Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Hammer Hunter .308 caliber bullets....

Has anyone used the Hammer Hunter .308 caliber bullets on elk, particularly the 214 grainers? If so, how did it perform for you? TIA.

https://hammerbullets.com/product/308-cal-214g-hammer-hunter/

Tag.

Not the 214, but a buddy of mine is shooting the 180 HH out of a 300 WM - shot a cow elk this season at 612 yds and was very happy with the performance - literally dropped on the spot. He's been raving about the accuracy of these bullets and based on his report, I bought a box of .277/140 HH to try in my 1:9 270 Fieldcraft but haven't loaded any yet. They seem to have decent BC's for their weight - their .277/140 needs a 1:9 to stabilize in a 270 as compared to Nosler's .277/165 Accubond LR also needing a 1:9.

In .277, L to R is 140 Accubond, 140 TSX, 140 HH, 150 and 165 Accubond LR:



The 140 HH looks to be similar in length/shape to the 150 Accubond LR...

Curious if anyone is running 137HH bullets in a 30-06?

If it kills them any deader than a 168 gr TTSX , I’m all for it.

I've killed 3 elk with the 199 Hammer Hunter out of a .300 Norma Improved. Just killed a bull moose in November with the same bullet. I try to run Hammers in all of my hunting rifles now. They are extremely accurate and I've had excellent results with them. I'm heading to Sonora next week with the 156's in my 6.8 Western.

I’ve used the 162 ah on two animals, 1 whitetail doe and 1 bull elk. Not much to go on but worth noting. Both were shot from my 308 win at a starting velocity of 3025 FPS avg., 100 yds and 400 yds respectively. Terminal results were as follows. Golf ball size exit hole on deer from broadside hit , both lungs center punched. She ran 110 yds or so with good blood trail. The elk was hit twice on broadside shots to the shoulder, shattering the shoulder bone. Elk dropped but was still alive an hour later when I got to it requiring another shot to the base of the skull to dispatch. Both lungs were hit with both broadside shots. Both bullets from the elk shoulder hits were recovered from under the skin on the off side, one didn’t expand at all and the other had one pedal attached to the shank. The bullets shot fantastic from my gun at 800 ‘ elevation in the east and at 7500’ in CO when I checked the rifles zero before the hunt. They shot well at 400+ yds at the CO range as well as I practiced on the steel gong at the range.

After discussing these things with Steve at hammer he determined that even though the bullet shot well from my gun near and far and was within the velocity envelope for proper expansion at impact(elk), the bullet was understabilzed for proper terminal performance. He suggested a minimum of a 10 twist for that bullet and my gun has a 12 twist. I love the way the bullets shoot but will go back to the 168ttsx for elk in this gun as it has performed excellent for me in the past on many elk near and far. Im not yet about to test terminal performance with these on elk size game until I gain more knowledge and experience with them on smaller game. I’m not at all knocking Hammers, just be sure to twist them fast enough for good terminal performance. Hope this helps. Great guys to deal with at Hammer and I think their bullets are as well when used within their stated parameters.

Great information

For whatever reason hammer bullets are rarely discussed on the campfire

I'm heading to Sonora next week also who are you hunting with ?

How did you get your velocity from a .308? What load? That is amazing. I might consider a .308 now. I wonder what a 30-06 will do. Hammers have turned my .257 Rob into a 1" gun from a 2" gun, but I haven't shot anything with them yet.

"I’ve used the 162 ah on two animals, 1 whitetail doe and 1 bull elk. Not much to go on but worth noting. Both were shot from my 308 win at a starting velocity of 3025 FPS avg.,"

Haven't used any, but yesterday called both numbers on the site, talked to a guy using the second number about bullets for:

10 twist .243
9 twist .264
8 twist .284
10 twist .308

Ran JBM ballistics on the 121gr Heavy Hammers for my old 9 twist pre-64 264 Win Mag at 3400 fps with a G7 of .216.

+3 at 100 zeros at 325 and 18 down at 500 with iirc 2350 fps left at 500 yards, a bullet i will load in that old rifle if i cant get the 160gr Woodleigh PP's anymore.

The first guy i tried to call returned my call a few moments later, they're definitely a company going places, both guys very nice and helpful.

I ordered the 160 Grain HH .308 bullets today.

My 30-06 Mauser M12 has a 1:11 twist, and this bullet is made for that exact twist. G7 of .219

should be a great all-around bullet

I will probably try the 137 HH .308 bullets in Mauser M12 .308 Win. Also 1:11 twist barrel

^^^^^^^^^^I think you'll be happy CF, the guy at Hammer told me yesterday about a girl taking a 257 WBY and 116gr Hammer bullet and flattening a bull Eland in Africa with one shot, that took care of any concerns i had about bullets designed to blow off the petals shortly after impact, he said the shank remains a flat nosed solid with enough weight to plow on through.

I am too lazy today ,,,,,

What’s all the hub bub about theses bullets?

Is hard to imagine anything better than a tsx.

Simply stated; it sheds petals

Yet when other monometals do that, they're complete and utter failures. Or so I've read. I've recovered bullets from a competitor that did the same thing. Like viking, I too am trying to figure out what these do so much better than alternatives. They may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but there must be more to it than just shedding petals. Please expound.

Overall, the Hammers are easy to work up an accurate load for. They produce less pressure than most other mono-metal bullets. The petals are designed to break off and diverge out at a 30-40 deg angle while the blunt nosed remaining shank penetrates out the other side of the animal. On smaller game like whitetails, the petals may also exit creating 4 exit wounds.

I took a bull elk in Utah with a 180gr Hammer bullet fired from a 30Nosler. Distance was just over 300yds. Bullet impact was high lung as the bull presented itself broadside. The bull literally dropped in 10 seconds and laid still in another 10 seconds.

I shot a bull moose at 125yds using a 402gr Hammer bullet fired from a Marlin 45-70. The bullet took a few steps after the initial hit so I gave him another one. The big bull just dropped and never moved again. The bullets exited.

I took a few NC whitetails with a 124 Hammer bullet from a 6.5PRC. Terminal performance was impressive even though any bullet will easily kill a whitetail if the shot placement is good.

I really like the Hammer bullets but I still use and hunt with other bullets like Berger, Barnes, Hornady & Nosler.

So as not to tire yourself, im going with """In stock and ready to ship!"""

After you're rested you may look into:

2, may be more accurate.
3, higher bc's.
4, less bullet weight, less recoil.
5, supporting and young company on the move working their asses off to get bullets to us that actually answer the damn telephone!

You asked "Like viking, I too am trying to figure out what these do so much better than alternatives. They may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but there must be more to it than just shedding petals. Please expound."


First, I'm shooting the 220 grain Hammer Hunter in my 35 Whelen and averaging 2911 FPS. Getting this velocity is impressive even in my 28" barrel. Second once you settle on a load these bullets shoot very accurately, 1/2 MOA or better with no tweaking. 3rd in my experience (3 deer🦌 and 1 hog) they create large wound channels.

I'm excited to try them

From what I remember reading and seeing on gel test videos, after the petals are shed, the remaining shank has a flatter nose which causes more trauma than a rounder nose.

For those who want to know about Hammer bullets and how to load them, go to their website and the info is there or email/ call the owners and they will help you get started. “ Just a hunter” pm me for 308 151 & 162 AH loads…..

Maybe cost and lack of familiarity.

Not .308, but .358 Win, I killed a WT this season with the 178 gr. Hammer out of my Pre-64 .358 Win.

I sent photos of chest damage to Hammer by email and got a nice reply from Steve Davis, pointing out the exit wound with satellite exits around the core exit. I had not noticed. Steve knew what he was seeing. There was the core exit with six satellite exit wounds that I had not noticed.

Some don't like bullets that frag, they weigh projectiles for retained weight. The frag pieces add to tissue damage which is what kills. And, not too unlike Partitions, the core bores on thru.

I like Barnes; I like Hammer better. Both are accurate. If I was shooting DG with my .375 H&H, it would be hard to beat the 270 TSX based on reputation. But, I'm sure Hammer would have their version for such application. I think Barnes, because they work and have been around for a long time, are more in the mainstream. Just don't discount Hammer. They're coming on strong. They have my attention.

DF

Not sure I’m all in on fragmenting bullets for hunting. That’s one of the reasons I like Barnes. They generally stay together and exit. A fair sized chunk of copper can wreck a meat grinder or tenderizer I’m told. The jury’s out on this one.

I used the 220 Hammer Hunter this year in my 35 Whelen on 3 deer 🦌 and 1 hog. All exited with massive damage. The hog was going away and the bullet entered the left side just in front of the hip and exited the right shoulder. Weight of hog 225 to 250

The admonition to run monos light and fast could be a bit different with those that frag. They may not need to be pushed at hyper vel to perform. And maybe heavier ones can perform at less than max speeds.

Interesting.

DF

After being in on well over 100 elk kills, I have found that the Nosler PT, will "never " let you down. For longer ranges the AB has performed well.

next fall son and myself will be using only Hammer bullets these bullets have impressed me. after last fall`s 2021 season with another brand of bullets that did not preformed very well the last 2 years , i have already purchased 300 Hammer bullets and just might buy a few more boxes for the future. give them a try you will like them !

I have bought some as well. I think I'll be using them too. Spring bear in Montana and Fall hunt there for deer and elk.
I have a lesser grain weight for my 308 Win. and the 181 for my 300 Win. Mag.
(Maybe) Going to order anther barrel in .308 caliber in 1~9 or a 1~8 twist. Wait to see how my 1~10 twist shoots the 181 grain Hammer Hunter.

Take care.

I'm going to workup some 160HH and 199SH for my 300 WM pretty soon. right now, I still have to get a load set up for the 175 LRX. Love the 300!!!

I can't get my head around a 612 yard shot.

I'm certainly not comfortable with anything over about 375, even then, it has to be an animal I "really want", to last day of the hunt kinda thingy. I normally hunt terrain that I don't "have" to shoot past 250, I can usually get closer. My average on elk (4 cows so far, love to eat them!) is 171 yards,

I may be a little late here but I've had great success with Hammers. I've shot them in my 280AI, 308, 300wsm, 300 HH and most recently the 92 hammer in my Kimber Montana 25-06. The 152 hammer hunter has been the bullet in my 30 cal rifles. Never killed anything with the 308 but if I remember right I was getting close to 2900 fps with varget. The 300 wsm is pushing them at 3350 fps with outstanding accuracy in my Kimber Montana. Killed a cow elk with it at 70 yards. The 300 HH is producing 3250 fps with the 152 Hammer Hunter in an old Remington 700 Classic. Put a nice buck down at 180 yards in Texas last November. They are a little spendy but are always in stock and will shoot awesome with very little load development. The 124 in my Tikka 6.5 PRC didn't make me feel too warm and fuzzy past 300 yards so I bailed on them in that cartridge and will stick with a 140 VLD

i am very impressed with the 25 caliber Hammer bullets, they shoot very accurate at 100 yards with small groups .i have even now purchased some 6mm / 80 gr Hammer bullets for my 10 yr. grandson to target shoot with and deer hunt with . this fall Grandson,Son and myself are all only going too use Hammer bullets to hunt with. the Hammer bullet company is a very easy company to work with , Hammer bullet company have a fast good easy shipping program too . Hammer bullet company has no middle man you deal directly with them good people ! Pete53

Hey Pete..slide the leg of a streaghtened paper clip down inside the hollow point of the Hammer 6mm bullets. See what may be forced out. My try pack all have a liquid,(Oil?) inside. I`m suspecting there to help expansion.

CG, there is something to the oil in the hollow pt cavity. Wait until you shoot them at long range! I shot a bull elk at 400ish yards and watched the bullet “seek” it’s way to the elk through the scope! It looked like a TOW missile on its way to the target. It seemed much more visible than a bullets shockwave. It’s was actually kind of a distraction for me as I’ve never experienced this with any other bullet. Certainly don’t care for it. Hammer spokesman mentioned the oil thingy. Dunno, I didn’t see it when shooting long range at steel but I certainly did with the elk.

The bullets are CNC machined. All of those machines use some sort of cutting fluid; sometimes its water based and sometimes oil. Given the aerodynamic friction heat generated during 3000 fps flight, I don't doubt the oil smokes or the water steams during transit.

I've seen the oil vapor trail when shooting the 143 in my 280AI. I sent a video to Steve at hammer bullets and he said it was there cutting oil burning off. Its pretty neat really.

I forgot I'm shooting the 88 hammer in my 6mm creedmoor too and I took a mulie doe with it at 80 yards and both my wife and son killed whitetail does in Texas at 150 yards. Those little ole Texas whitetails acted like they were a coyote hit with a 22-250, stone dead on the spot

Wondered about the machining process, or manufacturing process leaving traces of oil inside to nose cavity. All bullets had it.