Bullet...Berger VLD

[Sunspot]

I was shooting my Rem 700 7mm Rem Mag the other night and found that it LOVES the 168gr VLD hunting round. It seems there has been some discussion on the effectiveness of that bullet (kills). The common theme is it vaporizes the internals whereas some other bullets have better controlled expansion. Talking to a guy on the range that has killed 4 deer and an elk with the same load...all DRT. What say you?

 

[30338]

Have shot the 140 vld in 6.5 a lot the last 4 years. They are deadly mothers. So far mtn goat, black bear, large whitetails and a lot of antelope. Have no qualms about using it on large bull elk this fall if given the opportunity. Shooting the 168 Hybrid tomorrow in my 7mm and if I hit a sweet spot will shoot it in October. If you have a load, and it sounds like you do, I'd shoot it for sure.

 

[BTH]

I've been shooting the same 168 gr bullets from my 280 and love them for the accuracy and down range (300 plus yard shots), but in last few years have had a real problem with them on close range shots. 2011 I shot a 6Pt bull (frontal shot) at about 15-20 yards that bucked when I shot, ran into a fallen tree <-- literally, he reacted and acted like a bull would that just got mortally wounded and 8 hours of looking that day with my dad and myself never revealed a drop of blood nor the smell of a bull when circling down wind (we were desperate and doing quarter mile circles) of where we believed he went. I spent 3 days of the next week looking for any signs of a dead elk. with nothing... Now I know you are thinking I probably missed but having told you that story I tell you why im sure I didn't miss in hindsight. 8 days later I killed a different 6pt bull at 12 yards, this time opting for a high shoulder shot so I didn't have to track this one. This bull fell in his tracks but took nearly 20 minutes to expire. Upon investigation of the entry wound I found that not a drop of blood had escaped the entry hole (the bull died with the entry hole down letting gravity push blood out I would think) and it appeared only fragments of bullet entered the chest cavity and having no exit hole obviously. The bullet as a whole "exploded" upon impact approx. 1" in and looked as though most of the bullet stayed in the shoulder. Having not shot high shoulder and the bull ran 200+ yards would have made for a long night of tracking without blood or a week looking for ravens if ya catch my drift. Not impressed with this close performance at all I purchased a box of 170gr Barnes X bullets and loaded them the same as my Bergers in the event of a close shot as they are less than an inch different at 100yds... Having said that I believe to shoot the Berger bullets I would only recommend the high shoulder shot (at any distance) as the 2 bulls I have killed with them and found, neither had an exit nor possibility for a track able blood trail.

 

[Sunspot]

Have shot the 140 vld in 6.5 a lot the last 4 years. They are deadly mothers. So far mtn goat, black bear, large whitetails and a lot of antelope. Have no qualms about using it on large bull elk this fall if given the opportunity. Shooting the 168 Hybrid tomorrow in my 7mm and if I hit a sweet spot will shoot it in October. If you have a load, and it sounds like you do, I'd shoot it for sure.

What distances on the kill shots?

I believe you BTH and appreciate your experience.

 

[fire arrow]

Dropped elk last year at 625, and finished off my buddies mulie last year. All I can say is "dead". Stay away from shoulder shots if you don't want to loose that meat.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Good info guys. I plan to use my 6.5-06 Ackley in Colorado this November for elk.

I'll be shooting the 140 Berger hunting vld at 3165 fps.

If I get a chance to take a bull, I'll report back on how the bullets perform for me.

This spring I took a small black bear with it and the bear didn't go five feet. The bear was walking straight away from me at about 80-100 yds.

 

[Sunspot]

168gr Hunting VLD @ 3076 fps.

 

[wapitibob]

180gr vld from 7STW at 3,000. Haven't shot an Elk yet but Antelope don't even blink.

 

[BTH]

180gr vld from 7STW at 3,000. Haven't shot an Elk yet but Antelope don't even blink.

What powder/primer are you using wapitibob? my dad is shooting the same combo and getting about 2775 and would like more velocity if it doesn't mean sacrificing accuracy.

 

[wapitibob]

73gr RL25 and 215 primers. 26" barrel

 

[actionshooter]

I'm paying close attention to this one, I am having a rifle built that is based on a 190VLD at 3130fps. I somewhat question the Berger as a hunting bullet but have no 1st hand experience.

 

[30338]

What distances on the kill shots?

I believe you BTH and appreciate your experience.

Hey Sunspot, Closest stuff has been around 200 yards and farthest was 525 yards. I did find a very good accuracy node with the 168 VLDH and it is going elk hunting soon with me in my 7mm Remington. If I get a crack at one, will post results though I kind of know what to expect