Hammer bullet failure

[Ruggedsportsman]

Last year I swore off Hammer bullets due to inconsistent performance, inflated BC estimates, and their bullet tester Dallas' attitude. I still had half a box left over of loaded ammo in 300prc so I figured I would just use them up insteading of pulling and discarding them. These "199s"(really 197gn) hammer hunters were moving 3107fps at the muzzle out of my 300prc. These are over 4200ft/lb energy at the muzzle for those interested. Impact velocity was 2880fps. I shot a pig last year at 150yds with this same setup behind the shoulder and it penciled in and out, zero blood, and ran about 400 yards but thankfully we were able to watch it die on the opposite hillside and we were able to recover it. This shot was 352 yards. My buddy behind his swaro BTX's said impact was right behind the shoulder and was surprised it didnt drop it. We tracked this pig for 1.3 miles up 2 canyons until it dropped into a chaparral thicket and we lost the blood trail. Never recovered it. That shot should have absolutely anchored that pig or at the very LEAST not run over 50 yards. For a reference video I added my previous much larger pig shot with a 308win and a barnes 110 ttsx flat base going around 3k muzzle velocity with a substantially further back shot placement. This is my 2nd failure with the 199s and the 3rd out of 5 we've seen with the HH line. 2nd unrecovered pig. I had better performance out of the 110gn TTSX and actually a darn 45gn tsx out of a 22 hornet on pigs this season than the 199s.

 

[wapitibob]

Animals can run till their brain is depleted of oxygen, 50 yards is nothing. I've seen a Pronghorn run almost 100 yards with no heart.
I believe in light for caliber solids, and did that when I shot Hammers. I personally wouldn't shoot a 199gr solid from anything. 160ish would have been my choice. I ran the 143's at 3470 with great on game results, Elk/Deer/Pronghorn, target results not so much so I stopped using them.

 

[zrodwyo]

No comment on the bullet but based on the video it looks like you grazed it across the top of the back if it was even hit at all.

 

[RutandDie]

Looks like a bad shot failure.

 

[JFK]

Shot looks high and forward to me if you hit it. I’ve shot pigs that ran an 100 yards and had their hearts blown in half. Some of them have a strong will to live.

 

[NW Hunt€r]

I thought the shot looked high.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

No comment on the bullet but based on the video it looks like you grazed it across the top of the back if it was even hit at all.

Looks like that to me as well.

 

[hoooogan]

Slowed the video down to 1/4 speed. You can see the bullet trajectory in a few frames and see a puff of dust on the hide just about center mass. Looked clean to me.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

I was using the 199HH but decided that the stability factor was not high enough for me in my 8-twist so I switched to the 182HHT. Both give very small groups on paper but hoping for better terminal performance with the smaller bullet (it is a lot faster too).

 

[Ruggedsportsman]

I thought the shot looked high.

My buddy said it wasnt high but even if it was the whole "shrapnel first half of the bullet" what they are famous for would have shattered the spine and lungs. and dropped it

 

[Ruggedsportsman]

Slowed the video down to 1/4 speed. You can see the bullet trajectory in a few frames and see a puff of dust on the hide just about center mass. Looked clean to me.

I think people are thinking it’s high because the peak of the arc of the bullet trace you can see is in the sun and “disappears” when it meets the shade. The sun was in my face and setting just atop the hill so I think where it disappears is where people think the impact was.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Why is it that every lost animal is due to a bullet failure?

Also 1.3 mile run is impressive for an animal that was critically hit.

 

[RancherJohn]

If you were at the same elevation as your spotter, I would call that a miss, or at best a grazing shot if there was blood at the impact site. I have never tracked a well hit animal more than about 300 yards. I have tracked lots of poorly hit animals over a mile.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Glad you found a better alternative. I’ve had great luck with them out of my 6.5.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

That shot looked high to me. Didn’t hit the spine, didn’t hit the lungs or heart.

 

[bhylton]

Why is it that every lost animal is due to a bullet failure?

Also 1.3 mile run is impressive for an animal that was critically hit.

I would think a pig hit even with a FMJ in the vitals would have been found within that distance…

In my limited experience with hammers the front half does not radiate that far from the shanks path. Even in a broadside elk it was still only separated 2-3inches from shank by the time they exit. That’s after 16inches across an elk. Broadside on a pig is probably 5-7inches? I would not expect a super wide wound making up for bad shot placement.

And no shade on the OPs shooting ability. We all suck. I just think blaming a bullet on an unrecovered animal is a stretch.

 

[1000yards]

I could be wrong, obviously I'm just just judging off a video but it looks like a hit in that 'ballistic no-man's land' right above their neck vertebrae. Their spine drops pretty low between the skull and shoulders. A shot there with a good bullet will normally kill them, but with a hard bullet that pencils through all bets are off. I've seen hogs that recovered from being shot there. Every new hunter we get here I will take my knife and cut from the back of a hogs neck down to the spine to show them how much muscle is there, and why they need to be careful when they think they're taking a 'spine' or 'high shoulder' shot.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I have not had to adjust any BC or MV with the hammer bullets I've loaded and trued. Their published BC's were accurate out to 1250 for me.

Looks like a poor shot.

 

[Ruggedsportsman]

If you were at the same elevation as your spotter, I would call that a miss, or at best a grazing shot if there was blood at the impact site. I have never tracked a well hit animal more than about 300 yards. I have tracked lots of poorly hit animals over a mile.

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You could see the shockwave through the pig and a clear hollow impact sound. If it was a miss I wouldnt have been able to follow a blood trail for so long. At the start every 15 feet or so was about a 4" puddle of bright red foamy blood which turned into tiny drops for the remainer of the track.

 

[Long Cut]

I had better performance out of the 110gn TTSX and actually a darn 45gn tsx out of a 22 hornet on pigs this season than the 199s.

You had better luck with the 110’s & 45’s not because of the bullets, but because you put them where they needed to go.

Personally, I’d ditch the .300PRC and stick to a .223-6mm based off of what I’ve seen and you’ve said.