Surprised by .277 140 Berger Hunting VLD

[mrultramag]

I shoot 140 bergers out of my 270 Wby at MV 3330. I've shot a deer each of the last 3 years with it. 1st 2 bucks it performed admirably and the range at which the deer were shot was about 400 yds in year one and 70 yds in year two. Thoracic impact on the 400. neck shot under the chin facing me on the 70 yd hit. This year I shot a small 4 pt on public land in open country. The range was about 400 yds again. I hit just a little too far back and got the guts. the bullet made normal entry wound but the exit left a hole approximately 9-10" in diameter and pulled much of the paunch with it. It was my fault for making the sloppy shot and the deer did expire in short order. However I was simply amazed at the amount of damage and size of the exit wound. I did have to waste a small amount of one side of the backstrap. Cleaning the deer was a mess. So what I take away from this experience is to be very careful about shot placement with the berger when pushing them fast. Thoracic hits would be very preferable. I think I was lucky things turned out as good as they did with this...this time.

 

[bigngreen]

Ya, your running them on the edge, I ran them 3350 fps in my WSM but had to back them of to 3300 fps, shot a number of elk with them and they performed well blowing a heart to hamburger, it's a good bullet.

 

[RT2506]

What you experienced was due to the guts containing much more liquid than the chest. Hydro shock effect. The bullet expands the same but where there is more liquid it has to displace it someplace. It displaced it out the other side leaving that huge whole. I have only shot one deer with a Berger VLD. It was broadside at 111 yards and was shot with a 30x47 with a 155 VLD at 2650 fps muzzle velocity. Impact was center of onside shoulder and exit was back edge and just behind offside shoulder. Deer did a squat and dash into a VERY THICK cut over. Went down the logging road where the deer was standing when shot. For around five yards down the road on the offside it looked like you had taken a quart of blood and lung tissue and put them in a blinder and slung it down the road. There was not another drop of blood to be found from that point to where the deer was found 50 yards away. I had to get down on my hands and knees and crawl down the deer path into that cut over to find the deer. When found the offside was laying up. It had a hole in the hide that you could have dropped a baseball into easy. The deer sloshed inside. It's whole chest cavity was pulp so there was nothing to pump any blood out as it ran off and no lungs at all to blow blood out. Lost both shoulders due to being pulverized. I decided to go back to my Nosler 125 gr ballistic tips at 2850 fps. It usually drops a deer in it's tracks and does much less damage to the meat. I went right to the Nosler 130 gr Accubond for my 264 Win mag that does 3350 fps with them. It has worked awesome on the dozen plus deer I have shot from 30 to a bit over 400 yards. Bang Flop on everyone.

 

[royinidaho]

Yep, that's what Bergers do...

My 2012 cow was a near miss. She began to pivot as I broke the shot.

Trajectory was parallel to the rib cage.

Broke a rib, shattered a rib, broke the next rib. Bullet did what Bergers do. Only a fragment exited after traveling less than a foot order the hide.

Shrapnel and bone frags took out 10" of the main blood vessel. Tracked her 75 yards in sage brush.

This shot was 157 yds w/a 300 gr 338 gen 1 @ 2735 MV.

If the bullet would have been an Accubond she'd been gone...

 

[upacreek]

Have to laugh about this, can't resist.....
So what you are saying is that accubonds take care of bad shots?
If it was broadside the accubond would have left two holes......and then the Berger would have shined.......
Sorry, too funny to let pass.

 

[BigSwede]

Out of my 270wsm they fly very nicely. Best group so far is .133 Some poor muley gonna test one for me on Oct 22-26 this year...we'll see ; )

 

[Dosh]

mRultramag, have had better performance with the 150 VLD's. Hit an elk two years ago quartering, went in the left slats destroying the heart and lung to mush. It continued to trash a good portion of the brisket also, but this elk didn't take a step. Lost some meat but no tracking, no packing it out. Will stick with the Bergers.

 

[ShootnMathews]

My very first Berger kill I hit right at he back edge of the lungs. Pinhole enterance as expected. Exit must have been 7-9". Lungs and guts both hanging out. Deer ran 15 yards, fell down and dragged Itself another 2 yards. Had a string of guts 6' long hangi g out. Shot second deer soon after, Center lungs, golf all exit. Lung milkshake inside. 6.5-284 140
Vld

 

[davkrat]

Have to laugh about this, can't resist.....
So what you are saying is that accubonds take care of bad shots?
If it was broadside the accubond would have left two holes......and then the Berger would have shined.......
Sorry, too funny to let pass.

I think he was saying she would have been gone. As in not died and gotten away, similar to what you're saying...

 

[upacreek]

I think he was saying she would have been gone. As in not died and gotten away, similar to what you're saying...

My apologies! I did understand it wrong. Sorry to be an ***.

 

[Killertraylor]

I ran the 140 VLD hunting Bergers out of my 6.5 Weatherby at 3400 fps the first year I had it. Shot a nice Muley in Montana at 100 yards. Bullet left 5 gallon bucket size hole on front shoulder, blew up and didn't puncture vitals requiring quick follow up as he bailed over a cliff into a canyon. Took out a total hind quarter on that one and the finishing shot blew another 5 gallon bucket sized hole in the other shoulder. Ended up with about 40 lbs of meat from a 250 lb deer. It's the velocity - they just don't hold together at that speed. I switched to 140 partitions in that gun and zero issues - 3 elk and 2 muleys with hardly any meat damage and one shot kills. Don't use Bergers anymore but might try them again in a regular velocity cartridge since they shoot so well.

 

[mrultramag]

Looks as though if I continue to use the VLD in 270 Wby, I best be served by slowing them down. hmm.... I have a couple boxes of 130 accubonds I may have to work up a load for. With all the 140 VLD's I have it might give me an excuse to get another gun in a more sedate .277 cartridge- 270 win. Always love it when you have such a good excuse to get another rifle. I do have a box of 115gr .257 VLD's I am going to try to find a load for in one of my 25-06's. I'm thinking somewhere from 2900-3100 MV- wherever I find the accuracy; if the ole ruger 77 mk1 likes em at all.

 

[royinidaho]

Have to laugh about this, can't resist.....
So what you are saying is that accubonds take care of bad shots?
If it was broadside the accubond would have left two holes......and then the Berger would have shined.......
Sorry, too funny to let pass.

Me thinks u missed my point....

If the shot would have been 1 inch more left the bullet would have only taken a little hair off of her side.

The bullet was traveling parallel to the elk. Not perpendicular.

No bullets takes care of a bad shot. Bergers simply have a much larger wound area.

 

[upacreek]

Ya, I am an idiot. Read your post too quickly and later realized my problem. Sorry for misunderstanding. You are correct.