Thread: Hammer Hunter Projectiles

Ive been interested in these projectiles for a while but they haven't been available for export from the US to here. But they are now.

https://hammerbullets.com

They are solid copper and lathed. Different to Barnes in so much as they are designed to shed their petals on expansion.

If you order some, make sure you order a decent amount because the freight on 100 is simply horrendous (USD68 I think).

So I ordered 100 117 grn .277 Hammer Hunters for my 270wsm (22" barrel).

Being so expensive I only loaded 7 test rounds using 2 different loads of R19. Both loads shot into .5" - one 3 shot group and one 2 shot - I saved a couple for the chrono.
The highest charge (no pressure signs) chrono'd @ 3449 fps.

I could likely get more speed but Im very happy with that.

Now to do a final sight and validation using as few projectiles as I can and then see how they perform on deer.

@Kiwi Greg I think that you were interested?

That's awesome, will be interested to hear how they perform.

Definitly be flat shooting at those speeds. @Tahr do they have a minimum speed for reliable expansion?

Originally Posted by wsm junkie

Definitly be flat shooting at those speeds. @Tahr do they have a minimum speed for reliable expansion?

Ive read 1900fps

Been a few threads on Alberta outdoors forum, ive been looking at the 21gr .17 for my .17 fireball and hornet, just encase a chance presents its self, for a deer/goat, and I like to try the .358 cal 178gr, in my .358 win,
The guys who bought the first few boxes into Alberta, seam to have reordered more, Nice that a small bullet manufacture is able to export, and give us another option.

What is the advantage in them shedding weight like the Lehigh ? Wont that cause more internal organ damage but less shock wave ? A smaller expanded diameter than a mushroomed projectile due to petal loss and a pencil exit. Fine for a sub that doesn't produce a shock wave anyhow, but for a high velocity round ?

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

What is the advantage in them shedding weight like the Lehigh ? Wont that cause more internal organ damage but less shock wave ? A smaller expanded diameter than a mushroomed projectile due to petal loss and a pencil exit. Fine for a sub that doesn't produce a shock wave anyhow, but for a high velocity round ?

You will need to do your own research on that. Reports are that they have a large exit and devastating organ damage.

Sound interesting be good to see the effect on animals. I read the other day that Barnes are starting to engineer losing the petals as they penetrate too. In theory you will have 4 small missiles and a large one going through an animal causing a lot of damage.

From what I have been told the GS custom pills are a waste of time loaded in a friends 6.5 RWS. He persisted in a futile deerless effort to prove they were would work.

be very interesting to see if they kill FASTER than other loads....so far Ive shot grand total of 1 stag with barnes 110s...and bro in law got 2 chammy with 1 shot using same load and same rifle.....so farthey look good but not better than std cup n core loads,with exception being less recoil being lighter.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

From what I have been told the GS custom pills are a waste of time loaded in a friends 6.5 RWS. He persisted in a futile deerless effort to prove they were would work.

The diameter contact land to land is critical with the GS custom. If you don't get that right they are hard to get to shoot well. The barrel specs vary marginally with different manufacturers and GS Custom produce projectiles to suit.

Essentially a custom projectile. They shoot well when all the variations are sorted, if you can be bothered. I played with them and they worked well, but they tend to not like being interchanged with other pills and that didn't suit my budget.

I posed this question before in another thread but with no answers, when we see a pass through shot, and blood lungs etc hanging in the bushes behind the animal, was it 'blown' out of the animal ahead of the bullet or sucked out by a venturi effect ?

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

I posed this question before in another thread but with no answers, when we see a pass through shot, and blood lungs etc hanging in the bushes behind the animal, was it 'blown' out of the animal ahead of the bullet or sucked out by a venturi effect ?

@Moa Hunter I believe its sucked out as the projectile would need to pierce the off side skin to allow the lung material to be able to exit.
If you watch a slow motion shot where the projectile ends up under the skin on the off side they show the skin stretching a considerable amount to capture that projectile so i dont think soft lung tissue would have the mass or energy to punch through the skin ahead of the projectile.

Originally Posted by wsm junkie

@Moa Hunter I believe its sucked out as the projectile would need to pierce the off side skin to allow the lung material to be able to exit.
If you watch a slow motion shot where the projectile ends up under the skin on the off side they show the skin stretching a considerable amount to capture that projectile so i dont think soft lung tissue would have the mass or energy to punch through the skin ahead of the projectile.

That does make a lot of sense @wsm junkie and is also potentially an explanation for the type of off-side bruising we see with soft non exiting projectiles, the soft tissue / blood being forced ahead or along with the slowing projectile, then radiating out.
So the exiting projectile can do as much internal damage but suck the blood etc out without causing the hydraulic bruising ??

gs custom were being used to great effect in .22-250 by a certain well known author...... as for monos shedding petals...remington had 12ga sabots doing it 25 years ago.... round and round it goes.