Official Hammer bullets Terminal Performance (picture heavy)

[Hand Skills]

Sent a 7mm 140gr Absolute Hunter through a whitetail this afternoon.

Double lunged him at ~150yd, impact velocity ~2900fps.

He hunched up at the shot, but I heard a ricochet so was mildly concerned when he trotted into a depression and out of sight.

I gave him about 10min before following up. Found hair and a couple drops of blood where I had hit him, but not much to track. Felt fortunate to find him piled up in some willows - he made it less than 40yrds.



Ahead of the diaphragm, the heart was intact and there were a couple chunks recognizable as lung, but mostly it was soup. Impressive (well, maybe not for the dogs - no lungs, minimal bloodshot... Guess they'll have to settle for just the bones). I'll be less concerned the next time an animal walks away from one, but that ricochet was weird. Shank must have clipped a willow branch after it exited.

 

[shinbone]

View attachment 226251

Holy cow. That deer didn't bleed out, it sprayed out.

 

[shinbone]

Here's an entry wound on a big antelope doe. Stats are:

Perfect length-wise shot, middle of chest entry.
Distance was 68 yards.
.30 cal. Hammer Hunter 124gn
.300WSM, muzzle velocity was 3550
Calculated impact velocity was 3370
No exit wound.

Upon the shot, the doe collapsed in tracks like the proverbial "switch had been turned off." There was no subsequent twitching or any other movement.

Upon opening up the chest cavity, probably about 18" of esophagus was gone. Not that it was shredded, but literally no esophagus and no esophagus parts to be found. Turns out, the hydrostatic shock had pulverized it into tiny white particles, like cornmeal. You can see a few of the small white dots in the photo.

I carefully looked over the entire body exterior and cavity interior twice, and there is no exit wound that I can find, anywhere. Did a similar exam during and after skinning, still no exit wound to be seen looking at the underside of the skin or the exterior of the skinned carcass. I am very surprised at that.

This is a somewhat unusual circumstance of a very high velocity impact.

 

[ButterBean]

Here's an entry wound on a big antelope doe. Stats are:

Perfect length-wise shot, middle of chest entry.
Distance was 68 yards.
.30 call Hammer Hunter 124gn
.300WSM, muzzle velocity was 3550
Calculated impact velocity was 3370
No exit wound.

Upon the shot, the doe collapsed in tracks like the proverbial "switch had been turned off." There was no subsequent twitching or any other movement.

Upon opening up the chest cavity, there was literally no esophagus. Not that it was shredded, but literally no esophagus and no esophagus parts to be found. Turns out, the hydrostatic shock had pulverized it tiny white particles, like cornmeal. And that was the entire esophagus that was reduced to tiny particles, not just near the entry wound. You can see a few of the small white dots in the photo.

I carefully looked over the entire carcass twice, and there is no exit wound that I can find anywhere. I am very surprised at that.

This is a somewhat unusual circumstance of a very high velocity impact.

That's what I'm talking about

 

[Gravel Road]

Talk about humane. Seriously thinking about these in my 300 Wby. I'm still suprised that the shank didn't exit though, especially on an antelope.

 

[gsp2west]

After going through 12 pages on this thread I just ordered 3 sample packs from Hammer to try in my 28 Nosler. Wish me luck..

 

[ButterBean]

After going through 12 pages on this thread I just ordered 3 sample packs from Hammer to try in my 28 Nosler. Wish me luck..

You'll love Em

 

[shinbone]

After going through 12 pages on this thread I just ordered 3 sample packs from Hammer to try in my 28 Nosler. Wish me luck..

gsp2west - let us know how things go. And let us know if you have any questions about loading and shooting the Hammer bullets. The unofficial "Hammer Bullet community" is small, but it includes some very knowledgable hand loaders and hunters who are very willing to help.

In case you weren't aware, there's a Hammer Bullet forum with lots of helpful info:

Forum | Hammer Time

Visit our forum at: hammerbullets.boards.net

hammerbullets.boards.net

 

[shinbone]

Addendum to my post #157, above:

When I couldn't find an exit wound on the antelope, I scooped all the guts into a 50gal trash bag and took them home. I just spent about 45 minutes cutting the guts into small pieces and running them through my hands feeling for a hard lump. I was hoping to find the bullet shank. No luck! No shank. No petals. No nothing!

I now have no clue where that bullet went on that antelope.

 

[new2mud]

Addendum to my post #157, above:

When I couldn't find an exit wound on the antelope, I scooped all the guts into a 50gal trash bag and took them home. I just spent about 45 minutes cutting the guts into small pieces and running them through my hands feeling for a hard lump. I was hoping to find the bullet shank. No luck! No shank. No petals. No nothing!

I now have no clue where that bullet went on that antelope.

That is some serious dedication to bullet recovery!

 

[Wedgy]

I just spent about 45 minutes cutting the guts into small pieces and running them through my hands feeling for a hard lump.

A buddy had a $20 handheld metal detector that works pretty good.

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[North Idaho Hunter]

@shinbone maybe the bullet made it out the rear end?

 

[shinbone]

That is some serious dedication to bullet recovery!

I really wanted to find that bullet! Not surprising, though, that it wasn't in there.

Yeh, I scrutinized the 'ol poop chute and the baby-maker for any signs of an unnatural exit. And, since that was the logical place for the shank to exit, I looked all around the rump. It all looked normal.

Somehow, the bullet exited in a place that must've got covered up with blood and guts, so I couldn't see it, despite my careful searching.

 

[N.Scott Nail]

I have just finished reading thru all 12 pages of this thread and like gps2west, I too am interested in seeing first hand how well these bullets will do in a couple of my rifles....... I have ordered 3 paks as well for a 6mm creedmoor, 6.5 creedmoor/PRC and lastly, .308 win. I'm so excited to have a dedicated hunting round developed just for Deer,Mulely and Elk Hunting purposes. I will be giving Steve a call after Bullets arrive to consult with him and ask for any suggestion he may have regaurding loading for each of my pet calibers I enjoy shooting the most and feel comfortable shooting in may differant type of positions. Thanks to all whom have added to this thread and made it to be one of the most exciting follows and infomative threads that I've read to date. Any and all members who wish to add something to help a new HH Member along would be most appreciated. Thanks for taking a moment of your time to read and contribute......... Good Shooting to All N.Scott Nail /// NSN75w