Berger 168 VLD results on an Elk

MontanaRifleman · #29 11-01-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmden

Interesting. In an email exchange with Walt Berger last month asking him what bullet he'd reccomend for elk for my brother's 300 WSM, I thought he'd reccomend the 190 or maybe the 210, but he said the 168's had been the goto bullet for elk. Obviously, no one bullet will perform well at all times at all distances, but it would seem that there's enough evidence that the 168 generally works quite well on elk that Walt was willing to through some weight that way...

Here's the quote from Walt: "We want our VLD bullet to expend ALL of its energy inside the animal and destroy all of the vital organs resulting in a one shot humane kill and the animal not running off. The 190 and 210 grain bullets will perform well on elk but the most popular bullet for this application is the 168 grain VLD bullet."

The 168 the OP is reffering to is a 7MM. The one you and Walt are talking about is a 30 cal. Walt uses the phrase "most popular". In the non-LR world, the 165/168's are the most popular 30 cal bullet sizes. If I am shooting a highly frangible bullet it will be the heaviest I can in the cal to slow it down and put more mass on target, especially in the event you hit heavy bone. And with these bullets, the heavier ones have the better BC's which is good for LR.

Interesting discussion. The Bergers have a very small pointy HP/Meplat, which it seems may sometimes lead to a failed expansion. There have been some other reports of that as well. GS will not use a that small of a HP/Meplat for this very reason.

bigngreen · #30 11-01-2009, 11:47 PM

I noticed one day after pulling a couple Bergers that you can get stuff stuck in the HP so I have been careful with how I carry them so I don't get any stuffing from the inside of a case box or something in them. I think this could change how they work, I have no proof but it kinda made me wonder when I saw that.
I wonder what effect a light meplat trim would do for some that have some difficulty opening? Maybe make big game varmint bullets

jmden · #31 11-02-2009, 12:18 AM

MR,

Yep, my mistake. Somehow I thought it was the 168g .30 cal. I have to admit that I was surprised that Walt seemed to reccomend the 168g .30 cal for elk, and not at least the 190 or better yet, the 210. Your stated reasons are why, of course, that I'm using the 210. I may not have mentioned to him that lrh was my intent, but still for elk at any range, it would seem to me that the 210 would likely get through bone better.

Jon

MTBULLET · #32 11-02-2009, 03:16 PM

i just returned from Elk hunt. nice 6x5 bull 511 yds with 168 vld in .300 RUM. @3275 fps, one shot = one dead bull ! I've used 'em for 4 years now and think they work extremely well.

jmden · #33 11-02-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTBULLET

i just returned from Elk hunt. nice 6x5 bull 511 yds with 168 vld in .300 RUM. @3275 fps, one shot = one dead bull ! I've used 'em for 4 years now and think they work extremely well.

Congrats, MT! Where have your shots been placed when using this bullet? Jon

MTBULLET · #34 11-03-2009, 09:20 AM

mostly aim for high shoulder shots, this breaks bone and the "boiler room" gets shredded.

elkaholic · #35 11-03-2009, 02:14 PM

This is the first year I have used bergers. I make my own .308 bullets but don't have the swagging dies for my 6.5 Sherman. I just got back from a hunt in Mt. so I have a little info on the 140 berger in my 6.5. The muzzle velocity is 3150'. Both my cousin who lives there and I used the rifle and killed 4 animals in all. The first was a Muley buck at 150 yds. He turned his head just as the bullet left and it literally blew a soccer ball sized chunk out of the bottom of his neck! One of the worst wounds I have ever seen in my 40+ years of hunting ! ( down) The second was a B&C badger

running at about 100 yds. Blew half his back end off and finished him off with a head shot. Third was a whitetail between the eyes at about 20 yds. Not much to glean from that except the top of his head was missing! The last was the antelope that I drew. The bullet entered right behind the shoulder and left a baseball sized hole in the middle of the off shoulder. The animal never even kicked but collapsed right on top of its feet as if it was kneeling. Range 400 yds. As a bullet maker, I would still like to see what happens with the long range velocities, say out at 700-800 yds. I wish they had a ballistic tip because then I know the performance would be more predictable and not depend so much on where the bullet struck.
As far as this hunt went, I would have to give an A to the bergers......Rich