I have seen and heard of Berger bullets for years, mainly considered them to be long range target bullets. Well the other day, I found Midway had multiple 6.5 caliber Berger hunting bullets on sale. They are quite a bit cheaper than the Nosler Accubonds that I bought originally for my 6.5. Still think the Accubonds should do very well in my rifle, but have not finished developing a load for the gun yet. Found out after firing about 25 shots, that the ring bases were loose. I tightened the bases, then fired off five rounds and that was all the loads I had loaded for the gun. The last five shots looked like it has some very good potential with the Accubonds and I have had a lot of very good success with Nosler Ballistic Tips, which the Accubonds are based off of. Not really sure how the Accubonds compare to the Ballistic Tips, I would assume from what I have read, they should hold together a bit better and not expand as much. I have never had a Ballistic Tip blow up, but I have had many expand very rapidly and do a lot of damage to whatever I shot. I have been very impressed with them over the years.
So I found some Berger VLD Hunting bullets and Elite Hunting bullets, both 140 gr. 6.5 caliber, on sale. So I bought them, they come in 100 count boxes, instead of Nolser's 50 count boxes. I have not finished developing my round with the Accubonds at this point and only have 20 left. So the 100 count boxes for quite a bit less than 100 Accubonds, I like. But I am not sold on these bullets yet. I have not shot them. Obviously they have a higher ballistic coefficient, than the Noslers, which typically have a high ballistic coefficient for hunting bullets. But because of the shape of the bullets and the ogive, I am not sure how close to the rifling I am going to be able to get these bullets and still have them feed in the magazine. I may not be a big deal, but there may be problems. On the Accubonds, I have them seated way out of the case, to get them .030" from the rifling lands. I know by the time I get the Bergers close to the rifling lands, the overall length is going to be very long, not sure if they will feed in the magazine at that point.
Then the other thing, is these bullets, the main reason I have stayed away from them in the past, is they look like target bullets with a small hollow point, that is mostly closed up. I have only tried target bullets once for hunting. I shot a buck through the heart with some Sierra Match Kings years ago, out of my 7mm Rem. Mag.. The bullet made a tiny hole in and a tiny hole out, virtually no blood. The deer ran about 60 yards or do, the nose dived into the mud, then did a back flip, when his antlers got stuck in the mud. Had I not been able to see that deer run from the point it was hit to where it dropped, it likely would have taken a while to find that deer. So looking at the Bergers, I can't help but remember what happened that one time many years ago, looks very similar on the outside, more so the front end. It's hard to believe they will reliably expand. But Berger claims they will shed 40% to 80% of their weight once they get inside a animal. Basically blow up, but keep the base in tact, would be my guess. If they work like Berger claims, they should be interesting. I still look at them and see a target bullet. Hopefully they have the design worked out where they do reliably expand. Man the BC numbers for these bullets are pretty interesting. I would sure like to use these to hunt mule deer, but I would hate to have one hit and not expand much at all, then make a small exit wound.
I need to get another powder scale, my Dillon died two weeks ago, after about 28 years. So once I get a new scale, I want to work on developing some loads for these bullets. Probably mainly use the Elite Hunters, it says bullet seating depth is not critical with that bullet design. But punching holes in paper is one thing, how they perform in a deer or other critter is another thing. It would be great if they are very accurate in my gun and expand reliably and can get them to feed in the magazine, when seated to the proper depth.
So I found some Berger VLD Hunting bullets and Elite Hunting bullets, both 140 gr. 6.5 caliber, on sale. So I bought them, they come in 100 count boxes, instead of Nolser's 50 count boxes. I have not finished developing my round with the Accubonds at this point and only have 20 left. So the 100 count boxes for quite a bit less than 100 Accubonds, I like. But I am not sold on these bullets yet. I have not shot them. Obviously they have a higher ballistic coefficient, than the Noslers, which typically have a high ballistic coefficient for hunting bullets. But because of the shape of the bullets and the ogive, I am not sure how close to the rifling I am going to be able to get these bullets and still have them feed in the magazine. I may not be a big deal, but there may be problems. On the Accubonds, I have them seated way out of the case, to get them .030" from the rifling lands. I know by the time I get the Bergers close to the rifling lands, the overall length is going to be very long, not sure if they will feed in the magazine at that point.
Then the other thing, is these bullets, the main reason I have stayed away from them in the past, is they look like target bullets with a small hollow point, that is mostly closed up. I have only tried target bullets once for hunting. I shot a buck through the heart with some Sierra Match Kings years ago, out of my 7mm Rem. Mag.. The bullet made a tiny hole in and a tiny hole out, virtually no blood. The deer ran about 60 yards or do, the nose dived into the mud, then did a back flip, when his antlers got stuck in the mud. Had I not been able to see that deer run from the point it was hit to where it dropped, it likely would have taken a while to find that deer. So looking at the Bergers, I can't help but remember what happened that one time many years ago, looks very similar on the outside, more so the front end. It's hard to believe they will reliably expand. But Berger claims they will shed 40% to 80% of their weight once they get inside a animal. Basically blow up, but keep the base in tact, would be my guess. If they work like Berger claims, they should be interesting. I still look at them and see a target bullet. Hopefully they have the design worked out where they do reliably expand. Man the BC numbers for these bullets are pretty interesting. I would sure like to use these to hunt mule deer, but I would hate to have one hit and not expand much at all, then make a small exit wound.
I need to get another powder scale, my Dillon died two weeks ago, after about 28 years. So once I get a new scale, I want to work on developing some loads for these bullets. Probably mainly use the Elite Hunters, it says bullet seating depth is not critical with that bullet design. But punching holes in paper is one thing, how they perform in a deer or other critter is another thing. It would be great if they are very accurate in my gun and expand reliably and can get them to feed in the magazine, when seated to the proper depth.
Comment