168gr Berger VLDs for elk

[tater77]

I'm not looking for opinions here, just experience from folks who have actually used these on elk

I recently had a chance to try these in my 300wsm. The accuracy was amazing. I am not looking to shoot farther than 500 yards. I have always shot 180gr accubonds out of this rifle, so the thought of losing 12g is a little worrysome, but the exchange for accuracy has me rethinking. My only concern is how will they perform on elk size animals. So give me your good, bad, and ugly opinions based off actual experience.

[huntnphool]

Good bullet for everything in the lower 48.

[coachcw]

the accubonds are a hard to beat all around bullet . the vlds are desined to expand at lowwer ke levels and at close range will seroiusly mess up some meat , that being said if you put the vld in the pocket she will be more than adiquite

[Eli346]

 Our elk camp has 3 Tika 300 WSM's and we all shoot 168gr Berger VLDs out of them. We've taken a bunch of elk, bear, and deer with them and they are definitely accurate and deadly. We fired 3 shots at elk last year and got 3 elk. You'll love them.

[jess]

I killed a bull with a 168 vld a few years ago shot him in the shoulder at 150 yards went through the shoulder blade in to lungs and heart... Great bullet i now shoot 210's just for the higher BC.. Saw a moose get shot with a berger a few days ago great penetration and he droped on the spot.. In my opinion berger is the best bullet on the market.

[high country]

It's all about application. It's a light skinned high bc bullet. Keep that in mind when you send it.

[BULLBLASTER]

my 300 rum has killed 2 deer an elk and a bear in the last year all with Berger bullets. and all but one deer has been inside 100 yards. the other deer was around 240 or so. these were 210 and 215 grainers but i would expect the 168 to perform similar. on the elk it hit the lower part of the sternum and blew it out sending bone shards and bullet parts into the heart. i could see the heart pumping through the hole! he only went 20 or so yards. same shot also broke the far side shoulder.
i love me some bergers!

[Fisherdave10]

Based on what I have seen on Best of the West (a long range hunting show), Berger VLDs (168gr in 7mm Mag) are all they use and every animal I've seen shot dropped instantly (but it is a TV show).
The terminal performance will be similar to a ballistic tip bullet.  They're going to violently fragment and tumble after a few inches of travel inside flesh.    Your shot placement is very important when using a bullet that isn't going to penetrate as deeply as something like a bonded soft point.

There are 2 versions of VLD: a target version with a thinner jacket and a hunting version with a slightly thicker jacket.  The thicker jacket is supposed to keep the bullet together slightly longer for a little deeper penetration.

[rbros]

Having taken a few dozen big game animals from near to farther than most guys will ever shoot with Bergers, they work just as they are supposed to.  They are designed to deliver most of their energy inside the animal, rather than in the dirt behind it.  This gives for some pretty spectacular results internally and typically the animals drop where they are standing.

[BULLBLASTER]

Based on what I have seen on Best of the West (a long range hunting show), Berger VLDs (168gr in 7mm Mag) are all they use and every animal I've seen shot dropped instantly (but it is a TV show).
The terminal performance will be similar to a ballistic tip bullet.  They're going to violently fragment and tumble after a few inches of travel inside flesh.    Your shot placement is very important when using a bullet that isn't going to penetrate as deeply as something like a bonded soft point.

There are 2 versions of VLD: a target version with a thinner jacket and a hunting version with a slightly thicker jacket.  The thicker jacket is supposed to keep the bullet together slightly longer for a little deeper penetration.

actually the hunting bullet has a thinner jacket to promote more expansion than the target bullet. some of the target bullets will not expand like the hunting version.

read post #6 here
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/berger-no-expansion-99727/

[coachcw]

the best of the west guys take the high shoulder shot , the vld to me would do a better job in the pocket . seems even at very long range they flat put the smack down even in the shoulder .