300 HAM'R vs 6.8 vs .308

[GJM]

Wilson has developed the 300 HAMR for shooting supersonic loads in an AR-15 sized platform.

I have a 12.5 inch Noveske 6.8 upper from years ago, with a stash of 110 grain Barnes from Silver State Armory. Does the HAMR offer enough over a 6.8 to make it interesting as a short barrel combination that could poke a hole in a bear's skull, harvest a smaller game animal, while still being in the handy AR-15 sized family?

The SCAR 17 is bigger and heavier, especially magazines, although I get that sometimes there is no free lunch on weight and size.

[pyrotechnic]

Wilson has developed the 300 HAMR for shooting supersonic loads in an AR-15 sized platform.

I have a 12.5 inch Noveske 6.8 upper from years ago, with a stash of 110 grain Barnes from Silver State Armory. Does the HAMR offer enough over a 6.8 to make it interesting as a short barrel combination that could poke a hole in a bear's skull, harvest a smaller game animal, while still being in the handy AR-15 sized family?

The SCAR 17 is bigger and heavier, especially magazines, although I get that sometimes there is no free lunch on weight and size.

I don't have any experience with the .300 hamr. I had a finicky Franken upper in 6.8 quite a few years back. Just looking at their respective numbers you're trading sectional density for a bit of velocity. Looks like a 100fps advantage to the hammer with 110gr in a 16" tube. Being able to use regular mags would be a plus though.

I can't say that I'd be in a hurry to switch if I had a functioning 6.8 upper. Not a whole lot of bear skulls that would stand up to a 6.8mm 110gr TTSX @ 2500fps

[Rick R]

Last year my wife bought a stripped AR lower and stated she wanted “something different”. We looked at the Grendel, the SPC and a couple other cartridges.

The Ham’r seemed to be the easy button. Standard bcg, nothing tricky in the springs, buffer or gas system. The cartridge won’t chamber in a 5.56 barrel. 30-30ish ballistics. Brass available from Starline and lately ammo from SIG.

I assembled a 16” mid length gassed gun with a 2 MOA dot sight and she’s quite pleased with it. 50 yard accuracy has been a big one hole group. The downsides are slightly increased recoil over 5.56 and the cartridge stacks/works best in Magpul .300blk magazines.

If a 30-30 with a pointy bullet from a 20 or 30 round magazine would work for you then the Ham’r should do.

[OlongJohnson]

You probably know someone who could get you invited to go hog hunting with Mr. Wilson and ask him.

[coldcase1984]

I'd go 6.8. It kills just like the .270 Winchester with less kick; just as it was designed to do.

[Lost River]

Dude,

If .308 is an option, get the .308.

Saco Montana, Seward Alaska, Salmon Idaho. All those places you will find somebody with a box of .308 tucked away somewhere. The .308 is all over the globe. It will take everything that walks on the surface of the globe. No it is not fancy. People rarely write articles about it these days as it does not evoke much excitement, but it gets the job done reliably.

But consider that one cartridge can do it all in both autoloader and bolt action. 155 grain Scenar to 200 grain Nosler Partition. Done.

:cool:

[GJM]

I spent some time shooting the SCAR 27 yesterday. It shoots great and is very confidence inspiring.

[GJM]

I spent some time shooting the SCAR 27 yesterday. It shoots great and is very confidence inspiring.

Oops, make that the SCAR 17.

Definitely something to ammo availability. Using Midway as a source, they have one kind of 6.8 in stock, and pages of .308 choices. There is plenty of .300 HAMR ammo available from Wilson, but that is very dependent on Wilson supporting the cartridge. My wife's preference is to stick with .300 BLK as her short barrel cartridge, as we are so invested in that cartridge already between Rattlers and other AR based one's.

[CDH]

This probably adds nothing to the pie but for what its worth we kill ALOT of wild hogs with 300BLK pistols supersonic suppressed. Many of these are bristly backed 200#+ hogs. Nothing compared to the animals you have to account for but fairly hard to kill/stop in my neck of the woods.

Chris

[GJM]

https://youtu.be/Xeao8WaS_Yg

[Sensei]

I’m not buy anymore novelty calibers until we find out what happens with the 277 FURY.

[GJM]

I’m not buy anymore novelty calibers until we find out what happens with the 277 FURY.

I have a 11.5 for the standard reason for me to buy something new -- bears.

[Sensei]

If I already have a reliable 6.8SPC, a 300 HAMR would not offer enough terminal performance edge for me to take the leap onto something new. That is just my dos pesos.

Having said that, I not someone who will talk you down from a SCAR17S or any SCAR for that matter.
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[Rick R]

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Since this thread started I assembled a 16” .300 HAM’R upper and used it opening day to take a coyote at 8:30AM and an decent buck at 10:05AM. With both animals I watched the bullet hit through a scope set to 2.5x.
The yote was 45 yards away facing me and just rolled over. The buck was 75 yards crossing. He jumped straight up, ran 50 yards and crashed. 130gr HAM’R HotCore handloaded to just over 2,400fps went through the shoulders, demolished the top of the heart and both lungs.

I don’t know that I’d carry it where big bears roam but it works just fine here in the east.

[Sensei]

I suppose that I should qualify that a SBR’ed 308 is not a big advantage over 6.8 SPC, 300BLK, and 300 HAM’R. That is based on previous comments from people who I respect that a 308 with a barrel less than about 14” starts to become a glorified 7.63x39 with a lot more muzzle flash. However, I’d rather have a 16” 308 over any of the other listed options if headed into brown bear country. An even better bear-specific option that is the same length as an M4 is a DesertTech chambered in 338LM. This little boy will fuck a bear up…

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