Need Testers for New Berger 6mm 87 gr VLD Hunting

[Eric Stecker]

We are looking for some good shooters to test our new 6mm 87 gr Hunting VLD. This bullet was designed specifically for the more common 10" twist barrels found on many factory hunting rifles. The dimensional details (reference) of this bullet are as follows:

Part Number: 24524
OAL: 1.052
Nose Length: .590
BT Length: .150
Bearing Surface Length: .312
G1 Velocity Averaged BC: .412
G7 BC: .211


What we are looking for are shooters who have 6mm rifles with 10" twist barrels that are proven good shooters. You also need to be able to complete your test in the next 3 months (by 2-5-10). If you are interested please provide the following to Michelle Gallagher at [email protected]


-Name, contact and shipping information.
-Type of rifle and case you will use to test these bullets.
-Type of test you plan to conduct.


We are looking for a variety of cases and testing methods so don't consider yourself out of the running if you can shoot only to 100 yards or if you have a lesser popular case. Those who are selected will be shipped 1 box of our new 6mm 87 gr VLD Hunting bullets right away. We will need you to report your results to Michelle within 3 months. Sooner is better but with the holidays and hunting season we understand that there may be some delays. Those who provide their results within the 3 months will be able to get another 3 boxes (300 each) of any Berger Bullets you chose as a Thank You from us for your effort.


This test opportunity is only available through longrangehunting.com. I encourage those who are selected to report their results on this forum. This independent shooter testing program will be a regular part of our process so keep an eye out for similar such opportunities down the road.


Regards,
Eric

 

[Buffalobob]

I have a 1-8 twist 240 Wby that has made two kills beyond 1000 yards. I would be wiling to try to test it but the killing range would probably be less than 400 yards on the small eastern whitetails found in Maryland.

I cannot guarantee my ability to find a good load in the amount of time left before deer season.
Your bullet needs to withstand extreme velocity being as I can dust the 115 Bergers if the barrel is warm.

So let me know if 1-8 twist is OK.


1140 yards with 115 Berger

1006 Yards with 115 Berger

 

[noneck180]

I am intersted aswell..

 

[Topshot]

Love to Eric but not much chance of getting any decent Berger bullets down here in Australia.

The Distributor down here can't even supply us with any of the 300 grain .338 cal Hybrids!

 

[300R]

Yeah i'm with^ topshot ^,if you wanna send some down under i will give them a go in a 6br and 6x47 lapua.I have a 7.5,8 and 10 twist barrels.

 

[signature542]

I'm with you guys..

I'd love to try some Berger bullets too! 338 300gn Hybrid's would be nice in my Edge!

My buddy and myself have had a 1,000 pills on order for the .338's since we got the word on the 300gn pill! None of the big warehouses like Sinclairs will ship to us in Australia. Yep I know we need an export permit from the US for every shipment. I have enough contacts with dealers licences to make this happen!


Currently have 168gn VLD hunting going well in my 7mm RM but we are finding it real hard to get a good supply.. I'm scared to open my last box! 180's I dont even know what they look like! 210gn 30 Cal' hunting pretty scarce for my old 300 Roy!

Shooters in the US are fortunate as we pay virtually double the price for Bergers here even with the recent parity of our dollar..

I'm not sure but the distribution and supply in Australian for Berger bullets sucks!
Love the product but we just cant get them from the present agent.

Happy to assist with ideas for better distribution in Australia!

Sorry to hijack Eirc's thread but gee whizz we would love to see more Bergers in Australia! No issue getting Hornady or Sierra bullets but its the Bergers we crave!

The impossible dream!

 

[roninflag]

pm sent . i shoot the 88 grain already in my hart .243 for f-class at 500 and 600. these must be similar??

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Eric

Thanks I have submitted my name and info to Michelle for consideration.

 

[Eric Stecker]

For this particular test we are mostly interested in how well they shoot from a precision and accuracy point of view. Since this bullet was designed specifically for the 1:10" twist barrels found on most factory rifles this will weigh heavily on who is selected to test these bullets.

This does not mean that we won't choose someone with an 1:8" twist so I recommend that you submit your information regardless of the twist rate in your barrel. Also, if you happen to have a chance to try them on game we would like to hear how they perform but these bullets are made with the same construction as the other 6mm VLD Hunting bullets. We are confident that the terminal performance will be the same as our other Hunting bullets in this caliber.

It is important to keep in mind that we will be selecting only a small number of testers and the reason for each selection is based primarily on having a mix of various rifles, cases and testing methods. If for example we get 15 shooters who have 243 Win 1:10" rifles that plan to test at 400 yards then only a few of these will be selected. This will bear no reflection on those that weren't selected. This testing process will be a regular part of our new bullet launches so if you don't get picked for this one keep your eyes open for future opportunities.

Regarding Australian testers or others who are outside the US it is unfortunate but the US State Department does not allow us to ship bullets outside the US without considerable paperwork. The time it takes to process this paperwork is several weeks and each application cost $250 whether you send 1 box or 100 boxes. This makes it impossible for us to conduct this test outside the US. It is unfortunate as many other countries have very capable long range shooters but this is the world we live in.

Regarding distribution into Australia, this has been a challenge for some time and our distributor in Australia is not the one to blame in most cases. Many of the US shooters will relay that availability of Berger is a problem even in the US. If we can't keep up with constantly increasing demand no matter how much we expand our capacity it is not the fault of the Australian distributor if they can't get product.

In particular, production of the 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid has been stopped while we sort out the issues related to bad precision and trajectory (consistent with a much lower BC than .818) that some are observing in high velocity and pressure loads. We are waiting for tooling to make a test run of bullets that we believe will resolve this issue. Once a solution is confirmed we will begin production of the 338 cal bullets again. At that time we will know for certain if we will make one bullet that works for everyone or two bullets consisting of the one we have already introduced and a second bullet that is for high velocity applications.

Having said all of this we also recognize that prices and availability is affected to some degree by the decision of the Australian distributor. When I return to the shop on Monday I'll review the existing back order and shipment history to see if we can work together to keep the Australian shooters supplied with more regularity. I can relay that we have added another dealer to our distribution partnerships in Australia who is bringing bullet into Northern Australia. Contact BRT Shooter's Supply for more information.

BRT Shooters Supply - Contact us

They have just recently started on with us so they are better able to tell you what is available. For those in the south I believe that our distributor works with several dealers in that region. We will be meeting again at the SHOT Show to discuss how we can improve availability. I know that much of the answer to that question rests on Berger.

Regards,
Eric

 

[BryanLitz]

Roninflag,

These bullets are very different from the 88 grain flat base varmint bullet.

The new 87 grain follows the design of our other VLD Hunting bullets; boat tail, secant ogive, and small meplat.

This bullet was designed with the specific intent of optimizing performance from a 1:10" twist barrel. It's as long, heavy, and slippery as a bullet can possibly be and still be comfortably stable from a 1:10" twist barrel in all conditions.

If you have a faster twist barrel, there's less reason to try this bullet, as the heavier (95, 105, and 115 grain) Hunting bullets offer better performance in terms of wind drift and energy. However, you might consider the lighter bullet if you're trying to flatten trajectory, but understand it will come at the cost of wind drift and energy.

Another reason you might want to try this bullet even with a faster twist barrel is if you can't load any of the existing 6mm Hunting VLD's to magazine length. The new 87 grain VLD has a nose that's 0.080" shorter than the 95 and 105 grain VLD's, and 0.110" shorter than the 115 grain VLD. So you might be able to find an accurate seating depth and keep the OAL of the loaded round short enough to feed thru your magazine.

Good shooting,
-Bryan

 

[signature542]

Thanks Eric


The 250 dollar permit fee is a non issue to us as my buddies and myself bulk buy. The barrels and custom actions are no issue so I dont think a pallet of bullets would be more difficult!



I have a licensed dealer no. they can be shipped to!

Thanks again

 

[Eric Stecker]

To be clear, we cannot ship to anyone outside the US who is not able to provide the proper documents that we must receive and then turn in to the US State Department as part of the shipment approval process. This includes such things as business licenses, import licenses and purchase agreements among other things.

The requirements are not precisely the same for each country but the process is generally the same. We do not have exclusive agreements with anyone so if you know of a dealer or distributor who is interested in carrying Berger please tell them to contact Tom Hime at [email protected] to discuss this further.

It is my understanding that distribution of firearms related products into Australia is something that is typically handled by one distributor due to the size of the market. When two distributors get involved the particulars of the process become unappealing for all involved so this is discouraged or avoided altogether.

We have seen evidence of this as no other distributor that has inquired about selling Berger in Australia gets passed the fact that we already have a distributor in Australia. Once this is understood the conversation stops so we believe there is something to this situation.

We are certainly not against adding to our list of distribution partners in Australia or any other country but if adding partners somehow has the end result of reducing the amount of bullets that make it to Australia this is certainly not better for everyone.

In the US, competition among distributing partners is healthy and a key part of our economic conditions. If this does not work the same way in Australia (for reasons I find hard to understand) then we need to be sensitive to these realities or we risk damaging the flow of product that is already not enough to satisfy everyone.

Regards,
Eric

 

[irdomftlomk]

Not the best time of year to be testing new bullets with winter setting in lightbulb

 

[Loner]

Supplying us with the bullet measurements is greatly appreciated. I hate measuring
them myself as I wind up guessing a bit on the nose length with a lot of them. Having
the g1 and g7 drag is nice too. Thank you.

(As a side, I do most of my load work in the winter, that's hunting season and no bugs, I hate bugs.)