Hammer Loading

[OXN939]

Went ahead and sent it for my next load development project. Hadn't seen a thread on them in a while, but after listening to the Hunt Backcountry podcast with Steve, it was very obvious that a large amount of thought and research had been put into their design. Anyway, figured I'd start a thread to share end user experiences and lessons learned, as well as some ballistic tests eventually. Any tips, techniques or pet recipes for 6.5 CM, 7mm-08 or .308 with the above projectiles would be much appreciated!

 

[nubrun]

For the 6.5 I’m loading the 110 hammer hunters too 3,200 FPS.

110 Hammer Hunter 6.5 creedmor | Hammer Time

I'm not sure if the 110 HH is a relatively new bullet, but information is pretty scarce on it. I wanted to create this thread to hopefully fill in some data for people loading for it to hopefully

hammerbullets.boards.net

117 shock hammers

117 Shock Hammer 6.5 Creedmor | Hammer Time

I wanted to create this thread to hopefully fill in some data for people loading for it to hopefully avoid having to start from complete scratch. It seems like for the lighter bullet the general

hammerbullets.boards.net

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[OXN939]

For the 6.5 I’m loading the 110 hammer hunters too 3,200 FPS.

Man that is spicy. My current load with 127 gr LRX is a solid 350 FPS slower than that, shooting modest quantities of RL 17. Appreciate the load data, that'll be a good start!

 

[nubrun]

Man that is spicy. My current load with 127 gr LRX is a solid 350 FPS slower than that, shooting modest quantities of RL 17. Appreciate the load data, that'll be a good start!

There aren’t any pressure signs, but it’s scooting! Steve at hammer really likes the 110 in the 6.5 Creedmoor so I went that route. I also tried the 117 shock hammers for sub 500 yard stuff. I got those to 3,100.


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[mvrk28]

I’m right around 3000 FPS with the 124 gr hammer hunters and RL26 in my 6.5cm.

About .040 off the lands.

 

[OXN939]

I’m right around 3000 FPS with the 124 gr hammer hunters and RL26 in my 6.5cm.

About .040 off the lands.

That's awesome! How much RL 26 is that with?

 

[wyosam]

I load the 124 HH to just under 2900 with RL16. I can push it harder without pressure signs, but accuracy falls off a bit. That velocity keeps at at expansion velocity out to 600 anyway, and I generally wont shoot game further than 400 anyway. I’m a hunter not a meteorologist, I’d rather walk a ways to close the distance than try to read wind that closely in the mountains of Wyoming.


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[mvrk28]

That's awesome! How much RL 26 is that with?

47 grains out of a 22" barrel in Alpha Munitions brass. No pressure sign, could easily get it up and over 3000 before pressure became a factor.

 

[JakeSCH]

I load the hammers in my 6.5 PRC and 308 WIN. I will probably try them in my new 300 WM as well.

For the 308 WIN, I am shooting the 152 gr (mine actually weigh 153 gr) with CFE with great results. AR-COMP and Varget are both very accurate with it, but I can get a node 100 fps faster with CFE223 (2910 fps).

 

[OXN939]

47 grains out of a 22" barrel in Alpha Munitions brass. No pressure sign, could easily get it up and over 3000 before pressure became a factor.

That's wild. According to what Steve said on the podcast, the bullet band design they use reduces bearing surface contact to a level that relieves a lot of pressure issues. Presumably that would have something to do with this.

For the 308 WIN, I am shooting the 152 gr (mine actually weigh 153 gr) with CFE with great results. AR-COMP and Varget are both very accurate with it, but I can get a node 100 fps faster with CFE223 (2910 fps).

Stoked to try these out, I have a .308 that has been giving lackluster patterns so far. Looks like, from what I see online, they don't require quite as much jump as other monos to perform well... think starting a ladder of three charge volumes .025" off the lands os a good starting point?

 

[JakeSCH]

Stoked to try these out, I have a .308 that has been giving lackluster patterns so far. Looks like, from what I see online, they don't require quite as much jump as other monos to perform well... think starting a ladder of three charge volumes .025" off the lands os a good starting point?

With my tikka I cannot get them close to the lands unless I use a 30-06 mag...so I don't even bother. In my PRC i started at 0.02" off the lands and ended up around 0.04"

 

[mvrk28]

With my tikka I cannot get them close to the lands unless I use a 30-06 mag...so I don't even bother. In my PRC i started at 0.02" off the lands and ended up around 0.04"

I'm at .04 as well. Every rifle I've loaded them for likes them at .04".

I have them in my x-bolt 6.5cm, buddies tikka 6.5cm and my tc compass in .243 win. All at .04" off the lands shooting under a half inch.

 

[tdot]

I ended up shooting the 166HH in my 308 as I wasn't able to get both decent velocity & accuracy with the 152HH and Varget. CFE223 is definitely the answer for the 152HH, I just didnt have any, but all the best loads I saw used CFE223.

Steve has some good tips on his HammerTime forum, including some directions on how to do a 10 or 15 round load work up.

 

[OXN939]

So, they are aptly named. 100 yard group off the bed of my truck. It really cannot be overstated how much load development in the south during the summertime sucks. Gonna see if I can put together a few more groups like that and then do a little terminal ballistic testing.

 

[CApighunter]

Question for the guys loading hammers, are you using magnum primers in standard cartridges? Thought I saw somewhere that Steve redacted the magnum primer recommendation. Going to be loading up some for my 280ai and 338-06. 155s over RL26 in the 280 and 205s over RL17 in the 338. Both cases will burn 60ish grains of powder. I have both CCI BR2 and F215M on hand.

 

[Runningwater]

be interested to hear the answer - I think we used them based on his recommendation so would be interested to hear if he's gone a different direction!

 

[nubrun]

I read somewhere on his boards that he’s backed away from that recommendation. I can’t recall why though.

 

[Tobey]

Anyone have on game experience with 110 hunters in 6.5 creed? I have a fast load worked up I may run for coues deer this year.

 

[MattB]

With my tikka I cannot get them close to the lands unless I use a 30-06 mag...so I don't even bother. In my PRC i started at 0.02" off the lands and ended up around 0.04"

From what I have read, the are pretty insensitive to loading depth.

 

[JakeSCH]

Question for the guys loading hammers, are you using magnum primers in standard cartridges? Thought I saw somewhere that Steve redacted the magnum primer recommendation. Going to be loading up some for my 280ai and 338-06. 155s over RL26 in the 280 and 205s over RL17 in the 338. Both cases will burn 60ish grains of powder. I have both CCI BR2 and F215M on hand.

Both work well, I personally use 210M with 57gr of RL26 in my 6.5 PRC but have two buddies shooting the 155's / 169's with RL26 and 215M's (good results so far).

I went with the 210M because I've heard that the 215's can cause pressure "sooner" in warm weather with RL26. However, I never tested the theory myself.