Berger vld hunting or hybrid?

[Bmccart]

Been doing some reading about the vld hunting bullet vs the hybrid bullet. What's everyone's real world experience with them on elk? I've been shooting the 185 vld hunting bullet out of my 300 wby and it loves them as well as the target bullet. I have yet to hunt with them yet but this will be the rifle I take to Colorado next year for an elk hunt.

 

[257Tony]

They both work well in my experience. Personally I tend to load the Hybrids in really fast guns (28 Nosler) and the HVLD in my standard-magnum velocity guns (264 WM). Hybrids have the J4 target jacket, which is slightly thicker.

 

[Hoss50]

Either should work well. My buddy used 168gr HVLD out of his 300 win mag on his cow elk a few years ago. 1 shot @ 350 yards is all it took. I used the 115gr HVLD on my cow elk from a 257 weatherby @ 260 yards. I shot her again, but upon further investigation the first shot was a double lung and would have got it done.

 

[Rick Richard]

I have taken a few elk including the one in my avatar and several deer with Berger Hybrids with various calibers and they all performed well. Shots from 30 yards to 650ish.

 

[Wolf76]

Been doing some reading about the vld hunting bullet vs the hybrid bullet. What's everyone's real world experience with them on elk? I've been shooting the 185 vld hunting bullet out of my 300 wby and it loves them as well as the target bullet. I have yet to hunt with them yet but this will be the rifle I take to Colorado next year for an elk hunt.

With a 300 bee, you'd be wise to use the 215 gr hybrid. Well documented success and stupid accurate.
It flopped my bull where it stood (surprisingly), with a double lung shot.

 

[TexSavage]

Read the following thread. It's long, but the best real world testing and result thread I've ever seen!!

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/comparing-the-berger-210-vld-to-the-215-hybrid.88657/

 

[Vol1975]

Which one tends to shoot better? The VLD or the Hybrid. I'm mainly talking about the 210vld vs the 215 hybrid. They both internal wise seem to be made about the same and performance should be close to one another. Advantages one over the other.

 

[Wolf76]

The hybrid is less sensitive to seating depth. Accuracy is a toss up, both are the best my gun has ever shot.

 

[1000yards]

Been doing some reading about the vld hunting bullet vs the hybrid bullet. What's everyone's real world experience with them on elk? I've been shooting the 185 vld hunting bullet out of my 300 wby and it loves them as well as the target bullet. I have yet to hunt with them yet but this will be the rifle I take to Colorado next year for an elk hunt.

I use the 210 vid in my 300wm. Excellent accuracy and hammered a good 5x5 last fall in New Mexico. One shot at 400 yd and dropped like a stone. Gathered the remnants of that bullet under the hide of the opposite shoulder and weighed 187gr. Couldn't be happier.

 

[Vol1975]

I use the 210 vid in my 300wm. Excellent accuracy and hammered a good 5x5 last fall in New Mexico. One shot at 400 yd and dropped like a stone. Gathered the remnants of that bullet under the hide of the opposite shoulder and weighed 187gr. Couldn't be happier.

How about 50 to 200 yard shots. Any of this bullet blow up I hear about. I've read a lot of good things about the VLD and then some bad thing on close range shots.
My concern is not hunting in the open but when I'm hunting around thick areas. I do hunt a lot around in thick areas and if they run any distance and I don't have some blood I can be screwed. Hunting clear cuts in the south is jungle thick.

 

[TexSavage]

I can only speak on the 215 performance out of my 300WSM, MV 2800fps. I shot 7 whitetail over the last two years ranging in distance from 50 to just under 300 yards. All but two does were 50 to 200yards. Same exact performance on every animal, .308 entry, exit hole the size of a tennis ball, every one DRT. Any bone in the way at entrance or exit were a non factor. This included a shoulder or I should say what was left of a shoulder at 150 yards. Ribs were eviscerated in chunks of 3" or more when hit on the exit. Blood on the ground at impact was profuse, lungs heart were non existent or only partially there. I'll be using it on an Oryx this fall, I'll try to do a post mortem with pics.

 

[Vol1975]

I can only speak on the 215 performance out of my 300WSM, MV 2800fps. I shot 7 whitetail over the last two years ranging in distance from 50 to just under 300 yards. All but two does were 50 to 200yards. Same exact performance on every animal, .308 entry, exit hole the size of a tennis ball, every one DRT. Any bone in the way at entrance or exit were a non factor. This included a shoulder or I should say what was left of a shoulder at 150 yards. Ribs were eviscerated in chunks of 3" or more when hit on the exit. Blood on the ground at impact was profuse, lungs heart were non existent or only partially there. I'll be using it on an Oryx this fall, I'll try to do a post mortem with pics.

Very nice.

 

[Plinker147]

Always had consistent performance with VLD hunting and EOL and classic. The classic seem to be the most frangible. Most shot have been 200-500 yards. Shot a big bear at 140 yards with 250 gr elite hunters out of 338 run, bullet broke both front shoulders.

Only Berger I have seen that didn't have good performance on game was a hybrid out of 7mm, can't remember the grain. Bullet didn't expand at all nose bent and bullet tumbled upon entry, was fatal but needed a follow up. Think it was 500-600 yards, I wasn't the shooter just saw the results. We don't use them any more for hunting. the hunting bullets are just as accurate and have been very consistent with myself and hunting buddies. We have 50-75 kills with Berger's from deer, elk, bears and Oryx.

 

[MASH]

I'll be working up a load for the 215 in my RUM. I'll be going to Colorado this year to elk hunt. A lot of success with this bullet so I'm willing to give it a try.