I used Barnes X when I played with the 416 and had a 400 Woodleigh on my short time with the 404 Jeffry. I also shot heavy, gas checked hard cast bullets in them. I had to buy the mold for Beartooth for the 404. He paid me for it with bullets, as you said, some places have great CS! I had the 416 Taylor, 416 Remington and 416 Rugby. I shot a boys Mark V in 416 WBY when I was in Oklahoma and it was in a class of Recoil far above those other 416s! Wow.
Funny timing on this thread DF, i hadn't saw it when we were texting about hammer bullets last week, did want to send you some pics of what they can do, Riflecrank is the real driving force behind the 458 cal 404 Hammer bullet, and the very reason it was built in the first place, i was just the first guy that already had a safari in the works, found the old bull and took him, yes, everyone around there was afraid of that bull, he was mean anyway, and growing meaner each day due to some guy that prior April taking a hail mary shot at a running Wildebeest bull, he hit the old Cape Buff in the brisket, 400gr ceb raptor shed it petals, shank of the bullet ranged down and back and was recovered in this old bulls flank.
He was getting more pissed off with every step, glad he's out of his misery and will be shortly headed for a farm in Oklahoma.
Yes these bullets are expensive, but, my hat is off for any bullet maunfacture busting their asses keeping bullets IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP to us and not jacking the dog sending their components to uncle sugar gravy and ammo companies leaving us with green loading blocks full of sized, primed and powdered cases waiting on a fkn bullet!
Amen... The couple of bucks I use up a year in hunting bullets likely won't put me under. I can use other stuff to punch paper.
The cost of the Hammers sure seems to bring out the detractors, eh?
Meanwhile, one of the campfire's beloved bullets - now the same cost-per-50 as many of the Hammers.
I don't get it. Must be the newness of them Scott. I'm not sure if many have seen the price for a box of Partitions lately either.. I know others than really hammer on a single rifle, but for most of the serious ones, if they get shot a 100X a year, I am having a good year. I tend to beat on the 223's and cheap stuff if I am shooting a bunch, but for the cost of a box or two of bullets to hunt, compared to the cost of filling up my 55 gallon tank on my truck, they seem like a bargain
I'm with you men and EdM too, i'll never leave Barnes, they pretty much keep bullets in stock too, never say FU to us and supply uncle sugar with a billion rounds for usps and irs LMAO!
nosler has lost their way, if they somehow believe they're better than a Swift A Frame they have again picked the wrong week to stop huffing gold spray paint!
A few of the Hammers & the CEB Maximus fill a niche/void for me in a few calibers and weights. The .458 404 Shock Hammer that RC was instrumental in having produced is definitely a big one. The others are more, because I feel there some advantage to bc or weight, or combination of the two.
I am not definitely not abandoning the Barnes. Personally, I have been very pleased with the accuracy and performance of the Barnes.
I shot a whitetail buck this past November quartering away at 60 yards with a 90 gr Absolute Hammer at 3700 fps. The bullet took out 3 ribs going in, shredded one lung and the heart, and the shank exited through the front of the off side shoulder. The petals appeared to have punched through the off side ribs in a constellation around the main shank exit. This bullet shot groups half the size of E tips and Ballistic tips out of my rifle. I'm sold.
i just got my new order a Hammer bullets today ! i plan on trying some 160gr 30 Caliber Hammer Hunters in my 30-06 Winchester model 70 and if these bullets shoot more accurate than the Nosler Partitions group i plan on taking the Hammer Bullets instead of Nosler Partitions to Africa this spring. so far most of the rifles i have tried Hammer bullets in have shot very well . its windy here this weekend so i well wait a few days before i shoot my 30-06.
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear Hammers shoot tighter than Partitions.
Occasionally a Partition will be the most accurate bullet. You never know; it’s trial and error.
My HS Precision .240 Wby shoots the 100 NPT sub MOA, best was 1.7” at 400 yds. HS makes in-house barrels that shoot with the best, cut rifling like Brux and Krieger.
Yeah I'm a new reloader and not exactly what you call an expert shot but with my first attempts with an 16" ar I was able to get 5 shots just under 1" at 100 yards so I'm pretty happy.
"Drop that or by the splendor of God I will blow your heart out." Kit Carson
"Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do then do it with all your strength." George Washington
i just got my new order a Hammer bullets today ! i plan on trying some 160gr 30 Caliber Hammer Hunters in my 30-06 Winchester model 70 and if these bullets shoot more accurate than the Nosler Partitions group i plan on taking the Hammer Bullets instead of Nosler Partitions to Africa this spring. so far most of the rifles i have tried Hammer bullets in have shot very well . its windy here this weekend so i well wait a few days before i shoot my 30-06.
yes the Hammer bullets do shoot more accurate , i am still trying to get the most consistent accurate powder IMR 4350 seems good ,RL.17 not as consistent in this rifle i will try some H414 yet . was very calm early this Sunday but now windy again.
i just got my new order a Hammer bullets today ! i plan on trying some 160gr 30 Caliber Hammer Hunters in my 30-06 Winchester model 70 and if these bullets shoot more accurate than the Nosler Partitions group i plan on taking the Hammer Bullets instead of Nosler Partitions to Africa this spring. so far most of the rifles i have tried Hammer bullets in have shot very well . its windy here this weekend so i well wait a few days before i shoot my 30-06.
yes the Hammer bullets do shoot more accurate , i am still trying to get the most consistent accurate powder IMR 4350 seems good ,RL.17 not as consistent in this rifle i will try some H414 yet . was very calm early this Sunday but now windy again.
turns out H414 is the best powder for this rifle`s cartridge combo with 160 gr. Hammer bullets . shoot 3/4 inch and under 3shot groups at 100 yards its a hunting rifle so 5 shot groups mean little to me, i have target rifles for the best groups at 5 shots. Pete53
There are Hammer loads on line. With different bullets, different loads.
For example the Absolute Hammer has less resistance and seems to do better with faster burning powders vs more conventional burn rate powders.
Steve Davis at Hammer can help you. Email him with your specific question.
DF
thanks for the thought and in the future will get a hold of Davis. i am happy with my H414 load in this 30-06 its now time to move on to 200 yards and 300 yards this week and probably buy more 160 gr. Hammer Hunter bullets. Pete53
Great guys, always happy to answer questions and they actually are shooters / hunters! I’ve heard some negative comments about what people have heard or read about them. If you don’t like them, don’t shoot them! Plenty of people have great luck with them.
what am I missing here? the new bullet brand (Hammer) with minimal track record, more expensive (I think) vs. other proven monos over many years such as Barnes touted by professional hunters world wide. More accurate? better penetration? More available? More options in weights? Educate me guys. thanks
Accuracy, minimal load development, dang good terminal performance, no ice picking, and……..they are available any time you call.
Great guys, always happy to answer questions and they actually are shooters / hunters! I’ve heard some negative comments about what people have heard or read about them. If you don’t like them, don’t shoot them! Plenty of people have great luck with them.
Adam Weatherby is a believer, now loading some Wby factory ammo with Hammer bullets.
There’s a great You-Tube piece, Adam interviewing Hammer founders. Good technical bullet info. Google it, worth your time.
Dirt farmer, I’ve been listening to the Weatherby podcast on long road trips to west Texas and they sold me on the Weatherby rifles and Hammer bullets. I just need to spend the money.
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