Best copper projectile?

[Caleveras]

I have tried Barnes, Nosler E-Tip and Federal Trophy Copper. The Trophy Cooper is actually a Nosler E-Tip that Federal cuts grooves in.

I took a cow elk with the 140gr Trophy Copper in 7mm-08, and the exit wound was double that of the entrance.

Unfortunately, hand loading the E-Tips has been frustrating. I have tried loading E-Tips in 7mm-08, 270, and 308 and have yet to get anything to group. I gave up and have been loading Barnes.

I took a Mule deer and cow elk last year with 150 gr TTSX out of the 308.

 

[brockel]

I've transitioned to almost exclusively Hammer Bullets for hunting though I still have and use E-tips because I have loads already developed. I can push the Hammers faster and their performance at impact seem to be superior to the Etip. My sample size isn't huge (maybe a dozen animals each using Etips and Hammers).

View attachment 190545
276gr 4570 Hammer

I do load some Barnes TTSX for a friend and he is quite happy with their performance.

 

[brockel]

I’ve switched all our hunting rifles over to hammers this year

 

[MNHunter67]

I’m certainly no expert, but I’ve killed two whitetails with Federal trophy copper, one with my .270 Win and one with my .300 Wing Mag. Neither went far. Recently picked up some GMX in Hornady Superformance for my Ruger M77 Mk II .270 and this was the first group at 100. About the best group I’ve got out of that rifle. Will (hopefully) report back with results on game this fall.

 

[belshawelk]

Barnes LRX 200Gr. Hand loaded by Pendleton Ammunition. Elk shot at 372 yards, bullet hit at about 2500fps and 2850 FPE

 

[mtmuley]

Glad to see guys using Hammers. Steve and Brian have worked their asses off to put out a quality product. Starting out literally in Steve's garage. Any input from users is listened to by the guy that makes the bullets, not a phone tech. The bullets work, and you won't find better customer service anywhere. mtmuley

 

[nhenry]

Why is it a problem?

I chipped my tooth on a bullet fragment that was stuck in my meat and would prefer not to deal with that again. Albeit, the Hammers don't fragment into a ton of tiny pieces so it may be different

 

[deer_shooter]

I've switched over 2 rifles to Hammers and a 3rd when it gets back from Shaw. I haven't shot anything with them yet other than targets but the tiny groups they produce with little effort at the bench is a big selling point. That and the fact I can order on Wednesday and have a box in my hand on Friday is a big plus, especially in todays market. I had a question on bullet selection and Steve answered my email the next day.
Fwiw, I shoot 120gr TTSX's out of my 7mag and I've shot probably 2 dozen deer & antelope with no issues, all one shot kills with minimal meat loss.

 

[JustinsDad]

I’ve had good lick with Barnes xxx and e tip but I have not tried hammers so take it w a grain of salt. This xxx came out of the lung of a deer.

 

[MThuntr]

I chipped my tooth on a bullet fragment that was stuck in my meat and would prefer not to deal with that again. Albeit, the Hammers don't fragment into a ton of tiny pieces so it may be different

I was concerned about that at first also. You're right that the fragmentation is less than tradition cup and core bullets...nothing worse than a chipped tooth. So far I've been able to find most of the copper fragments or be able to trace several petals to muscle. I did have one petal make its way straight up from point of impact to the backstrap that I noticed due to some very slight bruising. I would have completely missed it had I not been hyper focused on trimming at the time.

 

[buffybr]

I've hunted exclusively with Barnes 270 grain and 300 grain TSX bullets in my .357 Rum with excellent results from Steenboks to Cape Buffalo.

I've also hunted exclusively with Barnes 168 grain TSX and 168 and 180 grain TTSX bullets in my .300 Weatherby, also with excellent results.

I booked an Alaskan Brown bear and Moose hunt for next month and I couldn't get enough Barnes bullets to sight in, practice, and hunt with but I was able to buy some Hammer Hunter 281 grain bullets which so far have shot well in the accuracy department. I'm confident they will do well on a bear and moose.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

I have killed quite a few animals with TTSX, E-tips, and Trophy Coppers. Boringly consistent results. I voted E-tips as they seem to have edged out the others in the accuracy department in my rifles. The only issue I have every had was a couple of 180grn TTSXs penciling through an Pronghorn, I think it might have just been a little too stout a bullet for that skinny little bugger...

This said, when I start handloading; which seems inevitable, the first bullet I will be trying is the Hammer.

 

[klampson]

I’ve taken 19 animals with Barnes, and like them a lot, for my rifles and the shots I take they work extremely well, so I have zero complaints. This year I’ll be using both Barnes and Hammers, only because I like to tinker and mix things up, which is why I started shooting Barnes in the first place. I’m excited to see how the Hammers perform on game.

 

[MLaird]

I used Barnes TTSX in all my rifles for several years, they’ve worked really well. Last year I transitioned my 7RM to shoot 131gr Hammers and harvested 4 animals with it. Hammer have also worked really well.

This is from the second shot on my moose last year, she was quartering away at about 220 yards. Bullet entered about the 5th rib and I found it just under the hide on the far shoulder. That’s a lot of penetration.

 

[std7mag]

The petals are the thing that keeps my from them. They provide great accuracy for me in my other rifles, but the fragmentation is my problem

How so?

 

[winmag]

I suspect the majority of the handloaders shoot Hammers and the majority of the factory loaded folks shoot Barnes.

 

[jryoung]

Glad to see guys using Hammers. Steve and Brian have worked their asses off to put out a quality product. Starting out literally in Steve's garage. Any input from users is listened to by the guy that makes the bullets, not a phone tech. The bullets work, and you won't find better customer service anywhere. mtmuley

I love supporting American small business that is just a entrepreneur and his dream to "build a better mousetrap". Not that Nosler, Barnes and Hornady weren't there at one point, but it's just so cool to see Steve and Brian succeeding.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I've killed critters with TSX's, TTSX's and E tips. All have performed well on game. I've found all of them to be a bit finnicky when reloading, as well. Seating depth seems to make a huge difference. I've got one rifle shooting e tips now and two shooting TTSX's. I can feel myself getting increasingly curious about the Hammers...

 

[winmag]

My load development for Hammers is just a pressure test ladder. Find high pressure, back off to whatever pressure signs I’m comfortable with, load 5 rounds at that charge weight and shoot a group. I’ve done this in 9 different rifles and it has worked 9 times. The worst of these rifles shoots 3/4” at 100 yards.

It is honestly baffling to me. I have yet to have to play around with seating depth or search for a “node” with Hammers to reach what I think is the accuracy potential of a rifle.

 

[mtmuley]

My load development for Hammers is just a pressure test ladder. Find high pressure, back off to whatever pressure signs I’m comfortable with, load 5 rounds at that charge weight and shoot a group. I’ve done this in 9 different rifles and it has worked 9 times. The worst of these rifles shoots 3/4” at 100 yards.

It is honestly baffling to me. I have yet to have to play around with seating depth or search for a “node” with Hammers to reach what I think is the accuracy potential of a rifle.

They also tend to shoot better than any other bullet in finicky rifles. mtmuley