FAQ

Can I shoot the 330-grain 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in Ruger Super Blackhawk, Colt Anaconda, Taurus, or Smith & Wesson revolvers?

Can I shoot the 330-grain 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in a Freedom Arms revolver?

Can I shoot the 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in a lever-action rifle?

Can I shoot any of your 45-70 loads in a trapdoor Springfield rifle?

Why can't I shoot the 540-grain Hammerhead Ammo in guns other than the Marlin rifle?

Does the 540-grain Hammerhead Ammo actually out-penetrate the 458 Winchester Magnum?

What do we mean by SuperHardCast?

What is a meplat?

Do the 45-70 Hammerhead bullets possess meplat diameters sufficient to protect against recoil induced ignition in the tubular magazine?

What primers are used in Garrett Hammerhead Ammo?

What primers are used in Garrett Exiter Ammo?

What kind of brass are we using?

Do our SuperHardCast Hammerhead bullets leave lead in the barrel?

Are our 44 Magnum loads really capable of handling grizzly?

When shooting game, should I target the shoulder or the lungs?

How accurate is our ammunition?

Why do we recommend our 540-grain 45-70 ammo for close-quarters work against grizzly instead of our 420-grain ammo?

What is meant by our weight-forward design?

How do we package our ammunition?

Colt Anaconda 44 mag and 330+P?

S&W Night Guard revolver 2.5 inch barrel 44 Mag, which of your loads is best?

Is there is an expiration date on your ammo?

I have a Raging Bull .44 6.5 inch barrel stainless steel — would the 310 Hammerhead be a good fit for bear defense?

Your Hammerhead ammo cannot be fired in the Ruger Super Blackhawk?

Would you recommend any of your heavy 44 mag loads with the Ruger Alaskan 2.5” barrel?

I have a .44 mag 4 inch barrel 629-1 Smith and Wesson built in the 80s. I know I can't fire real hot loads as it may damage gun. Can you recommend one of your products that I might be able to use in this gun for an imaginary grizzly or a real life black bear.

I have a Winchester reproduction of the 1886 lever action takedown model, caliber 45-70, manufactured in 1999. Is your ammunition appropriate for this rifle? What would you recommend?

I'm interested in your 540 gr. Hammerhead ammunition for the 45/70. I've heard nothing but good about this ammo. My question is this: I own a Marlin 1895, mfg. in 1980. Info on your website states that this particular ammunition is safe in Marlin 1895's manufactured AFTER 1998. Did Marlin change their receivers and/or barrels in that time that would make it unsafe to fire through mine?

Which cartridge do you suggest for the Henry 45-70? I recently purchased a new Henry lever action 45-70 rifle as a bear guarding/guide gun for protection against inland grizzlies on dense brush cover trails in very remote areas of central Alaska.

Of the three varieties of Garrett 44 Magnum ammunition (310 gr Defender; 310 gr Hammerhead: and 330 gr +P Hammerhead), is the 330 gr +P Hammerhead the only one that cannot be used in the S&W Model 29?

Can I shoot the 330-grain 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in Ruger Super Blackhawk, Colt Anaconda, Taurus, or Smith & Wesson revolvers?
No, our 330-gr +P Hammerhead Ammo generates too much pressure for those guns, and is recommended for use only in Ruger Redhawks, Ruger Super Redhawks, Dan Wessons, Taurus Raging Bulls (no other Taurus), and custom long-cylindered single action revolvers built by Hamilton Bowen, Gary Reeder, and John Gallagher.
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Can I shoot the 330-grain 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in a Freedom Arms revolver?
No. Although strength is not an issue, the Freedom Arms revolver uses a cylinder that is too short for use with our long 330-grain Hammerhead Ammo.
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Can I shoot the 44 Magnum Hammerhead Ammo in a lever-action rifle?
No, both loads are too long to function properly in lever-action rifles.
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Can I shoot any of your 45-70 loads in a trapdoor Springfield rifle?
Only our Springfield load which is safe for any factory chambered 45-70 firearm including trapdoors and replicas. The rest of our 45-70 ammo offerings generate far too much pressure for use in the trapdoor Springfield. Do not violate this recommendation as severe injury or death could result!
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Why can't I shoot the 540-grain Hammerhead Ammo in guns other than the Marlin rifle?
Our 540-grain bullet has an extremely blunt nose, which results in greater than normal diameter very close to the meplat (forward end) of the bullet. Unfortunately, this keeps the 540-grain Hammerhead Ammo from chambering in most 45-70 rifles. Only the Marlin can chamber our super blunt 540-grainer.
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Does the 540-grain Hammerhead Ammo actually out-penetrate the 458 Winchester Magnum and 500 Nitro Express when using solids?
Yes, as was demonstrated for all to see at a recent John Linebaugh seminar. The penetration results, which parallel ours, demonstrated that the 458 Winchester Magnum produces 47-inches of penetration in wet newspaper with 500-grain roundnose solids and that the 500 Nitro Express produces 48-inches of penetration in wet newspaper with 570-grain roundnose solids. By comparison, our 540-grainer with its super blunt front end produces an impressive 55-inches of penetration in the same material. Nearly 20% deeper penetration than the 458 or 500 Nitro Express with roundnose solids! Although our 540-gr Hammerhead Ammo out-penetrates these heavy magnum calibers in wet newspapers and ballistic gelatin, we strong recommend our 500-gr Exiter Ammo for those in pursuit of Africa's heaviest game: elephant, rhino, hippo, and Cape buffalo. The outstanding Hornady copper-clad heavy steel jacketed flatnose solid used in our Exiter Ammo is the strongest solid available to 45-70 shooters, and is thus the best choice for the heavy bone-busting required for these extra-heavy species.
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What do we mean by SuperHardCast?
Our use of this term is intended to differentiate between what have commonly been called hard-cast bullets and our very special SuperHardCast bullets. Hand-cast by us from custom Hensley & Gibbs blocks, our low-antimony bullets possess superior hardening characteristics. Our hardening process takes our bullets to 25-Brinnell, without the brittleness so common to high-antimony alloys. This is an essential element in the production of proper castings intended for use against heavy game. High-antimony alloys are the standard in the industry due to their ability to achieve acceptable rejection rates from automatic casting machines and 20-Brinnell hardness without additional hardening. This is what characterizes the better commercial machine-cast bullets. However, achieving hardness with the brittleness of high antimony alloys is hard to justify when the game is heavy or possibly dangerous. By contrast, our SuperHardCast Hammerheads possess none of the brittleness of high-antimo y bullets, and are therefore far more reliable when impacted into extremely tough game. If the stress of impact exceeds the strength of our 25-Brinnell bullets (as in pointblank impact into the heaviest game with our high-speed 420 grain 45-70 ammo), the bullet simply deforms modestly, retaining virtually all of its weight. This is in sharp contrast to the all-too-common shattering of conventional high-antimony castings when deployed under similar conditions.
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What is a meplat?
The term meplat refers to the flat on the front of the nose of the bullet. Since it is always a circle, it is generally referred to by its diameter in inches. Our 44 Magnum Hammerheads both possess a meplat diameter of .320-inch, while our 45-70 Hammerheads sport a .330-inch meplat on the 420-grainer and a huge .360-inch meplat on the 540-grainer. When using hard-cast bullets it is essential to use a blunt front end (broad meplat) in order to quickly incapacitate game. All of our Hammerheads possess extremely broad meplats, and can be depended upon to quickly anchor heavy game as well as provide extreme penetration. Our 45-70 bullets are by far the bluntest cast-bullet designs available in the caliber, dwarfing the all to common .300-inch meplat.
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Do the 45-70 Hammerhead bullets possess meplat diameters sufficient to protect against recoil induced ignition in the tubular magazine?
This is a critically important safety issue for those firing heavy recoiling ammo in tubular magazine rifles. When loaded into the lever-action firearm, cartridges are pushed up into a tubular magazine that aligns them bullet-nose to cartridge-head. The bullet nose actually contacts the area around the primer, and even bridges it. Due to this, it is essential that the bullet nose be very blunt in order to prevent contact with the primer during the recoil pulse. The greater the recoil pulse, the greater the need for concern regarding meplat diameter. The importance of this cannot be overstated. A recoil-induced ignition in the tubular magazine is a potentially catastrophic event, both to the gun and the shooter. In response to this safety concern, we have chosen to design our bullets with the broadest meplats in the industry. This extra bluntness provides a very real measure of protection with heavy recoiling loads.
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What primers are used in Garrett Hammerhead Ammo?
Our 44 Magnum Ammo uses Remington primers, factory-installed by Remington. Our 45-70 Govt and Hammerhead Ammo uses military-spec, slam-fire safe, large rifle primers. This primer provides an additional layer of protection against recoil-induced magazine ignitions, and also provides superior low-temperature performance.
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What primers are used in Garrett Exiter Ammo?
Our 45-70 Exiter Ammo uses large rifle primers.
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What kind of brass are we using?
We use Remington, Winchester, and Starline cases for our 44 Magnum ammunition, and Starline cases for our 45-70 ammunition.
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Do our SuperHardCast Hammerhead bullets leave lead in the barrel?
Where our 45-70 ammo is concerned, our bullets are gas-checked and will leave a clean barrel. The minor cleaning that is required, will remove far less stubborn after-effects than is left behind by jacketed bullets. Where our 44 Magnum ammo is concerned, our bullets are plain-base. Although leading does vary with the gun, the great majority of revolver barrels retain only trace amounts of lead. Also, the lead left in the barrel is quite easy to remove by simply dry brushing the barrel. The alloy is so hard that it quickly brushes off the surface. Softer alloys are much harder to remove due to their tendency to smear rather than brush off. Softer alloys also tend to build-up on the surface of the barrel to a far greater degree than harder alloys.
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Are our 44 Magnum loads really capable of handling grizzly?
The answer is yes, in the hands of a reliable shot. From a comparative point of view, our 44 Magnum Hammerheads provide far more penetration than the 300-grain NosIer Partition fired from the 375 Holland & Holland. Also, both bullets present an extremely blunt front end (meplat). Our 44 bullets also offer far greater security from bullet fracture or deflection than any expanding bullet. Since beginning production in 1988 we have had many customers defend themselves from grizzlies, and always our 44 Magnum ammo has provided super-deep penetration, generally to the hips on a frontally shot bear (even when the skull is engaged.)
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When shooting game, should I target the shoulder or the lungs?
Our SuperHardCast bullets do their most lethal work when fired into the shoulder bones of big-game. An exit wound usually results, even when the game is elk and the caliber is 44 Magnum. Expanding bullets often fragment or fail to penetrate adequately when fired into heavy bone, and therefore are best targeted into the relatively soft tissue behind the shoulder. A hard-cast bullet through the shoulders is a faster killer than an expanding bullet through the lungs, and should the shooter "throw a flyer", a hard-cast bullet through the lungs is more reliable than an expanding bullet into heavy shoulder bones. The same advice also applies for our 45-70 ammo. However, the penetration and impact-effect is considerably greater, and even allows for rear angle shots on heavy game.
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How accurate is our ammunition?
Accuracy potential generally exceeds that of the shooter. Shooters consistently report better than two inch 5-shot groups at 50-yds with our 44 Magnum ammo (see published comments by John Taffin and Charles Petty). Our 45-70 ammo generally delivers 1-inch to 1.5-inch 3-shots groups at 100-yds from lever-actions, and MOA from single-shots.
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Why do we recommend our 540-grain 45-70 ammo for close-quarters work against grizzly instead of our 420-grain ammo?
The stress experienced by a bullet upon impact is the product of the toughness of the target and the speed of impact. Therefore, when engaging an extremely tough target at close-quarters, such as a heavy coastal grizzly or buffalo, reliable power is best achieved by lowering velocity and increasing bullet weight. This insures that impact velocity is not excessive, which can overwhelm even the toughest alloy. Although well suited to grizzly defense, our 420-grainer with its .330" meplat, higher velocity, and flatter trajectory is best deployed as a heavy game hunting round, whereas our 540-grainer with its huge .360" meplat, extreme weight, and lower velocity, is best deployed as a heavy game close-quarters stopper.
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What is meant by our weight-forward design?
Unlike other bullet designs, our 44 Magnum Hammerheads have extra long noses that take full advantage of the length of the cylinders in which they are fired. When our ammo is chambered in the firearms for which they are recommended, the bullet noses come to within .030-inch of the end of the cylinder. In this way we are able to utilize the chamber throat as a "storage area", as opposed to its usual function as an empty pre-barrel pathway. Since our 44 Magnum Hammerheads have extra-long noses, they correspondingly have shorter than normal bases, resulting in very shallow seating depth. The shorter the seating depth exhibited by a bullet, the greater the gunpowder storage capacity of the cartridge case. This is an essential element to the creation of high performance revolver ammo. Other builders of 44 Magnum ammo keep their cartridges short so they can function through lever-action carbines and clip-fed autos. Unfortunately this requires the deep seating of bullets, and greatly limits the gunpowder capacity of the case, resulting in lower velocity. By extending the bullet weight forward we gain an additional 100-fps over what is possible with conventional designs at the same chamber pressure. It is our view that the 44 Magnum is best chambered in the revolver, and we build our ammo to perform to full potential in the revolver.
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How do we package our ammunition?
All of our ammunition is packaged in MTM plastic boxes.
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Colt Anaconda 44 mag and 330+P
Based on reports from leading gunsmith’s, I recommend against the use of our 330gr.+P Hammerhead Ammo in your Anaconda. Although sporting a very large and impressive cylinder the gun does not have a forward crane lockup, and is thus a poor choice for the heaviest of loads. It is not a concern over blowing it up, it is a concern about shaking it loose. So you would be best advised to fire only standard pressure ammo in your Anaconda. Therefore, the proper choice for you would be either our 310gr Hammerhead Ammo or our 310gr Defender Ammo. Both are excellent loads and both will take heavy North American game with reliability, out to 120-yds with the 310 Hammerhead ammo and about 70-yds with the Defender ammo.
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S&W Night Guard revolver 2.5 inch barrel 44 Mag, which of your loads is best?
The 310 Defender load. It has the exact same bullet as the 310 Hammerhead load. The powder in the Defender load is better suited for short barrel (actually this load was developed by Randy Garrett for 4 inch guns). This is a very hard/tough bullet with proper nose shape. I am big on wrist lanyards when sleeping on the ground in any bear country. You personally don't get to pick that fight but if it comes to it, it would be handy to do your waking up with a gun like yours full of 310 Defender in hand.
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Is there is an expiration date on your ammo?
When these bullets age they get harder for about the first week up to 27 to 29 BHN. Then they will slowly soften to around 25 (Brian Pearce thinks they will continue to soften to about 22 — 24 range and he probably knows more about this because he has better testing equipment). Linotype is 22 BHN. As you can see, when these bullets are at their softest they are harder than any lead alloy bullet you are likely to encounter. I personally have had 330 +P Garrett’s hidden from myself for up to 10 years and have in no way hesitated to use them and had no indications of excessive pressures. Randy may be the only person in the world that is more conservative than me when it comes to pressures. Consider this; there are faster, heavier, softer bullets available in factory ammunition that people shoot out of Super Blackhawks.
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I have a Raging Bull .44 6.5 inch barrel stainless steel — would the 310 Hammerhead be a good fit for bear defense?
Both 310 loads and the 330+P will work in your gun. The best load for bear defense is the one you have the most confidence in recoil wise. However this is a heavy gun and even the 330’s aren’t bad. In the same situation I would have the 330’s in my 5½” Redhawk.
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Your Hammerhead ammo cannot be fired in the Ruger Super Blackhawk?
The 310HH load is great in the Blackhawk. The 330HH is a +P load that is extra-long and was designed to take advantage of both the extra-long cylinder and extra strength of the Redhawk. Yes, the Redhawk cylinder is thicker walled and longer than the Blackhawk. The 330HH load is too long on purpose to work in an N frame S&W or Blackhawk. With a customized “long” cylinder, the Blackhawk can make a great gun for the 330HH, but it does require a longer cylinder. (Read “Make Mine a .44” article, the link is on our home page.). John Gallagher builds a bunch of these. Randy Garrett has a Gallagher Bisley fitted with a long cylinder and I have two Blackhawks from Hamilton Bowen (some of my most prized firearms), both fitted with long cylinders to accommodate the Garrett 330HH that I had done long before I even met Randy Garrett.
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Would you recommend any of your heavy 44 mag loads with the Ruger Alaskan 2.5” barrel?
Any of our 44 Mag loads will work. A main consideration on which load you choose is your gun handling experience and how you deal with recoil. I recently fired 12 of each load thru a Super Redhawk Alaskan 2-1/2” just to get average velocity and check for problems. Short test but no problems. Interestingly the recoil of the 330+P out of the Alaskan was noticeably easier on the hands than the same load fired out of my favorite 5-1/2” standard Redhawk.
Alaskan Test Results;
310 Defender 934fps
310 Hammerhead 1092fps
330+P Hammerhead 1161fps
The 330 +P Hammerhead cartridge has the integrity to stay together in the Alaskan. If we are talking about using this as a bear defense gun (very close range/hair on front sight) the 1161fps velocity as an impact velocity is right in the ballpark for maximum skull crushing penetration. Until proven otherwise we have the hardest, toughest alloy in the industry. (You might also obtain a wrist lanyard for when sleeping in bad places.)
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I have a .44 mag 4 inch barrel 629-1 Smith and Wesson built in the 80s. I know I can't fire real hot loads as it may damage gun. Can you recommend one of your products that I might be able to use in this gun for an imaginary grizzly or a real life black bear.
Our 310HH load was designed to get the most out of a S&W M29 with standard 44mag pressures. This is accomplished with a proprietary bullet design that maximizes bullet alignment and takes advantage of the fact that a S&W M29 or a Ruger Blackhawk both have cylinders that allow a much longer cartridge length than the SAAMI standard 44mag. (This is the primary reason our Hammerhead bullets don’t work in most repeating rifles, they are too long.) By having a bullet that seats out farther in a revolver cylinder, we can take advantage of the “freed up” powder space and have higher velocity at standard pressure with a 300+ grain bullet than any standard length cartridge could if loaded to SAAMI standard overall length. (Will work on real or imaginary grizzly.)
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I have a Winchester reproduction of the 1886 lever action takedown model, caliber 45-70, manufactured in 1999. Is your ammunition appropriate for this rifle? What would you recommend?
The 1886 reproduction Winchester and Browning’s, (mine is a Browning), are great guns and while I don’t really “need” a takedown, the ‘cool’ factor reminds us that “need” ain’t got nothing to do with it. Wish mine was a takedown, you have a good one there. If you were shooting a Marlin 1895 I would recommend our 540+P load, however, it just won’t fit in the Winchester chamber. The answer is to go with the 420HH. We offer it in three power levels all of which will work great in a reproduction 1886. The 420HH+P @ 1850fps, 420GOV’T @ 1650fps and the 420 Springfield @1350. The standard government load for the 45-70 in 1873 was a 405 lead bullet at about 1330-1350fps. The bullet itself was inferior by a long shot to our 420HH for the purposes of maximum tissue destruction and penetration. After 1873 this load was one of, if not the most common cartridge used for the rest of the Bison kill off. (Pretty hard on horses and people during the last Indian wars also.)
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I'm interested in your 540 gr. Hammerhead ammunition for the 45/70. I've heard nothing but good about this ammo. My question is this: I own a Marlin 1895, mfg. in 1980. Info on your website states that this particular ammunition is safe in Marlin 1895's manufactured AFTER 1998. Did Marlin change their receivers and/or barrels in that time that would make it unsafe to fire through mine?
Go ahead with the 540's in any vintage. In 1998 they changed to a rifling type that was supposedly more cast bullet friendly. Our bullets are very hard, very tough and gas checked. It turns out that they don't shoot any differently in the different style Marlin barrel (whether micro groove or Ballard style rifling, it doesn't seem to matter with our bullets). Randy Garrett put that warning on them due to a rifling change at that date to a more "cast bullet friendly" rifling style. The fact is people like Brian Pearce and myself have been shooting this ammo out of the 70's and 80's Marlins for years with perfect results. When I get to it I am going to make this warning clearer. I personally would rather have your gun than any of the newer ones, (the gun I test this ammo in is about a 1974 gun). If you are shooting a tough gas-checked bullet such as our Hammerhead I don't believe you will ever see a difference in the rifling styles. On the other hand if you are shooting a softer alloy bullet at some point you probably would. Whenever switching to any other type of ammunition particularly with lead alloy bullets, keep an eye on your bore till you see how your rifle handles it. I suspect if you started with a clean bore you will only need a Bore-Snake for general cleaning after our Hammerheads. This is what I use for general cleaning after a day in the field.
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Which cartridge do you suggest for the Henry 45-70?
The guys at Henry (I sent the ammunition to them as I don't have a Henry), say that my 540+P feeds fine thru their gun and as you know "they" claim this gun to be as strong as Marlin's. Of course Marlin nor Henry "recommend" +P cartridges of any brand be used in their guns for obvious legal reasons. I do not have personal experience with the Henry as to its strength, but so far no bad reports. If I were walking in your shoes armed with my Marlin I would be carrying the 540+P Hammerheads. If you are wanting to stay within SAAMI pressure specs, i.e. ammunition that they "can" recommend, then go with our 420 GOVT. load as it provides the most killing potential inside the SAAMI pressure specs and of course there is our Springfield load which is too much fun to shoot and can be habit forming.
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Of the three varieties of Garrett 44 Magnum ammunition (310 gr Defender; 310 gr Hammerhead: and 330 gr +P Hammerhead), is the 330 gr +P Hammerhead the only one that cannot be used in the S&W Model 29?
Yes, the 330+P is the only one that cannot be used in the S&W M29. The 310HH load was designed specifically to get the most out of the S&W M29 without exceeding SAMMI pressure limits.
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