Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Another Berger VLD failure !

Three mule deer in the past two years, two bucks and a doe. All one-shot drops. Spined the first buck, so I had to send a second into his chest to kill him. All with the 115 gr VLD from my .25-06 Rem 700. Ranges from 175 - 400 yards. Wound descriptions pretty much as described by Mule Deer/John Barsness. Small entry, violent expansion in the chest cavity, and not much of an exit. Recovered bullet doesn't amount to much, but the deer dropping in place are nice, particularly in steep country.


My teenage son with my small buck this season, 175 yards through the shoulder blade:


400 yard shot on the doe - held on hair, hit low in chest, destroyed the heart and lungs.



Primarily a mule deer hunter & varmint/predator blaster, I decided to try the VLD's after reading good stuff about them from a couple of writers, including JB. Also a couple of my long-range shooting buddies had tried them on game and were happy with the performance. The 115 VLD offeres a nice high BC, and did good things for my .25-06 when loaded over Retumbo. At this point, I'm pretty pleased with the VLD's for deer hunting. Yes, they go right through the shoulder blade of a mulie.

Regards, Guy