Tracker12
Well-Known Member
Always been. fan of Barnes and Lehigh Defense bullets. How do the Hammers compare. Anyone have any field experience and input on there lethality.
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Hammer Bullets
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Hespco
Well-Known Member
I have taken elk with Barnes , Hammers, & Badlands Precision, in my various 6.5's. They all worked. Have been using 120 to 125gr bullets. . Never a failure. One shot kills. Pick out what you prefer & go for it.
01Foreman400
Well-Known Member
Been shooting Barnes exclusively for 18 years. Not a bad thing to say about them and I've killed over 100 critters with them. Recently bought some of the Hammer HHT's for my 308 Win. I can say this, I've never shot a 100 yard group as small as I did with the Hammers. The group was .179" at 100 yards. Very little load development either. Took 12 shots to find that group and that was sighting my rifle in as well. So far I'm impressed but I'll know more about them this fall. Going to buy some Shock Hammer Bullets for my 45-70 soon as well. May pickup some more HHT's for my 6.5 CM to.
405 Shock Hammers are a touch heavy for the 45-70, they work but at 1800 fps at the muzzle the velocity is low enough that the petals don't shed.
I've used the hammers for the past few years and killed everything I've shot with them.
01Foreman400
Well-Known Member
I'm going to try the 250 gr. bullets. Hoping to get around 2,800 fps with AA 1680. I'll be shooting them out of a CVA Scout.
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
You'll need a rather long barrel to get anything close to 2,800 fps, IMO. I've shot 250gr monos with the Barnes max charge of AA1680 and got 2,330 (IIRC) from my 18.5" Marlin SBL.
I have also shot the 402gr ShockHammers at a MV of 1,700 fps and got complete petal separation and dispersal on a Maine bull moose. The core flew out the opposite side.
01Foreman400
Well-Known Member
Barnes load data must be off then.
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I don't discount the Barnes data, I used it myself. But my experience implies that their velocity may be hard to obtain. I'd expect a velocity loss to be about 25 fps/per inch. MY barrel is 5.5" shorter than the barrel they used (24") but it doesn't explain the nearly 500fps difference that I saw. My loads were all shot over a LabRadar.
In review of my notes, the average velocity was closer to 2,300, but the max that I saw was 2,330 fps. I would expect a 250 Hammer to get slightly more velocity than a competing 250gr mono.
FWIW - I used shortened 45-70 cases so that the pointed mono would feed through the action.
In review of my notes, the average velocity was closer to 2,300, but the max that I saw was 2,330 fps. I would expect a 250 Hammer to get slightly more velocity than a competing 250gr mono.
FWIW - I used shortened 45-70 cases so that the pointed mono would feed through the action.
01Foreman400
Well-Known Member
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I ran 57.5gr AA1680 in Starline cases with Federal 210M primers. Getting a velocity of 2,800 fps would be impressive. I hope that you can achieve your goal.
I was actually disappointed when I only got 2,330 fps, based on my expectations. But, the load kills whitetails quite effectively.
Good luck.
I was actually disappointed when I only got 2,330 fps, based on my expectations. But, the load kills whitetails quite effectively.
Good luck.
01Foreman400
Well-Known Member
I'll post my results once I get them. Might be a month or so.
choprzrul
Well-Known Member
90gr Absolute Hammers in my 26" 25-06 going 3611 fps at the muzzle. 3 shots, 3 dead deer. One was a bang flop with zero twitching and the other 2 dropped in a few seconds after running in a circle.
85gr Hammer Hunter in my 20" 6.5CM going 3402 fps at the muzzle. 1 shot, 1 dead deer. He ran in a circle for a few seconds and dropped. This one was field dressed and hung over night. We deboned it in the field there was very close to no bloodshot meat loss. The front quarter on the opposite side had the bullet hole thru it, but nothing bloodshot. I was quite amazed...
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85gr Hammer Hunter in my 20" 6.5CM going 3402 fps at the muzzle. 1 shot, 1 dead deer. He ran in a circle for a few seconds and dropped. This one was field dressed and hung over night. We deboned it in the field there was very close to no bloodshot meat loss. The front quarter on the opposite side had the bullet hole thru it, but nothing bloodshot. I was quite amazed...
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RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
Terminal performance is the number one most important feature for us at Hammer Bullets. We entered into the bullet industry as hunters that were looking for better terminal performance. We had a very specific ideal of what we thought a bullet should do for terminal performance. It was much more difficult to achieve than we thought it would be but when we figured out how to make it happen, it set Hammer Bullets in a class of their own. Rapid opening, full shedding of the petals, and a flat frontal retained shank is the goal. Consistent retained weight from low to high velocity impacts in a wider range of velocity than any other bullets that I am aware of.
This is the physics study of terminal performance that we based Hammer Bullets on.
Lots of Hammer Bullets terminal performance data. This will keep you busy for a while.
www.longrangehunting.com
This is the physics study of terminal performance that we based Hammer Bullets on.
Lots of Hammer Bullets terminal performance data. This will keep you busy for a while.
Official Hammer bullets Terminal Performance (picture heavy)
Let’s try to keep Discussion to a minimum in this. Details-animal, distance, caliber/cartridge, bullet and weight. Animal weight if you know it. I’ll kick it off, Water buffalo, 60 yards-full broad side 300AX Hammer hunter 181@3490fps Dressed without the hide, head and guts 902lbs.
Hard rock
Well-Known Member
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MY experience , is they are more accurate , don't foul , are very lethal , will give more vel with less pressure . HAMMER bullets have the best customer service you could possibly have and will help you with any question you have , with load development etc. STEVE one of HAMMER bullets owners is the go to guy to help you out with bullet choice proper twist rate etc. ONE main thing too remember make sure you remove any copper fouling from other bullets before load development with HAMMERS too reach their accuracy potential, good luck and good hunting.
