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Hawk bullets

06 Jan 2025
@ 09:52 am (GMT)

Lorne Meadows

Does anyone here have any experience with Hawk bullets? If so how was the performance on game? What calibers and jacket thicknesses were used? Thanks for any info.

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12 Jan 2025
@ 08:24 am (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Hawk bullets
Hi Lorne, I have a few guys using them after I recommended the light jacket Hawk as an option for medium bore users, for use on medium game. Its getting harder now to find fast expanding bullets for the medium bores for use on lighter framed game (basically exactly as it reads in the Hawk blurb - .358 caliber).

Sadly, I received an email some time ago from a reader who said that he first had trouble obtaining Hawk projectiles, followed by trouble with accuracy and was concerned about quality / consistency. I have not had any updates from him since. Alas, I have not been able to obtain samples to test.

I see some people have also become confused and think that these are bonded bullets. They are not. Expansion is enhanced and controlled via jacket thickness and annealing processes. Australian shooters who have used the Taipan will understand the benefits of annealing as step within the drawing process - rapid expansion and large fast bleeding wounds. A wide jacket mouth (behind the lead tip) can also aid expansion.

I would like to see this company supported, but I have no idea how amiable they are. They could be the worst company to deal with - I don't know. I suggest you call them and see how you get on.
14 Jan 2025
@ 06:10 pm (GMT)

Lorne Meadows

Re: Hawk bullets
Thanks for the reply, if I can get ahold of a few I will share my results here.
01 Oct 2025
@ 10:34 am (GMT)

Ben Hubbard

Re: Hawk bullets
I have killed whitetail and cow elk with the Hawk .375 300 grain SP .050 jacket. The last deer was a 100 yard straight away shot. Bullet went under pelvis, entered back of udder, traversed under guts, hit liver, went across top of heart and bruised both lungs severely, departing at base of neck/front of chest/throat area, just below the white patch. Total internal destruction in the chest, no ruptured bowels. I was very grateful for that lack of green mess. Doe dropped as hard as poleaxed in CNS.
Cow elk was 125 or so yards. Mostly broadside. Bullet entered center shoulder, hit autonomic plexus, severed heart from the vessels, made a 3" wound through both lungs and exited off side shoulder. Cow stumbled a step or two and fell, presumably dead, and slid down the open snowy slope about 60 yards where we were able to strap up and drag her with a quad to load whole in the truck. Success all around.

I have shot 350 grain Hawk .030 FP in 45/70 into trees, water jugs and soil. Sometimes the core and jacket separate when you pick them up, otherwise I always find them together as one. Certainly not bonded, but together.

I have some 170 FP .308 that I bought for 30/30 levers. Of course I loaded them in the 308 and shot water jugs. All of the hawks listed have arrested in the 6th water jug. To me, that's a good indicator that they will exit game. The damage done indicates what the wound channel in the critter will look like. Water is not a 1:1 for game, but it is a consistent test medium from bullet to bullet.

I have been chipping away at some .358" .030 jacket 250 SP in the Whelen, too. They shoot around 1.5 MOA, about the same as most of the other bullets I have tried in that Rem 700 CDL. They open huge and readily in water and soil and stay together like the others. I have not used these on game yet, but it's on the list.

I will use Hawks again and probably in more bores than noted above.
06 Oct 2025
@ 04:41 pm (GMT)

Robert Bleu

Re: Hawk bullets
I have been shooting 250gr X .25 jacket Hawk .44 (.430) hollow point bullets from a .44 Mag Rossi Carbine. Following Nathan 's writing about them. Launched at 1800fps. Iron sights, accurate in an iron sight way. Very effective, took around a 300 lb Black Bear at short range, around 25 yards. Three rounds through the chest. One broke the spine. 2 were through and through. One entered lower and came to rest just under the skin after going through bone. Quality was high. I will buy more. Now if shooting for long range in my .270? Can't comment on that level of accuracy.
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