Disappointed with the Berger 156 grain EOL

Tommyjohn53

Active Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2021
Messages
27
Location
Bandera, Texas
I shot a buck at 130 yards with my 6.5 PRC using Berger 156 grains EOL. I hit him right behind the shoulder. The buck ran about 50 yards with no blood. There was no exit wound. My Son and Grandsons have shot whitetail and axis with no exit wounds. Kind of disappointed with this bullet. My loads were going about 2860 fps and no exit wounds on that buck I shot. Looking for some advice as to what would be a good bullet to use that would have good exit wounds, thanks in advance
 
I had the same issue with them out of the creedmoor with the 156. I lost a NICE buck, 100 yd easy shot. It should have taken the whole vital cavity out with it. Deer stood up on back feet and almost went over backwards. Ran into the swamp never to be seen again. 20 minutes later I smacked a doe the same way, she ran off too. I found her in a ditch she fell in and was not able to get back up. No exit, no blood, and the bullet striped the jacket and retained next to no weight. 100% confident I hit the buck, the gun is a tach driver, the shot was stable and plenty of light.
 
I shot a buck at 130 yards with my 6.5 PRC using Berger 156 grains EOL. I hit him right behind the shoulder. The buck ran about 50 yards with no blood. There was no exit wound. My Son and Grandsons have shot whitetail and axis with no exit wounds. Kind of disappointed with this bullet. My loads were going about 2860 fps and no exit wounds on that buck I shot. Looking for some advice as to what would be a good bullet to use that would have good exit wounds, thanks in advance
Did you loose or recover the deer?
 
I had a similar experience with the 195eol out of a 28nos.

A good alternative we have used for years is the hornady eldx. In my experience the eldx performs best at on target velocities under 2800fps... so up close shots with my 300wm are a no-go (too explosive). But with 6.5 creedmoor we get a pass through about half the time. Recovered bullets tend to be around 40%.

I haven't used them yet, but I also like the looks of the federal terminal ascent bullet. Seems to be a good combination of high bc, medium to high bullet retention weight, but still has some fragments creating larger wound channels.
 
I had the same issue with them out of the creedmoor with the 156. I lost a NICE buck, 100 yd easy shot. It should have taken the whole vital cavity out with it. Deer stood up on back feet and almost went over backwards. Ran into the swamp never to be seen again. 20 minutes later I smacked a doe the same way, she ran off too. I found her in a ditch she fell in and was not able to get back up. No exit, no blood, and the bullet striped the jacket and retained next to no weight. 100% confident I hit the buck, the gun is a tach driver, the shot was stable and plenty of light.
Did you switch to different bullets and if so what kind? I just ordered some 121 grain Hammer Hunter bullets
 
I shot a buck at 130 yards with my 6.5 PRC using Berger 156 grains EOL. I hit him right behind the shoulder. The buck ran about 50 yards with no blood. There was no exit wound. My Son and Grandsons have shot whitetail and axis with no exit wounds. Kind of disappointed with this bullet. My loads were going about 2860 fps and no exit wounds on that buck I shot. Looking for some advice as to what would be a good bullet to use that would have good exit wounds, thanks in a

I shot a buck at 130 yards with my 6.5 PRC using Berger 156 grains EOL. I hit him right behind the shoulder. The buck ran about 50 yards with no blood. There was no exit wound. My Son and Grandsons have shot whitetail and axis with no exit wounds. Kind of disappointed with this bullet. My loads were going about 2860 fps and no exit wounds on that buck I shot. Looking for some advice as to what would be a good bullet to use that would have good exit wounds, thanks in advance
What did the inside look like when you dressed it? You said he went 50 yds. was he dead when you got to him? Just curious.
 
Did you switch to different bullets and if so what kind? I just ordered some 121 grain Hammer Hunter bullets
What did the inside look like when you dressed it? You said he went 50 yds. was he dead when you got to him? Just curious.
I hit him right behind the shoulders and it blew both lungs up and he was full of blood inside of him. The thing that bothers me though is that I hit no bones and that bullet was moving at 2860 fps so I fully expected a good exit wound with plenty of blood to be able to track him
 
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