Is anyone here shooting/hunting with 300 Ham'r?
Looking at rebarreling a Ruger American Ranch (cheaper option by far ) or Tikka T3x (nicer, stainless and has aftermarket mags to run bullets our longer). Seems to be a nice way to go, easy to source or at least make brass, small primers etc.
Would love to hear experiences. I mean, ballistically its just about 7.62x39 but still. Being able to use the lighter 30 cal options out there including the Barnes Tac-Tx options for the 300 BLK is handy these days.
I shoot a 7.62x40WT, which is basically the same thing, just a tiny bit shorter.
I like it, it's a good 200 yard gun. You could just have a 300BO gun rechambered. I use it with Sierra 125 PHs and Speer 125 TNTs. IMO, it's too short to use boat tail bullets and they don't make any worthwhile difference at 200.
I shoot a 7.62x40WT, which is basically the same thing, just a tiny bit shorter.
I like it, it's a good 200 yard gun. You could just have a 300BO gun rechambered. I use it with Sierra 125 PHs and Speer 125 TNTs. IMO, it's too short to use boat tail bullets and they don't make any worthwhile difference at 200.
That makes sense! On all of the above. Was thinking of just having a reamer put to a 300BO chambered rifle as well. The CVA Cascade SB would be interesting.
Got ya on the no need for boattails too.
Speer 130gr bullets also seem to hold together pretty well too, the JHP surprisingly and FN
I built a .300 Ham'r with an 18" AR barrel from Wilson Combat. I even had a .223 RAR, that I planned to convert to .300 Ham'r, but my donor was an older one with the rotary magazine. Evidently, the Wilson conversion barrel only works with the newer version that takes AR mags. Bummer.
I've loaded several different bullets with my .300 Ham'r: 110gr Hornady SP, 125gr Speer TNT, 125gr Sierra SP, 130gr Speer HP, and 130gr Speer FN. They all shot well, and I killed pigs with all of these bullets, except the 110gr Hornady. I am going to try the 135gr Hornady FTX, this year, just because.
I haven't tried the Barnes 110gr Tac-TX in the Ham'r. I have loaded them in .300 Blk, and just looking at the Barnes bullet, it seems really long. I'm not sure it'll fit within an AR mag with the longer Ham'r case length.
I have only used CFE-BLK powder and CCI 450 primers to load .300 Ham'r ammo. They worked great, so I haven't monkeyed with anything else.
I tried my hand at making brass from R-P .223 Rem brass, but I had a lot of cracked necks, so I bought .300 Ham'r brass from Starline. For 32-cents a piece, it's worth it to save me the time and hassle of making my own.
So, in summary:
Buy pre-made brass.
Use CFE-BLK powder.
There are LOTS of great 110 - 135gr bullets available to choose from.
The .300 Ham'r smacks pigs with authority, and it's a bunch of fun to shoot.
Edited to add:
I bought both an AR upper and complete AR rifle in .350 Legend for an upcoming pig hunt. In hindsight, I wish I would have just built another upper in .300 Ham'r. Both of my 350 Legends had feeding/cycling issues that took time and tinkering to get corrected. Both 350's are running like they should, now, but the .300 Ham'r would have been an easier (and cheaper) option, with MUCH less hassle.
Thanks for the info and summary! I appreciate it!
Brass is about twice that cost up here but what the heck, still not as bad as it could be for lots of other cartridges. Hoping maybe cutting Starline 223 brass will work. If not, Lake City? Have some. Not a ton but some.
Cool to hear about your results with the different bullets and powders, and good on game effects.
Thinking unless I use a Tikka with an aftermarket mag (the one I was using for heavy/long 223 bullets) the Tac TX will be a single load proposition. No big. Already do so with 7.62x39
Did not know it has to be the RAR with AR mag. Thanks! Had no idea the barrel mattered in different versions.
Did not know it has to be the RAR with AR mag. Thanks! Had no idea the barrel mattered in different versions.
Neither did I. I read the statement on the WC website, about pre-2018 and post-2018 Ruger rifles, and I called Wilson Customer Service to confirm. The older version with the rotary magazines doesn't work with their .300 Ham'r conversion barrel, but I didn't get any details as to why, exactly.
Speer 130gr bullets also seem to hold together pretty well too, the JHP surprisingly and FN
Yeah, I like both those too.
The brass is super easy to make. Chop it off, then run it through a sizer. I settled on using Remington brass because I find tons of it.
ETA: I chuck the brass in a RCBS trimmer that I have a cordless drill attached to. Zips it down to length pronto. I only need a couple hundred anyway. Not like 5.56 where I need thousands of pieces.
Did not know it has to be the RAR with AR mag. Thanks! Had no idea the barrel mattered in different versions.
Neither did I. I read the statement on the WC website, about pre-2018 and post-2018 Ruger rifles, and I called Wilson Customer Service to confirm. The older version with the rotary magazines doesn't work with their .300 Ham'r conversion barrel, but I didn't get any details as to why, exactly.
Huh! Well, thanks for passing that along! They'd know...but wonder why
Yeah, I like both those too.
The brass is super easy to make. Chop it off, then run it through a sizer. I settled on using Remington brass because I find tons of it.
Right on, what are you using to do the chopping? Lil tiny chop saw setup, or?
Thank you, spence1875! didn't find that when I looked.
I've got a Wilson Combat Protector Carbine that I shoot 130gr Speer Hot-Cor bullets out of. So far at the range it has been a lot of fun to shoot. I won't get to test it on a deer until the 30th. If I have any luck in 9 days, I'll let you know how it goes.
Hoping Wilson offers a shorter action NULA in 300 Ham'r
That would be pretty solid.
Now, I just have to convince myself theres a reason to go 300 Ham'R and not 7.62x39 in a bolt gun haha