168 grain Berger VLD-H performance?

I have mixed feeling about the VDL. They shoot very accurately, true, but I have lost two nice bucks (white tail) because of no blood trail. Buck 1 - Looked for hours, nada, he was found a week later half a mile away. 220 yard shot 308. The other one was 100 yard shot with 300 win mag. penciled him, put a dog on him and chased him for miles. never recovered. Last night in my climber, I shot an 80 lb. doe at 30 yards (6.5 creedmoor), no exit wound, the bullet grenaded inside her. she rolled when I shot, then took off, ran 50 yards into the thick stuff. took a little while to find her, again NO BLOOD TRAIL. The bullet did its job this time, but that close I would have though it would have an exit wound. Hunting in the thick stuff in the South Carolina lowcountry, if you don't drop them on the corn, a blood trail is pretty important. I know all the long range experts will say "shoot em in the right place, you will not have a problem", well it is easy to shoot clovers off of a bench, not so easy 20' in the air only attached to a pine tree with a little climber, and they don't always show up where you want them to come out. I am still shooting them, I guess because I drank the VDL koolaid and bought a bunch of ammo...….
 
Have used 168's in 7 mag with excellent results, Moose and Elk didn't move 15/20 yds. 115 VLD in 25.06 on deer, worked for me.
 
Carl McCants said:
I have mixed feeling about the VDL. They shoot very accurately, true, but I have lost two nice bucks (white tail) because of no blood trail. Buck 1 - Looked for hours, nada, he was found a week later half a mile away. 220 yard shot 308. The other one was 100 yard shot with 300 win mag. penciled him, put a dog on him and chased him for miles. never recovered. Last night in my climber, I shot an 80 lb. doe at 30 yards (6.5 creedmoor), no exit wound, the bullet grenaded inside her. she rolled when I shot, then took off, ran 50 yards into the thick stuff. took a little while to find her, again NO BLOOD TRAIL. The bullet did its job this time, but that close I would have though it would have an exit wound. Hunting in the thick stuff in the South Carolina lowcountry, if you don't drop them on the corn, a blood trail is pretty important. I know all the long range experts will say "shoot em in the right place, you will not have a problem", well it is easy to shoot clovers off of a bench, not so easy 20' in the air only attached to a pine tree with a little climber, and they don't always show up where you want them to come out. I am still shooting them, I guess because I drank the VDL koolaid and bought a bunch of ammo...….
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If you want an exit wound, you should shoot Nosler Partition or a bonded core bullet. Holes on the downhill side always bleed more than the entrance hole
 
Shooting 168 Berger Target 308 Neck shoot everything in So Texas (deer), 50-400'. Neck shooting Texas whitetail at 400' is like neck shooting Elk at 1500. Inside of 400's that Berger decapitates whitetail. Don't need no stinking blood trail. If I miss, no foul, no wounded deer running off to be found 2days ltr. That's why I practice in competitions and shoot at a 550' range EVERY week with every gun I hunt or compete with. Go to different training schools for long-range hunting. Evolved Ballistics runs classes year round at So Hill Range out to 1100 yds. In other words, even this retired (old) Abn Ranger can still learn to improve my craft. Now with that being said, I only shoot a couple deer each year for my freezer, as I have quite a few friends that love to share their wild bounty. I currently have bear, elk, venison, feral hog, and Bison in my freezer. I am truly blessed with great friends...
 
Don't get me wrong, i like the VDL, I have killed a lot of deer with them. I read something about making sure the hollow tip is open, I need to check that. I had good blood with core locks, then I got technical and wanted to shoot clovers.. LOL . I need to stop worrying about .5 MOA with deer, and go back to blowing a big hole in them. haha
 
And remember what I said... I am in a climber, no gun rest, and they don't always come out where you are lined up perfect. This is a little different than sitting a nice box blind, or setting up prone.
 
I am a retired deputy sheriff and have developed a great deal of respect for Hornady's 168 gr 308 TAP ammunition. The round holds consistent .5 MOA to 400 yds which is as far as I can shoot on our range. My most recent example of terminal performance was about 6 weeks ago in Wyoming on a large antelope. According to my GPS unit the shot was a little over 370 yds. I fired as the animal slowly turned away and it was a now or never moment. I had complete confidence in hitting him but then, this back to front shot was far more tissue/bone resistance than I had ever tried or witnessed before. The bullet entered through the back hip about 2 inches left of center and penetrated to just short of the heart. It did not exit however the damage was amazingly extensive through the body cavity. He dropped where he stood. There was no exit. Other observations where the body mass was about 10 to 16 inches thick, had left exit wounds from 3 to 6 inches in diameter. In years past most agencies use 168 HPBT target bullets from various mfg. I have no doubt that the target type, small hollow pointed bullet, would have gone farther in this antelope and better reached the heart area as well as stayed together. It may have even exited but I don't know that for sure. But the primary wound channel would have been much narrower, thus the secondary wound channel would have been greatly reduced as well. And as many of you know, the shock from the secondary wound channel can be, and probably is, just as effective in a quick and humane DRT engagement. Both bullets can be effective however I think that I will go back to some sort of SP bullet that mushrooms even at lower velocities and retains most of it's weight. The 165 gr SPHB fly about the same as the 168's and I think they will work just as well, maybe better in most cases. The above is my opinion based on what I have experienced or have seen. So please keep in mind that over penetration is seldom an issue in most hunting applications. I would be glad to read your perspective on this topic.
 
SmokinCrow said:
Aren't there options for rests to help steady in the climber?
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Yes, and I have that. The issue is this, you either stand up ( like bow hunter has to do) to shoot, or you shoot sitting. Standing, up of course, you don't have anything to rest the gun on, so you double wrap the rifle strap to get your rifle steady. Standing up gives you a bigger and better swing left to right. In my mid fifties, I'm not as agile as I use to be. I'm strapped to the tree with a safety line, but I'm standing on a 22"x22" platform, recoil comes into play now. If your sitting, you can brace your elbow on your knee to steady the shot, but this gives you a much smaller angle for shooting. I love climbing trees, but it has as many disadvantages as advantages. Again, I am not beating up the Berger VDL hunter at all, just telling my experience with them. On this site you can find a lot post about them both good and bad.
 
I just killed a bull elk on the heavy side 2 days ago with vld 167 grain by HSM.
Bullet went thru its lungs and exited.
He run 100 yards and pile up.
The distance was 526 yards.
I use vld for hunting and targets, no regrets.
 
JA1989 said:
Hey guys, looking for some reviews. I've been hunting for years and am now venturing into longer range hunting, 500-1000 yards. Shooting a custom build .280 Ackley improved, my best load for this gun is a 168 grain Berger VLD-H. When I do my part it will shoot .5-.75 moa out to 1000. However, I have little hunting experience with this bullet. The few deer I've shot with it have been at 300 yards or less, and all have ran from 40-125 yards after the shot with exit wounds and sparse blood trails. Performance has not exactly blown me away. Looking to get reviews from others on this bullet. Thanks
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