Absolute Hammer, 6.5creed and 280ai velocity data

[sneaky]

Good deal!

For the 140s in the 280 I ended things at 59gr of h4350. Apparently that is more of a starting point...

So I went up to the mid 60s iirc of imr4451 and I think high 50s of 4166

For the 6.5 and 4166 I think I’m loaded up to higher 40s. Don’t think I’ll get to shoot all of what I loaded but my goal is to find some pressure then back down a grain or so and work on seating depths from there.

I will eventually play with the 178s in my .300 wby where I think 3,400 should be attainable.


I’d like to see a 230-240gr .338 AH that I could load up in my RUM. That bullet at 3400 or so would be pretty devastating. But I have several boxes of 250gr accubonds so it may be a while before I shoot those.

I’m trying to decide if trying some hammers in my 7RM is even worth doing. My 9.25” barrel is too slow for the heavies and I already have the 280ai for the 140s. The big 7 may just keep on trucking the 160 ABs

What speeds did you end up with on those 140 AH out of the 280AI? I've got a Cooper in 280AI I'm going to try some in.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

You know, reading this thread in the beginning, I kept thinking "when is he going to blow out a primer" and well, the OP sure did.

Friends, reloading is not a drag race. Stop looking for speed. Work the load to tune it to the barrel to get the the tightest groups possible. There are usually 2-3 nodes of velocity that a barrel likes.

Meanwhile OP, you might be surprised at how much looser your primer pockets are now. You are working the brass way too hard and the throat of your barrel, especially for the fast powders, is eroding with every shot.

I both compete and hunt with 6.5 Creedmoors. My velocities are around 2850-2900 for a 140 grain Berger. No worries and incredible accuracy.

 

[cooperjd]

What speeds did you end up with on those 140 AH out of the 280AI? I've got a Cooper in 280AI I'm going to try some in.

I sold it...
having a custom built for my 40th, and that was the last in, first out

 

[cooperjd]

You know, reading this thread in the beginning, I kept thinking "when is he going to blow out a primer" and well, the OP sure did.

Friends, reloading is not a drag race. Stop looking for speed. Work the load to tune it to the barrel to get the the tightest groups possible. There are usually 2-3 nodes of velocity that a barrel likes.

Meanwhile OP, you might be surprised at how much looser your primer pockets are now. You are working the brass way too hard and the throat of your barrel, especially for the fast powders, is eroding with every shot.

I both compete and hunt with 6.5 Creedmoors. My velocities are around 2850-2900 for a 140 grain Berger. No worries and incredible accuracy.

I blew a primer sort-of on purpose. I wanted to find the absolute max in my rifle, i knew i was getting there. Of course i'd rather not get to the point of blown primers...hopefully just a pretty sticky bolt...but that's not how this went down.

Since there is no published data on these projectiles, it is all experimentation. These bullets are designed to be run fast, hence their design. my 6.5 shoots 130 berger vld's at 2880 very accurately; but since these bullets are brand new, i wanted to find my max.

Now that i know the max, I can experiment to find the best accuracy/velocity combination that works for me.

 

[wyosam]

I guess it depends on how you define “max”. I’d choose to stop long before blown primer. I read primers with a grain of salt, but ejector swipes and sticky bolt lift are hard stops. My increments get small when I think I’m getting close. I haven’t seen sudden pressure spikes with any of the hammers yet.


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[archp625]

For you guys that are loading hammers, Is it really that easy to find a load your rifle likes? I keep hears that you really don't have to play with seating depth. You just have to find the node your rifle likes then go with it.

Is all this true?

 

[JakeSCH]

For you guys that are loading hammers, Is it really that easy to find a load your rifle likes? I keep hears that you really don't have to play with seating depth. You just have to find the node your rifle likes then go with it.

Is all this true?

I think it depends on how accurate you want to be. Generally all seating depths i've tried shoot sub-moa...however I still messed with them to get to 1/4 MOA.

 

[cooperjd]

For you guys that are loading hammers, Is it really that easy to find a load your rifle likes? I keep hears that you really don't have to play with seating depth. You just have to find the node your rifle likes then go with it.

Is all this true?

I will hopefully tell you soon. I found a max velocity, now i'm going to play with them to see what i can get with a low ES and accuracy.

 

[archp625]

I will hopefully tell you soon. I found a max velocity, now i'm going to play with them to see what i can get with a low ES and accuracy.

Please let me know. I want to pick up the 15 pack but that makes me nervous. I have never been able to develop a load in 15 rounds. More like 50.

 

[cooperjd]

check out this thread as well over on LRH

Absolute Hammer load data

Will they ship the powder ? Thank you Sir , Floyd I was trying to be facetious. I was hoping I could get these bullets up to speed with stuff I’ve got on hand. I have RL26 and I bet it would work but I am trying to ration It.

www.longrangehunting.com

lots of guys putting their absolute hammer results data

 

[wyosam]

For you guys that are loading hammers, Is it really that easy to find a load your rifle likes? I keep hears that you really don't have to play with seating depth. You just have to find the node your rifle likes then go with it.

Is all this true?

I’ve worked them up for quite a few rifles in a half dozen or so cartridges, and so far they are that easy. It is not uncommon to load up 5 or 6 at .5 grain increments and shoot the whole bunch into .75. I messed with them a lot at first. Now, I load as above until I see signs that I am approaching pressure, or reach my velocity goal. If I see pressure signs, I back off .5-1 grain depending on the cartridge and load 5. Shoot for group and sd/es. Usually I’m done. Adjust zero (done during load development, usually). Shoot them to confirm drops as far as you’re going to shoot them at game. They really dont seem to have the classic nodes unless you are trying to really shrink groups below .5. They are hunting bullets, not going to a match so .5-.75 is generally plenty. They do like a light crimp- the Lee FCD works very well with them.


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[cooperjd]

I’ve worked them up for quite a few rifles in a half dozen or so cartridges, and so far they are that easy. It is not uncommon to load up 5 or 6 at .5 grain increments and shoot the whole bunch into .75. I messed with them a lot at first. Now, I load as above until I see signs that I am approaching pressure, or reach my velocity goal. If I see pressure signs, I back off .5-1 grain depending on the cartridge and load 5. Shoot for group and sd/es. Usually I’m done. Adjust zero (done during load development, usually). Shoot them to confirm drops as far as you’re going to shoot them at game. They really dont seem to have the classic nodes unless you are trying to really shrink groups below .5. They are hunting bullets, not going to a match so .5-.75 is generally plenty. They do like a light crimp- the Lee FCD works very well with them.


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do you have a general jump you like to seat them at?

 

[Mark at EXO]

My experience is, yes, it IS stupid easy. I generally run them 20-thou off. My tests with seating depth changes didn't do much. Getting half-minute or better loads hasn't been an issue.

 

[Lawnboi]

My experience is, yes, it IS stupid easy. I generally run them 20-thou off. My tests with seating depth changes didn't do much. Getting half-minute or better loads hasn't been an issue.

View attachment 263391

Which bullet is that? How fast are you pushing them?

 

[Mark at EXO]

Which bullet is that? How fast are you pushing them?

I have a 20" Creed running the 124g Hammer Hunter at 2900, and also recently started messing with the 129 Absolute Hammers at 3000.

 

[Lawnboi]

I have a 20" Creed running the 124g Hammer Hunter at 2900, and also recently started messing with the 129 Absolute Hammers at 3000.

Loading up some in my 20” barrel creed myself. Assuming you used varget from the picture what did you end up at if you don’t mind me asking

 

[Rky Mtn Farmer]

I am working on a load with the 87gr Absolute Hammers in my 6mm creedmoor, haven’t found the velocities without the pressure I was looking for. I have tried IMR 3031, H335, and 2015. Maybe I need to change my expectations, I get 3335 FPS with factory Hornady 90GMX Superformance. I didn’t have time before last season to work up a load, and settled on this Hornady ammo. So I thought 3500fps might be achievable, but so far the best I have gotten is about 50-75 increase over the GMX before I start seeing pressure. All my testing has been in colder temps so I know i will have to back it down a bit more for it to be safe all year round.

The accuracy has been great, just pressure testing in .5 gr increases over a range of 4gr of powder will still produce 1moa groups. I have never seen a bullet be that consistent over a broad range of charge weights.

This is my first time pursuing velocity, normally I stick with an accurate and very safe load for my rifles. The absolute hammer kinda worries me, as I pressure tested, twice I got blown primers. What freaks me out is that the loads leading up to the blown primers didn’t indicate that much pressure just some primer cratering, but no heavy bolt lift and no ejector marks. With the accuracy I have seen I think Hammer makes a great bullet, but I may switch to the Hammer Hunter that has a more traditional design.

 

[Mark at EXO]

Loading up some in my 20” barrel creed myself. Assuming you used varget from the picture what did you end up at if you don’t mind me asking

40.2g Varget for the 124

 

[cooperjd]

I did a little shooting today
Tikka T3x, 24" 1:8"
6.5 creedmoor, 123gr AH
lapua small rifle, 2x brass
cci-450
IMR-4166
Magnetospeed sporter

today I was testing group size with .050" and .020" jumps.
.050" jump
42.3gr 3,114; 3,115; 3,119 (best group about 0.75". Going to load more around here and test for accuracy wi/o the magnetospeed hanging off the end; this will likely be my hunting load).

42.0gr 3,115; 3,096, 3,095 (magnetospeed had moved a bit on the first shot)

.020" jump
42.0gr 3,084; 3,087; 3,071

42.3gr 3,115; 3,115; 3,106

best group by far was the 42.3gr and 50thou

I do not have a COAL, using my hornady tool to ogive was 2.29" to the lands in my rifle, so i loaded to 2.24 and 2.27"


7mm rem mag
factory rem 700, 24", 1:9.25"
norma 2x brass
cci-250
H-1000
140gr AH
COAL 3.34", .010" jump

69--2904
70--2944
71--3004
72--3024
73--3096
74--3127
stopped here, H1000 appears way too slow.

 

[JakeSCH]

What speeds did you end up with on those 140 AH out of the 280AI? I've got a Cooper in 280AI I'm going to try some in.

Did you ever run your 280ai with 4166 and 140 AH's? I will probably start a ladder test some time over this next week.