Alaskan Dall Sheep - 210 Berger VLD

[phorwath]

Following are several photos of a Dall Ram harvested last week in the Alaska Range of mountains in Alaska. An 8-year old ram with a 36" curl. Two shots required to kill this ram.



Distance of 355 yds. 300 Win Mag shooting 210 Berger VLDs @ MV = 2925fps. The first bullet didn't expand. The exit wound from the first bullet/shot is the fairly obvious wound further back from the shoulder in the below photo. The sheep remained alert and quite healthy for several minutes following this first shot. The left front shoulder and left rear leg have already been removed from the animal in this photo. The entry wound from the second bullet/shot is about 6 inches further toward the front shoulder in the center of the white fat - not very visible on carcass or hide.



The second VLD did expand and left about a 1 1/2" vertical slit in the hide on the exit side, as seen in the below photo. The ram jumped and ran about 30 yards down-slope before piling up from this second hit through both lungs. The entry wound from the first shot in this photo is located near the case neck of the empty 300 Win Mag casing.



Last photo with some fresh snow visible in mountains at a slightly higher elevation.

[Eaglet]

Real beautiful trophy.

Was the young man in the picture the one who harvested it?

Come on, tell us!

Congratulations to whomever, nice trophy!

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

so are you happy or un happy with the VLD performance?

[signature542]

Nice Ram.

Are you using Target 210 VLDS or hunting? The old ones came in yellow boxes and you need to read the prnt... Caught me out...
Actually my 300 Roy shoots them to diffferent POI by 1/2 to 1/4 MOA!

[kiwi3006]

Lovely looking ram!
When I win the lottery I am coming up there for a hunt!
Interesting results from the berger.
Stu.

[phorwath]

Originally Posted by Eaglet

Was the young man in the picture the one who harvested it?

That man be me, 55 yrs older than I used to be! No matter what the photo shows, I don't feel so young.

[phorwath]

Originally Posted by ICANHITHIMMAN

So are you happy or unhappy with the VLD performance?

To answer a few questions:
These were the Berger Hunting VLDs.

I was disappointed that the first bullet didn't anchor the ram on the spot with the velocity of impact at only 355 yds. The lack of an incapacitating response always leads to concern about the shot placement or the scope losing its zero. These Dall rams are pretty easy to dispatch, relative to other large game. I aimed behind the front shoulders to avoid massive meat damage from an explosive VLD on the first shot. The first bullet hit in front of the diaphram and exited slightly behind the diaphram, mid-height on the animal. The exit hole through the hide was small, and the internal damage was very minimal, compared to when one of these VLDs comes unglued. It should have looked like a blender passed through the internals - but the internals were more or less intact.

It became clear that the first hit was not going to kill this ram any time soon. I wasn't sure what was up, but after several minutes the ram exposed the exit side and I could see a small blood stained dot in about the right location. So I began to suspect the bullet simply didn't expand. I aimed in tighter toward the front shoulders with the second shot. The second bullet opened up more normally, and the only reason the ram stayed on his feet at the second hit might have been because he was already pumped up on adrenalin, or in shock, from the first shot.

I may continue to use these 210 VLDs for sheep, because a wounded ram is relatively easy to recover in the wide open mountainous terrain, compared to big game animals that live in the brush and thickly vegetated areas.

But I may need to switch to a different bullet for hunting black bear with my 300 Win Mag. Bears that aren't dispatched quickly are a nightmare to recover where I hunt due to the steep terrain and thick alders. The first bullet to strike must expand.

Of course I prefer a bullet that expands reliably on any solid body hit, 99% of the time. I've only shot about 4 large game animals with the 210 hunting VLDs to date, and I've already had one non-expander. Not what I was hoping for.