Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada The 300 Ham'r in Canada

The 300 Ham'r in Canada



The 300 Ham'r has only been around for a few years in the US, but quickly moved from the design stage to field use. Its creator, Bill Wilson, has done a lot of testing on hogs on his Texas ranch. He created it for the AR, but that's not going to make it popular in Canada until they change the hunting regulations governing the use of ARs. For the time being, Canadians will only be able to use bolt action rifles or single shots with this cartridge. We have to hope that Ruger, Savage or Howa will add a 300 Ham'r to their line ups. In the meantime, rebarreling will be the way to go.


223 beside the 300 Ham'r

If you are not familiar with the 300 Ham'r, it uses a 308 bullet, loaded in a modified 223 Remington case. That makes it suitable for hogs, whitetails, coyotes, wolves and more. What I like about it is the Ham'r is based on a modified 223 case. The brass is plentiful and easily converted to 300 Ham'r. Or you can order the brass from Starline like I did. It's a modern, 300 yard whitetail cartridge that is powder stingy and doesn't have much recoil.

I expect that 125 to 135 grain bullets will be its sweet spot, but you can use 100 to 150 grain pointed bullets and see what works best in your rifle. I'm even going to try some 150 gr cast lead bullets!

There's more. It uses 6 or 7 grains less powder than a 30-30 for the same velocity...and uses pointed bullets. Those spitzers can reach out farther than flat nosed, 30-30 bullets. The trajectory will be flatter and the bullet will retain more energy. The Ham'r is often compared to the 30-30, so I ran some computer simulations last fall. There was plenty of information about the Ham'r on the Web, but you have to consider the sources. For that reason, I stuck with the designer, Bill Wilson, and got almost all of my information from his site - https://wilsoncombat.com - as well as his youtube videos.

30-30 - MV - 2235 fps

150 gr. Speer FN - 2011

Velocity and energy numbers are 100, 200 and 300 yards

Velocity - 1926 - 1650 - 1407
Energy - 1237 - 907 - 659
---
300 Hamr - MV - 2210 fps

150 gr. Speer SP - 2023

Velocity and energy numbers are 100, 200 and 300 yards

Velocity - 1988 - 1794 - 1617
Energy - 1315 - 1071 - 869
---

Last November, I ordered a 24 inch barrel from Match Grade Machine in Utah for my single shot Contender. It will look exactly like this. It has not arrived, but I am hopeful it will be here by the end of August at the latest. It will join my 6x45 and 223 Rem/223 Wylde rigs, all of which use easy to find 223 Remington cases.



The cartridge has been approved by SAAMI which means that we will see more reloading equipment and ammunition for it as time goes on (I hope). Unfortunately, living in Canada often means a considerable wait for things like brass and off the shelf rifles. For that reason, having a gunsmith install a Ham'r barrel on a pre-existing 223 Rem rifle is the way to go. Barrels can be imported from the US from MGM (Contender and Encore), Shaw, and Preferred Barrel Blanks. These last two will be for your bolt action rifle. You can try building one here from a selection of actions.

Pre-fit barrels by action - Preferred Barrel Blanks

For Canadians, it gives us a chance to get in on the ground floor. I bought some Lee dies and have a collet die coming from Higginson Powders. RCBS also makes dies for the Ham'r.

I bought Starline cases from X-Reload. AA 1680 and CFE BLK have already been tested and other powders like IMR 4227 and N110 may work, depending on the bullet weight. Since most of the testing has been done with ARs, I hope that a few other powders not suitable for that action will work in my Contender.

Since the 300 Ham'r is based on the 223, you'll need small rifle primers. They are easier to find.





Here are some links about the 300 Ham'r.

American Rifleman 300 Ham'r Review

Wilson Combat looks at the 300 Ham'r

That’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

I’m glad you liked it. It’s a peak at an upcoming project. All the best.

A little bad news. The barrel won't be here until October. 11 months!

At least Trudy let you get one!
Interesting cartridge, built a couple of 300 BO, mostly for heavy subsonics

Here's a link to the 300 Ham'r thread on the Texas Hunting Forum. It's a long thread that gets de-railed for a bit, just like on another forum I know of (?), but has pretty good info on which bullets perform well at the velocities possible with the Ham'r.

In fact, if you go to the last page, it appears that Bill Wilson is in Africa right now smacking critters with the Ham'r and a new production NULA in 358 Win.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7506626/1

Thanks for the link!

You're welcome!

I just registered. 136 pages to read from that link.

I'd found that thread while waiting for a 7.62x39, .308 groove, Encore barrel from MGM, and searching for which bullets might perform well for hunting with it.

The barrel just came in this past Saturday, and thanks to that thread/forum, I have a small assortment of bullets to try.

I started to comment on what I thought I “knew” about this round, then thought again and researched a bit. It does appear to match the .30/30, but I still only see it as shining in ARs, maybe in mini bolt-actions. If the twist is indeed 1-15, that seems a disadvantage. The .308 bore is a plus over factory 7.62x39, but there’s a whole slew of 7.62 ammo available and exactly one choice at Midway for the Ham’r, at $50 a box. Also listed is Starline brass, the sole choice, but a good one. The Blackout is inferior ballistically, but ammo choices are incredibly diverse, 61 listed, 44 actually available, in a tremendous span of bullet weights owing to the subsonic origins of the round.

Taken altogether, I’d prefer the .30/30 in general, and the .350 legend in the platforms where the Ham’r is commonly employed. The .400 legend is still new, almost vaporware, but looks promising too. Those last two also have the added advantage that they’re designed for places here with straight-wall opportunities, a dubious concept IMO as to safety, but one that’s spreading down here regardless, so having a rifle that qualifies seems like a good idea.

I'm reloading & shooting all 4 chamberings-
300 Whisper-light to heavies- super & subs thru a 18"1:8" twist.
300 Blk Out-light to heavies thru a 16" 1:8" twist.
300 HAM'R- light to 165gr super thru a WC 16" 1:15" twist.

The above are thru rifle length gas sys AR bbls.

30-30 has harvested it's share for table fare since it's inception.

The straight wall cases have their place in the restricted states for the 350Legend & 450 BushMaster.
I reload,shoot the above in 16"& 18" AR Bbls also.

The 350 is a flat shooter in my S&W 350 X Frame revolver.
(the 350 should have been a .357" bore...not .355")

The 375 Striker(cut down 308 case)performs well.

The 375 SOCOM & 458 SOCOM hit like the Hammer of Thor!!

If I was in the States I would definitely chamber an AR in 300 Ham'r. Based on what Bill Wilson and others have posted about it, she packs quite a punch for her size. Unfortunately, we cannot use ARs up here as hunting rifles. They are range only.

The cartridge seems to be about perfect for anyone who hunts 300 yards and closer. With some bullets, maybe a bit farther. In that regard, the 300 Ham'r is a modern upgrade of the 30-30 in any platform that can chamber it. In Canada, that would be bolt actions, single shots and semi-autos.

Younger shooters, and even some older ones, have no love for rimmed cartridges, so the Ham'r would satisfy. It's rimless. It's powder stingy, which means a lot if you reload and want to get more shots per pound. With components harder to find, this is very attractive. I don't know about all of Canada, but it is easier to find 110 to 130 grain bullets where I live. It seems that everyone wants 150 to 200 grain bullets for their 308, 30-06, etc. Speaking about 308 bullets, they are less expensive than some of the other diameters due to their popularity.

Certainly, the 300 Ham'r isn't going to fit every situation. LR hunters won't be interested. Perhaps moose hunters or others after larger game may not consider them either. It's new, and up here it may be closer to an all around woods cartridge. Deer, black bear, and varmints. All taken with something that doesn't recoil much.

Now, this thinking is based on what I've read, but a fellow has to start with a simple question: will this work for my situation? I believe the answer is yes, but I need to use it. Bill Wilson has an enviable track record on pigs, deer and some others. The cartridge has been proven, so I want to try.


It's apparent that smaller cartridges may be gaining some traction. And for certain situations, you can carry more ammunition than with traditional rifle cartridges. That's a plus.

Now, this thinking is based on what I've read, but a fellow has to start with a simple question: will this work for my situation?

That’s what I ask myself, followed by: what will this do that I can’t do with something I have now. Sometimes that’s as simple as being able to use a light compact rifle instead of a big’un.

The powder-stinginess also translates into barrel-friendliness, another reason I like my Grendel. It does what a hot 6 does inside 200 yards, maybe more, but barrel life should effectively be forever.

Grendels are good too. I have one. Around here, it's difficult to find 100 or 120 grain bullets, so I need alternatives. Not a great excuse, but I'm sticking to it.

The 120gr Gold Dots are my standard, but I have 129gr ABLRs and 120gr BTs waiting their turns.

Just like my mother used to buy school clothes a year in advance when they went on sale, I keep my eye peeled for needful things before I get desperate. No “Just in Time” inventory practices here…..

Unfortunately, our supplies are less than what you find in the US. Some things have been difficult or impossible to find for a few years. I always keep ahead of the curve, but that isn't possible with everything.