Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Another Berger VLD failure !

A friend of mine shot a buck last Saturday with the hunting Berger VLD and it did what I had seen before. I have to ask him what caliber and which gr. bullet it was. Shot @ 80 yds, no blood trail, bullet went to shrapnel with minimal damage to lungs, exited a small pencil size hole. He has put that rifle up for the season and is pulling all his loads.

More info later.

KLM

How far did the deer run?

John

Another "Bullet Failure" that was recovered from a DEAD animal???

Help us out here. What calibre? What weight of bullet? If the bullet went to shrapnel, how did he have a exit hole? Don't just leave us hanging.

I can't see how it could go into shrapnel and not destroy the lungs.

Did your friend actually look inside, or just because of the small exit whole he is assuming there was no internal damage?

BBerg

"Hunting" VLD's are no different than regular VLD & these are not designed as "hunting" bullets as TSX's, Partitions & Accubonds are per se'.

If you want to believe the marketing hipe, have at it, but there's lots better legitimate hunting bullets to choose from than VLD's, and AB's for example, have about the same BC's in same weights/cailbers as the VLD's .

MM

a plain old Remington Corelokt or Hornady SP would have worked just fine I bet...

why to people try something new and trendy, when there are plenty of old "non premium" bullets that have worked just fine for decades??

I just wish Hornady still made the old 129 and 140 grain RN bullets in 6.5 bore...I'd be using them exclusively...

80 yds, and a VLD bullet?

That's like taking a top fuel dragster for a trip to the corner store.

Maybe it's a case of shooter failure and not bullet failure.

Failure (on the shooters part) to identify that an old fashioned round nosed bullet was actually needed for the 80 yd shot.

I don't get it, why use a specialty long range bullets for in your face shots.

Some folks need to give their bean bag a good ol shake, and start understanding the issues surrounding terminal ballistics.

And here is ANOTHER Berger VLD bullet failure. Notice the exit wound on this antelope taken at about 290 yards. The bullet obviously didn't expand or maybe what happened is that it it turned to shrapnel and did very little damage to the lungs.

Yea, and has others have mentioned, how did a bullet turn to shrapnel in the lungs and do very little damage? This would be a miracle close to walking on water. And how was there a small exit hole when the bullet turned to shrapnel? And, at what point in the animals demise did the bullet fail?

During what part of the deer's death did the bullet fail? Can't blow apart without damage to something important to the deer's life. Barnes bullets at times make small exit holes as do partitions. Sounds like hunter misunderstanding and not bullet failure. Depending on shot placement blood may not be found immediately, high lung. The hunter just may not have been at the correct spot to find blood. But blaming the bullet is always the easy way out.Rick.

jees, guys.
i've seen bullets nuke on a shoulder and the base whistle through leaving splash wound/puncture wound. i call that a failure too whether or not that shot killed. not sayin' that is exactly what happened here, but it can and does happen.

I agree. The original post does sound suspect but at the same time just because you pull a bullet out of a dead critter doesn't make it a thumbs up performance.

Exactly. There are so many contradictions in 6.5wnitetail's post that it's hard to figure out exactly what the complaint it.

I shot another big game animal with a Berger VLD this fall, a pronghorn buck at about 160 yards with a 140 from a 6.5-06. The buck was angled slightly away, so I aimed for the middle of the ribs. The bullet did the usual VLD thing: went in a couple of inches before turning to shrapnel and making a huge mess of the lungs. The buck went about 30 feet (not yards) before going down.

Part of the bullet exited at the rear edge of the far shoulder, but that doesn't matter one way or the other. What matters is that the bullet killed the pronghorn, pronto, like every other VLD I've seen hit an animal in the chest.

I told you "More Info Later" , I have to get the full story at Thanksgiving dinner today. Last year the VLD I saw do this was at 260 yds out of a .300 winny (175gr. VLD ). So the dragster and short range BS doesn't cut it!

KLM

I'm not getting into the terminal effects argument here, but you do realize 260 yards is short range for a 300 mag shooting a 175 VLD. Right?

Uhhhh, 260 yards ain't short range if I'm doing the shooting. What's a fellow supposed to do? Go out with a dozen or so different boutique bullets for different ranges? We've got good hunting bullets that do perform over a wide range of distances.
NPs come to mind. As well as common old Core Lokts. As long as you don't try to drive them at some ungodly Boyhowdylookwhatican do velocity.

I'm not saying the VLD didn't perform because the deer was too close. I am saying that with the flat trajectory and power of the 300 mag on tap if you're steady then 260 isn't a big deal.

Hell, if I'm steady with my 300 Savage something the size of a clay pigeon is in mortal danger at 300 yards using a little holdover.

Ok here is the skinny on the failure. Berger VLD 140 gr. 6.5x55 @ 80 yds. Shot high in the lungs, no blood trail. He had to make circles in the woods to find the deer. Pencil sized exit with shrapnel in the neck, spine, and very little lung damage. Deer went 70 yds after the shot.

You can say , but he found the deer so no failure.....geez maybe he should carry bullets for deer under 300 and shoot these VLD's over 300.....damn stupid! Shoo deer get out there a little further these bullets wont perform under 300 yds....LOL


I shot a buck @ 375 yds with a 140 gr. corelokt from a .280 He didnt go 10 yds. Blood bath all around.

You can shoot them if you want. I'll stick to TSX's and Nosler's.


KLM

The deer @ 260 happened to be 2 seprate deer at the same time. Both took 2 to the lungs and still managed to run and jump a fence. 1 was still laying there head up and had to be dispatched with a pistol. I loaded the deer and helped the guy butcher them.....I wont shoot them ever !

My late father shot a deer perfect broadside tight behind the leg with an early 130 grain .277" Ballistic Tip, range was inside 200 yards. This was from a 26" barreled 270 and MV was approx 3200 fps.

The contents of the chest cavity was mostly spread out in a bloody swath on the exit side of the deer. It still made it farther than 70 yards.

Did the bullet fail?