Barnes's Tests Prove Why Berger Hunting VLDs Are So Successful By Eric Stecker

[bigngreen]

I also really hate blood shot game, I have cut over 12,000 big game animals and that is why I made the switch to Barnes, you can eat the hole and they have been very effective on shots under 500 yds. I have found them hard to get to shoot and am not very confident in there longrange performance.
I have had excellent shooting results with the Accubond and the Berger, both shoot well under MOA @ 1000yds using the same load. I intend to use the Accubond for regular hunting ranges and the Berger for longrange.
A friend of mine shot 3 deer last year with a 243 loaded with Bergers, all under 200yds and all heavey quartering shots. All died instantly but they also looked like a gernade went of on the back side. I do not want that performance in close but at slower speed I expect them to be just the ticket.
Can't kill it if you can't hit it regardless of terminal performance and I have definatly got confidence in what the Bergers are doing for me.

[hypersonic]

Excellent article Eric

The only bullets I have had fail to open for me in the last few years were two .264 120's Barnes tsx's. That was the end of barnes for me for hunting. Now they have added a plastic tip to the tsx too little too late for me. I have just recently got into shooting Berger hunting Vld's on paper and I am ashamed it took me so long to wise up. I shoot smaller groups on average more consistantly with less loading headaches with the Bergers. This year I will be using them for Whitetails and Mule Deer in .264 .284 and .308. I have no doubt that a properly placed shot with one will give me a DRT. I am trying to get my hands on a .338 ultra currently and a Berger 300 hunting Vld woud sure make me all warm and fuzzy. In the 30-378 with H-50BMG under the 210's 1" groups at 300 yards are the rule rather than the exception. I do still love the nosler partition and also like the accubond when Moose are on the menu and ranges are shorter. I am somewhat on the fence for Elk and leaning for the accubond for this season.

Hype

[Eric Stecker]

Has Berger ever considered the VLD style in a more controlled expansion model to provide a choice to hunters who prefer a controlled expansion bullet? Just a question and hopefuly something to think about.

Matt,

You bring up a good point that is important to address. It is not marketing hype when I say things like "Berger is committed to improving the shooting experience." That statement literally describes the way we look at our entire operation.

Now that our line is seperated into 3 distinct groups (Varmint, Target and Hunting) we are looking at each group from an application specific point of view. This is allowing us to consider things that were not thought of before because our focus was on making all our bullets as consistent as possible.

We have the consistency part figured out. Now we can look at each line and ask how can these specific bullets be made better? Frankly, right now I don't have the answer to that question. However, the fact that we are committed to answering it means that resources and efforts are being put toward these projects.

One of the things that we will not sacrifice is precision. So any improvements to the performance of the bullet must allow the bullet to shoot as good or better. We have worked with bonding cores, jacket changes and different materials with no successful results. This does not mean that a solution is not out there but we haven't found it yet.

We believe that the Berger Hunting VLDs are the best hunting bullets that we can produce. They work very well for the vast majority of hunters. We are investigating the few reports of failures to perform as expected. However, I am confident that the percentage of Bergers that fail to perform as expected is low as compared to the percentage of failures realized when using other hunting bullets.

Keep an eye out for evolutions in all of our lines. Each line will get more and more effective for the given application making the rifle shooting experience even better.

Regards,
Eric

[MontanaRifleman]

Thanks for the reply Eric,

You guys make some very good bullets and a lot of shooters and hunters use them with great success. Am hoping Berger will offer a controlled expansion version of the VLD someday. Until then they are candidates for my longer range shots.

Best,

Mark

[Blacktail]

Am i missing something or is my computer a POS. I cant see the pics? Very interesting reading since i am just now tring the 168 vld in my STW and got great accuracy at 3150 fps. Can anyone send me the pics or post them up thnx

[Wild_Bill]

Originally Posted by Blacktail

Am i missing something or is my computer a POS. I cant see the pics? Very interesting reading since i am just now tring the 168 vld in my STW and got great accuracy at 3150 fps. Can anyone send me the pics or post them up thnx

Hi Blacktail try the 180's i think they are much better balanced for the STW case everything above a 280 works better in my opinion with the 180gr projectile over the 168 the smaler cases their is not a heap in it.

Cheers Bill
Australia

[Eric Stecker]

Blacktail,

I can't help you with the pictures but for what it's worth I can see the pictures with my computer so they are still there.

To All,

This brings me to another interesting announcement. Barnes has rewritten the beginning content of their article. It is good that they would expand upon, explain or even correct their data. I didn't see anything that changed their opinion or position but they did expand upon their original comments.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/information/bullet-talk/lab-tests/

Still no mention of why they published such high 1,000 yard velocity numbers. They confirmed Bryan Litz' report that their G1 BC numbers are generated by shooting at 300 yards. They go further to say that their BC is intentionally set up to represent shots up to 600 yards (not 1,000 yards).

I do not believe that there is much new to be said since they did not modify their position. I disagree with many of their assertions but it is up to the hunters to decide which company is most genuinely representing their bullets.

Regards,
Eric