Mixed results. I had a splash wound with 190 grain VLDs out of a .300 Win Mag (440 yards) that didn't make it through the ribs and that turned me off them for years.
In the meantime, friends were absolutely slaying things with 180 VLDs in their STWs so I eventually had to admit that what I was seeing wasn't what I had gotten before. With a great deal of unease, I eventually started trying that particular bullet on close range deer and bear to see is I could make them fail. Results are spectacular, and exit more often than not. The animal that takes a single step is the exception.
I don't know if that means that the bullets have to be taken on a case by case basis, or I got some bad ones earlier or what to make of it exactly. Maybe the lesson is to not use target bullets unless there is some crying need.
