Hammer Loading

[19 Badger]

Did you set it at 2.700 COAL because of magazine length or bullet in the neck length?

I suppose I could've set it out farther, was just a good number I guess. Lol. I just checked.

 

[OXN939]

I suppose I could've set it out farther, was just a good number I guess. Lol. I just checked.

Reviving this thread to get the opinions of guys who have way more experience than me. How far off the lands are y'all loading your Hammers? My first two loads are .050" off right now, but Steve recommends .020" in his loading procedures post. Just interested in what others have seen with this.

 

[Lawnboi]

Did you end up shooting anything with these yet? I finally got a bunch of 124, and enough varget to start loading in my 6.5cm. I shouldn’t have a problem loading to the lands in this barrel, so I’ll start where Steve recommends. Just have to burn in the barrel and get a firing under another 80 pieces of Lapua brass.

 

[OXN939]

Did you end up shooting anything with these yet? I finally got a bunch of 124, and enough varget to start loading in my 6.5cm. I shouldn’t have a problem loading to the lands in this barrel, so I’ll start where Steve recommends. Just have to burn in the barrel and get a firing under another 80 pieces of Lapua brass.

Not yet, although I will be doing the water jug test this weekend. Will update with results. Have found Varget to be the ticket with the Hammers for sure, in both my 6.5 CM and 7mm-08. Have a very nice kidney in LNIB condition in central VA if anyone has a few pounds they want to get rid of.

 

[MrTim]

.027” off the lands with 117g hammer hunters. T3x 270wsm.

 

[Lawnboi]

Not yet, although I will be doing the water jug test this weekend. Will update with results. Have found Varget to be the ticket with the Hammers for sure, in both my 6.5 CM and 7mm-08. Have a very nice kidney in LNIB condition in central VA if anyone has a few pounds they want to get rid of.

Post up the water jug stuff. Would be neat to put a few through ballistics gel too. I think when I start loading them I’ll start a thread specifically on the 124. Shouldn’t have a problem shooting a few does with them this fall.

Went ape shit and bought 250 of them, so hopefully they shoot!

 

[OXN939]

Water jug test as promised. Basically set five 1 gallon jugs up and sent it from 100 yards. My setup is 124 gr. Hammer Hunters out of a 6.5 CM doing 2875 MV. Expansion in the first two gallons was, in the parlance of ammo magazine ads, catastrophic. Found 3 petals that all looked virtually identical to the one pictured; presumably the fourth exited from the side of a jug somewhere. The wildest part was that the body of the bullet penetrated through all five jugs, and left a perfectly circular 6.5mm hole on the far side of the fifth. I've done a fair number of these ballistics tests with everything from .243 to .300WM, and don't know that I recall any projectile making it through 5 jugs. Nothing compares to the real deal test, of course, but this definitely built confidence.

 

[swisski]

Post up the water jug stuff. Would be neat to put a few through ballistics gel too. I think when I start loading them I’ll start a thread specifically on the 124. Shouldn’t have a problem shooting a few does with them this fall.

Went ape shit and bought 250 of them, so hopefully they shoot!

Hey Lawnboi,

Did you start a thread specifically for the 124's? Also, curious on your results with 124's and Varget, what you found or finished and what your results were. Thanks

 

[Lawnboi]

Hey Lawnboi,

Did you start a thread specifically for the 124's? Also, curious on your results with 124's and Varget, what you found or finished and what your results were. Thanks

Not yet. Waiting for warmer weather. The barrel dosnt like pressure much based on break in so I plan to wait for some 70* days

 

[swisski]

Not yet. Waiting for warmer weather. The barrel dosnt like pressure much based on break in so I plan to wait for some 70* days

Keep me posted!

 

[OXN939]

Hey Lawnboi,

Did you start a thread specifically for the 124's? Also, curious on your results with 124's and Varget, what you found or finished and what your results were. Thanks

Load I'm shooting is 40.0 grains Varget with the 124s. Most accurate handload I have yet to come up with

 

[swisski]

Load I'm shooting is 40.0 grains Varget with the 124s. Most accurate handload I have yet to come up with

Thanks man. Whats your COAL or CBTO?

 

[OXN939]

Thanks man. Whats your COAL or CBTO?

COAL is 2.855", which is .050" off the lands. Just loaded a 3 round group that's .030" off the lands to try, as I got one group that was more like 1.25 MOA last weekend. Anyone gotten a significant change in accuracy by subtle tweaks in seating depth with their Hammers?

 

[sneaky]

COAL is 2.855", which is .050" off the lands. Just loaded a 3 round group that's .030" off the lands to try, as I got one group that was more like 1.25 MOA last weekend. Anyone gotten a significant change in accuracy by subtle tweaks in seating depth with their Hammers?

On the HammerTime forum guys are playing with crimp seems like more than jump. Hammers aren't very picky on jump for most guns. Absolute Hammers seem to be a little pickier. You using standard Hammers or Absolute Hammers?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[OXN939]

On the HammerTime forum guys are playing with crimp seems like more than jump. Hammers aren't very picky on jump for most guns. Absolute Hammers seem to be a little pickier. You using standard Hammers or Absolute Hammers?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Yeah I think that's next on the list. Never played with crimping before- guess it's as simple as Hornady's video, huh?

I'm also coming around to the reloading school of thought that Form and a few others have expressed on here- if you're not getting the results you want, the best COA is to change up one of the major components (powder, bullet, brass etc) rather than messing around with what realistically amount to tiny changes in charge weight or seating depth. Saves time, money and components in the long run.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Morning fellas, finally joined up after lurking and reading a bit.

Anyone have a good recipe for any of the following?

308 Win, 20” 5R barrel

* 152 Hammer Hunter
* 160 Hammer Hunter
* 151 Absolute Hunter
* 162 Absolute Hunter

Finding data for the Hammer Hunter bullets isn’t difficult, the Absolutes are proving to be a challenge as conventional load data doesn’t seem to work.

I am currently running 175 Berger VLD Hunting @ just shy of 2800fps but have been disappointed with their performance as of late especially on tougher animals like hogs and Auodad here in Texas.


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[sneaky]

Morning fellas, finally joined up after lurking and reading a bit.

Anyone have a good recipe for any of the following?

308 Win, 20” 5R barrel

* 152 Hammer Hunter
* 160 Hammer Hunter
* 151 Absolute Hunter
* 162 Absolute Hunter

Finding data for the Hammer Hunter bullets isn’t difficult, the Absolutes are proving to be a challenge as conventional load data doesn’t seem to work.

I am currently running 175 Berger VLD Hunting @ just shy of 2800fps but have been disappointed with their performance as of late especially on tougher animals like hogs and Auodad here in Texas.


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I'd give Steve at Hammer a call and he'll point you in the right direction on powders. Basically the Absolutes take a powder that's recommended for bullets about 2 steps down in weight. 150s you would look at 130gr bullet powders etc etc. They also don't show pressure signs that match up with book loads so you have to watch for pressure signs.

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[Woitey]

Have a Cooper Raptor in 6.5 Creed. This rifle came with Hammer bullets used for the test target. It just loves the 124 HH with 38 grains of Varget. On a bad day it shoots in the .6's and the best I've done is .184. COAL per Cooper of 2.820. I am actually considering this ten+ pound pig for elk. Although I don't know if it's enough gun.

 

[Rieckman]

Morning fellas, finally joined up after lurking and reading a bit.

Anyone have a good recipe for any of the following?

308 Win, 20” 5R barrel

* 152 Hammer Hunter
* 160 Hammer Hunter
* 151 Absolute Hunter
* 162 Absolute Hunter

Finding data for the Hammer Hunter bullets isn’t difficult, the Absolutes are proving to be a challenge as conventional load data doesn’t seem to work.

I am currently running 175 Berger VLD Hunting @ just shy of 2800fps but have been disappointed with their performance as of late especially on tougher animals like hogs and Auodad here in Texas.


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I've been loading 151 AH with IMR 8208 XBR. I think Benchmark might get you more speed.

I think I was getting 2800ish out of my 16" 308.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/absolute-hammer-load-data.250143/

On the 2nd post there is a PDF that is updated with data about absolute hammers.

 

[OXN939]

Have a Cooper Raptor in 6.5 Creed. I am actually considering this ten+ pound pig for elk. Although I don't know if it's enough gun.

Here's an elk versus a .243 caliber round from a similar manufacturer to Hammer. As long as shots are within a reasonable distance, 6.5 is perfectly good to go.

Separately. Anyone got good .308 Win recipes for the 152 grain HH for a 1/10?