Hammer Hunter Vs. Sledge hammers? (350 yard max)

All,
I will be making some reloads for my wife's 6.5creedmoor used for whitetail hunting. Range on whitetails will be out to 350 yards. What are the differences in the Hammerhunter Vs. the sledgehammer bullets? Looks like the sledgehammers have a larger opening to the hollowpoint. Does this make for faster expansion? I am trying to develop a lighter weight round which will shoot relatively flat and penetrate well on whitetails even if she hits some bone which is why I'm wanting to use solid copper bullets which will have a better chance of holding together if they hit bone. I am interested in using one of the 4 following bullets...the 110gr hammer hunter, 124gr hammer hunter, the 117 grain Sledgehammer or the 130 sledgehammer (leaning towards 110, 117, or the 124 to try and keep speeds up for a flatter shooting round since max distance is only 350 yards). Thanks for all info!

If I were only shooting to 350 yards I would use the Sledge Hammers. Little lower BC but suppose to be more aggressive on game.
Per their website:
"The Sledge Hammers are our line of bullets that we designed for normal range hunting, where bc is inconsequential. So for most cartridges 400y or less. The Sledge Hammer line is approximately an 80% weight retention bullet that has a larger hollow point for super quick opening on game with high retention for long straight penetration."
If you want more velocity to lessen drops then go with the 117. I'm betting penetration will not be an issue on deer at the ranges you speak.
I was told that the light(ish) .338 Hammers I used this year would probably penetrate end to end on an elk, and they pretty much did.

Yep the sledge hammer will be the ticket for that distance if it were me the 117 sledge hammer would be it. Nice and flat to 350. I run the hammer hunters in my 6.5 creed but I stretch it out. I have the sledge hammers ordered for everything I don't plan on going far with.
Did the very same for my uncles .358 Norma mag. Lite weight sledge have so it's flat and easy to shoot. You are gonna be amazed how easy these are to load for.

snox801 said:

Yep the sledge hammer will be the ticket for that distance if it were me the 117 sledge hammer would be it. Nice and flat to 350. I run the hammer hunters in my 6.5 creed but I stretch it out. I have the sledge hammers ordered for everything I don't plan on going far with.
Did the very same for my uncles .358 Norma mag. Lite weight sledge have so it's flat and easy to shoot. You are gonna be amazed how easy these are to load for.

Click to expand...

It's been hard finding load data for hammers due to their odd weights so for the 117s should I look into other company reloading manuals of 120 grain projectiles as a starting point for developing loads?

No experience loading that particular bullet, but with the Hammer Hunters I've been using the next weight class up as a start point just to be on the safe side. Though they have a reduced bearing surface from the ridges cut in them, the Hunters are pretty long for weight and the Sledge looks to be almost as much so.

Keep terminal velocity at 1800 fps, and either model works.

The Sledge Hammers are a little shorter per weight, and work better with some of the more traditional rates of twist.

I like the slightly blockier profile, and it worked great in my son-in-laws .270 this year. Both at the range, and on the animal.

Bigeclipse said:

It's been hard finding load data for hammers due to their odd weights so for the 117s should I look into other company reloading manuals of 120 grain projectiles as a starting point for developing loads?

Click to expand...

Yes I go to another mono of close weight for starter. Like either 115 or 120 Barnes, or nosler. If you start at the lowest charge and work up you should be fine. I used 120gr mono to start with for my 124gr hammers. They seem to have less pressure so I was able to go over book max and no pressure. I was getting sub .5" groups from lowest charge to highest. Some tighter than others but all were very good.

For the 124 gr I started at 36gr varget and worked up from that point after 38gr I went up in .1g increments To be safe. I would do the same ladder for the 117's I'm approaching 40 gr slowly but still no pressure yet. But I assume that's were I will be just below or just over 40gr. I have clover leafs from 38.8-39.3 and they were tight. I'd assume the 117 will be very close to the same load when done.
As always this was in my rifle with my chamber work up slow and be safe.

I run the 124HH in my 6.5Creeds using 41.6gr RL16. Very accurate and fast 2800+fps. Shot 2 antelope with them and one broke the scapula and deflected down body and exited out the ham. This past week I shot 2 mature cow elk with them at 315-325 yard range, all shots were pass thru's, one hit the shoulder and broke the leg bone and deflected entire length of body and exited ham. It took multiple shots to bring both elk down and I had to walk up to one and put it down. In my opinion the 124 is probably too light for elk sized game. No issue with penetration, just a small wound channel with a larger strong animal. I have no issue using it with deer sized or smaller game.

I'm Hoping for 3000 fps with varget but I'm not finished yet.
I'm very shocked at the results on elk. They are large but I'd have to say that it's a great bullet for elk when compared to others. I'd wonder what it would do placed right behind the shoulder. The amount of damage I had on a deer was amazing. Can imagine that bullet would know if it's in a deer or elk. I'm wondering if the shoulder shot had made the issue. Hopefully just a fluke. They seem to work well in thick game animals like eland so an elk should be ok.

snox801 said:

I'm Hoping for 3000 fps with varget but I'm not finished yet.
I'm very shocked at the results on elk. They are large but I'd have to say that it's a great bullet for elk when compared to others. I'd wonder what it would do placed right behind the shoulder. The amount of damage I had on a deer was amazing. Can imagine that bullet would know if it's in a deer or elk. I'm wondering if the shoulder shot had made the issue. Hopefully just a fluke. They seem to work well in thick game animals like eland so an elk should be ok.

Click to expand...

The first elk I hit no bone, they seemed to just slip thru the body and the elk just stayed up and walking with the herd. I did get a shot right behind the shoulder and low and that one made her lay down with her head up. Took me at least 5 minutes to walk up to her and put her down (6th shot). Second elk first shot broke the shoulder and went down the body(the exit hole in the ham was a pin hole, maybe a petal fragment), she stayed up and took a few steps. I shot another behind the shoulder and she laid down but with head up. I started to walk up at 200 yards away she gets up and starts walking away with the herd. I take a 3rd shot into the shoulder and she tumbles and dies at least a minute later. The first shot made a mess of the shoulder and that should have stopped her as lots of blood came out when I cut off the shoulder. I just think I need a heavier bullet and probably a bigger caliber.

Yep could be put into the old caliber debate for elk. Always good to hear real life performance. By change do you know when you purchased them. I know they have talked about changing the bullet a bit from metal to size of opening. Just curios if that was an issue.

My first elk was shot with a 7 Magnum 160 grain partition. Range was 400 yards. The herd ran away but this cow elk just stood there 40-50 seconds. The shot was perfect broadside shot taking out the arteries above the heart and the lungs.

The taxidermist told me there was a 6 inch bruise on the entrance side and a 3in bruise on the exit side on the skin. Elk or just tough animals.

I always find it crazy what some of these animals can do. Partition is the most dependable bullet I've ever seen. If it can take that that's a tough animals. Makes you wonder about the people you see shooting them with 6.5 grendel at over 400 yards. Some go down quick others not so much. I shot a whitetail deer last year with my 20 gauge accutip at 24 yards right behind the shoulder blade. It ran well over 150 yards with huge blood the first 30 then nothing. Insides were jello. Then I've had them drop within 20 yards same shot.
I will be using the 124 for Audad this Jan and hopefully elk next fall.