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Posted: 9/24/2026 1:12:08 PM EDT
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I am looking for an AR-15'ish sized build to shoot .30 140gr~150gr loads with tough hard hitting bullets. Yes, I own a 300BO and I want more supersonic performance. A Wilson 300 H'AMR seems to be a good step up in power. I wonder about a "Grendel'ish" 30 ARC or 30HRT in a 6.8'ish AR-15. Yes, a pure handload option, but I expect a step up in velocity given the same mid-weight bullet options and enough power to run heavier options well. What are the pro's and con's for a hard hitting "30" in an AR-15 platform among these and similar options? TIA, Sid |
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The "criteria" doesn't match reality. Sorry.... You're going to have to make a compromise. There are tough .30 cal bullets in the 140-150 grn range. They need high velocities to operate reliability... That velocity is usually MV in excess of 2800 in my opinion. 2900 or 3000 would be better for bullets like the ttsx or cx. There are cases that can push a .30 in that weight range a little faster than the .300 blackout. But increases are marginal. At BEST you're going to roughly equal the 30-30 in terms of performance. There is no need for a "tough" bullet at that speed. Might as well just load 147-150 fmj. Terminal performance will be much the same. Arguably, your best bet would likely be a lowly 30-30 bullet. It'll open hard, and stay together as it never goes fast enough to ever really need to be tough. You could try .30 AR. It'll hit 2800 with a 125. You're not going to get anywhere close with a 145 or 150. You can try the AR, the HAmR or others and maybe hit 2300 fps with a 150.. welcome to the 30-30 Win.... There is no case that fits in an AR magazine that can drive a 140-150 .30 cal to 2800, 2900 or faster, fast enough to open a "tough bullet". So your choice is this: give up the AR platform? Give up the tough bullet idea? Or give up the 140-150 grain weight? You can get two out of three of those. You can't get all three |
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Maybe 400 legend necked down for 30-30 bullets . 1.65" case length , so its close to the HRT and Hamr in that respect , but with a couple or three more grains of capacity. Lends itself to wildcatting given its straight-wall nature. 30 , 32 , and 35 cal were considerations when I looked at it briefly. I'll just stay 375 socom though . * you might get away with 170gr FN which are pretty close in overall length with some of the 150gr . Also gets you a .256 sectional density which would be preferential on bear or boar . * with 375 socom , the bullet weight automatically gives you the SD ...200gr = .200 sd , 250gr = .250 SD |
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When I say tough bullet, I am basically thinking FMJ or near-FMJ to punch deep. I think 2,800FPS~3,000FPS is a bit optimistic for the case capacities and barrel lengths I am talking about and I don't want to run crazy chamber pressures, stout sure but not crazy either. |
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From Google on 300Ham'r, allegedly Bill Wilson's data 300 HAM'R HANDLOADING DATA WILSON COMBAT LOAD DATA Sierra 110gr HP-V #2110, 2.160" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 25.5gr A1680 or 26.0gr H CFEBLK Max load: 27.5gr A1680 or 28.0gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2500 2600FPS Lehigh 110gr CC #05-308-110-CUSP, 2.245" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 25.5gr A1680 or 26.0gr H CFEBLK Max load: 27.5gr A1680 or 28gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2500 2600FPS Sierra 125gr SBT PH #2120, 2.245" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 25.0gr A1680 or 26.0gr H CFEBLK Max load: 26.5gr A1680 or 27.8gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2450 2500FPS Speer 125gr TNT #1986/#3725, 2.245" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 25.0gr A1680 or 26.0gr H CFEBLK Max load: 26.0gr A1680 or 27.2gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2450 2500FPS Speer 130gr FPHC #2007, 2.175" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 25.0gr A1680 or 26.0gr H CFEBLK Max load: 26.5gr A1680 or 27.8gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2450 2500FPS Hornady 150gr SST #30303, 2.245" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 23.8gr H CFEBLK Max load: 24.8gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2190 2250FPS Speer 150gr FNHC #2011, 2.145" OAL WC 300 HAM'R case Start load: 23.6gr H CFEBLK Max load: 24.8gr H CFEBLK CCI450 Velocity range 2180 2240FPS |
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| One of my favorite deer calibers is Marty’s .30 HRT loaded with either the Barnes 110 gr. TTSX at 2400 fps or the 150 gr. Nosler Partition at 2100 fps. No deer within 250 yards will walk away unless I agree to it. |
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Originally Posted By sidpost: t I wonder about a "Grendel'ish" 30 ARC or 30HRT in a 6.8'ish AR-15. Yes, a pure handload option, but I expect a step up in velocity given the same mid-weight bullet options and enough power to run heavier options well. You could always go .300 OSSM. 
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I'll be the first to stand up for the 300 HAM'R. At the moment I have three bolt- actions and four AR rifles. My only problem is choosing which one to shoot on a given day. I will also say that I favor the 125-130 grain bullets but there is a lot of loading data out there for the 150gr. bullets. I've made a few trips out to Texas to shoot hogs and I've taken my fair share of whitetails here in NC. I can even throw in a couple of black bears to the mix. Every animal I fired at has either dropped dead, or at the most dropped within 20-30 yards. One small note to add. Remington has started to ship their version of the 300 HAM'R with a 130 grain Core-Lokt bullet and Savage is now offering their rifles in the HAM'R. Of course, Wilson Combat has everything "HAM'R" in stock. |
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Originally Posted By Graycard: I'll be the first to stand up for the 300 HAM'R. At the moment I have three bolt- actions and four AR rifles. My only problem is choosing which one to shoot on a given day. I will also say that I favor the 125-130 grain bullets but there is a lot of loading data out there for the 150gr. bullets. I've made a few trips out to Texas to shoot hogs and I've taken my fair share of whitetails here in NC. I can even throw in a couple of black bears to the mix. Every animal I fired at has either dropped dead, or at the most dropped within 20-30 yards. One small note to add. Remington has started to ship their version of the 300 HAM'R with a 130 grain Core-Lokt bullet and Savage is now offering their rifles in the HAM'R. Of course, Wilson Combat has everything "HAM'R" in stock. Oh , thats news about remington. Neat. Druid Hills Armory also has a handful of loads at or better prices on starline brass . @Graycard What barrel lengths do you use ? |
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Originally Posted By Graycard: I have 16", 18", and 20" rifles. But 9 out of 10 times, I will shoot a 16" barrel. My handloads with a 16" barrel and a 125 gr bullet will give me 2500-2550 fps. My 20" rifle will push that to over 2600 fps. Nice , and thanks . * going over to look at some of Mr Wilson's bbls now haha |
| I thought about a .30 cal wildcat based on the 350 Legend case to get slightly more case volume than the Blackout while still using the .223/Blackout bolt face, but in the end I figured the meager increase in velocity wouldn’t be worth the effort and expense. |
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The nice part of the .300 HAM'R is all that is required is a barrel change. Throw in a few Lancer 300BO magazines and you're set to go. I have yet to see a HAM'R that required more than 80-100 rounds before it was fully broken in. (A lot of the barrels didn't even require that.) |
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Originally Posted By Big-Bore: One of my favorite deer calibers is Marty’s .30 HRT loaded with either the Barnes 110 gr. TTSX at 2400 fps or the 150 gr. Nosler Partition at 2100 fps. No deer within 250 yards will walk away unless I agree to it. I remember when I was looking at a lot of these the HRT made a lot of sense. Isn't a straight neck up of 6.8? |
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| No, while the .30 HT IS based on the 6.8 case, it is necked up, resized, then trimmed to length. It uses 6.8 mags and must use a 6.8 bolt and .30 Herrett loading dies. The 6.8 case length is 1.687" while the .30 HRT case length is 1.605 inch. |
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Originally Posted By Big-Bore: No, while the .30 HT IS based on the 6.8 case, it is necked up, resized, then trimmed to length. It uses 6.8 mags and must use a 6.8 bolt and .30 Herrett loading dies. The 6.8 case length is 1.687" while the .30 HRT case length is 1.605 inch. Is it a single pass through the Herret die? I thought I remember it being a very simple resize. |
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Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: You could probably streamline the process a good bit by using Starline basic brass . Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Is it a single pass through the Herret die? I thought I remember it being a very simple resize. You could probably streamline the process a good bit by using Starline basic brass . I've never dealt with forming brass. I would have thought having the shoulder roughly in place and necking up from .270 to 308 would be easier than necking down from from 4xx and making a new shoulder. As I said I've never dealt with anything like that. |
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: I've never dealt with forming brass. I would have thought having the shoulder roughly in place and necking up from .270 to 308 would be easier than necking down from from 4xx and making a new shoulder. As I said I've never dealt with anything like that. Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Is it a single pass through the Herret die? I thought I remember it being a very simple resize. You could probably streamline the process a good bit by using Starline basic brass . I've never dealt with forming brass. I would have thought having the shoulder roughly in place and necking up from .270 to 308 would be easier than necking down from from 4xx and making a new shoulder. As I said I've never dealt with anything like that. Necking down is technically easier . Itd also put your case taper and shoulder where it needs to be from step one . The necking up and then sizing of the 6.8spc leaves some small details that get ironed out on first firing. I say technically, but the Starline brass requires annealing before and after . Both spc and starline basic will need trimmed down. * if you have an spc or access to once fired brass you're probably better off . |
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Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Oh , thats news about remington. Neat. Druid Hills Armory also has a handful of loads at or better prices on starline brass . @Graycard What barrel lengths do you use ? Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Originally Posted By Graycard: I'll be the first to stand up for the 300 HAM'R. At the moment I have three bolt- actions and four AR rifles. My only problem is choosing which one to shoot on a given day. I will also say that I favor the 125-130 grain bullets but there is a lot of loading data out there for the 150gr. bullets. I've made a few trips out to Texas to shoot hogs and I've taken my fair share of whitetails here in NC. I can even throw in a couple of black bears to the mix. Every animal I fired at has either dropped dead, or at the most dropped within 20-30 yards. One small note to add. Remington has started to ship their version of the 300 HAM'R with a 130 grain Core-Lokt bullet and Savage is now offering their rifles in the HAM'R. Of course, Wilson Combat has everything "HAM'R" in stock. Oh , thats news about remington. Neat. Druid Hills Armory also has a handful of loads at or better prices on starline brass . @Graycard What barrel lengths do you use ? 
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My HAM'R thread https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/300-HAM-R-HAMR-/121-787582/ |
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Originally Posted By tortilla-flats: I have an 8" for sale in the EE. Originally Posted By tortilla-flats: Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Originally Posted By Graycard: I'll be the first to stand up for the 300 HAM'R. At the moment I have three bolt- actions and four AR rifles. My only problem is choosing which one to shoot on a given day. I will also say that I favor the 125-130 grain bullets but there is a lot of loading data out there for the 150gr. bullets. I've made a few trips out to Texas to shoot hogs and I've taken my fair share of whitetails here in NC. I can even throw in a couple of black bears to the mix. Every animal I fired at has either dropped dead, or at the most dropped within 20-30 yards. One small note to add. Remington has started to ship their version of the 300 HAM'R with a 130 grain Core-Lokt bullet and Savage is now offering their rifles in the HAM'R. Of course, Wilson Combat has everything "HAM'R" in stock. Oh , thats news about remington. Neat. Druid Hills Armory also has a handful of loads at or better prices on starline brass . @Graycard What barrel lengths do you use ? Id be down for a 11.3" to 16" ... preferably 14.5-14.7" * between 11.3 and 16 , id probably lean 16 |
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Somebody made a 30 Major, which is a necked up 6.5 Grendel. Set some kind of benchrest world record. |
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Most FMJ rifle bullets aren't really tough. Luckily there are tons of hunting bullets if you need something actually tough. At the end of the day I think all of the main rounds that fit in an AR are gonig to be close to each other. If you don't mind the cost of niche ammo or you like to reload it's not a big deal. I'm a simple guy so my solution would be to just buy a 7.62x39 as someone suggested above or the HAMR if you like that and roll on. At some point you start looking at large frame gun where any round that fits in them trounces the ar15 stuff. Originally Posted By REXUS: Somebody made a 30 Major, which is a necked up 6.5 Grendel. Set some kind of benchrest world record. Originally Posted By REXUS: Somebody made a 30 Major, which is a necked up 6.5 Grendel. Set some kind of benchrest world record. What's old is new again From 7.62×39 Russian to 30 Major — Full Circle Arms expert Neil Gibson has an interesting perspective on the lineage of the 30 Major. He reminds us that this wildcat has returned to its roots: “Start off with the 7.62×39 Russian [cartridge]. The Russians then modify it, necking it down to .223 for deer hunting. The U.S. benchrest guys then modify that, necking it up to 6mm and blowing the case out making the 6mm PPC. Someone takes that case, necks it out to 6.5 mm, making the 6.5 PPC. Alexander Arms takes that and makes the 6.5 Grendel. Then finally Mike Ezell takes the Grendel and necks it up to 30 caliber, making the 30 Major. From 30 caliber, back to 30 caliber. OK, the original uses .31 caliber bullets, but the bore is still .300. Talk about almost coming round full circle!” |
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Originally Posted By KELBEAST: I was going to suggest that (jokingly). I believe the standard load was 150 gr at 3000. I have no idea where you would source a barrel or ammo though, unless you had a barrel custom cut and then built your own brass off Wssm cases. And then you’re obviously single stacking so mag capacity is 10? Or less in a 30. https://i.ibb.co/bg6MspZQ/IMG-6267.jpg" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/bg6MspZQ/IMG-6267.jpg Originally Posted By KELBEAST: Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: You could always go .300 OSSM. I was going to suggest that (jokingly). I believe the standard load was 150 gr at 3000. I have no idea where you would source a barrel or ammo though, unless you had a barrel custom cut and then built your own brass off Wssm cases. And then you’re obviously single stacking so mag capacity is 10? Or less in a 30. https://i.ibb.co/bg6MspZQ/IMG-6267.jpg" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/bg6MspZQ/IMG-6267.jpg That and the 30 Remington AR were both interesting and never really caught on. Got even harder to justify when the 308's really shrank down. |
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