Hammer Hunter on Game Performance

[JakeSCH]

Hammers are effective on game, but their low BC limits capability. I have used hammers out of a 6.5 PRC, 300 WM, and a 338 RUM to take 7 elk and 1 deer. Ranges from ~100y to 660y but I would probably limit distance on game to 700y due to lower BC.

I have been surprised by how long some of the petal wound cavities are....but on the opposite the exit wound is smaller and blood trail is not as good (a cow I killed 2 years ago had 0 blood)

For the bigger calibers, I have been happy with my hammers performance but for 6.5's I personally would rather use the 140 Berger or ELD-M.

In 2021 I took a bull at 300y, steep quartering away shot. Bullet when through stomach, paunch, liver, lungs, and exited far side shoulder...DRT But that was with a .338 260 hammer hunter with a 2800 fps impact velocity. Petals were recovered against hide in several locations...this performance stood out to me but then again that is a big bullet hauling butt...

 

[Jkuhn22]

200 yards with 166 hammer hunter out of 300WSM. Hard quarter too, with placement in front shoulder. Bullets pushed right through front shoulder and lodged in skin on opposite side. Bull dropped on first shot and got back up to its knees, second shot put him out cold. Probably did not need second shot, but it was insurance. Picture is after front shoulder removed and the damage the bullet created as it entered chest cavity. One bullet hit bone on its way in, the other was all muscle and it left a clean entrance wound into the chest.

 

[Coueskiller43]

After being forced to shoot copper in CA I started with Barnes. I wasn’t happy with the performance from Barnes. Deer died but expansion was minimal and very little blood with a couple different double lung shots.
Made the switch to hammers. I like the accuracy and ease of load development with the hammers. Since I switched I like their terminal performance. From my experience they act as advertised and the petals seem to create better wound channels. My farthest shot was a blacktail at 480 yards with a 270 wsm and 126 HH. He died instantly. Still had a pass through. Coues buck at 376 with a 6.5 PRC 124hh. Dropped in his tracks. Cow elk at 225 with the same PRC. Neck shot leveled her. We have had great performance on hogs as well up to 300#.
Give them a go. I think you will like what you see. Just pay attention to the recommended twist. Run a lighter class bullet than you normally would. Speed kills.

 

[S.Clancy]

I shoot 126 Hammer Hunters of of my 270 Win. Exit velocity 3240 fps.

Elk 1: Spike, 380 yards broadside. Shot right behind shoulder, dead in 40 yards. Golf ball+ exit.

Elk 2: Cow, 380 yards, bedded. Shot thru both shoulders, she basically stood up then fell down the mountain. Exit same as above.

Elk 3: Bull, 656 yards broadside. High shoulder shot, DRT. Both shoulders were pretty bloodshot. No exit

Elk 4: Bull, 600 yards broadside. Hit low, bottom of cavity, broke offside front leg. Bull bedded in 40 yards, glasses him till he bled out (couldn't get another shot in where he bedded and basically an impossible approach).

Deer 1: Buck, 470 yards, broadside. Hit behind shoulder, dead in 40 yards. Exit golf ball+ sized.

Deer 2: Buck, 330 yards, quartering to. Hit at point of shoulder, exited behind shoulder opposite side. Larger exit. Buck ran 20 yards then slid down hill.

Those are this year and last year. The blood trails have been voluminous and the inside damage pretty impressive. I like shooting monos and won't shoot past that 650 unless it's a follow up. Otherwise, I realize there are better options in lead. Just my experience.

 

[jamesmc8]

First kill with the HHT bullet. Shooting a Howa Super Lite 6.5 CM 20" barrel shooting the 118 HHT @ 2795 fps. Shot a whitetail buck at 175 yards thru the shoulder on a slight quartering away shot. Impact velocity would have been about 2570 fps. Bullet zipped thru and left a small exit wound (see photo). Did not see any sign of trauma from shed petals in the chest cavity. Internal damage thru the lungs was not very impressive. I think this is a better bullet for a 6.5 PRC or other set up pushing > 3000fps. I think I'll be looking at a different bullet for this rifle.

 

[magnum44270]

First kill with the HHT bullet. Shooting a Howa Super Lite 6.5 CM 20" barrel shooting the 118 HHT @ 2795 fps. Shot a whitetail buck at 175 yards thru the shoulder on a slight quartering away shot. Impact velocity would have been about 2570 fps. Bullet zipped thru and left a small exit wound (see photo). Did not see any sign of trauma from shed petals in the chest cavity. Internal damage thru the lungs was not very impressive. I think this is a better bullet for a 6.5 PRC or other set up pushing > 3000fps. I think I'll be looking at a different bullet for this rifle.

View attachment 629554

You just need to push that bullet faster. That is SLOW for that weight of bullet.

 

[JakeSCH]

First kill with the HHT bullet. Shooting a Howa Super Lite 6.5 CM 20" barrel shooting the 118 HHT @ 2795 fps. Shot a whitetail buck at 175 yards thru the shoulder on a slight quartering away shot. Impact velocity would have been about 2570 fps. Bullet zipped thru and left a small exit wound (see photo). Did not see any sign of trauma from shed petals in the chest cavity. Internal damage thru the lungs was not very impressive. I think this is a better bullet for a 6.5 PRC or other set up pushing > 3000fps. I think I'll be looking at a different bullet for this rifle.

View attachment 629554

Any internal photos? I’ve noticed my entrance / exit holes are mixed on size.

 

[jamesmc8]

I did open the chest cavity but don't have pics. Punched about a 1.5" hole thru the lungs. Deer did expire pretty quickly. I'm used to ELDX which shreds the vitals completely but can result in more meat loss and blood shot.

 

[35WhelenAI]

I don't shoot a 6.5 CM however from what I'm seeing with regular bullet data or Barnes data that's a bit on the slow side for that weight class. Hammer's should pick up some velocity by their design on top of that.

 

[jamesmc8]

I don't shoot a 6.5 CM however from what I'm seeing with regular bullet data or Barnes data that's a bit on the slow side for that weight class. Hammer's should pick up some velocity by their design on top of that.

Yeah could not get good velocity in either of my 6.5 CM with Hammers. Even tried several faster powders. I did get about 100 fps faster than comparable cup & core bullets in my 280 AI and 6 ARC. However I recently cut back my barrels to hunt suppressed so moved back to bullets that perform better at lower velocity.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Shooting a Howa Super Lite 6.5 CM 20" barrel shooting the 118 HHT @ 2795 fps.

What powder are you using? You should easily get another 100-200 FPS out of that load.

 

[jamesmc8]

What powder are you using? You should easily get another 100 FPS out of that load.

Tried Varget, 4350, Win Staball 6.5 & 4064. Varget gave me the best combo off accuracy and velocity. Got 2900 FPS out of my 24" Tikka and 2795 out of my 20" Howa. Sold my Howa and chopped my Tikka to 18", so mono's are just not gonna be a great bullet in that set-up. Working up loads with the 130 TMK and ELD-M now.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Tried Varget, 4350, Win Staball 6.5 & 4064. Varget gave me the best combo off accuracy and velocity. Got 2900 FPS out of my 24" Tikka and 2795 out of my 20" Howa. Sold my Howa and chopped my Tikka to 18", so mono's are just not gonna be a great bullet in that set-up. Working up loads with the 130 TMK and ELD-M now.

What brass? Did you pressure out with Varget?

 

[01Foreman400]

I’d give the HHT’s a try.

 

[Silver Wings]

.30 06 151 Hammer @2880 MV
3 Mule Deer
210, 236 and 310 yards
All 3 shots were well placed
All 3 basically DRT if you don’t count rolling downhill

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

thought I would throw my recent experience in shooting hammer hunters in case it helps anyone looking at this bullet.
6.5 creed, shooting 124 hammer hunter at 2970.
Killed this deer last weekend, one shot at 325 yards. He died 40 yards away.
There was blood splatter at hit location, moderate blood trail to where he tipped over.
Picture is exit hole, about baseball size, major blood loss.
Entrance was pencil between ribs, hit the heart which was in two pieces and broke a rib on the way out. Shank hit and broke offside leg, recovered one petal in leg. Very little damage to offside leg so I was happy with no meat loss.
All seems good, except lack of trauma inside vitals. Obviously a heart shot is quick death regardless of bullet, however the lungs were almost undamaged. I feel like a double lung shot would do almost no damage internally and potential lead to a long run.
Don’t get me wrong, bullet worked, shed the front petals and exited, and animal died quick.
But I would be worried about not hitting the heart and that bullet penciling through lungs and not providing adequate damage. I would use them for something like an open country antelope hunt where you can easily see and track animal. But I’ll be going back to a match bullet for most hunts because of the internal trauma and quick death even when shot is less than perfect.
Just my one animal review.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Thanks for the report and pic. Does baseball size exit hole mean that was the size of the hole in the hide to match the wounding under the hide in the pic?

If you had centered the lungs (which you were most likely wanting to do) and there was no damage to the heart would you be disappointed to the extent of changing bullets?

Most heart shot animals I have taken apart don't have a lot of tissue damage in the lungs. Because the lungs didn't directly get hit. Even with traditional bullets, the heart shot is going to give different internal damage than one that hits the lungs and vice versa.

I wouldn't sweat it. You made a good point about the meat loss on the exit side. Do that with a frangible bullet between the ribs bullet and it's a different story with lead throughout and messy exit.

As well, there was blood splatter where he was hit, and a moderate trail to where he went down. Seems pretty good all around, IMO.

Everything you've shared makes sense in the context of what you were looking for in bullet performance, just some other thoughts to put in the mix.

 

[HighCascadeHunter]

Thanks for the report and pic. Does baseball size exit hole mean that was the size of the hole in the hide to match the wounding under the hide in the pic?

If you had centered the lungs (which you were most likely wanting to do) and there was no damage to the heart would you be disappointed to the extent of changing bullets?

Most heart shot animals I have taken apart don't have a lot of tissue damage in the lungs. Because the lungs didn't directly get hit. Even with traditional bullets, the heart shot is going to give different internal damage than one that hits the lungs and vice versa.

I wouldn't sweat it. You made a good point about the meat loss on the exit side. Do that with a frangible bullet between the ribs bullet and it's a different story with lead throughout and messy exit.

As well, there was blood splatter where he was hit, and a moderate trail to where he went down. Seems pretty good all around, IMO.

Everything you've shared makes sense in the context of what you were looking for in bullet performance, just some other thoughts to put in the mix.

Good questions, thanks for the follow up.
Baseball hole as seen in pic was only under the hide. Hole through hide was maybe size of a quarter. He died on the side pictured so all that blood pooled under the hide and in fascia around the muscles. When I removed the hide the blood poured out of body cavity.
The petal was found exited from same hole (or thereabouts) as main shank, so they seam to pretty much track in line with bullet shank.
and yes, I think bullet performance would be a little disappointing if only hitting lungs. But I’m speculating on that.
Overall, yes bullet worked and the animal died. I would use them again if it’s all I had. But in the world of choices I would prefer the internal damage of something like a Berger or ELDM. Just don’t hit a shoulder with one

 

[WKR]

Good questions, thanks for the follow up.
Baseball hole as seen in pic was only under the hide. Hole through hide was maybe size of a quarter. He died on the side pictured so all that blood pooled under the hide and in fascia around the muscles. When I removed the hide the blood poured out of body cavity.
The petal was found exited from same hole (or thereabouts) as main shank, so they seam to pretty much track in line with bullet shank.
and yes, I think bullet performance would be a little disappointing if only hitting lungs. But I’m speculating on that.
Overall, yes bullet worked and the animal died. I would use them again if it’s all I had. But in the world of choices I would prefer the internal damage of something like a Berger or ELDM. Just don’t hit a shoulder with one

I have double lunged 2 animals with the hammer hunters and the lungs were soup. That being said the impact velocity on both was very high as they were both close range shots. (50 yards and 220 yards) the further out you get and the more velocity that drops off equals less terminal effectiveness. In my opinion, hammers are fine if you never plan on shooting past 300, maybe 400 max.

Like you, I tried them, wasn't really excited with the results, and have went back to bergers and other match bullets.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I've seen reports that the new tipped hammers are a bit more violent in terms of upset, they have a larger hollow point behind the tip. I'm interested in giving those a try for a mono option in the future.

They're never going to act like an ELDM though imho.