Built to bring .30-30 ballistics to the AR platform, the .300 Ham'r is on-target as a modern-day hunting cartridge.

What Makes the .300 Ham'r Such A Potent .30 Caliber:

• The parent case is .223 Remingtion necked up to accpet a .30-caliber bullet.
• Designed to Handle bulletweights from 110 to 150 rgains.
• Has an COL of 2.260 inches, so it functions in an AR-15 magazine.
• Capable of pushing a 150-grain bullet 2,240 fps at the muzzle.

In 2018, Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat announced the .300 Ham’r to match or better .30-30 Winchester performance in an AR magazine-length round. Thus, the cartridge was hatched to compete with the 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, 7.62×39 and .300 Blackout, with an eye toward killing wild pigs, thus the nod to “ham” in the name.

Wilson himself says, “The project originally started way back in 2005, when J.D. Jones sent me one of his .300 Whisper uppers and a set of dies. 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 I killed a lot of hogs and deer.”

Then, in 2008, Remington came out with the .30 Rem. AR, and Wilson started getting the terminal performance on game that he was after. However, that caliber has its share of issues, such as a proprietary upper receiver, bolt carrier group and magazine. Also, shortly after Remington brought this cartridge to market, it quit supporting it.

Wilson was also familiar with the 7.62×40, originally the brainchild of Kurt Buchert. Wilson Combat brought that round to market as the 7.62x40WT, a well-balanced cartridge that accepted virtually every .30-caliber bullet in the 110- to 135-grain weight range. However, to achieve this with the long-pointed bullets, the case length had to be limited to 1.565 inches, which wouldn’t allow the 7.62x40WT, in a rifle utilizing a 5.56/.223 bolt, to equal the legendary and time-proven .30-30 Winchester in terminal performance.

More Ammunition Information:

• The Blistering Hot 30 Nosler
• The .280 Ackley Improved
• If You Had To Pick Just One Cartridge, What Would It Be?
• Loading the .308 Winchester

Wilson then selected bullets he wanted to use and reverse-engineered the case length to fit within the AR magwell, determining he could get .040-inch more case length than the 7.62×40 and .260-inch more than the .300 Blackout. Ron Reiber of Hodgdon Powder Company then recommended Hodgdon’s new CFEBLK powder, which improved accuracy and velocity with less pressure. A 1:15 twist rate for the barrels finished the equation.

General Comments

The .300 Ham’r has noticeable velocity and energy advantages over factory .300 Blackout rounds at the muzzle. With a 16.25-inch barrel, the .300 Ham’r sends a Sierra 110-grain hollowpoint to 2,600 fps with 1,651 ft-lbs. of energy, compared to the Hornady Black 110-grain V-Max at 2,395 fps MV and 1,401 ft-lbs. of energy. Likewise, the .300 Ham’r beats the 7.62×39 in a 16.25-inch barrel.

The Ham’r shoots a Hornady 150-grain SST to a muzzle velocity of 2,240 fps with 1,671 ft-lbs. of energy. The factory 7.62×39 in the same barrel length and bullet weight (Winchester 150-grain Razorback XT) develops 2,056 fps and 1,408 ft-lbs. Out of a compact .30-30 lever-action with a 16-inch barrel, the shooter can expect to push a 150-grain bullet to about 2,250 fps.

Wilson Combat supports the handloader with Lee and RCBS reloading dies, a Wilson Combat headspace/bullet seating gage, “WC 300 Ham’r” headstamped cases, and .308-caliber bullets. Wilson Combat has also introduced five AR-pattern rifles for the new chambering: Bill Wilson Ranch Rifle package, Tactical Hunter Model, Ultralight Ranger Model, Lightweight Hunter Model and the Ranger Model.

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