Hammer 6.5 Bullets

[thinhorn_AK]

I had good results with the 124g hunters but I don’t use them any more.

 

[hickswr]

Hammers are phenomenal! Can’t speak for 6.5 hammers but I’ve killed 40 something deer over the last 4 years with 88gr and 90gr hammer hunters and THH out of a 6 creed.

They shoot sub half MOA at almost 3300 fps and kill deer quicker than anything I’ve ever used including a 300 wsm, 270, 30-06, 6.5 creed, etc.

I think velocity and the shock from the petals expanding is what makes the magic happen. I’ve shot deer behind the shoulder standing broadside and them just fall over dead like they were struck by lighting. The same bullet placement with a cup and core bullet from a 270 would result in a 50 yard dead run.

My quest for the perfect whitetail load is over.

Hammers are like a Barnes and ballistic tip had a love child. You get the violet expansion of a ballistic tip, except better b/c the petals are like razor blades and they don’t cause bloodshot meat. The core will exit leaving a blood trail (seldom needed) and sometimes some petals will also exit. At distance the petals may not actually separate from the core and then the bullet essentially acts like a typical mono bullet.

 

[grizz19]

135 correct? Mine is only 20"

Yep 125 hht out of his prc. What primer are you using?

 

[180ls1]

Hammers are phenomenal! Can’t speak for 6.5 hammers but I’ve killed 40 something deer over the last 4 years with 88gr and 90gr hammer hunters and THH out of a 6 creed.

They shoot sub half MOA at almost 3300 fps and kill deer quicker than anything I’ve ever used including a 300 wsm, 270, 30-06, 6.5 creed, etc.

I think velocity and the shock from the petals expanding is what makes the magic happen. I’ve shot deer behind the shoulder standing broadside and them just fall over dead like they were struck by lighting. The same bullet placement with a cup and core bullet from a 270 would result in a 50 yard dead run.

My quest for the perfect whitetail load is over.

Hammers are like a Barnes and ballistic tip had a love child. You get the violet expansion of a ballistic tip, except better b/c the petals are like razor blades and they don’t cause bloodshot meat. The core will exit leaving a blood trail (seldom needed) and sometimes some petals will also exit. At distance the petals may not actually separate from the core and then the bullet essentially acts like a typical mono bullet.

I have noticed similar.

6.5prc 124hh @ 3400 - 7" twist.

While it is my "CA only" gun it somehow manages to go out of state and smash critters every year. A wild discrepancy in performance on game vs what the forums would have you believe. It has taken more animals off their feet on impact there than any other setup I have used.

 

[Bobcat 33]

Yep 125 hht out of his prc. What primer are you using?

Federal large rifle

 

[cbuck516]

I’m my 6.5CM I have tried the 85HH and that shot incredible well. Wanted a little heavier shank for this year so I developed a load with the 105AHT. Load development is boringly easy in many cases. I very often find acceptable hunting loads in less than 20 shots. When I spent a little extra time tuning charge weight I have often found loads that shoot under 1/2MOA consistently, sometimes way smaller. I have much less experience with the HHT line than the other lines. I have two 107 HBC loads I am hunting with exclusively this year in my 25-06AI and 25CM. Heading out for cow elk this coming weekend with my 25CM.

 

[Wyohunth]

I shoot 124 hh out of a 6.5 RPM. They shoot extremely well and have performed great on the elk I've shot with them. Muzzle Velocity ~ 3150 and all kills to date inside 300 yards.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

I’m my 6.5CM I have tried the 85HH and that shot incredible well. Wanted a little heavier shank for this year so I developed a load with the 105AHT. Load development is boringly easy in many cases. I very often find acceptable hunting loads in less than 20 shots. When I spent a little extra time tuning charge weight I have often found loads that shoot under 1/2MOA consistently, sometimes way smaller. I have much less experience with the HHT line than the other lines. I have two 107 HBC loads I am hunting with exclusively this year in my 25-06AI and 25CM. Heading out for cow elk this coming weekend with my 25CM.

Did you get a kill with HBC?

 

[cbuck516]

Did you get a kill with HBC?

Yes, I shot a cow at 200 yards, threaded the bullet between ribs on both sides and she took about three steps and fell over. Very happy with the results.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Yes, I shot a cow at 200 yards, threaded the bullet between ribs on both sides and she took about three steps and fell over. Very happy with the results. View attachment 988473

How was the trauma compared to a tipped cup and core like ELDX or whatever you have elk experience with?

Thanks

 

[cbuck516]

@AZ_Hunter

Details of my elk can be found here:
Post in thread '25-06AI w/ 107HBC and 95 HHT'
https://hammerbullets.com/hammertime/threads/25-06ai-w-107hbc-and-95-hht.3140/post-67250

I had hoped to see several deer on the ground this year with the 107HBC, but my elk trips took priority and we never ended up filling any deer tags. I’ve shot groundhogs with it and liked what I saw on small game as well.

I’ve used Nosler AB and ABLR on game before, but never any Hornady bullets. I didnt start doing thorough necropsies until I dove into the mono world 4 years ago following a poor experience with the ABLR on elk. If I’m just gauging performance based on number of steps taken after hit, I’ve had better results with light monos going really fast than any of my previous experiences with lead core bullets. I have shot a small number of animals with Barnes bullets and I do think I see quicker kills with hammer bullets than Barnes, but that’s a small sample size.

 

[cbuck516]

How was the trauma compared to a tipped cup and core like ELDX or whatever you have elk experience with?

Thanks

I honestly planned on using the 95HHT in my 25CM, but it didn’t fit well with 0.150” FB so I had to seat pretty deep. The 107HBC ended up fitting OK and shooting better so I just stuck with the 107HBC in both rifles to this year. You can read all my thoughts in that link I shared above, but I really think more free bore is needed for the 107HBC in 25CM. I ordered uni-throaters this morning for my 0.257” and 0.277” rifles so I will be modifying free bore at some point.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Good info, thanks. I have been thinking of getting a tikka 243 take off barrel then rechambering to 243AI then focusing load development around Hammer bullets. 18-20”, haven’t decided yet, with the Airlock 6.5 or coming 6mm can.

I have a 30-06 tikka that I developed a nice 138gr HHT load for, but I haven’t killed with it since the last two seasons I just grab my 16” 6.5CM with 130TMK loads and kill everything with it…the rifle is much lighter and nimble.

However, my hunting buddy just sent me a pic of a nice big piece of frag he spit out of his mouth from my last elk, and that has me really leaning on switching to hammers full time. He and I share the meat whenever we hunt together since we both participate on pack outs etc. We both have kids that eat the meat, so while the 130 TMK is an absolute beast when it comes to terminal effect, the frag goes way further than I thought it would.

The piece pictured was in a backstrap steak, when my 2 shots were lungs and liver.

 

[cbuck516]

Good info, thanks. I have been thinking of getting a tikka 243 take off barrel then rechambering to 243AI then focusing load development around Hammer bullets. 18-20”, haven’t decided yet, with the Airlock 6.5 or coming 6mm can.

I have a 30-06 tikka that I developed a nice 138gr HHT load for, but I haven’t killed with it since the last two seasons I just grab my 16” 6.5CM with 130TMK loads and kill everything with it…the rifle is much lighter and nimble.

However, my hunting buddy just sent me a pic of a nice big piece of frag he spit out of his mouth from my last elk, and that has me really leaning on switching to hammers full time. He and I share the meat whenever we hunt together since we both participate on pack outs etc. We both have kids that eat the meat, so while the 130 TMK is an absolute beast when it comes to terminal effect, the frag goes way further than I thought it would.

The piece pictured was in a backstrap steak, when my 2 shots were lungs and liver.

Yeah, I definitely understand where you are coming from. It has been a process to get my wife used to the idea of eating game meat. She was a bit hesitant with deer meat, but loves the elk meat. Finding a chunk of lead in our elk meat would be highly detrimental to her acceptance of the meat for our family and would likely also impact her acceptance of how often I like to go elk hunting. That’s just not a risk I’m willing to take.

Hammers and a few other mono brands definitely fragment as well, but I’ve never lost meat or animals as a result. That cow I just shot with the 107HBC is a great example. Hit was in the rear of the lungs just due to the shot window I had available. Even being that far back and showing nose fragmentation in the lungs, there was no damage to rumen or guts. The liver took some respectable damage though. I somehow managed to slip the bullet between ribs on both sides so I’m not sure how representative that kill is compared to most of my kills which are shots through at least one front shoulder. I have a feeling getting an exit with the 107HBC may be less likely with a heavy bone hit, but I haven’t been able to test that yet. All the critters I have personally shot with hammers die in sight so I’ve never really needed the exit for blood, but I still like knowing that a full pass through is possible.

That first elk I shot using the ABLR made an absolute mess of the insides. Shot was broadside through both lungs and fully exited, but fragments ended up puncturing the rumen which ruined all of the meat on the brisket and ribs that I normally take. She ran around 100 yards and left one drop of blood that we could find. I was pretty lucky to stumble upon her in the dark. I started working with monos as soon as I got home from that trip. I really like monos for their ability to handle heavy bone hits while still penetrating deep and not wasting meat. I was primarily an archer before that so I had to train myself to start shooting a little further forward than I had previously been accustomed to.

I have some 138HHT that I will be loading in my 18” 308Win. Just haven’t got to that one yet since I planned to only shoot the 107HBC in 2025.

 

[180ls1]

Good info, thanks. I have been thinking of getting a tikka 243 take off barrel then rechambering to 243AI then focusing load development around Hammer bullets. 18-20”, haven’t decided yet, with the Airlock 6.5 or coming 6mm can.

I have a 30-06 tikka that I developed a nice 138gr HHT load for, but I haven’t killed with it since the last two seasons I just grab my 16” 6.5CM with 130TMK loads and kill everything with it…the rifle is much lighter and nimble.

However, my hunting buddy just sent me a pic of a nice big piece of frag he spit out of his mouth from my last elk, and that has me really leaning on switching to hammers full time. He and I share the meat whenever we hunt together since we both participate on pack outs etc. We both have kids that eat the meat, so while the 130 TMK is an absolute beast when it comes to terminal effect, the frag goes way further than I thought it would.

The piece pictured was in a backstrap steak, when my 2 shots were lungs and liver.

I'll see if I can grab a video of a bull I shot with my 6.5.

In the interim, "frag" is somewhat misleading, at least like what lead does. The hammers break off into more of pedal sized ninja stars. I'm terrible about taking pictures but I'll see what I can dig up.

One deer had the the exit with like 4 pedal cuts in a grapefruit sized circular pattern around it.