Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Berger Bullets on Big Game article by John Barsness in Handloader

John Barsness has just set the hunting bullet world on it's ear with his article entitled "Burger Bullets on Big Game" in the latest issue of Handloader magazine.

I've read the article twice and since I trust John not to be swayed by advertizer pressures and to report honestly his well informed and well researched opinions, my world has been ROCKED!

Anyone that is serious about terminal performance in hunting bullets along with supreme accuracy owes themselves a look at this article.

If your mind is as open as mine and if you also trust John to be "fair and honest" then I suspect you will also be astounded at his article....

$bob$

I found it to be interesting as well. I may have to give the Bergers a shot, so to speak, but will probably try them in .284 or .308 before using the smaller calibers.

I agree! Great pictures and writing as usual!

http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/hl248partial.pdf

The article is also shown on the open portion of the Wolfe website...jim

I read it last night. Pretty interesting, but I won't be runnning out to stock up on them.

MD,

Did you run them through your dry newspaper test yet?

Impressive to say the least. After a few failures with ballistic tips (an admittedly small sample) I stayed away from anything softer than an interlock for a long time. The consistency to sneak in for a few inches and then come unglued looks like a very viable option.

MD, in general do they recomend a particular range of impact velocities? Im looking hard at using the 130VLD in a 260 for mule deer and should get th at abouem started at 2900. Im curious if the bullet requires a high impact speed to get the terminal performance observed.

Teeder,

Nope, I haven't shot any newspaper with them. Might, then might not. That is mostly a test for "premium" bullets, to see if they do hold together when meeting heavy obstructions. That is not what the VLD is all about.

JB

varmintsinc,

If you'll read the article closely, you'll see that performance was pretty much identical from 20 yards out to 500+, and all the loads used had a muzzle velocity of at least 2800 fps. Np matter the range, they penetrated at least 1.5 inches before expanding--and always expanded.

JB

Wow...

Great article Mr. Barsness and very interesting stuff....

I just read Johnny B's parting shots on the back page of the Rifle mag July edition, soooooo, this thread strikes me as very funny...:):))

Sorry, please resume....

read the article via the link above over lunch.....pretty cool stuff.....the pics make me want a red deer even more now might have to try some of the 6.5's......hell they are cheaper than partitions and look like they will work just as well for speed goats deer and cow elk......

JB,

Have you had any additional thoughts on what causes the delayed expansion, beyond that which you had in the story sidebar, i.e., long ogive and tiny hollowpoint?

Jaywalker

Looking forward to reading the article. I've got a box of 190's to test in my .300 Win.

I have been very intersted in reading JBs report. It is quite interesting to be sure but I have a couple concerns about using these bullets on some animals and in some situations. I tend to be one who favors an exit wound, especially on bears. I love to hunt bears and have taken 8 so far. They do not tend to leave much blood (especially if there is no exit) and having no hooves they do not leave much for tracks as their soft pads do not leave much of an impression generally. I also wonder if they would penetrate adequately on a hard quartering away presentation. Would I have to pass up such shots when I could easily kill the animal if I were using a bullet that held together better? I like to be able to take any reasonable shot (not just the standard broadside shot or slightly quartering shot) and wonder if I would end up passing up shots because I was using a Berger VLD instead of a Nosler Accubond or Partition or Barnes TSX? That would not be acceptible for me so I doubt I will use them unless JB and others who have used them extensively can report that they will still dump the animal with hard quartering away shots. Thanks, Rufous.

I think Bergers have there place but don't believe they are the right bullet for EVERY application or every hunter. Do what YOU believe in....... For me it's Partitions....

Dave

I bet the guys that have been using Sierra Match Kings for years feel validated.

Thanks for the confirmation , John... I have been shooting SMK's and Bergers for years on deer. Here is a doe I shot two years ago at 315 yds with a Berger 210VLD from a .300 WM...

This time it exited...she went 50 yards on this blown shoulder and left a blood trail a blind man could follow.

Jamison show them a picture of one taken with a SMK......They blow huge exits........

I've looked forward to this article! Thanks JB!!

I just got my copy out of the mailbox. After I eat the first thing I'll do is read that article.