Hammer bullets

[Pigtails]

I have been working with some hammer bullets specifically the .308 181 HH, 203HHT and .284 162HHT. Am i the only one who finds the “estimated BC” is like way off? I am getting incredible accuracy out to about 400 then i have a hell of a time getting anything to hit. What is everyone using for BC numbers on these? I’m at 1500’ elevation
181 3050fps
203 2980fps
162 2985 fps

 

[ol490]

I shoot 169 gr Hammer Hunters in 0.284”. Their published bc is like 0.272. I use 0.225 to get accurate drops from my rifle.
That’s annoying but they do shoot very accurately.

 

[Pigtails]

I am using .221 on the 162s and it’s sometimes close. If that’s true they are only like a 600 yard bullet absolute maximum. Makes me crazy!

 

[homers]

Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

BC is higher at higher velocities, sometimes they publish they velocities used for their drops and they are often high velocity and twist rate so even if their calculated BC was true it doesn’t mean it is achievable in non-hotrod configurations.

I was hopeful the HHT and HBC were less exaggerated.

 

[dieselchessy]

The .284 143 HH is very close to the size and shape of the 162 amax/eldx.
Thats the bullet I use. That and the 131.
The 150+ bullets look to just add shank and rings. The 143 and 131 are similar, longer shank, 1 more ring.
Not sure why a person would want to step up beyond the 143 in 7mm or the 165 in .308. The added weight and shank of the longer bullets doesn’t seem to help in my playing around.

I wonder if your spinning them fast enough to be stable in flight. If the bullet isnt stable the BC will suffer.

I use .230 bc for the 143 HH and it works pretty well out to 600 or 700.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I shot them for awhile but moved on from them, I found their claims to be dubious at best and I just don’t trust them.

 

[112Savage]

You didn’t list your cartridges or twist rates, but I would say they are not fully stabilized. In 6.5 CM 1:8” I dropped from the 124HH to the 110HH and maintained the same calculated BC but gained velocity because the 110 was better stabilized.

 

[HornPorn]

I understand the conceptual need to use calculators for going from one altitude to the next, but if you are putting in the time practicing at 300, 400, 500, 600 in different wind conditions, you are going to get your DOPE.

And let’s be honest, 99.99% you guys aren’t going from sea level to a Nepal blue sheep hunt at 15,000 ft so I doubt this as big of deal as is being made out.

I’ve missed an animal/had an unsuccessful hunt because of a BC calculation exactly zero times, and don’t know anyone who has either

Either shoot the bullet your rifle likes and do your due diligence as you should at the range, or keep being lazy and just admit that you are lazy

 

[EdP]

...but gained velocity because the 110 was better stabilized.

Velocity normally being measured at or near the muzzle, I'm not sure I understand this. Are you saying the BC was better due to better stabilization so you gained velocity at distance and so less drop?

 

[MT762]

Hammers BCs def seem based on them being fired from RUM type cartridges. But the bullets kill really well, make big permanent wound tracks plus give deep penetration and less junk in the meat. And they are really accurate and typically very easy to work up loads for so if your time has any value, that's also nice.

In the end...another nice tool in the toolbox. They are not all I use, in fact I'm drifting away from using them on deer-sized animals bc the permanent wound track/pedal radiation is almost too big sometimes, but they are great bullets. Until you've killed a bunch of critters with them it's hard to understand they are really not like anything else on the market.

I use ELDMs /TMKs for some things, Accubonds for other things, LRX/TTSX for yet other things, but the Hammers really do stuff the other bullets don't.

That said...the average person getting into long range shooting will probably be better served with an ELDM/TMK because those bullets hide a lot of sins on the part of the shooter.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

But the bullets kill really well, make big permanent wound tracks

when they don’t pencil through that is… more than one person has been told they got a bad batch of material when the bullets didn’t perform as expected. Just being frank.

That said I picked up some HBC and HHT to try this year because I feel like the tipped version with a larger cavity behind might be more reliable expansion. TBD on person experience on that front.

Yes load work up is quite nice on them.

 

[wapitibob]

I've had success with Hammers on E/D/P and my unsolicited advise is to drop bullet weight enough to run the hammers well above 3,000 fps MV. My choice was the 143 HH at 3,470 and "on game" performance was very nice.

 

[dgfavor]

Just knocked out the contents for the 2026 hunting quiver - 125gr HHT's over Retumbo (6.5-300 Wby). I'm a caveman, non-dialing, first shot "MPBR and in" guy. MPBR calc'd for 8" vitals is 364yds with this load. BC is certainly in the equation for MPBR but my range verifications so far suggest the calc's are on - I should poke a hole in vitals if I do my part!

 

[waspocrew]

I still have some on my shelf, but likely won't be adding more. As above, BC is off quite a bit, but you can eventually figure it out. I just didn't find they killed animals any better than significantly cheaper cup and core projectiles.

 

[Macintosh]

My brother is loading some up for me. 124gr hh in a 3006. For me its a “100yards and less” gun so the bc is +\- irrelevant. I didnt decide to try because I thought they’d produce wounds like a lead cup and core bullet—on the contrary I hope it doesnt. I wanted to try to see if it would produce a slightly larger wound cavity than ttsx/lrx.

 

[112Savage]

Velocity normally being measured at or near the muzzle, I'm not sure I understand this. Are you saying the BC was better due to better stabilization so you gained velocity at distance and so less drop?

Sorry that should read. I got the same BC as the 124 with the 110 because the 110 was better stabilized, but I also gained velocity due to the lighter bullet. A comma would have helped it make sense.

 

[112Savage]

My brother is loading some up for me. 124gr hh in a 3006. For me its a “100yards and less” gun so the bc is +\- irrelevant. I didnt decide to try because I thought they’d produce wounds like a lead cup and core bullet—on the contrary I hope it doesnt. I wanted to try to see if it would produce a slightly larger wound cavity than ttsx/lrx.

Yes, a copper bullet will never have the same wound as a lead bullet. I use hammers because they’re as close to a partition as I can get and better than an LRX. Honestly the CE Raptors may be better, but suffer worse BC’s