Hammer Bullets - what makes them so great?

[LuketheDog]

Can you explain the situation where Barnes had a pencil effect? Animal, distance, caliber, etc?

Cow elk, 168yd, 6.5 Creedmoor, Barnes 127gr TTSX, recovered from an aspen tree on the far side...not complaining, the elk only went 30 yards...

 

[std7mag]

I haven't tried the Hammer's yet.
Terminal performance is much like the Cutting Edge Bullets.
Petals open then break off causing their own wound channels, while base keeps on going straight through.

I've seen 2 failures with Barnes.
Both shots within 70 yards.
1 a 308, the other was a 7mm-08 if I remember correctly.
Eventually found 1 deer. Never found the second.

 

[tom338]

I tried Hammers right away. Shot a elk and a mule deer and my son shot a mule deer, relative shot a couple big bull elk. All dead but.... I like a bigger exit hole. All these were shot with a .284 diameter 143 HH. But .284 hole in and .284 out does not leave much of a blood trail. Others have had difference of opinion, that's fine, but these are my findings. I shot at a cow elk and was sure I hit it but could never find it or any indication I did, only 200 yards away broadside, looked long and hard, still think I hit her. Sons mule deer buck to 2 rounds thru the ribs and acted like it was never even hit, then started to trot down hill, the next round was rushed and hit in spine. 4 holes, all .284 diameter. Yes deer was dead, but I usually hunt thick stuff. So I like a bigger exit and that's why I'm back to Barnes TTSX and LRX

 

[375H&H]

Cow elk, 168yd, 6.5 Creedmoor, recovered from an aspen tree on the far side...not complaining, the elk only went 30 yards...

View attachment 293670

“…6.5 creedmoor…”

Problem solved.

Edit: clarifying that this was a joke.

 

[Addicting]

Everyone that loads them seems to love them.

Not true at all, there are those of us that drank the cool aid and survived to think for ourselves. I’ve posted about the failures multiple times. The search function is your friend.

 

[mtmuley]

Not true at all, there are those of us that drank the cool aid and survived to think for ourselves. I’ve posted about the failures multiple times. The search function is your friend.

You are in the minority. There's no Kool-aid. mtmuley

 

[thomas89]

Admittedly I'm a bit hesitant about the Hammer bullet being somewhat frangible, for lack of a better term.

 

[Addicting]

You are in the minority. There's no Kool-aid. mtmuley

Don’t think so, I’m just more vocal than most. I have high expectations of reliable repeatable performance for a premium product. Hammer hunter bullets have proven the design cannot meet that standard. Maybe the new tipped version can, but my willingness to try again has sailed.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Cow elk, 168yd, 6.5 Creedmoor, recovered from an aspen tree on the far side...not complaining, the elk only went 30 yards...

View attachment 293670

Here is another example. Same caliber and similar distance ~150ish yards. The bullet was lodged backwards in the backside front leg bone.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

“…6.5 creedmoor…”

Problem solved.

So Barnes bullets are only designed for larger, faster calibers? The Barnes bullet design (as all monos and even traditional lead and copper to less extent) is dependent on velocity, so I concede that the distance you can get appropriate expansion with this caliber is less than others but 168 yards should have a nice mushroom across all calibers (with larger, faster calibers having a greater mushroom). No mushroom at this distance is very odd, IMO.

 

[LuketheDog]

“…6.5 creedmoor…”

Problem solved.

What problem? Isn't the point to kill it? Did you read the part where the elk went 30 yards? The barnes TTSX bullet also penciled through the last antelope I shot with my .257 Weatherby at 275yds, and a Nosler ABLR penciled through mountain goat I shot two weeks ago with my 6.5 PRC. They were all dead within 30 yards or so.

 

[thomas89]

What problem? Isn't the point to kill it? Did you read the part where the elk went 30 yards? The barnes TTSX bullet also penciled through the last antelope I shot with my .257 Weatherby at 275yds, and a Nosler ABLR penciled through mountain goat I shot two weeks ago with my 6.5 PRC. They were all dead within 30 yards or so.

I forget where I read/heard this, but it was something to the effect of, “at what point in killing the animal did the bullet fail?”.

 

[mtmuley]

Don’t think so, I’m just more vocal than most. I have high expectations of reliable repeatable performance for a premium product. Hammer hunter bullets have proven the design cannot meet that standard. Maybe the new ripped version can but my willingness to try again has sailed.

Trust me I understand. I've had one bullet "failure" in over 40 years of killing stuff. LRH is an awesome place to bash bullets. Hell, you don't even have to use them to bash them. From what I've seen from myself and others I have complete faith in them. And if I thought they were not meeting the design standard, I'd tell Steve, friend or not. mtmuley

 

[brockel]

I had delayed expansion with a 131 grain hammer twice that kind of turned me off but I believe the tipped hammer fixes that issue

 

[Don Fischer]

I can, too. I recall a rodeo at my parents’ place involving a butcher and a hog headshot with a 22.

Place the 22 bullet properly in the head and they all just fall down!

 

[noharleyyet]

I had delayed expansion with a 131 grain hammer twice that kind of turned me off but I believe the tipped hammer fixes that issue

Ah crap, just when I'm at resolute, they pull me back in.

 

[Nick87]

Place the 22 bullet properly in the head and they all just fall down!

You'd think so but first hand experiences prove otherwise....for more than a couple of us apparently.

 

[Don Fischer]

I had delayed expansion with a 131 grain hammer twice that kind of turned me off but I believe the tipped hammer fixes that issue

I did some shooting into news paper years ago at 100 yds. One of the bullet's I was trying was a sierra HP hunting bullet. What I found was they were very reliable and bending after closing up the tio and no idea where they'd go after that. Read an ad by Winchester I think it was a couple years ago and it was for their factory loaded monolithic bullet. They claimed one reason for thir plastic tip was to insure the petals would open! I've had a problem with HP bullet's on big game for years after seeing what happene to those sierra bullet's. I've also had a problem with plastic tips on lead core bullet's. Seem's to me that tip has to go somewhere when the bullet hits and that would be right back into the core. wonder what effect that has? I shoot 75gr V-Max's out of my 243 and shooting at target far away as 200 yds the bullet's come apart going througe the paper target and a 1" piece of foam backer. Great on a coyote and truth be known they will even take out a deer, did it outcoyote hunting during deer season. I think the shot has to be carefully placed though, that was a very accurate 243! Deer took a shot behind the front leg and went right down. Couple min later it got up for a moment and then went down aagain. Inside was mush! I believe that even the flimsyest of varmint bullet's from any varmint cartridge will kill very fast IF, properly placed. Huge deal properly placing them. Bullet placement is everything. people talk about behind the shoulder being the place to hit them, not necessarily true. behind the shoulder simply gives you the largest target at a critical place to put a bullet!. Breaaking the neck or putting a bullet properly in the head and the animal generally goes down faster. But both those target's are smaller and harder to hit. Went hog hunting this year with my son and told hin to shoot just behing the head where the neck come's out. Both our hog'sd were shot that way and both pirredright to the ground. have had the same experience with deer. The problem of course is they are a smaller target harder to hit and easier to wound with.

 

[Don Fischer]

You'd think so but first hand experiences prove otherwise....for more than a couple of us apparently.

If they didn't you failed to properly place the shot!

 

[Nick87]

If they didn't you failed to properly place the shot!

Mmmmk.