Been reading a long time after finding this thread. I've got two Recon HAM'rs , one with a thermal and one for daytime with glass. I've been shooting the CC 110gr and so far I really like it but I am seeing the 125gr CC and want to know if anyone has any real world experience with the round. I'm looking for a coyote, hog and deer round - would this one fit the bill? Is there much more terminal performance over the 110gr CC? Thanks in advance!

I began using the 125 CC as soon as it came out. getting excellent accuracy at the top of the load chart. Drops hogs fast....

Good morning,

I have several Wilson Combat 300 ham'r barrels but I don't have any with a lightweight profile. For those of you that do, how quickly are your groups affected as your barrel heats up?

I'm considering putting together a very lightweight hunting upper and wondering how it will compare to a ranger or recon as far as dispersion vs heat goes.

Thanks!

The man with the correct answer is probably at the NRA Convention. I may be wrong but I think WC has developed a lightweight 300 Ham'r barrel. A call to WC in Arkansas can get you an answer.

I know they have one, my question is how quickly groups open up when firing with it vs a heavier barrel.

Unless you're planning on doing mag dumps on full auto you should be OK heat wise. It's been my experience that fouling is more of a problem than heat...especially if you're shooting suppressed. My barrel never gets really hot but if I do more than 5 or 6 shots in a row the groups start to open up. The first 3 shots are normally touching. It's not uncommon to cover a 5 shot group with a nickel then the next 5 maybe a quarter and the next 5 a silver dollar and so on. I've never put an entire 30 round mag on paper at one time so I have no idea what the maximum accuracy loss is and probably never will because my barrel gets cleaned every 10 rounds unless I'm load testing and then it's every 5 rounds.

After seeing your post I took mine out for a little fun time. I'm still looking for the perfect load for this barrel but I didn't notice the groups opening up due to the barrel being thin or over heating. I won't be mounting a suppressor just so I can have one lightweight carbine. In fact, at the moment I don't have any type of muzzle device on it. I do plan to put a q-comp on it play again in a few days.

During our testing this profile I shot three consecutive 3 shot groups with no noticeable change in group size and have one personal upper with an even lighter profile bbl that will also do this. We double stress relieve our bbls which really helps with this sort of thing.

Thanks Spongecop! I am currently only using factory ammo. I plan on reloading in the future but I truely have no idea where to start and what equipment to purchase so I'm regulated to factory stuff as of now. Did you ever shoot any factory ammo or just your loads? What twist?

A good place to start in reloading is:

NECESSARY:
RCBS Rockchucker press (I'm still using one I bought in 1968)
Dies (inexpensive Lee dies work fine, just buy some RCBS locking rings so you only have to adjust the dies once)
RCBS 505 scale or a brand name electronic scale
RCBS Uniflow powder measure
Loading block
Quality reloading manual (Hornady has a really good one)
Brass tumbler and media (you can easily make a case/media separator with 2 plastic buckets and drill a bunch of 3/8" holes in the bottom of one of them)

OPTIONAL, BUT NICE TO HAVE:
RCBS bench mounted priming tool
Case gauges for each caliber you load

Good list Mr. Wilson

Spongcop we have a pretty good reloading forum on the THF with a good bit of info and some very capable reloaders participate. There are some sticky threads at the top with some good info. Some day if bored I will go through and check links to info and clean up those that no longer work, just haven't done it in a while

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/13/1/ammunition-reloading

Thank You Mr Bill, I think I have some direction now. I just purchased Qty-3 WC 16 inch 1/13 twist barrels to bulid for some friends. When I purchesed them, the website said wording like "shoots all bullets from 95gr to 150gr well but optimal for 130 - 150gr." I'm now seeing that the 1/13 is optimal for 150gr. Will the 125gr CC and 130 HHC factory ammo not shoot well out of the 1/13? I was looking for a coyote, hog and GA deer round and kind of wondering if I should have purchased the 1/15 twist. What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance!

Thank You Sir!

All my personal uppers have 1-15 twist other than a 1-12 and a 1-13 I use for bullet/load testing. If I lived where it was COLD and/or needed a bbl shorter than 16" and/or primarily shot 150gr I'd go with 1-13, otherwise a 1-15 will do everything I need the HAM'R to do. 1-15s aren't as load finicky as 1-13s are, but both are plenty accurate with a load they like.

Thank You Mr Bill, I think I have some direction now. I just purchased Qty-3 WC 16 inch 1/13 twist barrels to bulid for some friends. When I purchesed them, the website said wording like "shoots all bullets from 95gr to 150gr well but optimal for 130 - 150gr." I'm now seeing that the 1/13 is optimal for 150gr. Will the 125gr CC and 130 HHC factory ammo not shoot well out of the 1/13? I was looking for a coyote, hog and GA deer round and kind of wondering if I should have purchased the 1/15 twist. What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance![/quote]

All my personal uppers have 1-15 twist other than a 1-12 and a 1-13 I use for bullet/load testing. If I lived where it was COLD and/or needed a bbl shorter than 16" and/or primarily shot 150gr I'd go with 1-13, otherwise a 1-15 will do everything I need the HAM'R to do. 1-15s aren't as load finicky as 1-13s are, but both are plenty accurate with a load they like. [/quote]


Thank you for your honesty. We hunt GA, FL and at times MO so with the new statement, I don't think these 1/13's will work for us. I personally have 2 1/15's and they do great. I guess I am going tp have to call in the morning and see if I can exchange these for some 1/15 twists. Thank you again Sir.

All my personal uppers have 1-15 twist other than a 1-12 and a 1-13 I use for bullet/load testing. If I lived where it was COLD and/or needed a bbl shorter than 16" and/or primarily shot 150gr I'd go with 1-13, otherwise a 1-15 will do everything I need the HAM'R to do. 1-15s aren't as load finicky as 1-13s are, but both are plenty accurate with a load they like. [/quote]


Thank you for your honesty. We hunt GA, FL and at times MO so with the new statement, I don't think these 1/13's will work for us. I personally have 2 1/15's and they do great. I guess I am going tp have to call in the morning and see if I can exchange these for some 1/15 twists. Thank you again Sir.
[/quote]

Every bbl is different and all will have "favorite" loads. Most of my uppers are 16" Ranger 1-15 and they work well for me.

Thank you for your honesty. We hunt GA, FL and at times MO so with the new statement, I don't think these 1/13's will work for us. I personally have 2 1/15's and they do great. I guess I am going tp have to call in the morning and see if I can exchange these for some 1/15 twists. Thank you again Sir.
[/quote]

Every bbl is different and all will have "favorite" loads. Most of my uppers are 16" Ranger 1-15 and they work well for me.[/quote]

If that is what works for you, that is what is going to work for them. Thank you again for your honesty - you have won my business and my future business.

Are there any plans of offering the Ultralight barrel in a 1:13 twist?

I have a 18" tac hunter and an 11.3" shorty and a Ruger American conversion I did with the 16" kit; son has a 16" and they all shoot sub-moa with factory or reloads. Go by the recommended weights for the twist listed on WC web site but I honestly have seen very little deviation in moderate weather, suppressed or unsuppressed. Damn ham'rs have left my other calibers and inventory of guns lonely in the safe

Thank you Bill for all your support. What a great caliber!

I have a 11.3" AR in 300 HAM'R and I love it. I'm mainly shooting 110 gr V-Maxs and they are working great. But I'm thinking about making another upper with a 16" or 18" barrel for longer range shooting/hunting. So I am on a quest to find a bullet in the 115 to 125 gr range with a relatively high BC (I know, none of these bullets have high BC). I have loaded some 125 gr SSTs but the tapered section of this bullet is too long and the bottom of the cone ends up barely inside the mouth of the case. If I don't seet the bullets as deep (where it should be) the COAL is too long to fit into my PMags.

I have not seen any data with Nosler's BT or Accubond 125 gr bullets. Do these bullets work or are they also too long? Or is the cone section of these bullets also too long?

Thanks!!!

Basically, what I was trying to say is that the ogive of the Hornady 125 gr SST is too long. Have you tried loading the Nosler 125 gr Ballistic Tip and is it's ogive shorter than the SST?

Also, I have been using Hodgdon's CFEBLK powder. Have you found better performance (higher velocities) with 110 gr bullets our of the 11.3" barrel if you use the slightly faster burning powders like the SOCOM or the A1680? I have studdied your load data document but the velocities listed are for 16.25" barrels. I'm curious what works best with the lighter bullets in the shorter barrel.

Sledboy,

I posted about it earlier, but the easiest way (I've found) to run these bullets is to use C-Products stainless 350 Legend magazines; mine allow a 2.325 COAL. I used those bullets in my 300 BO so had quite a few. Didn't need to buy anything different for the HAMR. Obviously make sure your chamber works with that length. mine does easily.

A quick digression: do you prefer the 135 or the 205 grain .452 Lehigh Xtreme Defender out of a 4” .45 Colt for hogs?

Not at this time

If you buzz the polymer tips off the AB, BT and SST all will work fine. The only powders I use for HAM'R loads are A1680, CFE BLK and SOCOM. If you load specifically for a bolt gun you can use H110, W296, 11FS, LilGun, etc.. for light bullet loads, but they won't function an AR.