On the verge of switching to Berger bullets...

[Ridgerunner665]

Nothing against other calibers (they're all great)...but I'm more interested in what these bullets will do (or have done) in a 30-06...yeah, its old, plain, maybe even boring...but I happen to like the old warhorse!


My son bought a box of 175 grain Hunting VLD's last year...it took me until last week to get into serious load development with them because I "thought" they were gonna be complicated...boy was I ever wrong...easiest load work up I've ever done...maybe I just got lucky, but if I did it would be the first time, LOL.

I've used Nosler 165/168 grain Ballistic Tips for about 20 years now...they've never failed me in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

168 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip 3 shot group below...scope wasn't sighted in for them just yet (new scope)...I pulled one out a bit on this one but when I'm on my game the BT's will put them into one ragged little hole (.3 moa or so)...I worked long and hard to fine tune this load.

My understanding of the Berger Hunting bullets is...in simple terms...they do to big game what varmint bullets do to varmints....enter, explode, dead animal...I kinda like that theory. The BT's do that too, up to a point anyway...they enter, almost explode, and usually exit...and thats one thing that got me to consider the Bergers...I hunt pasture fields some with cows in them, others with high dollar show horses in them (to the tune of $20,000-$30,000 each). Now don't get me wrong...there is no substitute for being sure of whats beyond the target but if Bergers will kill quick with no exit...all the better.

Last week I loaded up 3 of the 175 grain Bergers over 58.5 grains of H4350, seated them to an appx. COAL of 3.36" (MV is 2,775 fps)...just to fire a 3 round group and see what happened....well, I got a pleasant surprise (target below)

Hard to argue with that ain't it...

I read a lot on this forum, and enjoy the hell out of it...but you just don't see much talk about 30-06's...my hunting consists of deer at 600 yards or less (most between 300-400 yards)

I'd just like to see and hear about Bergers in a 30-06...bullet weights between 168 and 185...but specifically the 175's, since they shoot so good in my rifle.

As I said in the beginning...nothing against the 30-378's, 338 EDGE's, 338 Lapua, etc...but that just ain't what I need to know.

gun)

 

[Scot E]

The bergers in 30'06 or even 308 will perform just as well as any other 30 cartridge you just need to watch your downrange velocity to be sure you get proper expansion. Bullet performance is tied directly to velocity and not cartridge per se so just watch things downrange.

I love the concept of the bergers but have always been leery of the inconsistent performance and always having to chase the lands to keep accuracy but the new hybrids they have coming out are peeking my curiosity again. They seem to perform more consistently and should maintain their accuracy at a wider seating depth. It will be interesting to see how they end up working.

Scot E.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I fully understand your last comment. I have one of those 338 cannons, an expensive to load for and expensive to shoot gun and I prefer my 308 actually.

The Lapua is fun but it's not a shoot on a fixed income (as in retirement) rifle. It's fun at a price, compared to a 308, a steep price.

I prefer the 308. It's not a mile shooter but then, most of my shots/hunting is less than 500 yards, much less.

If I did it again, I'd not have bought a 338 and been happy with a lesser rifle....

 

[Ridgerunner665]

The bergers in 30'06 or even 308 will perform just as well as any other 30 cartridge you just need to watch your downrange velocity to be sure you get proper expansion. Bullet performance is tied directly to velocity and not cartridge per se so just watch things downrange.

At 600 yards...any of the 3 bullet weights I mentioned will still be doing ~ 1,800 fps....that will expand a Ballistic Tip just fine...will it do the same for the Bergers?

Those are the type of questions I'd like to get answers to...

I love the concept of the bergers but have always been leery of the inconsistent performance and always having to chase the lands to keep accuracy but the new hybrids they have coming out are peeking my curiosity again. They seem to perform more consistently and should maintain their accuracy at a wider seating depth. It will be interesting to see how they end up working.

As far as chasing lands goes, I don't get to shoot as much as I once did...gotta work all the time these days...but there was a time when I shot several thousand rounds a year, so I do understand (wore out 6 barrels...still haven't rebarreled them...thats been almost 13 years ago now)...this rifle though is just a hunting rifle...I'll probably never fire more than 200 rounds a year through it, and will probably rebarrel it to 280 AI long before its shot out....but thats another story

Scot E.

My answers in red...thanks for the reply.

And Scot E has a point...so let me rephrase...

I'd like to hear about these three 30 caliber Bergers at 1,800 fps...regardless of the round that fired them.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I called Berger today and asked about "minimum velocity for reliable expansion"....I was told 1,800 fps was sorta their target with the design (I'm guessing that means the jacket thickness testing)...which makes sense, most every other hunting bullet out there requires at least that to expand reliably.


No pics...no stories...no nothing...

Do you mean to tell me that nobody has killed anything with a 30 caliber Berger of less than 210 grains???

 

[Greyfox]

I have thought about using Bergers in my 308 that has is exceptionally accurate with 165 Ballistic tips with good terminal performance on deer out to 600 yards. I chose not to because the Bergers in that weight range do not offer a significant BC advantage in that weight range. I might get an extra 100-200 yards with heavier, higher BC bullets but was skeptical of the expansion properies at the lower velocities. I do use 140 Bergers in my 6.5x 284 for 1000 yard hunting and have been very happy with the accuracy and terminal performance.