Hi Scott,

I've heard that before mate but my experience doesn't bear it out particularly.

I think I'd need someone to explain to me what it is about the design that makes it reliably do that.

If it is indeed the case then I also would be intrigued as it sounds like the mythical "perfect" bullet for deer, ie punch through a shoulder with a little hole, wreak unholy havoc in the chest cavity and not over-penetrate either.

The muntjac I blew up however showed signs of either immediate expansion or an exceptional temporal cavity as it was more or less in two pieces each facing a different direction. These are small deer and I was shooting a 30.06 but for your reference the soft Speer 150gr BTSP only gives a 2-3" exit on these beasts pushed a fair amount faster than it possible to push a 168gr VLD.

Excuse the poor quality as this photo was taken a few years ago with a mobile 'phone but you can see that although both shoulders were hit the exit wasn't too bad.



She dropped to the shot, by the way....

Ghubert,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've never used them so it helps.

I've read that the HP on the Berger is so small that it's not what opens the bullet. Supposedly the front cavity weakens once it penetrates the animal a few inches. Once the nose weakens, it fragments.

I'm not sure how much if it is true but I read about it in the Nov issue of American Riflemen. John Barsness was the author. I believe he has uses them on game and has extensively tested them in different types of media.

Scott,

Folks have been using the Berger VLD's in a variety of calibers for quite a few years to shoot game with. Most of their reports however have been covered up with blast from folks about using a "target" bullet to hunt with. These folks put in the time and effort to stretch out the ranges to past what many consider "ethical" because they simply cannot comprehend hitting something where it should be hit at these distances.

If your looking to the Berger for an all around bullet for ranges out to 250 - 300yds it will work and work well, but you will see quite a bit of damage as a result if you drive them to top end velocities. Kept within a 2500 - 2800fps impact velocity they work VERY well and do as they have been reported to do. This said there are variables in every shot. If you hit a solid bone with several types of bullets on the market today you will end up with a nasty gaping hole just as you would with the Bergers.

I highly suggest you post your inquiry on the Long Range Hunting board, or simply do a search over there on them. There is hours worth of reading related to their use and their results and ability from quite a few folks who use them on a regular basis.

The only ones I personally have used were the 115gr in .257. These were loaded to right at 3100fps in my 25-06. They shot awesome, and were the flattest bullets I believe I ever shot from it out to 500yds. My bigest hang up was that the critters I was looking to shoot at the extended ranges kept coming out at 30 - 75yds, and when I put the smack down on them it resulted in more trimming than I really wanted. I was using them on feral hogs, and the ones that I managed to slip in behind the shoulder worked just as they were supposed to. The ones that went through the heavy shoulder or even a thick gristle plate made a pretty nasty mess. Granted nothing I shot with them went any further in a horizontal plane, I just wasn't up to tossing away the bloodshot meat.

Give LRH a look and I am sure you will find the answers your looking for there.