Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Berger VLD Hunting Bullets

Jayco - I surely do like my Noslers as well. Used them a bit in the 1970's, some in the 80's & 90's, along with Sierra Gamekings. Then started branching out a bit and trying Barnes. Didn't like the old X bullets, couldn't get them to shoot well - but the newer TSX bullets worked out great for me. Then along came all this info on the VLD, and I had to try them too.

Guess I just like messing around with different rifles, cartridges and bullets.

There's still a mess of partitions in my loading room, from 6mm/85 gr up through .375/300 gr, and I recently picked up 500 more 115 gr Partitions for the .25's my son and I hunt with. We are fortunate to live in a time when there are so very many good hunting bullets available!

MD - you're right - given a decent bullet & cartridge - it's really more about where they're hit, than what hits 'em.

Regards, Guy

Absolutely! I just like to make sure that the bullet can get to the "right spot" if the shot angle is steep. No still hunting with V-Maxes for me

Getting them to the right spot is certainly the plan as plans go, but then were all human and sometimes hunting,things don't always go as planned for multiple reasons.Know one is perfect..

That's when some bullets shine over others when things go unplanned,in the time it takes you to blink your eye...

But that's part of hunting...Being prepared!!!

Jayco

Dont hunt much but like to read about it to pass the time. Had a great opportunity to go to a TX ranch and have at all the hogs that we could find. 7 days, 24-7, freelance, not guided and no limit. Wanted to add to the enjoyment of the trip so I spent some time on the reloading bench for the hunt.
After reading the articles on the Berger it moved up the list for the project. I built a "bang around" 30-06 on a cheap, used Winchester push feed because I had been warned about the mud and red dirt and the 270 miles we put on the quads in 7 days. Most of the party which goes every year, shoot their pigs in the woods at close range. (30-30,35Rem,243,and 06, all factory, no reloading)
I decided to load my 165 VLD's at 2500fps because I wanted to. No need for extra recoil on close shots. Esp. if multiple pig targets are in sight at night.
I had three pigs die from very close range that my bow would have worked on. Two were shot in the neck area and bang flopped graveyard dead right there. The last was hit a bit back in the front shoulder and he made it about 25 dying pig steps and kicked 3 times.
All entrance holes were as described. Almost hard to find. All interior conditions were as described. Blown up after a distance of entry that was about 2 to 3 inches deep. No bullet was recovered. But it was easy to see where to cut out the meat where it had been.
I came to the VLD looking to avoid long tracking in what was described before the hunt as very thick brush and understory. I was not disappointed.
To cover my backside I had the next three rounds in the magazine loaded with 2800fps Partitions. They were for a hogzilla or follow up shot that never appeared. All three pigs were in the 170lb range.
Many pigs were killed by the party on this hunt. 30-30 and 243 core lock made a good showing when placed in the neck or vitals.
I think of the VLD like the Slick Trick broad head. You read a lot of writing about stuff dying when they are used. You dont see many stories of "Failure" issues by people who are using them. But they both get a lot of heated writing about weather they are the right thing compared to that bullet or broad head that has been around for a long time. I watched traditional and new work from the skinning pole.
I had a blast on my hunt and it will have to last me a good while since I wont be able to go again for a bit based on bigger demands in my life. But I was glad to have a project leading up to the hunt and I was glad to have a full cooler coming home from the hunt.

Last three years my son and I have used 6mm & 6.5 Berger's for antelope and mule deer-Awesome.
In the 6.5, I think I liked how the 130's performed better than the 140's (and I like the 140's). They just seemed to drop immediately-Ranges from 150 yards to 600 yards.

Ernie,

What 6.5 cartridge are you shooting?

John,
6.5-284 and 6.5 WSM (270 Norma WSM brass)
These were both in single-shot handguns, so the rifle performance would be closer to the 260 Rem (140's 27250 and a 6.5-284 (130 @ 3100 fps)

One day after a field shoot 300-600 yards this past September, we were shooting some dog s and I had the rear-grip 6.5 WSM out, and I was shooting dogs between 350-450 yards with it and my hit ratio that day was around 75-80% (I had a spotter) and we had to deal with the wind. I mention it to say that the 130's do really good on pd's as well.
I really like the 130 Berger!

Thanks for the info. I just got some 130 6.5's in and will have to give them a try!

What cartridge(s)?

Well girls I am very late to this party. I am just getting in to reloading and ordered bullets today for my 6.5x55 CZ 550 American before I read this thread. I ordered the VLD Hunting Bullet in 130 grain. Why? Because I couldn't find any in 140 grain. After reading this thread..... I am still glad I ordered Berger's and if they work well I will order them for some of my other rifles.

Did you actually find some 130gr. VLD Hunting bullets in 6.5 in stock?

I've reported a 6X6 bull elk killed with the 140 gr VLD out of my .264 WM at 3230 fps, 270 yards. Quickest, cleanest kill I've seen

A friend reported a 168 gr out of his 280 AI completely destroyed the shoulder of an Oryx and got to the vitals.

But...

He shot an Oryx at 500 right where you're supposed to (in the shoulder) recently. After a 1 mile track and hunt he finished it with one more. 280 AI.

He won't use it for bone anymore and believes it is best on American game behind the shoulder.

Any other reports on African game?

I advised somebody who drew a New Mexico gemsbok tag to use something other than the VLD. The reason is that gemsbok have very thick hide over their shoulders, like many other animals that use very sharp, straight horns when fighting each other.

VLD's normally penetrate a couple of inches before starting to expand. (Berger says up to 3 inches, but I've never seen more than two, whether the bullet was fired into game or test media.) On a deer-sized animalwith relatively thin hide, a VLD will punch right through both skin and shoulder bone before expanding, and often will even on larger thin-skinned game, especially if the bullet's heavy enough and velocity has dropped off at longer ranges. But when the skin itself is an inch thick, and it can be on a bull oryx's shoulder, it doesn't take much for the bullet to start expanding before it gets into the chest cavity.

Other African game doesn't necessarily have this really thick skin. Kudu have relatively thin hide, and I suspect the right VLD would punch right through the shoulder into the vitals. But in most kudu hunting there's little point in using something like a VLD, since most kudu are hunted in brushy terrain, where longer shots are rare, unlike gemsbok that often live in open country (though they will also hang out in thick brush, just like kudu). So there isn't any general rule about African game.

I hunt with VLD's a lot, because I've found them ideal for certain hunting, but have never regarded them as an all-around bullet for all big game.

I killed my first deer in 1949 with a .257 Roberts, last year I killed an OK whitetail with my .270 and a 110 TTSX. In the years between I've killed more than 200 ungulates on two continents, with at least sixteen different cartridges and Lord only knows how many different bullets. I've learned that while there are no absolutes, [A nosler PT comes pretty close.] I also have learned that if you shoot ungulates, felines and canines in the chest, they are gonna Die. [my jungle fighter cousin amd my late Father confirm humans as well].

I've been wanting to report my experience which admittedly is unique but I think interesting nonetheless. When conditions allow, we will shoot some of our deer in the neck. The angle was good and the range was under 100 so I placed the crosshairs on the skinny neck of a sub 100lb buck. The animal dropped instantly as expected. I watched closely as I continued to sit through the morning. I never saw the large puddle of blood develop that I am used to seeing with such shots. I looked through my spotter and noticed his eyes weren't glazing over and a barely perceivable movement in the chest. I put another one in his neck as he was obviously not dead. He reacted by beginning to kick and attempting to get up. Well, I was shocked so I proceeded over with a knife and finished the job. The short conclusion is that with such a skinny neck and without directly centering the spinal column, the bullet didn't start to do its thing until it got past vitals. The exit wounds were big but largely superficial. I'm sure the .308 185gr Classic Hunter would have been fine in the chest but not on a tiny skinny necked Texas cull deer.....in the neck.

FWIW, I did shoot the biggest whitetail of my life early in the season with a 308 125gr TNT. He dressed 185lbs and his neck was a big target. I didn't plan it that way but that was all I had loaded for my 308 at the time. It worked like a charm as he never twitched. I soon switched to 180 Gamekings which are truly my "go to" bullet for the 308 when shooting game.

A lot of different bullets will do it, albeit not quite in the same way.

I was amazed that earlier in this thread it was suggested that one should use the Sierra Match King instead of the Berger VLD. Recently I guided a "wildlife professional" two years in a row. The first year for antelope and mule deer the second year just for mule deer. He insisted on shooting Match Kings because he had a sniper-quality black rifle (bolt action). He shot the antelope facing us. He hit him good, we thought. We then spent over an hour tracking and sneaking on this buck before he was finally able to put him down. Had we left it alone, I suspect the buck would have survived. He then hit a nice mule deer buck. Two days of searching and we never found it. The next year he hit a nice mule deer buck. My best tracking effort put him within a few hundreds of it but the buck ran off. It took three animals for him to realize the Match King was not intended for hunting. He finally asked me what would give him the pinpoint accuracy he demanded and still have terminal performance. I recommended Bergers from having used them for the previous five years. But, my personal recommendation on Bergers for bigger animals is to really try and wait for a double-lung shot. I have not read all the posts in this thread because this bush has been circled so many times, but another consideration with Bergers is the man behind them. As long as Walt Berger is alive I have no problem believing the bullets will perform. Walt is not the one who tried to convince everyone to use his bullets for hunting. From his correspondences with me, I would say he was slower to get on board than others.

Can the 25 Cal 115s be used at around 3100-3200 or will they blow up in flight?

Never mind that question. I thought someone on here said they would blow up in flight but I see other folks are shooting them at those velocities.

Yes, I've happily used the 115 Berger VLD from my .25-06 at velocities up to 3190 fps with no problems. Three mule deer down from 175 - 400 yards.

Good accuracy & quick kills.

Regards, Guy

I killed a couple of pigs with 115gr VLDs from my .257 Wby, pushing them about 3300. Both the pigs and I were convinced at their effectiveness...

John