Hard rock
Well-Known Member
Go with the recommended twist rate , that Hammer recommends for your chosen bullet , and you should be ok , also impact vel at 1800 fps or more .
First time load development with Hammer bullets
- Thread starter PapaSmurff
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This is my thought as well.
I'm dipping my toe into the hammers with a 10 twist 30 nosler.
Hammer recommends 10 as a minimum and the rifle has many kills with 230 bergers which also require a 10 twist. The website actually states the 196 was designed for 10 twist barrels.
I typically set my minimum velocity threshold at 2000 for reliable expansion and may go with 2200 for the hammers. That would mean about 700 yards at 8000 feet which is an average for elk country.
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
The terminal stability is very important with a mono, the Hammer does very well because it looses the front end which helps it keep tracking straight. If a mono is on the edge of stability and it does not loose frontal area they have a tendency to deflect and turn because they don't have the mass to over come the direct resistance so they go path of least resistance so it is important to stay on twist rate and velocity!
Hammers are easily the finest mono I've ever put on an elk for killing and the only mono I have not had deflect or just shoot a 3/8 hole through them and I've tried to make them tumble and deflect!!
Hammers are easily the finest mono I've ever put on an elk for killing and the only mono I have not had deflect or just shoot a 3/8 hole through them and I've tried to make them tumble and deflect!!
BG, what have you done to try to make them tumble?
Marginal twist, impact velocity or distance?
I'm loading hammers shortly and unless I can get on a large hog a fall elk hunt could be my first shot on game.
Marginal twist, impact velocity or distance?
I'm loading hammers shortly and unless I can get on a large hog a fall elk hunt could be my first shot on game.
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RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
Running the 11" twist with the 181g or 166g Hammer Hunter makes me nervous when impacting game. I would recommend going to the 160g Hammer Hunter.
@PapaSmurff impact test is indeed interesting. I think somehow at that distance everything happened to line up so the 181g HH impacted just right to perform well. I'm still surprised that the 11" twist is getting them down range nicely.
@PapaSmurff impact test is indeed interesting. I think somehow at that distance everything happened to line up so the 181g HH impacted just right to perform well. I'm still surprised that the 11" twist is getting them down range nicely.
I was very surprised myself as well Steve. I finished up the weekend today by testing completing another expansion test using y'all's 199 Hammer Hunter at the same 400 yard range from my 300 Norma Mag 1 in 8" twist with muzzle velocity of 3,125. I didn't snap any pictures but it performed flawlessly as well from that rifle. Also, I did load development for one of my 338 Lapua rifles using y'all's 260 Hammer Hunters. Got it shooting 1/4" right from the start about .085" off the lands using N570 for a muzzle velocity of 2,985 FPS. According to my shot drops at each 100 yards all the way out to my 725 yard target I came up with a bc of .280 G7 for that bullet doing that velocity. It was a good load as I could nail a bullseye about the size of 32 ounce cup every time at 725 with those 260 hunters. From what I've seen so far I believe y'all have developed quiet possibly the most dependable expanding bullets, within certain ranges, that exist on the market today. Thank you for making such a great bullet Steve. I will be carrying those 260 Hunter bullets in my Lapua when hunting Canada and Colorado this fall.
300 wm Blaser Match barell is 1-10 twist
Actually no it's a 1 in 11" twist. You can look up blaser r8 barrel twist rates and there's an official blaser site you can click on that'll tell you all the twist rates for the different calibers they make. Plus I checked mine the old fashioned way to make sure of that using a cleaning rod and marker and it does come out to 1 in 11" twist. It's the same for the 300 ultra mag, 300 Weatherby, etc. The only one that they make in a 30 cal that's a 1 in 10" twist is the 300 Norma Mag barrels that they started producing I believe back in 2016. In their press release they said that they changed the rate of twist for the 300 Norma to the faster 1 in 10" so that people could shoot the 230 Berger's out of it.
Euro optik listed 300 wm MATCH barrel r8 1-10 twist 17 and 19 mm 1-11 but MATCH 1-10 I HAVE TOO
Yes that's true that's what they list them as on the internet. That's also where I bought my barrel from about a month ago. I called and asked them about it and they told me that it was an error on their part listing it as a 1 in 10 twist. They confirmed to me on the phone that the 300 win mag match contour barrels that they are selling online are in fact 1 in 11" twist; it was an error on their part listing them as 1 in 10". I ordered one anyways and I also checked mine using a cleaning rod when I received it from them and like I said it is a 1 in 11" twist. Blaser currently does not, and has not ever to my knowledge, produced a 300 magnum barrel in a 1 in 10" twist except for the 300 Norma Magnum caliber. Even the R93 barrels are 1 in 11" in 30 caliber chambering including the 300 win mag match. I used to own one of those as well for the R93. Call Eurooptic and ask them what the twist rate is on that barrel and they will tell you that it is actually a 1 in 11" not a 1 in 10" as they have it listed (570)368-3920. And of course you can always using a cleaning rod with a brush attached and a black marker and ruler to check your barrel to make 100% sure like I did after receiving mine. I assure you I wouldn't be posting about this if I wasn't 100% certain lol.
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snox801
Well-Known Member
My brothers 11 twist stabilizes some that it shouldn't.
I brought the hammers out to Co and both guides I was with now shoot them. They work pretty good for elk.
I totally agree! Mine shoots fantastic with Berger 230 OTM's which should barely stabilize at my close to sea level altitude with a 1 in 10" twist but my 1 in 11" shoots fantastic with them down here surprisingly! Makes me think that's also why it is stabilizing the 181 Hammer Hunters when it shouldn't too. Not that I'm complaining lol. You gotta love Blaser barrels!
Did another load development this afternoon using Hammer bullets for my 26 Nosler. It's a 28" Bartlein 5R Remington varmint contour 1 in 7.5" twist, Defiance Anti action with a Mesa Precision carbon fiber stock. Was loading the 131 Hammer Hunters with 78.5gr of N570, .100" off the lands, average muzzle velocity was 3,521 FPS. Achieved under 1/4" MOA accuracy at distances 300, 400, and 500 yards. Shots at the 300 yard target were literally dubbing each other. Only took 6 shots to develop this load.
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Using power pro V in my Grendel, 85 grain HH 3025 FPS.
