Wilson Combat has published several videos where Bill Wilson, the founder of Wilson Combat, and master firearms instructor Ken Hackathorn discuss the new .300 HAM’R cartridge that the company has introduced earlier this year. In these videos, they also shoot the new cartridge and compare it to .30-30 Winchester and 7.62x39mm.

The whole idea of creating the .300 HAM’R cartridge was to replicate the .30-30 Winchester performance in the AR-15 platform. Some people may say that the 7.62x39mm already does that, however, the 7.62x39mm is a little slower cartridge and according to Bill Wilson, it doesn’t really work well in AR-15 rifles. As Bill’s tests showed, when fired from a 16″ barrel, the .300 HAM’R is faster by about 200 fps compared to the 7.62x39mm fired from an AK. Also, when compared to the 7.62x39mm and the AK platform, the .300 HAM’R chambered in an AR-15 pattern rifle is apparently much more accurate. The higher accuracy is achieved thanks to the twist rate (1:15) tuned for the 120-150 grain projectiles and the overall more accurate AR platform (better triggers available, direct impingement system, free floated barrels, better optics mounting system etc.).

Another interesting discussion subject is the comparison of the .300 HAM’R to .300 Blackout. Despite having the same caliber and both being designed for the AR-15 type rifles, these two cartridges were designed for completely different purposes and in that sense they are not really comparable. If the .300 Blackout is a perfect subsonic cartridge, the .300 HAM’R is designed primarily to launch 120 to 150-grain hunting pills.

In the next video, Bill Wilson compares the muzzle velocities of the .300 HAM’R and .30-30 Winchester cartridges. For testing the .30-30 Win, Bill uses a Marlin Model 336 lever action rifle and fires a 150 grain Remington Core-Lokt projectiles. The .300 HAM’R is tested in an AR-15 rifle with a 16″ barrel shooting Hornady 150 grain SST bullets. As you will see in the video, the chronograph numbers of both weapons and cartridges are pretty much identical. In this video, Bill Wilson also tests an AK-47 against an AR-15 chambered in .300 HAM’R loaded with 125 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter bullets.

In another video, Ken Hackathorn tells about why the lever action rifles chambered in .30-30 Winchester were so popular among the law enforcement shooters and hunters and how the .300 HAM’R cartridge kind of migrates that concept and performance to the modern AR platform.

These three videos are my favorites from the seven videos that the company has recently released. If you like the subject, check out other videos about this cartridge and weapons chambered in it by visiting the Wilson Combat’s YouTube channel.

Images by Wilson Combat