140 gr 6.5mm Hybrid for hunting?

I think the wound cavity from a 140 VLD going at 2200fps is a little different to a fieldpoint. A broadhead is going to create a bigger wound cavity also, but there are plenty of hits that can be made with a broadhead which will also not result in a recoverable animal.


Your absolutely right the wound cavity from a berger vld is very different than a field pont, but the wound cavity from a Hybrid is very similar to a field point, and that is the bullet we are discussing here.
 
Plenty Berger Bashers on this site. Take a VLD and add a tiny blend radius between the ogive and the bearing surface and it suddenly it is a fieldpoint ?

Before Berger came up with the thinner jacketed hunting bullets all they had were match bullets and they killed plenty of animals too. Every military in the world issues FMJ ammo and it manages to kill plenty of people too. I understand that FMJ ammo is considered illegal for hunting purposes in some states. But to suggest that one cannot kill game with a bullet which has very good accuracy and downrange ballistics is ludicrous. Certainly, an expanding or ballistic type bullet might perform better, if one can make the exact same hit at the same range. But the truth is that many such bullets have increased drop and drift and make the likelihood of a well placed shot more remote at extended ranges.

That's why we have choices. You and others can choose all the flatbase polymer tipped hunting bullets you want and I will not stand in your way. I in turn will feel perfectly sound making my choices and I choose Berger. While I too prefer to use hunting bullets from Berger, the crazy market conditions we have been experiencing the last 6 months make it impossible to get what one wants and I will not hesitate to use a target bullet if I need to, and have extensive field experience with it. I do not have opportunity to hunt elk and other large species in my state, and whitetail are hardly the most robust animals one has ever come across...
 
Plenty Berger Bashers on this site. Take a VLD and add a tiny blend radius between the ogive and the bearing surface and it suddenly it is a fieldpoint ?

Before Berger came up with the thinner jacketed hunting bullets all they had were match bullets and they killed plenty of animals too. Every military in the world issues FMJ ammo and it manages to kill plenty of people too. I understand that FMJ ammo is considered illegal for hunting purposes in some states. But to suggest that one cannot kill game with a bullet which has very good accuracy and downrange ballistics is ludicrous. Certainly, an expanding or ballistic type bullet might perform better, if one can make the exact same hit at the same range. But the truth is that many such bullets have increased drop and drift and make the likelihood of a well placed shot more remote at extended ranges.

That's why we have choices. You and others can choose all the flatbase polymer tipped hunting bullets you want and I will not stand in your way. I in turn will feel perfectly sound making my choices and I choose Berger. While I too prefer to use hunting bullets from Berger, the crazy market conditions we have been experiencing the last 6 months make it impossible to get what one wants and I will not hesitate to use a target bullet if I need to, and have extensive field experience with it. I do not have opportunity to hunt elk and other large species in my state, and whitetail are hardly the most robust animals one has ever come across...
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The thin jacket predates the thicker one, and the thick jacket target bullet was made in responce to jackets shredding during strings of fire or aggresive twist rates, the hunting line was not developed for hunting at all but is more or less the original target bullet.
Some of the Target bullets are awesome for hunting like the 215 or 230 in the 30 cal but that does not mean every one will be great, the 6.5 Bergers tend to be slower to open than others unless your stressing the jacket in which case the Target starts working great but if your taking it easy on them at moderate velocities one can very well just pin hole one through with so little damage to the vitals that it will take time unless the bullet tumbles which I have not seen except for bullets that are on the edge of stability or true solids and I would not bank on tumbling to cover your butt!!

I use the heck out of Bergers for hunting but I would not shoot one that took several shots to kill or when I open the animal up I have pin holes, don't care what the box says as the on game performance has final rule!
 
wetscliff, no one is bashing berger bullets, I would wager I shoot far more of them than you do in a year. but the simple fact is the OP asked about the 6.5 140 hybrid. FACT, it does not expand with reliability, call Berger and ask. Rather than troll up this thread with your lack of experience on the subject topic.
 
I have never shot the 6.5 hybrid, but I have taken several animals with the 180 gr 7mm hybrid. I have only lost one animal with them. I shot a good antelope buck at 599 yds and he went down like he was hit by lightening. When I walked up to him, he was slowly cresting the hill. I found him the next morning, well I found what little the coyotes left. I was able to determine my hit was just above the spinal cord,*the bullet hit one of the "wings" on the vertebre. The inital impact took him off his feet, but he was able to make it another 300 yds after he recovered from the shock. IMO the bullet was not to blame, the location of the impact was. Maybe a 50 BMG would have made it a clean kill, but nothing else would have. I have since shot many coyotes, prairie dogs, and several deer sized animals with the hybrid. The longest blood trail was about 30 yards and Ray Charles could have followed it. I am going to use the hybrids until I determine there is something better. Now if I could just find a place to shoot and hunt here in ENC... Good luck.
 
I was using the 140gr hybrid in my 6.5x47 Lapua this summer on groundhogs. I shot one at 425 yards through the chest and it floped around in its hole and then disappeared. After checking the hole there was no blood I thought I missed but upon review of the video I clearly hit it in the chest. I would post the video but it wasn't the best. I did then shoot another one at about 60 yards out of frustration and the exit hole was only about 1.5" not too impressive. It could just be the thin skin and small size of the animal but non the less I will be switching to the 140gr hunting VLD with a very close BC and should have similar trajectory.
 
When I called Berger this summer, I was raving about the 140 Hybrid in my 6.5x47 and asked them to PLEASE make a hunting Hybrid. Only time will tell.

Alan

Their response is always the same and understandable! "When they get caught up with current production lines". I believe with all the 6.5 shooting that goes on, new items will come available.
 
Ok reviving this thread again! The seasons have started, someone's got to shoot something with a hybrid! I should have my rifle by deer season, if not, I'll shoot something!
 
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