Is it worth trying VLD's in a 308 that is clip fed since I probably can get no where near the lands? Thinking about 168VLD and not willing to go single shot.

Glen It depends on what ranges you are going to shoot. If you are going out to 600 or 1000yrd the vld bullets show off there stuff.
My most accurate load for a 308 is 165gr sierra
loaded with H414, 1 hole at 100yrd 3/4" at 300yrds.
these were loaded .030" off the lands.

I'd say go for it! Berger has recommended that the VLD be jammed, but it isn't always the case, some rifles like the VLD with a bit of a jump. The following is an exerpt from Berger's website that will give you a bit more info on seating depth of VLD's.

For years we have relayed that it is best to jam the VLD into the lands for best performance. This works for many rifles however there are many rifles that do not shoot the VLD well when the bullet is jammed. We have learned that the VLD can shoot best as much as .150 jump off the rifling. VLD bullets can be sensitive to seating depth and it has been found that these bullets shoot best in a COAL “sweet spot”. This sweet spot is a COAL range that is usually .030 to .040 wide.
The quickest way to find this sweet spot is to load ammo at four different COAL. Start with a COAL that allows the bullet to touch the rifling. The next COAL needs to be .040 off the lands. The third COAL needs to be .080 off the lands. The last COAL needs to be .120 off the lands. One of these COAL will outperform the other three by a considerable margin. It has been reported that the VLD bullets don’t group as well at 100 yards but get better as the bullet “goes to sleep” at further ranges. We have learned that by doing the four COAL test you will find a COAL where the VLD bullets will group well at 100 yards. Once the COAL that shoots best is established you can tweak +/- .005 or .010 to increase precision or you can adjust powder charges and other load variables. Frankly, those who do the four COAL test usually are happy with the results they get from this test alone.

Has anyone else had any luck loading bergers off the lands? It seems all I hear is success stories touching the lands and the exerpt from the berger web site.

The bullets for this load were not touching the lands.

quote:

Originally posted by Glen:
Has anyone else had any luck loading bergers off the lands? It seems all I hear is success stories touching the lands and the exerpt from the berger web site.

I certainly do! I get sub MOA groups with my Tikka 270 WSM at about .030 off the lands.

I worked up some loads for my previous 25-06 using their 115gr and had them off about .055" and got outstanding groups with them. They just were a bit more than I wanted expansion wise for hunting with.

My bud is also using the 185gr in his .300 RUM set to book COL, and it amounts to right at .125 off the lands in his rifle. He easily gets 1" or less groups at 300yds, so I would suggest that you just need to go for it if your wanting to shoot the Bergers.

In several emails with Eric Stecker from Berger, he told me to not be overly concerned with hitting the lands, as is the case with most rifles, there are generally more than one sweet spot regarding seating depth.

None of my rifles are able to mag feed Bergers and have them be anywhere near the lands. They shoot great though!
My 300wsm likes the 185 VLDs even though they are .120 off the lands. Sub moa easily with multiple loads.