I truly understand how you feel. The Wilson/Ruger may not be the most refined rifle but there is something about that makes it enjoyable. I just think it is the perfect size and weight combination for the 300 HAM'R.

To be honest I think you could find old internet posts of me poopooing HAMR bolt conversions.
I just never figured I'd have a need for a bolt gun when I have so many radical high end ARs. I ended up buying a Ruger Ranch in x39 after loosing my $$$$$$ AR a few times out of the buggy and watching it get all beat up through daily use.

It's insanely dry here and I saw sparks come off my cheap bimetal jacket ammo one evening while I was putting it to work. I have several thousand rounds of that but I'm not buying premium factory loads in this environment for X39 so I found a 350legend collecting dust on a bass pro shelf and took it for the conversion.

This thing has become my Red Ryder BBgun. I replaced the factory trigger because I didn't like how my safety bound up occasionally. Now besides a regular coat of spray paint I don't think I'll do anything but put some flush cup sling points on it and wait for the MagPul STANAG stocks to come available. I have enough night guns but Im a realist and can't see this thing not calling out to me to use her in that capacity too.

Need help deciding on a bullet, currently shooting 125 sierra from sig and they shoot amazing typically .5-.75 groups at 100 out of my tac hunter running the 18 inch barrel. Bought some hot cores today and only had time to shoot 3 and it gave me a 1.5 group at 100. They might shoot better but it was just a quick 3. But if you were going to load 500-1000 of one bullet to shoot deer and pigs with what would you pick? I like the speed of the 110-125 bullets just haven’t shot anything heavier.

Rifle is a 1-15 twist
Typically shooting 50-175 yards, not around any live stock so pass threw is preferred
Trying to keep bullet price under .45 I know I can vmax for sub .30 and I do have a few lbs of cfe laying around but a big deal to switch up.

SD, Here is THE list from the GURU of the 300 Ham'r, Bill Wilson.

I would do the Leigh but that would be a chunk of cash. How’s the FTX preform accuracy and penetration wise, I’ve seen them for around 35 a box

Bill Wilson's greatest experience I know of is with the Speer 130gr Hot Cor bullet. He has really raved about it. I shoot the 150gr Speer Hot Cor boat tail bullet for hunting. Took 2 hogs with it in May (18" barrel) and they gave great performance. Both shots were inside 60 yards.

I have shot a lot of hogs with the 135gr FTX bullet in 300 BLK and it is about perfect IMO. The Ham'r adds 300 fps to it. While it is still recommended I would hesitate to use it on a big hog up close with the Ham'r. But to be fair that is only an unsubstantiated opinion.

Id say just remember what you are doing with it.
It's not a sniper cartridge and you're probably not a sniper. 1.5moa is fine for an intermediate caliber pig/deer rig inside of 200.

I'd recommend loading up what fits your budget and use requirements and just go your way from there.

Probably my favorite projectile to date was the 125gr .308 Sierra pro hunter but they've been MIA for a couple years.
I load like you're talking about doing. Bulk, 500+.

I have killed dozens of pigs with each the FTX and the #2022 150gr BTSP Hot Cor. I still have nearly all of those loads remaining in the closet for a reason. I'd pass on them and stuff the 130hot for, 125gr TNT or 110vmax unless I was going after big ol trophy bucks

Another Texas predator schwacked with the Red Ryder Ruger converted to 300hamr

This fool of a cat did not respect the fat old 1 legged ranch gorilla as a threat.
I gracefully dismounted the still moving buggy and ran up the tank dam he thought would be a sufficient obstacle to separate us.
After slinging up while “scrambling” up to the top he fell victim to my patented predator call, stopped his lope and turned to see what the heck was making that desperate wheezing sound.

His mistake

110gr vmax impact was a bit wide right and entered just behind his left shoulder. exit was inside the rear leg on his right side. No sign of explosive fragmentation thank goodness. He didn’t want to chase the kidds or quail anymore after that.

[quote=Dusty626]Need help deciding on a bullet, currently shooting 125 sierra from sig and they shoot amazing typically .5-.75 groups at 100 out of my tac hunter running the 18 inch barrel. Bought some hot cores today and only had time to shoot 3 and it gave me a 1.5 group at 100. They might shoot better but it was just a quick 3. But if you were going to load 500-1000 of one bullet to shoot deer and pigs with what would you pick? I like the speed of the 110-125 bullets just haven’t shot anything heavier.

Rifle is a 1-15 twist
Typically shooting 50-175 yards, not around any live stock so pass threw is preferred
Trying to keep bullet price under .45 I know I can vmax for sub .30 and I do have a few lbs of cfe laying around but a big deal to switch up. [/quote

I'm pretty fond of the Speer 2022 as they shoot the best groups in my gun out of all the bullets I've tested. I go for accuracy rather than speed and my loads are .8gr under the max recommended for CFEBLK. They will give a dime sized 5 shot group at 50yd and when sighted in for 150yd the point of impact will be within an inch of point of aim from 30yd to 170yd. I'm also a pretty frugal person and used to pass on these in favor of the cheaper Speer 125gr TNTs but right now Midway is selling both for the same price of 27 cents a piece so I'm stocking up!

Have you killed much with the #2022? I bought 1500 right after getting into my HAM'R and running out of ProHunters but I wasn't impressed with the performance on meat.

I still have a couple hundred rounds of those loaded up just under max listed CFEBLK charge weight.
Of the 500 I had loaded early on I had a handful that blew up on the shoulder without any significant portion of the projectile making it into the thoracic cavity. I honestly can't recall ever having an exit on a pig over 75# or so because they were coming apart like a varmint bullet. More so than the 125gr TNT in my experience.
I abandoned them as a hog bullet after a few months with a handful of disappointed experiences from well placed hits. They are thoroughly impressive on a 4" gong at 100yds though. Everyone loves the reaction on target so I mostly use them for plinking.

This is the same experience I've had with the Pro Hunters. As a FYI the bullet loaded in the Sig ammo and the last production run we mfg was with a new PH that has a thicker jacket and is tougher. If Sierra ever runs more (we're told Q1 2023) they will be of this variant. In the mean time, if you like Sierra bullets the 135gr HP-V is very accurate and a super deadly bullet at 2380fps, I've killed some 225#+ boars with it. Also it's available in 500 pk

I'm surprised to hear about the poor terminal performance of the Speer 2022. I was under the impression it was a bonded bullet so reports of it blowing up are not what I would expect. So far everything I've shot with it has either exploded or dropped like a rock. In the interest of full disclosure I've only shot a couple pigs but they were pretty big and just dropped where they were standing. One was a pass through and the other not. Next time I get a chance I'll try to do an autopsy and see if I can recover a bullet.

If you really want to impress people shoot a potato with one.

The 2022 is a std cup and core bullet, not a HOT-CORE, but I've never had one blow up? They seem to perform very similar to a Hornady SST with rapid expansion and around 70% retained weight. I doubt there is any hog that can survive one if the shot is well placed..... They are a darn good bullet for the price! Also, they don't build pressure quickly so can be pushed to the highest velocity of any 150gr I'm aware of.

After shooting the HAM'R for a couple of years I decided to go back and re-test each rifle after a good cleaning and with my favorite loads. (A result of not being able to make sense of my own notes!)
Instead of testing 30-plus bullets I've decided that if the 130 HC Speer, 135 HP Sierra, 110 Lehigh, or the 125 Lehigh won't handle it, then that is an animal I don't need to be shooting to begin with!

But I am beginning to hate 5-shot groups! Normally anyone would be thrilled with MOA groups, but when 4 of the 5 shots are about .5-.6" and then one shot opens it to .9-1.1" it just ticks you off!



That was the case with BOTH the 130HC & 135HP (three groups with each bullet with my handloads) fired out of my 18" 1-15 AR. That rifle barely out shot the 16" 1-15 bolt-action. The Wilson/Ruger still gave me MOA results but those groups were more of the typical cloverleaf pattern.

For what it is worth, the difference in POI between the 130 & 135's was only about 1-1.5 inches at 100 yards. I'll also make note that I used virgin Wilson brass that had not been fire-formed.

Next trip down the hill to the range will be playing with the Lehigh bullets and then I get to take the next two rifles in the herd and repeat the process.

One other thing I like about the Speer 2022 is at their current price (around 27 cents a piece) is that I don't have to carry a separate magazine of "varmint" type bullets in case I run across something small. With that bullet I'm good to go for anything from prairie dogs to elk.

For what it's worth almost every rifle I've ever owned likes the heaviest bullet it's capable of shooting. You should give the 150gr options a try. You might be surprised.

It also bears mention that until your barrel is broken in you need to clean it frequently when testing for accuracy. If you shoot say 5 or 6 groups of 5 rounds each without cleaning you are almost guaranteed to get results like the ones you describe.

Both of these were cleaned and then followed by 5 "fouling" rounds before I shot for group size.
I have to admit (Well, I'll at least admit it this once!) The outside shots could have very well been the shooter. But this is the internet! I shoot 1/4" groups every range session! (It is just no one ever told my rifles!)

For what it is worth, the 150's may shoot great, but I like the mix of velocity & mass for the 125-135 grain bullets. I've got plenty of .308 Win. rifles for the 150's and up.

If you go search this thread’s posts between the ice apocalypse and May of that year there should be some pics documenting the performance I got from the #2022. huge surface wounds under the peeled back skin on the near side, no significant damage to the ribs on the far side too many times.
I found no benefit to rainbow those things in when they don’t do anything that a number of 110-125gr varmint bullets weren’t doing. A bonded 150 would be a different story for me.

On another note found an interesting test subject last night. My pvs-14 battery died on the approach and when I was using my dying head lamp something looked funny.
Another vmax carnage victim. I was seeing the ground completely through the area where this hog’s neck use to be


Not a terribly remarkable test subject but it was interesting.

Nice photo on the Vmax wound.

This question has been nagging me and was wondering if anyone had done some tests/experimentation. Just curious where the transitional velocity line/range is where the VMAX acts as a frangible projectile or acts like a spire/spitzer projectile. What is the minimal velocity required for a 110gr VMax to act like a frangible bullet as it was designed?

I am guessing that bullet spalding pattern on steel plate looks different when its explodes (higher velocity) as compared to mushrooming (slower velocity). No steel targets at my range so this is for some other OCD individual to do the testing with a 308..

Not sure about 30 caliber bullets but I have a lot of experience with 5.56 and can assure you that the steel plate looks pretty much the same whether you hit it with subsonic or max velocity rounds. Doesn't seen to matter either about what sort of projectile you use...FMJ, hollow point, sp, or ballistic tip all look pretty much the same.

My main criteria is a bullet that expends all it's energy inside whatever I shoot (although I accept pass thru with small animals) and retains 60 to 70% of it's original weight. I used to be a stickler about weight retention until I was shown that a bullet that sheds a portion of it's weight is creating more wound channels

TxPigKiller, I'm with ya 100%

I also had drank the cool-aid that a 100% weight retention solid copper or bonded bullet was the way to go and mostly used Barnes X or Swift A-frame. However I got tired of having to go into thickets in the dark looking for hogs I'd shot. My first success at dropping hogs (and deer) in their tracks was with a .308 Win shooting Hornady 165gr SSTs. This led me to continue to experiment and I've proven without a doubt that bullets that fragment and only retain 60-70% of their original weight kill MUCH more efficiently than high weight retention ones. Obviously there are exceptions and high weight retention bullets are the best choice when deep penetration is necessary on a large animal.

I wasn’t talking about the fragmentation splash or spawl on steel.

I was talking about the way the gongs and hanging plates react to disperse the kinetic energy. There is a distinct difference in the way they physically react, and the audible Signature, on a higher end velocity 150gr load vs middle of the road velocities in that same weight range.

On a personal level, I only want full or high weight retention for killing large or dangerous game that I need to take away mobility on but I do want bullets that will break bone structure and reliably exit in some form.

Anyone can put a good hole in a hog neck when they’re standing with their snout in a corn pile but I approaching this as a management operation. Occasionally a hog will stand there or circle around and look at Wilber doing his curly shuffle but the majority of my hogs are taken after the initial target hits the ground. An exit wound is really nice to have to ensure the best chance to track and recover them if you don't happen to disconnect their CNS.

The 3 dozen or so hogs I took over the relatively short time I was using the #2022 we’re some of the more frustrating hog removals of the few hundred I’ve had using HAMR. I hope the best for anyone else looking to use them but I can’t see why anyone would choose them with all the other offerings available, even those in the same price range as the #2022.

If anyone really wants to use them and they dry up I’ll happily sell 5 sealed boxes for $23 and flat rate usps shipping.

Has anyone killed any hogs with the Sierra #2116 115gr Varminter bullet? They are shooting really well out of my guns and are available in 500 qty box

Howdy y'all, I heard you got some rain down there in Texas!

I've been rather frustrated with MidwayUSA lately due to their prices.. But I stumbled across these factory seconds..
Speer 2011's Hot-Cor 150gr Flat Nose
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025492569?pid=910222

I've been waiting for some particular bullets to come back around, they post an estimated in-stock date over there.. Hardly ever does it actually come in-stock.
But I did notice that they have a date set (9/16) for the Hornady 30303 150gr (300 Savage) SST's
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010471181?pid=114443

Perhaps Mr. Wilson might know if they're actually going to come back around sometime soon?

Graf seems to do a better job of keeping components available than anyone else and their prices are normally fair.

My latest estimate from Hornady on #30303 150gr SST is late Sept, see below

Katie Glover
Fri, Jul 15, 10:23 AM
to bill

Bill, I’m sorry, this item keeps getting moved back. Now I would estimate September.