What do you guys think of Hawk bullets? I've heard they are pretty soft, depending on jacket thickness i guess. Who has used them?

Thanks.

I shot a few of them, and yes they are soft. They expand very quickly. I prefer hard cast bullet over them.

I took them to Africa with my .338 several years ago,and I used htem on Mule Deer in my 7x57. In both instances I used the thickest jacket...They invaribly came apart so I quit using them...I advised them of the problem and suggested that they try a bonded core and they said that was a poor way to make a bullet, that it didn't work, and that they were not accurate, all of which I disagree with so go figure!

I suspect they would be OK with the old slow black powder rounds or old Win. calibers like a 45-70 etc., just a guess.

I too have used them in a couple of calibers (.416 Rem and .458 Lott), and they expand dramatically, but, they come apart and I would rather spend more money on a premium bullet.

Had the same results with these bullets when they were made in Denver. Stopped using them.

They are NOT soft!!!

When I spoke to the folks at hawk they told me straight up that the bullets were designed for low velocity. I'm shooting them in a BP rifle and the accuracy is astounding. The velocity is only about 1700fps, I think they should hold up at those speeds. We will see this fall.
Steve

agree with SKB...

I used them for several years as I had a 9x57 rimmed that had a .356 bore with very thin barrels (double rifle drilling), wish it had a .358 bore dia..

I bought 250 grain .356s and shot them at a glacial speed of about 2100 fps and shot a cow elk, antelope and mule deer. At the time you had a choice on jacket thickness, I chose the thicker jackets.

The bullets I found in the game I shot had the jacket separated from the core, but the jackets were still "with" the core in that they were both in the same locality in the decedent's carcas. In one case the jacket and lead core went through a vertebrae of an antelope and mushroomed in a textbook manner. When I picked the bullet out the core fell out of the now deformed jacket. Same old story, "At what time did the bullet fail during the death of the animal?"

They killed game wonderfully out of my rifle but I would assume that they might blow to peices out of a fast cartridge. Nothing to back that up other than conjecture.

A gentleman I know who has many double rifles shoots Hawk bullets all the time at about 2300 - 2400 fps and he loves them, but he doesn't shoot any dangerous game with them. A slow (2000 fps+), heavy .458, .500 or .577 chunk of lead will most likely drop anything in the US.

I winced every time I pulled the trigger when I used Hawks, not at the recoil, but at the $0.80 bullet cost (about 10 years ago). Should have invested in a mold and shot cast bullets. Finally sold the rifle.

I hope this helps. They might be great bullets for your particular situation.

As others have pointed out, they are best in low-velocity rounds, where they perform quite well and usually demonstrate excellent accuracy.

Push them beyond their limit, however, and they will come unglued rather quickly.

You can see how well the 180gr 30cal Hawks compared to other Bullets in Gary Sciuchetti's Best Bullet Test. It is a very large file, so may take awhile to open on Dial-Up.

I used them in an old 303 hammer double I once owned. The bores were badly worn and over sized and .312 bullets keyholed so I shot Hawk .318s on the recommendation of J.J. at Champlins. They worked great on deer and turkey. They are very accurate and work very well at velocities below 2200 fps or if you want bombs at faster velocities on thin skin game.

Perry

hawkgrenades? What about em? the DETONATED, or coin, or "go solid" with no prediciblity

Hot Core,
Thanks for the link. That is a very interesting table. I am surprised to see how well the Rem SP RN Core Lokt and the Win. Power Point held up. The Speer Grand Slams and Mag Tips showed well. Almost better than some of the premium bullets. A-Square, Swifts A Frames and Trophy Bonded of course held up well. According to this test is seems the Win Power Point has a wider range of performance than most of the others. One test, one caliber though!

I've used the .030 jacket 300 grain 9.3mm bullet at 2000 fps from one of my rifles for many years with extremely reliable performance on game. Accurate, lots of expansion and outstanding penetration. I've never seen one come apart on game, as they've always exited and are not recovered.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Hey Magnum, From my experience, the results in the Chart mimic fairly closely how those Bullets react in Deer, Bear and Hogs.

Completely agree with your observations. The RN Remington was apparently a stash of one of their Original Wasp Waist Designs. They had quit making it, but have brought that Design back in their new Ultra Bonded Bullets.

The Chart is a bit old, but was/is an excellent reference for people who want to compare Designs.

The Chart might be still available for $15 which included the Shipping. I have one in my Reloading Room and reference it when I'm able to recover a Bullet.

Gary D. Sciuchetti
14610 E. Bill Gulch Road
Mead, WA 99021
gsciuchetti@yahoo.com

I have used Hawk bullets with EXCELLENT results.

I have taken deer and several pigs with the 300gr. .408, .025jkt bullet in my 450/400 3 1/4" double at @ 2330fps.
I have taken one wild pig with a 400gr. .408, .035jkt bullet, again in the 400 double, at @ 2200fps.

I have taken deer, several impala, and several wild pigs with a 285gr., 9,3 .035jkt bullet in my 9,3x74R double rifle, at @ 2225fps.

EVERY ANIMAL I have shot has been a bang/flop, except one pig that ran 20 or 25 feet.

Baised on my use of the Hawk bullets, in the calibres, JKT THICKNESS, and VELOCITIES I have used them, I must say they are PERFECT, in EVERY WAY.

I stopped shooting the 175gr 7mm Hawks after they kept completely turning inside out. This was in a 7x57 @2500 fps. I used to be one of their few supporters, but even I can't reccomend them any more if there are other options. I finally go tirked when I almost lost a deer in some really thick stuff. only had a high entrance wound ona striaght broadside shot with no bones hit. Zero blood and the only reaso I found him is because I got lucky. But i did shoot through the chestes (again, no bones) of 2 black bears that were over 400# each. Then again, a second shot at one of the bears as he ran straight away from me only penetrated his hind quarter a few inches before ocmpletely flattening out.

I am going to try them in a .450 BPE I am building (just like SKB's). I will run them at original black powder velocity and see how they do. I think the heavy jacket versions at 2000 fps or so might work on a whitetail.

REMEMBER THIS KEY FACT:

These are the EXACT type bullet used back "in the good ol' days." If you do any reading at all, then I am sure you read where any rifle under .40 or .45 caliber was unsuited even for small whitetails. That is because the bullets acted just like Hawks. When you read about bullet failure, insert "Hawk" and then reread the story. It is also the reason why I think a .450 BPE will kill deer just fine with Hawks.

But use one in a modern round over say 2100 fps? I will never do it again.