padd54
Well-Known Member
Firecat, it looks to me that 59g would be the load I would try to develop further, based on the fps es.
Did you weight sort and neck turn the cases?
Did you weight sort and neck turn the cases?
115 gr Berger VLD load for my 25-06
- Thread starter Korhil78
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Not to worry. I am working with this load. I just did not have all of the results from my testing. I am working with the seat depths of this load and the load that was recently posted. I just have two great options to consider. I think that the load of 59 grains would have been a tighter group. However, inevitably I had to flinch. Between the two, something is bound to come together.
Hey I'm shooting the exact same rifle with the same results with those other loads and H4831sc+ 115gr Berger VLD Hunting bullets the my next load I was going to try. Could you tell me if this is for the Hunting or Target VLD?
I am using the Hunting loads. Finally got it fine tuned out to 400 yards. It is going to be my bullet for a Mule deer hunt here in New Mexico. I will post some pics of the damage if I get a deer.
I think that these should be safe at virtually any distance short to far. My buddy has some depredation permits that we have been filling. I had him shoot a doe Muley for me. He shot her in the pocket directly behind the front shoulder at around 60 yards away. He even split the ribs both going in and exiting. There was a pencil sized entry hole and a silver dollar sized exit hole. Interestingly enough though, it blood shot a large portion of the far shoulder even though there was no direct impact to the shoulder. She made it only 20 yards from where she was shot.
I would post pictures, but feel them a little gory for the masses and our antis have enough ammunition without me adding to it. Suffice it to say that I feel confident with this bullet inside 100 yards and out.
Our next opportunity for testing will come in December when there are a few more deer to be shot. I will be trying hard for a 100 yard or less broadside, high shoulder shot. I want to put them through their paces and really see how they perform in the difficult to pass tests. My style of hunting can have me jump shooting deer in the morning and spot and stalk hunting that afternoon. So any bullet I choose needs to perform well at both close range and as far as I am comfortable with that particular rifle. So far, Berger is passing the test.
I would post pictures, but feel them a little gory for the masses and our antis have enough ammunition without me adding to it. Suffice it to say that I feel confident with this bullet inside 100 yards and out.
Our next opportunity for testing will come in December when there are a few more deer to be shot. I will be trying hard for a 100 yard or less broadside, high shoulder shot. I want to put them through their paces and really see how they perform in the difficult to pass tests. My style of hunting can have me jump shooting deer in the morning and spot and stalk hunting that afternoon. So any bullet I choose needs to perform well at both close range and as far as I am comfortable with that particular rifle. So far, Berger is passing the test.
Year before last I spent a lot of time working on loads for 115 berger, as I liked the 168 so much in my 7mm Mag with good terminal results on mule deer and elk. I found the IMR 4831 to be the best with F210's. Consistently under moa with ave ~.6.
The problem was we had multiple shots through the rib cages of two mule deer, with no expansion at all on 5 bullets. It seemed we managed to miss ribs on all shots. One was shot at 80 yards and one at 390. The second buck was 192" buck so I decided to switch to accubonds. I'm not knocking the Bergers, but could you please post your individual field results for me. Not sure I didn't get a bad lot of bullets. Sucks because I have almost 300 of these left.
The problem was we had multiple shots through the rib cages of two mule deer, with no expansion at all on 5 bullets. It seemed we managed to miss ribs on all shots. One was shot at 80 yards and one at 390. The second buck was 192" buck so I decided to switch to accubonds. I'm not knocking the Bergers, but could you please post your individual field results for me. Not sure I didn't get a bad lot of bullets. Sucks because I have almost 300 of these left.
There is certainly no cookie cutter approach. I was a little leery at first. But, I think that I will give it some more field testing before I can say yea or nay. However, preliminary testing shows positive results thus far.
The damage of the VLD at 60 yards was virtually identical to that of a Remington core lokt under similar conditions.
Thanks.
Do you or anyone else know if the Target VLD's start expansion sooner or later than the Hunting VLD's? Is there much difference in the jacket thickness of these two?
Last edited:
There is no difference in outside dimensions between the hunting and target bullets. However, there is a significant enough difference in the thickness of the jackets that Berger does not recommend the target bullets for hunting. The jacket walls on target bullets are thicker and therefore do not provide reliable expansion. If you were hunting with the target bullets or "Yellow Box" bullets it could explain why you were not getting the anticipated expansion while hunting. That being said, if you were getting good accuracy and velocity results with target bullets, then a simple switch could be made and you should find similar accuracy results with hunting bullets(Orange box).
Last edited:
I'm going to take a few whitetail does, at 100 yards or less, for meat this season. Being that this bullet doesn't start to expand until 2-3 inches of penetration and I want to keep front shoulder damage to a minimum, I'm a little concerned that a broadside shot into what I call the "vital pocket" right behind the shoulder might be a small in and out hole with little expansion. Like a heavy bonded bullet or Barnes Triple Shock. I don't want that. That may work for some, but I like rapid expansion and energy transfer that creates a massive wound channel. With a shot placed just an inch or two forward of the vital pocket, into the front shoulder some, a 154gr. Hornady SST, 84.5 grains of RL-22, and my 7mm Ultra Mag makes a wound channel that looks like a NCAA size football bullet went through it, on 130 class and above bucks. I've never had a deer take a single step away from that gun/bullet/load combo. I don't hunt anything larger than whitetail. 500yds is about the max distance. So, I like my bullet to have some fragmenting. Pass through is fine as long as it's a crater where it exits.
I don't like blood-trailing simply because I want an instant, humane kill. Not knocking anyone or saying my way's the right way. That's just how I do it. So, 100yds or less with that shot placement, will this bullet do what I'm wanting it to?
Edit: I know I won't get full expansion but will I get enough or should I use something more suited?
I don't like blood-trailing simply because I want an instant, humane kill. Not knocking anyone or saying my way's the right way. That's just how I do it. So, 100yds or less with that shot placement, will this bullet do what I'm wanting it to?
Edit: I know I won't get full expansion but will I get enough or should I use something more suited?
Last edited:
Ok, thanks. Sorry if I was mis-leading, I haven't used these bullets yet. The hunting (orange box) should be sitting in my mail-box as we speak. I'll try a few this afternoon and see if I can find an acceptable load. Have to sight in a new scope to. Maybe I'll be able to get all of them shot. That factory barrel takes a while to cool.
Accuracy or terminal performance?
Anyone?
