This is a question to all the guys who've successfully used Hammer and other monolithic bullets.
I typically load and hunt with heavy(ish) for caliber lead bullets 180grain AB in a 308 Win, 215grain Berger in the 300WM. I've had great sucess with this way of thinking, but the last Buck I shot was at about 10 yards. It was a dead center high neck shot with the 308 and 180 grain Accubond. The bullet didnt exit. About 3 inches of the spine was vapourized. I was quite pleased with myself both for the stalk and the shot. But the internal organs were also cut to shreds and the cavity was absolutely full of blood. It wasn't till part way thru the skinning that I realized the bullet had fragmented and deflected into the chest cavity, I never found the bullet nor any signs of the shrapnel having entered the meat, but its always left me wondering.
I prefer one shot kills and have would prefer to keep it that way. I generally take neck or head shots and will wait for the shot and range to present itself that I can realistically make that happen. Even though I like to shoot LR, I always seem to hunt sub 350, or even 150 if I can.
So this year I'm considering the switch to Hammer bullets. But the more I read about the subject the more it seems that smaller faster bullets are the more appropriate way to think. Is this correct or am I missing something? 150grain in my 308 would be moving roughly 3100fps vs the 2750 for a 180. If the bullet is shedding its nose and has enough retained energy that it'll exit, then does it matter if the remains if that bullet are 120 grains or 150?
I typically shoot a 130 in my 260 Rem, should i consider a 110Hammer as a replacement?
Am I way off base?
I typically load and hunt with heavy(ish) for caliber lead bullets 180grain AB in a 308 Win, 215grain Berger in the 300WM. I've had great sucess with this way of thinking, but the last Buck I shot was at about 10 yards. It was a dead center high neck shot with the 308 and 180 grain Accubond. The bullet didnt exit. About 3 inches of the spine was vapourized. I was quite pleased with myself both for the stalk and the shot. But the internal organs were also cut to shreds and the cavity was absolutely full of blood. It wasn't till part way thru the skinning that I realized the bullet had fragmented and deflected into the chest cavity, I never found the bullet nor any signs of the shrapnel having entered the meat, but its always left me wondering.
I prefer one shot kills and have would prefer to keep it that way. I generally take neck or head shots and will wait for the shot and range to present itself that I can realistically make that happen. Even though I like to shoot LR, I always seem to hunt sub 350, or even 150 if I can.
So this year I'm considering the switch to Hammer bullets. But the more I read about the subject the more it seems that smaller faster bullets are the more appropriate way to think. Is this correct or am I missing something? 150grain in my 308 would be moving roughly 3100fps vs the 2750 for a 180. If the bullet is shedding its nose and has enough retained energy that it'll exit, then does it matter if the remains if that bullet are 120 grains or 150?
I typically shoot a 130 in my 260 Rem, should i consider a 110Hammer as a replacement?
Am I way off base?