Your Berger Huunting VLD results

Swamp Hunter 38

Beginner
Sep 7, 2009
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After a long Summer of shooting I came up with the most accurate load in my 300 WSM. It is the max suggested load for the 168 VLD with H4350 which is 65.5. I will be giving them a chance this season, but I will be changing shot placement from front shoulder to the rib cage/ lung .
I would like to here what kind of results others had with deer and Berger Hunting VLDs. Damage accuracy and speed of kill is what I'm looking for.I don't have the luxury of blood trails in the swamp so quicker kills with extensive organ damage is what I'm after and from what I've read it seems Berger may deliver that .
 
Long time Nosler fan here, but I got curious about the Berger VLD's a couple of years ago and have used them on three mule deer with excellent success. As you likely found through your testing, accuracy can be very good, and they perform well in crosswinds and at long range on targets.

My bullets are considerably smaller than yours - I used the 115 Berger VLD at nearly 3200 fps from my .25-06 Rem with a 24" barrel.

1. Shot was from well above a good sized 4x4 mule deer buck at about 230 yards. Had only his back to shoot at. The bullet glanced off the side of the spine, shattering the spine and dropping him instantly. Then the bullet exited out the side of the animal. I approached to within about 100 yards and put another shot in his chest, ending him almost instantly.

Initially I was confused about which bullet had done which damage - but eventually figured it out. Both bullets caused considerable damage in the chest cavity of this big (250+ pounds) buck. The second shot into his chest is more indicative of the typical performance of these bullets. It penetrated through the meat, with just a pin-prick of a hole, then opened up like a funnel as it reached the chest cavity. Literally shredded the heart, blood vessels and lungs. Very destructive inside. I recovered the base of the bullet, about 33 grains, from the very dead buck.

2. Shot was deliberately placed into the shoulder of a younger mule deer buck at 175 yards. He dropped instantly. I found the bullet base, well expanded, just under the skin on the far side, but forgot to bring it out of the canyon with me. Had to quarter him up and hike out with him. Again, the bullet went through the shoulder blade, into the chest, destroyed the heart and lungs and nearly exited - but not quite. The buck died instantly.

3. Shot was at an average size mule deer doe at 400 yards. Hit just behind the shoulder in the heart and lungs. Destroyed them. She fell instantly, sliding down the mountain a bit. No exit.

So there you go - three mule deer kills. Four shots. All were instant drops although the first was a spine hit, so take that for what it's worth. They cause tremendous destruction inside, but the entrance of the bullet is very small. Except for one shot, these bullets failed to exit, so there was unlikely to be much of a blood trail. On the other hand, there was no need for a blood trail because none of them took another step.

I'd say they perform much like a Nosler Ballistic Tip - perhaps with some different penetration characteristics, but sharing the qualities of excellent accuracy and violent expansion. I know some guys who have happily used them on elk, in .30 caliber.
 
Buck number one, the 230 yard kill. He was a brute! Particularly when we quartered him up and hiked out with him... Ugh.
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115 gr Berger VLD and the 33 grain bullet base recovered from that buck:
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Buck number two, at 175 yards through the shoulder blade. Quartered him up and packed him out of the canyon too. If you look close, you can see the bulge the bullet made in the hide, but didn't quite exit, just behind his shoulder and above that gray stick/branch:
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And the 400 yard doe:
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I think the Bergers are a surprisingly effective hunting bullet. Good luck this fall.

Guy
 
Swamp...................If you`re looking to cut down on your animal tracking and to maybe just eliminate tracking all together, then the Berger VLDs imo, are your best choice.

Started using them just over a year ago from my 300 WSM Ruger Frontier compact because additional tracking is a waste of time, especially when time is short.

So far, 28 hogs, w/28 shots, using the 168 gr Berger "hunting" VLDs. All one shot kills, with 6 out of the 28 running maybe 10 yards max before dropping. The other 22 were DRT. No tracking was needed for any.

1 bull elk, w/ 1 shot from 328 yards through the right shoulder bone, using a 190 gr "hunting" VLD. Bull staggered two to four yards and then dropped. No tracking here either.

Don`t under-estimate the VLD`s bone penetrating capabilities. After penetrating thick bone, they`ll still continue on and do what they do best, destroy the vital areas. If you happen to have a shot oppty to the shoulder, take it. A few of my big piggy kills have been through thick shoulder bone as well as my elk kill. For thick bone penetration and further destruction into the vitals, Berger will tell you that a minimum velocity of 1800 fps at impact is needed.

Because these bullets are so destructive after their initial penetration of a few inches, another good thing about the VLDs, is that if a shot isn`t necessarily placed well, their destructive expansion and wound channel size can more than make up for it.

My elk load = 65.5 gr RL17 behind the 190 VLD @ 2890 fps.

Using the 168 VLDs, the piggy load velocities vary below max with varying powders, ranging from the mid to high 2800s to mid 2900s and up to 3042 using RL17.

66.5 gr of RL17 behind the 175 VLDs average 2983 fps.....Cookin right along! The pigs will feel the 175 grainers next.

180 gr 300 WSM factory ammo is very capable of 2800+ fps from my shorty barrel. However the VLDs because of their design, have a little less bullet bearing surface that touches the bore adding some extra fps. Then tack on some RL17 behind those VLDs and my barrel,,,,,,grooooooows,,, even longer!.......... :lol:
 
I have killed a number of whitetails and hogs with the 30cal. 168gr VLD. 30/06 hunting and my son-in-law has used the 155ge in a 308Win. All have been very destructive to the internals. Most vere DRT or a very short tracking.Rick.
 
Thanks for the replies! I am also a big nosler fan. I have 23 empty Nosler boxes in my reloading room and that's after I started collecting them . I have killed everything with NBT and NAB's since I started reloading 8 years ago.I just wanted to try something different this year . I will post all results .
 
Something to remember if you're watching those Best of the West videos - is that it appears to me that most of their recorded hits were high shoulder shots, taking out the spine.

That particular hit will result in an instant drop, pretty much no matter which bullet is used...

Even after three mulies, I'm not convinced that the VLD's kill faster than say a Ballistic Tip, or several other rapid expanding hunting bullets...

Just a thought.
 
I'm not convinced that the VLD's kill faster than say a Ballistic Tip, or several other rapid expanding hunting bullets...

Great observation, Guy. I concur 100 percent.
 
I was always under the same impression while watching those shows. With a high shoulder shot, you could use an FMJ and knock animals down with the same authority. Seems like the VLD would be good deer bullets, but I don't know if I would want that kind of performance on a gigantic bull elk at a steep quartering angle. I am sure those that use them, love them, but I don't mind tracking a few yards if need be. The animals are just as dead, plus they get rid of a little extra blood! Scotty
 
The VLD bullets really start to shine out past the 500 yd mark for target shooting. I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk. Shooting shoulders on elk is better suited for the Partitions. Just my opinion but I would give up down range drop and drift for reliable on game performance.

JD338
 
I know folks use them on Elk but when four of us went Elk hunting, three had partitions and the other used Accubonds. All were sucessful and no tracking.Rick.
 
Guy Miner":clwvfi31 said:
Something to remember if you're watching those Best of the West videos - is that it appears to me that most of their recorded hits were high shoulder shots, taking out the spine.

That particular hit will result in an instant drop, pretty much no matter which bullet is used...

Even after three mulies, I'm not convinced that the VLD's kill faster than say a Ballistic Tip, or several other rapid expanding hunting bullets...

Just a thought.

YES!!!! Very well put and I also like Mike agree with your observations.
 
JD338":34ofvd9t said:
The VLD bullets really start to shine out past the 500 yd mark for target shooting. I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk. Shooting shoulders on elk is better suited for the Partitions. Just my opinion but I would give up down range drop and drift for reliable on game performance.

JD338

AMEN!!!!!
 
JD338":151uxfsc said:
I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk.
.........................If my 28 hogs plus one BIG bull elk, all very effectively taken down with the 29 VLDs (one shot kills for each) could come back from the dead and talk,,,,,,,,,,,they just might disagree with you...................... :lol:
 
I just think the VLD's are a very different acting bullet for killing big game. I know they have worked excellent for you and alot of others, but I like the point of a bullet smashing two holes in game like bears, elk and moose sized animals. Granted, it might not be as dramatic as a knockdown as a broadside shot animal with a Berger, but I can't think bring myself to thinking an elk in the dark timber 50 yards with a steep angling shot, coming out of a 300 mag is going to do very well when it is required to penetrate feet instead of 12-18 inches. I might be wrong, but I am not willing to bet my next chance on an elk. I think they are cool bullets, but alot of folks like to see two holes in game. Scotty
 
Big Squeeze":y2chqiru said:
JD338":y2chqiru said:
I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk.
.........................If my 28 hogs plus one BIG bull elk, all very effectively taken down with the 29 VLDs (one shot kills for each) could come back from the dead and talk,,,,,,,,,,,they just might disagree with you...................... :lol:
.....................Also, which I forgot to mention, a hunter in Alaska, as reported on another forum site, took out a big bull moose with one shot using a 180 gr "hunting" VLD from a 7mm mag.

At what distance you might ask?..........Try 900 + yards!!...Interestingly, a much faster moving from the muzzle 180 gr Barnes TSX out a 30-378 Wby, retains less downrange velocity and energy at the 1000 yard mark than does a slower moving from the muzzle VLD bullet out of a 7mm Rem Mag. That would also apply to a Nosler Partition and many others with a lower BC. Retained velocity and retained energy downrange at impact, have more importance.

That type of long range hunting (as seen on the "Best of the West" TV show) may not agree with some. But setting that aside as a seperate issue, the "hunting" VLDs are a very capable bullet for elk and moose.

They kill in a different fashion, but nevertheless they still kill with the same end result.

If you detractors don`t believe the VLDs can effectively work on bull elk or moose, then there`s only one way for you find out for yourselves. Like all current "hunting" VLD users, we all had to start somewhere and start using them ourselves.
 
Big Squeeze":3u3odg4n said:
JD338":3u3odg4n said:
I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk.
.........................If my 28 hogs plus one BIG bull elk, all very effectively taken down with the 29 VLDs (one shot kills for each) could come back from the dead and talk,,,,,,,,,,,they just might disagree with you...................... :lol:

I hear what you are saying. You along with many others have taken game with the VLD's and obviously the bullets worked well.
To my way of thinking, I want a bullet to retain weight and exit. The iffy part is you don't always get the "classic" broad side shot. You never know how far your shot will be, the angle, and even might have to plow through big bones.

For these reasons, I will stay with a PT or AB.

JD338
 
bullet":1m1u3pad said:
I do not trust them on game

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.......................Bullet!.......... Ok! I see the pics, but let me ask you this. Are those Bergers on your board the "target" bullet versions or the "hunting" bullet versions? There is a big difference.

The target versions use slightly thicker jackets and will not expand or explode nearly as much as the "hunting" versions do. The target version VLDs will not create anywhere near the massive wound channels as the "hunting" VLD versions.

What I see as examples on your board, in no way reflects my personal experience using the VLD "hunting" versions.
 
JD338":31u3e1ms said:
Big Squeeze":31u3e1ms said:
JD338":31u3e1ms said:
I am not convinced that the Berger VLD bullets are reliable hunting bullets, especially for large game animals like elk.
.........................If my 28 hogs plus one BIG bull elk, all very effectively taken down with the 29 VLDs (one shot kills for each) could come back from the dead and talk,,,,,,,,,,,they just might disagree with you...................... :lol:

I hear what you are saying. You along with many others have taken game with the VLD's and obviously the bullets worked well.
To my way of thinking, I want a bullet to retain weight and exit. The iffy part is you don't always get the "classic" broad side shot. You never know how far your shot will be, the angle, and even might have to plow through big bones.

For these reasons, I will stay with a PT or AB.

JD338
...............There`s the difference. An exit hole with retained bullet weight vs a few inches of initial penetration followed by an explosion into the vitals creating massive wound channels with no bullet exit hole.

Many of my big hog shots through shoulder bone and otherwise often were not all broadside. Many were from 30 to 45 degree angles quartering to or quartering away.

I`ve talked with other VLD users whom some have killed their big elk at such angles.
 
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