I have been looking back through the entire thread looking for a Proof Pressure figure for the 300 HAM'R. Does it exist? Maybe Mr Wilson could comment on this? Thanks

Since the dents only occurred after you fired the case, then it is not an excessive FL Sizing/excessive case lube issue. I believe that is result of case striking into a lug. This is common on 223/5.56 and usually occurs along the shoulder... which as it would happen is now the same location as the neck on a 300HAMR case. Most likely it is either hitting the lugs as cartridge is being fed up the feed ramp into the chamber, but there is also possibility that it is happening when the spent case is being extracted (excessively strong ejector/extractor tilting the case to the right). Use a Sharpie and draw a line down the side of several cartridges and load them into the magazine with the line oriented at the 3 o/clock position. Load and shoot... Now that you have a reference point where does the ding occur in relation to the line on the case?

I think proof loads would be 74,750 (57,500max + 30%)

These would be supplied by Sig Ammunition

Thank you Bill!

It took a while to get everything ready to prep and shoot the 4 loads for accuracy to run this 300 Ham'r test. Took a couple hours as it was all about accuracy which meant a lot of time to let the barrel cool and keep me fresh. Distance is 100 yards. I built the rifle and it has a 1-15 18" Wilson barrel. The barrel is broken in and has about 400 rounds through it. Primers are CCI 41. Powder is CFE BLK. Brass is Starline on it's 5th loading. Primer pockets are still tight. LOA is the same as the Ham'r reloading page. Temp is about 75 degrees.

Each set was...

5 rounds of 130gr Speer FN with 27.8gr of CFE BLK.
then
5 rounds of 130gr Speer FN with 28.0gr of CFE BLK
then
5 rounds of 150gr Speer BTSP with 25.6gr of CFE BLK
then
5 rounds of 150gr Speer BTSP with 25.8gr CFE BLK

then repeat the entire procedure.

The 27.8gr 130gr load gave a 2" 5 shot group with both sets.
The 28.0gr 130gr load gave a 1.5" group and a 1.25" group.

The 25.6gr 150gr load gave a 1" 5 shot group with both sets. Plus... 3 bullets went into a single hole... both times!
The 25.8gr 150gr load gave a 1.25" 5 shot group and a 1" 5 shot group. The 1" group turned out to be a single jagged hole!

Bill Wilson suggests I may get better accuracy with the 130gr bullet if I jump the powder charge to 28.2gr.

The 150gr load seems to be the best. The AR is fine with the 130gr bullet but runs smooth as a sewing machine with the 150gr bullet. I'm running the Wilson flat wire spring and an H2 buffer.

So there is a winner for now. 150gr doing about 2,250 fps. More to come as it's intended to put some hogs in the freezer next year.

I jumped the gun in my response prior to your photos. I had ASSumed from the description it was something more common.

Are there 2 of those marks in the case neck of that last pic?

Made my first 2 ham'r cases tonight. Mostly fooling around to see what is involved and making my trim gauge. Lee doesn't make a ham'r gauge, so I bought one for a 30 herrett and filed down the pin that goes through the primer pocket until I had the right length. I took off about .02" off. It works great.
I'm going to have to buy or build a jig. The cases try to escape when I just clamp them in the little vice on the harbor freight saw. But it looks like I will wind up cutting just over half the neck off. Some guys say to size first, then cut the neck, but it's a LOT harder to size up the case with a full neck than the case with a cut down neck. Also, I tried my hand at annealing a case to see if it would make any difference. Now, it was lousy redneck annealing using the gas burner on the stove until the case got too hot to hold, and I didn't get the nice color change I got when I was using an actual annealing setup to anneal roberts cases when I was making 257 ackley brass. But long story short, it didn't seem to help the resizing effort, and nothing split on the 6 lake city cases I was playing with so I probably won't fool with annealing.

Can I use a winchester or remington or pmc case? all the lake city brass I have is in the scrap bucket because it has crimped primer pockets. I don't have a swager, and life is too short for crimped pockets.

the ham'r cases were made with pretty dirty lake city cases from the scrap bucket. The blackout cases for reference look bad in the picture, but in real life have a neat black/oil rubbed bronze look to them. they're stamped ADI, and I use them with my fancy barnes black tips. and the sizing die that was leaving the score makes on the neck was replaced by a good one from lee and I no longer have that issue,

https://www.etsy.com/listing/791075...g-auto?ref=shop_home_active_34&frs=1
This is the cut off jig I use, it works very well. I seen a new one that'll let you change the detent placement for 300blk if your still into that sort of thing.. https://www.etsy.com/listing/962105225/cut-off-saw-case-trimmer-jig-3-in-1-300?ref=shop_home_recs_1

You can use whatever head stamp brass you'd like. I don't recommend PMP as it has a severely decreased internal capacity that'll cause pressure issues. Free brass is free brass and depending where you visit, Lake City is more often than not the most common.. + it's of good quality. When properly swaged the primer pockets can usually out last anything else, especially for free range pickups. Another positive note is you know it's really "once fired" if the crimp is still intact. I can usually swage 800+ pieces in an hour on an RCBS RC IV using a RCBS PP Swager. I also swage gauge all of my range pickups after decapping and ssm tumbling.. it's sad how so many folks ruin good brass by over reaming or swaging.

Happy & Safe HAM'R loading to you!

I've found that LC and Jag .223/5.56 cases make the best HAM'R cases. In addition to the reduced powder capacity IRUAK88 noted above, the PMP have thick necks and will give you chambering issues too, so I consider them a NO GO. Swaging or reaming LC pockets is no big deal.

Mr. Wilson, firstly thanks for all your kind responses.

Second, do you recommend forming cases and then trimming to length or trim (on a cutoff saw), debur, form in the die, then trim to final length (I use WFT in 7.62x40 since they had dangerously similar shoulders)? I am wondering which would have less runout and give better results for forming brass. For the sake of the question let’s assume LC brass.

I’ve tried annealing cases on an annealeez and then sizing before trimming to length which was an easier press into the die, but more commonly I’ve gone the chop saw route.

Lastly, could you share any insight on when 11.3” HAM’R barrels will be produced again? I’m eagerly awaiting my back order to build my second hamr.

lopappy, to be totally honest with you I've never made a HAM'R case from a 5.56, one of the guys at our ammo co has done all of these for me. Graycard is the expert on this so we'll let him jump in and answer your questions.

Regarding the 11.3" we have 150 in the chambering/profiling stage now, so I'd expect finished barrels within 2-3 weeks

I look forward to trying some of the Lehigh 125 bullets. Do your have a timeline to have them on your website?

THAT IS WHAT I NEED! "A Factory Guy!"

If given a choice I would prefer to have all Wilson Combat brass. But being naturally paranoid, I like having several thousand rounds loaded for 300 HAM'R, 7.62x40WT, and 5.56.so I try to save money anywhere possible. I prefer Lake City since it seems to split less and holds up to several reloadings. Plus, there was a time when LC brass was everywhere and cheap. But I think those days may never return.

I use a combination set-up for my HAM'R loading.
One, I cut the cases a tad above the shoulder. (I use a Harbor Freight mini-chop saw, they're cheap. And a location jig I got off ebay.)
Two, I lube the case with Hornady Spray Case Lube (I spray at an angle to get some of the lube inside the case neck),and form using a standard RCBS 300 HAM'R sizing die on a RockChucker single stage press. With a slow and smooth pull on the handle there are very few split necks.
Three, I use a Giraud for final trimming.

Bill - As you know, There is a list of proven .223/5.56 headstamps (manufacturer & even years produced) that are good for conversion into 300BO. The primary determinant of "good candidate" is based on the thickness of case wall of donor brass that eventually becomes the newly-formed neck on the 300BO case. The neck of the 300HAMR is formed from the shoulder of the .223/5.56 donor case, which might be slightly thinner material then the case wall.

Does the 300HAM'R share the same preferences of headstamps for conversion as the 300BO?

Thanks

Bill - Sorry, I totally overlooked the post a few above where you mentioned that you haven't don't any case conversions. I really wish this forum had a better "Edit" capability .

No. There are only one mark on each case.

Short and simple review of my WC Ranger 16" barrel 113 twist upper received yesterday. After a thorough cleaning last night went out this morning and sighted it in with Pulsar XQ50 Trail. It was mated with my Ruger 300BO lower. I was using the Hornady 110 grain V-Max. Chronometer was reading around 2640 to 2670 fps which was a little of a surprise because it says 2550 fps with an 18" barrel. Groups at 100 yards could be covered with a quarter and at two hundred yards a 50 cent piece. I'm happier than a dog with two you know what's.
My friend has a complete WC Protector 13.3 inch barrel 113 twist he received a week or so ago and it also was his first time out with it. He had scope problems(his own doing as it turned out) so it never got sighted in. One curious observation was that he was shooting 150 grain WC ammo(not sure which one) and was getting around 2150 fps. I asked him to shoot one of my 110 grain Hornady and it also shot at around 2150 fps. I was expecting 2300 fps or so. It was just one round so maybe it was an anomaly.

Red Stick
Sounds like you have a reason to be a happy camper. Nothing is better than a rifle performing like it should.

Shot this old 12pt this am,150yds, 300 HAM'R, Lehigh Defense 110gr CC, DRT with shoulder shot

Congrats Mr Wilson! Great Buck!

That is a nice buck Bill! Great character!

For those who are running suppressors on their Ham'rs: What kind of sound reduction are you experiencing compared to something like a .308 Winchester or 6.5 Creedmoor? Anyone running one on an 11.3"? Is it enough to shoot without ear protection? I'm looking at getting one to use for hunting and I've lost enough hearing. I need to maintain what I have left.

If you have a quality suppressor you should be ok without ear protection. Friends have mentioned that they have no problem not wearing ear protection when I shoot my Ham'r and I have a homemade 9 1/2 aluminum can with SS inserts.(Registered and stamp paid) One thing I did notice when shooting suppressed is the above average carbon buildup. I talked to the people at WC and they said it wasn't unusual when shooting suppressed, but I never had that much build up with my 300BO.

I can't compare full size calibers to 300hamr but it sounds like 20% louder superesonic 300blk or 30% louder but less sharp 5.56mm.

Shooting suppressed is very individual thing.
I, for example, am very sensitive to action and chamber pop noises even with Subsonics.

I am not risking my hearing even when shooting suppressed, my solution is "concert plugs".
You can still somewhat hear your surrounding but they cut most of the "painful" noises.
They are small, slick and quick/easy to put in.
I buy them in bulk from Aliexpress (if you know where to get in US, at a reasonable price let me know) and stuff them everywhere just in case I need to shoot.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000249524632.htm

P.S
Now I know how to use small pockets in pants -;)

I'm running our Quell Ti suppressors on my guns and don't wear ear pro when out hunting. Shots out in the open sound about like shooting a comparable bbl length .22 mag to me, if shooting out the window of my Jeep it's slightly louder.

Regarding carbon build-up I don't notice it being any different than the same suppressor type on a .223, unfortunately this is the major downside of suppressors on gas guns. One thing that I have found that helps keep the guns running well suppressed (or unsuppressed for that matter) is to lube the BCG with a light viscosity grease instead of oil. Where the oil quickly burns off and the carbon can then stick to dry metal the grease keeps the metal wet and the carbon wipes off easily. Unlike gas guns, using a suppressor on a bolt gun only has two downsides, added length and weight.

I'd bet that's a dent from your shell deflector.