anyone shooting Berger Hunting Bullets?

[bhylton]

my browing A bolt in 300 wsm shoots a one hole group with the 185gr bergers.... however i dont know how they are supposed to work on an animal.. they seem to work good for the guys on the "Best of the West" TV show. does anyone have any testemonials for these hunting bullets?

[engelwood]

Isn't what you see on "Best of the West" enough proof for you? I've been thinking about trying them as well, great BC and absolutely turn to schrapnel when they hit. I hear that they practically never have an exit would as they are in a hundred pieces shortly after impact. Let me know how it goes if you try them. Depending on how my Barnes TSX's and Nosler Etips shoot, I may give them a try.

[bhylton]

 oh ya for sure. heres kinda what i dont get though.... say ur gonna hunt elk.. generaly you dont grab some ballistic tips or that type bullet.. usually use something like an accubond or the barnes bullets. so why does that rapid expading berger drop the hammer on the elk they r shooting at like 600 yrds? if the berger dosent work i would highly suggest the nosler accubond.

[bhylton]

oh, and what gun are you loading for? just curious

[Maligator]

I was planning on ordering some Berger Bullets in the 165, 175 and 185 Hunting VLD series to see how they worked with my 300WSM set up. Presently my shortmag is sub MOA with 180 gr Nosler Accubonds but it never hurts to have a back up   

[Skyvalhunter]

no

[MADMAX]

Bought a box for a buddy to do reloading for me, will see how they work after we work a load up for my 7mm mag XCR with 168 grains

[GregMcFadden]

Shooting wise, I like them, and for me, unlike berger's normal suggestion, they group best seated 0.028 off the lands (.6" groups out of a pre-64 featherweight M70 versus 1 inch groups at 100 yards seated to the lands).  How well they do in game, well, I hope to see this fall.

[time2hunt]

It all depends on shot placement, a high should shot and its DRT  you hit a little far back and you are in for a long search.that bullet fragment once it enter and does all internal damage with sometimes no exit hole so if poor shot no blood trail. I'm shooting 168grain in my 7mm and love it 

[UBA]

I shoot the berger 150's out of my 270 short mag and love them. I shot my deer this year at 400 yards while he was laying in his bed. He never even had a chance to get up, he just rolled over. Took out two ribs and it exited with a pretty decent sized hole.   That is my only experience with larger game. They drop yotes pretty good.

[engelwood]

oh, and what gun are you loading for? just curious

.300 WSM

[longrange7mm]

 have shoot berger bullets. Sounds like your gun likes them! I Shoot the 115 gr VLD -2506, 140 gr VLD -264 win, 180 gr VLD - 7RUM, and 300 gr Hybrid - 338RUM. I have made shots as close as 40 yards on my BT this year with my 2506 "oneshot drop" to 842 on a cow elk last year with the 2506 "one shot drop"  I havent had anything I shot with them take more then 3 steps " one doe with the 140 gr went 5 feet" They are not meat saver bullets If you hit the shoulders they are done! Got to make sure that the does are head, neck or center body cavity shots  they are not meat saver bullets this deer was 736 yards one shot drop.

[jeepasaurusrex]

Took my deer this year with a 130gr Berger VLD pushed by 56gr of 4831 in my .270 

First shot kill, dead on accuracy.

[whacker1]

I shoot the 168 out of my 300 RUM.  only deer I have shot with it, was this year.  Neck shot at 40 yards.  It did shrapnel, and I found one piece that probably made up 20%-30% of the total weight.  No exit. 

[MDGrand]

This should explain what they are and what they can do:

The Berger VLD - Best Long Range Hunting Bullet

[MtnMuley]

I took an bull with a 175 VLD out of a 300 RUM this year at 856yds.  Didn't take a step.  I have no plans on shooting another bullet for big game.

[elkslayer069]

 Idk I shot my deer this year with 150 grn vld Bergers using 55 gens of hodgens 4831 with my 270 win. I hit him mid neck on his right side at the base of neck at 75 yards. It made no exit hole and it ran about 50 yards and he dropped and there wasn't a drop of blood to be found. It ruined a ton of meat. I'm sure they are an excelent bullet when shooting with some range but I've already switched back to my nosler partions 

[sakoshooter]

Berger bullets have been a great bullet for accuracy for many years. It's really unfortunate that they don't offer a bonded core/jacket bullet to compete with today's technology. If they did, I'd probably be hunting with them.
There are two schools of thought on bullets.
1) Retained weight, retained velocity, exit hole.
2) Fragmentation.
Both do damage and under the right conditions with proper shot placement both will kill animals. But how often are conditions just right and how often is the shot perfect?
I prefer #1.

[MDGrand]

Well, I agree with your assessment and specifically in this case it all comes down to philosophy.

Some demand and exit wound and a bullet that holds together.

Others feel and believe that by the bullet fragmenting it is leaving ALL its energy I'm the animal causing more hydrostatic shock.

Now what makes Berger bullets so unique is that they have a delayed expansion. Unlike ballistic tip bullets that shatter on impact. This makes them very unique.

In the end my philosophy is that it all depends on the game...

I load 3 bullets:
 
Berger for deer, elk, antelope and maybe black bear. I use it for longer shots where open country shots are common after some research I found out that the bullet is designed to be most effective at as close to 3K feet per second...not super high velocities. They have the highest BC on the market in the higher weights too. They really are designed to be a long long range bullet.

Barnes for tougher animals like moose and brown bear or where closer shots are common...non open country. They only become not as effective at super long range where the wound cavities shrink due to lost velocity.

Accubonds for everything...open country and close by. But they still don't perform like a Berger or Barnes.IMHO.

Ballistic tips I don't use at all unless I am varmint hunting.

[bhylton]

good way to look at it. i love the accubonds too. i know alot of people dont like the ballistic tips. but the first 10 deer i ever shot were with a 150ge ballistic tip out of an old model 88 winchester in 308. they did an amazing job. all i ever did was center the should and make smoke. always broke the should and made exit wounds.. which i could fit my fist in. i wouldent hesitate to hunt deer with them more. but my success might be due to the slower velocity "2750fps" although my buddie shot the 12th biggest black bear in washington state with factory loaded 300 wsm 15o bal tips. just set the bear right down. skull measured 20 14/16in at sportsmans show this year

[sakoshooter]

Keep in mind that muzzle velocity is just that: Muzzle velocity. No one shoots an animal just off the muzzle. Most of your average hunting bullets out of your average hunting rifles are only traveling 2000fps or less at 500yds. Much less at greater yardages. Berger even states their bullet was designed for target shooting.
A good hunting bullet needs to expand and hold together for enough penetration to do damage to all vital organs in the bullet's path. This needs to happen at 35 yds and at long distances. It also needs to happen from quartering angles. My experience with cup/core, non-bonded bullet designs are that they seem to work best on game after their velocity has been slowed down and the shot is broadside into the chest cavity. I've had more than my share of bad luck with close shots(under 200 yds) that fragmented way to fast leaving a wounded animal that took a lot of trailng and another shot or two.
I do not have this troulble with any of today's bonded bullets or solid copper expanding bullets. One shot kills are not just the norm for today's bonded core or solid expanding bullets, it's a fact.
Also, most of us do not have an entire team of camera men, guides, spotters etc keeping an eye on the animal and where it went like the Best of the West or whatever does. Nor are we getting paid by a given bullet company to go hunting like they are.

[jess]

i shoot berger's and love them..... They do exit sometimes when they do its a big hole.... I have shot animals from 40 yards to 690 yards and they kill everything they hit deer, elk, bear, moose..... You cant go wrong with these bullets...