended to behave differently on impact than ours. Has to be a different alloy that is more brittle. That is also true of Cutting Edge. Not really that important to us because we need bullet material with greater ductility to maximize petal deployment at low impact velocities. Allows our bullets to use the 250,000-300,000 rpm angular energy of the bullet to enhance the wound track and penetration at low impact velocity. That coupled with the very high BC for their weight gives our bullets effectiveness at ranges that exceed those of other bullets. That rapid angular rotation is not contributing much to the wound channel if the bullet has lost its petals.

Would you please help me out so I can understand this debate. When you write about "our's" who is "our's bullets pertaining to?? I guess I'm not too bright here, but my crystal ball is not working too well; and I'm truly trying to follow the thread.

 

[g8ters]

Just saw this thread. Hoping the OP reports back on his hunt. Planning a Saskatchewan bear hunting trip in the next year or two. Had a 35 whelen with 225 accubonds for a Maine 2022 hunt and was very successful. But planning to use a 20" 308 for the next hunt (new toy). Loaded 166 hammer hunters and it's traveling 2840 with 48.5g Cfe223. Should be effective.