SKU: RIFLE4353M
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4136
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4239
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4411
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4323M
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4324M
Wilson Combat
SKU: RIFLE4443
Wilson Combat
Competition, Defense, Military & Law Enforcement, Hunting
The 300 HAM'R® was developed with one thing in mind: OPTIMAL TERMINAL PERFORMANCE. It offers near .308 Winchester effectiveness on game animals with amazing accuracy and low recoil in the lightweight and compact AR-15 platform. Terminal performance testing on over 2000 Texas feral hogs and various game animals as large as 800 pounds has proven it to kill much more effectively than the 6.5mm Grendel, 6.8mm SPC, 7.62×39 or 300 Blackout.
Due to optimizing bullet weight to barrel twist, accuracy has proven to be outstanding. Sub-one-inch groups are the norm, with multiple bullet choices for varying applications such as hunting, target shooting, and tactical use. Undoubtedly, the 300 HAM'R will be compared to the popular 300 Blackout or 7.62×39 and as the comparison charts below indicate, the ballistics of the 300 HAM'R far exceeds the 300 Blackout and 7.62×39 in both velocity and energy when utilizing 95-150gr bullets.
The 300 HAM'R is SAAMI approved! You can view the press release here. Cartridge and chamber drawings are also available.
Jump down to the catalog"I guess you could say the project originally started way back in 2005 when JD Jones sent me one of his 300 Whisper uppers and a set of dies. This cartridge seemed like a good idea to me. In order for it to fire heavy subsonic bullets, a short case with minimal powder capacity was required. Being an avid hunter, my primary interest was terminal performance, and the 300 Whisper just didn't get the job done for me. So, at that point, I moved on to the 6.8 SPC and did a lot of work with it and killed a LOT of hogs and deer.
I've always been a bigger bullet is better bullet guy and a .277" diameter bullet just wasn't exactly what I wanted. Then, in 2008, Remington came out with the .30 Rem AR, and I started getting the terminal performance on the game that I was after. However, that caliber has its share of issues, such as a proprietary upper receiver, bolt carrier group, and magazine. Then you add on the fact that shortly after Remington brought this caliber to market, they quit supporting it. I never did understand this.
Along came the 300 Blackout that Robert Silvers sent me early on for testing. I didn't see any terminal performance improvement over the 6.8SPC with 110-125gr bullets, and it didn't shoot nearly as flat. I briefly tried shooting hogs with heavy subsonic bullets, but the rainbow trajectory and poor bullet performance on game animals turned me off quickly.
This brings us up to the 7.62×40 originally the brainchild of Kurt Buchert. Kurt's cartridge, which Wilson Combat brought to market as the 7.62x40WT, is a well-balanced cartridge that met Kurt's requirement for it to accept virtually every .30 caliber bullet in the 110-135gr weight range. However, to achieve this with the long-pointed bullets, the case length had to be limited to 1.565" (40mm). Don't get me wrong, I really like the 7.62×40 and have done a lot of successful hunting with it. But I always wanted more, to at least equal the legendary and time-proven .30-30 Winchester in terminal performance.
So, I came up with this quest to create a .30 caliber cartridge that could be fired from an AR-15 platform utilizing the original 5.56 bolt, and I was going to call it the .30-30AR. Obviously, the logical place to start was with Kurt's 7.62×40. As I mentioned above, the problem was a lack of powder capacity, so the first thing I did was to lengthen the throat by .060" to allow the bullets to be seated out longer. This didn't gain anything with the long, nose-pointed bullets already seated out to maximum magazine length. It allowed me to seat bullets designed for the .30-30 out an additional .060", giving me an additional grain of powder and reducing pressure due to the larger case volume. The result is that I gained about 50 fps with the Speer 130gr HC, which proved to be a very terminally effective projectile.
Now, I have a problem: we can't just start chambering the 7.62x40WT with a different chamber! Also, in my opinion, the two main factors that prevented the 7.62x40WT from being more successful in the marketplace were the name and the other bad timing. When Wilson Combat releases a new and similar cartridge at basically the same time as the SAAMI-approved 300 Blackout with Remington Arms behind it, let's face it, who's going to win? Therefore, a minor facelift of the 7.62x40WT wasn't going to meet my goals for this project, even if I could get close to the .30-30 in performance. So here I am back to powder capacity, or the lack of and the first step is to determine which bullets the cartridge must be compatible with and decide if this selection is adequate to meet all of the goals for the intended use of the cartridge (hunting, target and tactical).
Once I answered yes, measurements were made to determine how long the case could be and still work with the bullets I had selected. This was .040" longer than the 7.62×40 or .260" longer than the 300 Blackout. At this point, I called Pacific Tool and Gage and worked with Dave Kiff to finalize a chamber reamer. The reamer arrived in early January 2018, and my testing began.
It was immediately apparent that there was potential and that we could probably gain 100 fps over the 7.62×40 and a lot more over the 300 Blackout. My good friend Terrill Hoffman and I shot thousands of rounds testing loads and barrel twist rates since I also wanted this cartridge to be optimized for accuracy.
Then one day I was corresponding with Ron Reiber of Hodgdon Powder Company and he strongly suggested that we try their new CFEBLK powder. To make this long story shorter, this ended up being a game changer and the final piece to the puzzle. It gave us improved accuracy and more velocity with less pressure, allowing me to exceed my original velocity goals. Once I decided on a 1-15 twist rate for the barrels and we were good on ballistic performance and accuracy, all that was left was to decide on a name and test real-world terminal performance.
During the early testing, we called it the .30-30AR. That was the name on the original chamber reamer print and what we engraved on early test barrels. My buddy Terrill said something to the effect of "Only us old guys know and care much about the old thuty-thuty". So we came up with a bunch of potential names, and someone at the shop said, “We just came out with the 458 HAM'R, and we have a trademark on HAM'R, so let's call it the 300 HAM'R"! Now 13 years later, THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of rounds downrange, several scrap barrels, one upper blown up, and thousands of dead Texas feral hogs, we have the 300 HAM'R that not only meets all of my original goals but EXCEEDS them!"
– Bill Wilson
The 300 HAM'R can duplicate the proven ballistics of the legendary .30-30 Winchester from a comparable barrel length. However, it does this with much more efficiency, taking only 25-28 grains of powder compared to the 34-38 grains the .30-30 requires. No other caliber that can be fired in an AR-15 platform rifle utilizing a 5.56/.223 bolt can come close to this ballistic performance!
300 HAM'R Ballistics ComparisonThe chart above shows the large advantage the 300 HAM'R has over the 300 BLACKOUT or 7.62×39 at common hunting ranges. The 300 HAM'R has 18% more retained velocity, 40% more energy, and a 56% flatter trajectory than the 300 BLACKOUT at 200 yards!
The 300 HAM'R has a solid 300FPS velocity and 400FP energy advantage over factory 300 Blackout at the muzzle.
Other Facts:
Tactical/Home Protection: The 300 HAM'Rs performance in the hunting fields proves the cartridge's increased terminal performance over its 5.56, 6.5, or 6.8 rivals and makes it an optimal choice for home defense. Its terminal performance and magazine capacity make it a smart choice for tactical use or protecting your family.
300 HAM'R compared to a 5.56mm/.223:
300 HAM'R compared to a 6.8mm SPC:
Hunting: Think of the 300 HAM'R as a 300 Blackout on steroids; in the hunting field, the HAM'R will substantially outperform the BLACKOUT or 7.62×39 in all relevant areas: velocity, energy, trajectory, and terminal performance. The light recoiling 300 HAM'R is an ideal choice for young hunters or anyone sensitive to heavy recoil.
Target/Range: With its stellar accuracy and low recoil, the 300 HAM'R is a natural for the range. During our extensive testing groups as small as .2" were recorded and sub .75" 100 yard groups were very common
All of our 300 HAM'R ammunition velocities are listed from an 18″ barrel. The velocity rises and falls at an average of approximately 25-35 ft per second per inch.
Which loads should be used for best accuracy for range and use target shooting?
All of the following have proven to be very accurate: Speer 125gr TNT, Sierra 125gr SBT, Hornady 125gr FMJ, and 135gr Hornady FTX. However, the Sierra 125gr SBT in our testing shot well in all barrels, and we consider it the best all-around load for accuracy.
Which loads are recommended for the best terminal performance for hunting?
Which loads are recommended for home/ranch defense?
Ammunition Applications:
Wilson Combat load data (last updated 6/29/2023)
Accurate/Western load data for A1680 (last updated 9/2018)
Recommended bullet choices that are suitable for the 300 HAM'R:
Reloading supplies are available direct from Wilson Combat!
What primers are recommended for 300 HAM'R?
We recommend CCI450, Federal GM205MAR or CCI41.
What is the recommended case trim length?
Cutting spent .223 casings – Trim to 1.595".
What powders are suitable for use with 300 HAM'R?
For maximum velocity and best accuracy, Hodgdon CFE-BLK is recommended. Good performing loads can also be produced with Accurate 1680, IMR 4227, Vihtavuori N120, or Shooters World BLACKOUT. Shooters World SOCOM is suitable for 95gr and some 110gr loads.
1-13 twist: Recommended for 150gr loads and for use in extremely cold conditions.
1-15 twist: Shoots all bullet weights from 95gr to 150gr well; however, at extremely cold temperatures of below zero, some longer 150gr bullets may become unstable. It is optimal for 95gr-135gr bullets.
What magazines are recommended for 300 HAM'R?
Any magazine designed for the 300 BLACKOUT from the following manufacturers: Lancer, D&H, MagPul, or Wilson Combat
"I have been hunting Whitetail Deer for 54 years. I have used most calibers available throughout those years. Without a doubt, the 300 HAM'R is the best caliber I have ever used on Whitetail Deer in north central Arkansas. Since getting my Wilson 300 HAM'R, I have shot it 4 times at deer and watched all 4 hit the ground. This buck was taken at 230 yards. It entered his left shoulder and exited his right shoulder, and went less than 20 yards. Very impressive caliber, and the 130gr HAM'R HOT-CORE load seems ideal for Whitetail deer and hogs."
- Lynn K, DDS
Arkansas
You can learn more about the Wilson Combat AR-15 rifle models available in 300 HAM'R by clicking on each model category below, or jump straight into the catalog of available in-stock rifles chambered in 300 HAM'R available to select from below!
