Barnes currently producing?

[mtmuley]

That was what I was thinking exactly what I’ve heard they got bought by Sierra. I don’t have any experience with Sierra. Their stuff and he good?

Sierra made bullets long before Barnes was even an idea. mtmuley

 

[Laelkhunter]

Their .30 cal 168gr Boat Tail Match bullet was the Gold Standard for bench rest shooters for a while. Still might be popular with them.

 

[Mako]

I guess I assumed you handloaded. I haven't talked to Steve about the loaded ammo. Set aside some time and dial 406 261 0010. mtmuley

I plan too. We just bought a house and are in the process of renovating. As soon as we get moved in, I will start putting the man cave together. I even have the Hornady reloading manual in my Amazon cart lol. Only thing is, where do I find reloading data for Hammer bullets? Can you use reloading data from one manufacturer to reload bullets from another as long as bullet weights are the same? Not sure how that would work.

 

[winmag]

Hammer generally recommends following Nosler data for their Hammer Hunter line of projectiles. But you can always contact the owner Steve who can at least start you in the right direction.

Their Absolute Hammer line of projectiles are a different story. They're a bore-rider design so have much less bearing surface with the bore, and therefore don't really align with published load data, so they're only recommended for advanced reloaders. Faster burn rate powders, potential for higher charge weights, the need to crimp for proper ignition, etc.

 

[buffybr]

That was what I was thinking exactly what I’ve heard they got bought by Sierra. I don’t have any experience with Sierra. Their stuff and he good?

I've been using Sierra bullets since I started reloading in the late '60s. They have put more deer, antelope, and even a number of elk in freezer than any other brand of bullets. Even the Sitka blacktail that I shot on Kodiak last year was with a Sierra.

168 grain Sierra BTHP Match bullets are my practice bullets in my .300 Weatherby and they'll shoot moa out to the 430 yard berm at our range.

 

[Losing_Sanity]

I have killed a number of deer and an antelope with Sierra GameKings without incident. Cooked up some loads well under 1 MOA with them for two rifles. Went to the range today and tried out some of their 90gr. hollow points and all printed within 1 MOA as well.

Be careful admitting such a thing. Some anti-lead person might accuse you of trying to poison your family for eating game killed with GameKings.

I've also used GameKings for years. Always got the job done and work well. Many animals have found their way to our dinning table due to GameKings. Customer service is always helpful and pleasant to work with. Sierra is always a pretty good back to basics quality option at a reasonable price.

 

[blueridge]

I hope so. I’ve been checking the Custom Cartridge website since you first posted about it, but I don’t see any ammo with Hammer projectiles available yet. Do you have word on an ETA for when they will be available?

Won’t be available from Custom until next March/April.

 

[Mako]

Well, I just got off the phone with Barnes. The fellow I spoke with said they are and have been running at full capacity. He said they have had a couple of slowdowns here and there when they run out of materials like cartridge casings and have to wait on the supplier, but other than that, he said the takeover by Sierra has thus far not affected production.

 

[Jbotto]

Well, I just got off the phone with Barnes. The fellow I spoke with said they are and have been running at full capacity. He said they have had a couple of slowdowns here and there when they run out of materials like cartridge casings and have to wait on the supplier, but other than that, he said the takeover by Sierra has thus far not affected production.

Thanks for doing that and posting here! I’ve been getting worried about it and had planned to do the same

 

[AlaskaHunter]

-Higher velocity (easily +100fps over Barnes)
-Best-of-both-worlds style terminal performance (initial shock/fragmentation of 30% of its weight while 70% drills straight like a Barnes); you can sort of think of it like a solid copper version of a Nosler Partition
-More reliable expansion below 2000fps
-Excellent accuracy

I still have a couple rifles shooting Barnes, but as I run out of projectiles I'm switching the rest of my hunting rifles to Hammers.

My perception is Barnes penetrates more than Hammers which may be important for large bull moose/bears or if exit holes are important for better blood tracking, especially with large bears.

 

[winmag]

My perception is Barnes penetrates more than Hammers which may be important for large bull moose/bears or if exit holes are important for better blood tracking, especially with large bears.

I agree, in theory. For example if you shot a 300gr Barnes and a 300gr Hammer, the Barnes will retain 300gr and the Hammer will retain 210gr; the 300gr Barnes should penetrate more. Unless the frontal area of the Barnes is greater than the Hammer, then it might not.

So you'd have to test it for a definitive answer.

 

[mtmuley]

My perception is Barnes penetrates more than Hammers which may be important for large bull moose/bears or if exit holes are important for better blood tracking, especially with large bears.

Thought you were going to test this. Check out Addicting's test in the other Hammer thread. mtmuley