Upgrade to an AR Build - 300 Ham'r?

robertvarner · Mar 8, 2021

Several years ago a friend of mine built an AR-15, then last year he built a second one. Now the first one needs an upgrade based upon what was learned. Rather than have both ARs be the same, the thought was to change #1 into a different caliber and add a scope, potentially as a hunting rifle.

Some reading about a hard-hitting caliber with some longer range for hunting varmints and deer came up with either a 300 BLK or a 300 Ham'r. The 300 Ham'r outperforms the 300 BLK in every category, but ammo and barrels are more available for the 300 BLK. The YouTube reviews by people not affiliated with WIlson Combat are also impressive. Of course, Bill WIlson of Wilson Combat is the developer of this caliber, and is a strong advocate of it. However, that could just be marketing unless the parts are available as well as the ammo.

We are considering a simple barrel and mag swap, along with a Leupold scope to top it off. My friend is also a reloader, so he could either purchase the ammo or buy the components and go that route.

Have any of you built, bought, and shot the 300 Ham'r?

What are your thoughts?

msgriff · Mar 8, 2021

I have not built one yet. In 2019 I contemplated a build, but decided to give it a year or so to see where the support would grow. I now feel comfortable that it is going to be viable with reamers, dies, ammo and other barrel makes showing up, and not just through Wilson.
There is a lot of (sometimes heated) discussions regarding the comparisons of the 300 BLK and the 300 HAM'R and I agree with your assessment. The one category that the 300 BLK will win is when used with a suppressor/subsonic, which was a development criteria for that cartridge. I'm not saying that the 300 BLK can't be used unsuppressed, but it was designed by AAC for that use.
Bill Wilson can be quite the salesman, but what he states is backed up with data. There are some performance comparisons to the 7.62x40mm WT, which ended up failing, in my opinion, due to poor marketing and manufacturer options. Unfortunately, it probably takes a catchy name to become mainstream today, and I think Wilson now knows that.
I'm not sure how I feel about the 1-15 and I'm leaning towards the 16.2" 1-13 (currently out of stock), but I'm sure I will own a 300 HAM'R by the end of summer.

robertvarner · Mar 9, 2021

Even though there was a lot of hype, some very good reviews, and promises by ammo manufacturers to sell the 300 HAM'R ammo since 2018, I can only find one barrel manufacturer (Shaw), no dies are available yet (Redding or Lee) as promised either, and one or two brass manufacturers who make components, other than Wilson Combat.

Perhaps we can get clear of the Covid-enhanced economy depression, but until then I'm of the same opinion that until we see more "steam in the engine" he is not going to sink his hard-earned money yet into a pretty much sole-source (and expensive) caliber rifle.

Time will tell if the 300 HAM'R will grow beyond it's infancy in the next year. And even though SAAMI has recognized the caliber, there is still a very real risk with this as a so-called "wildcat" cartridge. More time will tell.

Some will say 300BLK, or 6.5 Grendel is a worthy substitute, but I'm not buying that yet either.

Ahol · Mar 9, 2021

look into a 6.8spc. I have taken a few deer out to 250 yards, and song dogs with mine. Ammo is decent priced and usually available, if you roll your own you can get even better performance out of the round. I have a 12" ar pistol and a 16" and love them both. AR15performance.com makes some great barrels as do bisonarmory.com
I also am looking at a 450 bushmaster for a bushwhacking hunting gun. Tromix seems to know what they are doing with that round and other large calibers