New bullets showed up!

[yorketransport]

I got two new bullets to test out. One is a replacement for the 260 Accubonds I've been shooting in the 375 Ruger. I love the Accubonds, I'm just moving to solid coppers for all my hunting guns. This is a Hammer Bullets 275gr Sledge Hammer next to a 260gr Accubond.


This one is for the upcoming 270 BoonDoggle project. It's a 168gr Hammer Hunter next to a 130gr Nosler E-Tip. The Nosler looks pretty stumpy next to that 168gr bullet. The obvious downside to the 168 is that it requires a 1-7" twist to stabilize.

[Biggerhammer]

Looking forward to the results! I don't get spun up much when it comes to some of the latest new bullets here and there from the big bullet manufacturers over the years. After I saw some of your posts regarding  Hammer Bullets. I ordered some and they flat shoot! They don't destroy my bore with copper like Barnes do( Gag/puke ) at even the mention of Barnes bullets. I have got higher muzzle velocities.

Yesterday I was just thinking about ordering some 64gr (.224) Hammer Hunters to shoot through my 5.56x42(Yote Smoker) AR with a 20" ARP barrel.

[Magnum_Willys]

Hmmm haven’t tried em after barnes copper coating my bores but maybe worth a shot. 

[Biggerhammer]

Hmmm haven’t tried em after barnes copper coating my bores but maybe worth a shot.

It's night to day. Comparing Barnes bullets to Hammer Bullets. Barnes are the worst thing on the planet when it comes to copper fouling. Hammer Bullets are so much more cleaner shooting. Super accurate, super seating depth friendly and faster.

The Radius driving bands are the ticket! 

[jasnt]

Have you shot any of their 6mm bullets? Looking at the 101gr hammer hunters. Not very impressive bc.

[lord grizzly]

Have you shot any of their 6mm bullets? Looking at the 101gr hammer hunters. Not very impressive bc.

have to think its those ripples. not real aerodynamic look to them. isn't the whole reason for a slick exterior was better BC? seems counter intuitive, but I've also never shot them so I couldn't speak from experience (on these bullets, I agree barnes are junk), just an observation

[whacker1]

Following along

[yorketransport]

Have you shot any of their 6mm bullets? Looking at the 101gr hammer hunters. Not very impressive bc.

I use their 88gr bullet in my 6mm BR pistol with great results. I played briefly with their 101gr Hammer Hunter in a 1-7" twist 243 as well. Both showed very consistent expansion when I was testing them and BCs in line with any other hunting bullet of the same weight.

I have to think its those ripples. not real aerodynamic look to them. isn't the whole reason for a slick exterior was better BC? seems counter intuitive, but I've also never shot them so I couldn't speak from experience (on these bullets, I agree barnes are junk), just an observation

Compare the BC to a comparable weight Accubond or Barnes bullet for better comparison and they're in the same ball park; they're intended to be a hunting bullet first, and the BC comes second. The hollow point cavity makes a big difference in the BC. The Hammer Hunters use a 2.5mm HP which is a pretty big hole. I shot some early versions of a 338 bullet which used a 1.5mm HP and they had a higher BC, but expansion wasn't as predictable. They had the same problems as Bergers or any other target HP which suffers from having the meplat damaged. That's why a lot of folks go through the trouble of pointing, trimming and uniforming meplats and the HP on Bergers for hunting.

I've shot more of the 338 Hammers in various forms than any of the others, but I haven't been disappointed by the BC on any of those yet. I use the 304gr Hammer Hunter as a target bullet in my 338 SnipeTac pistol because it shoots a little better than the 300gr OTM. When I use a G7 BC of .380 for the Hammer and .412 for the OTM at 1720 yards and the difference is about 4.5 MOA at that range with both bullets at the same velocity. That's a pretty extreme example for hunting performance but I'd trust the Hammer to expand more predictably than the Berger at that range based on testing I've done. The numbers are pretty similar when I compare the 260gr Hammer Hunter and the 250gr SMK in the 338/375 Ruger pistol. In that gun I use the Hammers to hunt but stick with the SMK for target work since the drops are close enough to work for practice out to 600-750 yards which is as far as I'd ever consider hunting with that gun.

Lately I've been really loving the Sledge Hammer style bullets like the 275gr .375 in the picture. Since the fast majority of my hunting is inside of 400 yards (under 150 honestly) BC isn't a big deal for me; I do love heavy for caliber bullets though. Since solid coppers are so much longer than a similar weight lead core bullet I would have to drop down in weight to use a copper bullet with the same profile as something like a VLD. The 130gr Sledge Hammer that I use in the little 6.5 Grendel is the same length as the 130gr Accubond that I was using before and works with the relatively short OAL requirements of the CZ 527 mag. Plus I'm getting 2530 fps from the 130 Hammer compared to 2430 fps that I got with the 130 Accubond.

This a pic of most of the different Hammer Bullets I've played with so far, not including the 130gr 6.5, 101gr 6mm, 117gr .277, 245gr .358 or the new 270 and .375 bullets.


They're not necessarily my first choice for target bullets, but that has more to do with cost. But for a hunting bullet for realistic ranges they're my new go-to bullet.

[kselkhunter]

I was contemplating playing around with their 143gr LeverHammer in 30-30win.   Curious how it does compared to the Barnes 150gr for 30-30.  From what I've read about less copper fouling in the barrel, it may be worth it just for that reason alone.   

Do the Hammer bullets shed their petals like a Barnes or Cutting Edge?  Or do they hold together and mushroom?

[yorketransport]

I was contemplating playing around with their 143gr LeverHammer in 30-30win.   Curious how it does compared to the Barnes 150gr for 30-30.  From what I've read about less copper fouling in the barrel, it may be worth it just for that reason alone.   

Do the Hammer bullets shed their petals like a Barnes or Cutting Edge?  Or do they hold together and mushroom?

I never had that much trouble with the Barnes TSX and copper fouling, but the Hammers do leave a less visible streak in the barrel. The key with all the copper bullets is to completely clean the barrel when you switch bullets. Copper bullets use a different alloy than regular gilding metal jacketed bullets and the two alloys will really stack up on each other if you don't clean them out when you switch bullets. The Hammers are designed to have the petals break off while the remaining shank penetrates on. Here are couple from my bullet tests last year.





I went out today and started working on a load with the 275gr bullet in my 375 Ruger. All I'm looking for accuracy wise is .75 MOA so I don't need to waste any time shooting groups with each load. When I work up a load with the any of the Hammers I just seat them to mag length (and a safe distance from the lands for the very blunt nose profiles) and load for a target velocity. In a 20" barreled 375 Ruger I'd like 2650 fps from a 270gr class bullet. I fired 9 shots starting at 78.0gr H4350 and going up to 82.0gr in .5gr increments. All 9 shots went into a 1" group at 100 yards with the scope on 3x, so I don't think accuracy will be an issue.

It worked out that 82.0gr of H4350 gave me 2675fps from the 20" barrel. I thought this was pretty funny since my "plinking" load in this gun is 82.0gr of H4350 and a 270gr Hornady SP at 2550 fps and my hunting load is the same charge with a 260gr Accubond 2660 fps. I know I could ramp the load up considerably and probably go over 2750 fps with the 275gr bullet, but why bother? Every load I've worked up in this gun was done in less than 12 shots. Find a velocity, load 3 more rounds to zero it, then go practice. They've all been accurate enough to hit my 10" gong from hunting positions (stumps, shooting sticks, logs etc.) out to 300 yards or so with the 2.5-8x scope that's on there. Ironically my longest shot on a game animal was with this gun at a stunning 364 yards.

Now I'll probably pick up another 100 of these bullets to start practicing over the summer. I try to shoot at least 100 rounds a year out of this rifle just to stay in good form. After all, recoil builds character.

[Biggerhammer]

That's a considerable speed (FPS) gain with the Hammer over the Hornady. With the same powder charge and considering the Hammer is 5 grains heavier.

[yorketransport]

That's a considerable speed (FPS) gain with the Hammer over the Hornady. With the same powder charge and considering the Hammer is 5 grains heavier.

I was really surprised by the velocity. I would have been happy with 2600 fps.

[Magnum_Willys]

Amazing when you figure its just a 20” barrel - not much barrel vibration to account for either.

[Wetwoodshunter]

Tag, this looks like an awesome thread

[Biggerhammer]

I'm going to give the 64gr Hammer Hunters a go in my ARP 20" 5.56x42 AR barrel. I bet I can get over 3600 fps out of them.