Berger 6.5mm 130gr hunting on thin skinned game

[X Count]

I'm in a bit of a pickle. After burning more powder that I should have I've given up on the bullet I was hoping to use. Happened to try some Berger 130gr VLD hunting and they punch ragged holes running them out of a 6.5x284 at 3030fps with zero load development.

Game will be goats, foxes and small deer. Anything from 20yds to 300yds is common. Normally I'd use a designated fragile varmint type bullet as things just fold up on the spot.

Does anyone have experience on how well these things expand on small thin skinned game? Don't care about meat or fur but do care about wasting my day and ammo finishing game.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

They will do fine, ive shot allot of animals with allot of different caliber VLDs

 

[X Count]

They will do fine, ive shot allot of animals with allot of different caliber VLDs

Do you find them relatively fragile / explosive?

They have a very small HP so I'm more concerned about them penciling through than blowing up on the surface.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Do you find them relatively fragile / explosive?

They have a very small HP so I'm more concerned about them penciling through than blowing up on the surface.

Yes they work like Berger advertises, penetrates a couple inches and go grenade.
If you look for pieces youl generally find little shreds of copper in the rib cage, 6.5x285 speed they will work perfectly

We have shot quite a bit of medium size game with them in normal size 6.5s like 206 and 6.5Creed and they work just as advertised. My longest shot with a 105gr in 6mm leaving the barrel at 3200fps was just over 600y and we only found the "base" of the bullet and some mangled up jacket in the opposite side.

Probably not quite as explosive as say a Vmax but at 20 yard that thing will leave a hole the size of your fist through a goat of fox

 

[Sniper338]

I use berger vld's exclusively for hunting in a range of calibers.... from 22 to 338... they are the best bullet ive ever used hunting. They flat out work like they are supposed to. I should be "berger VLD hunting pro team" as much as ive used em.

They are 100% consistent. I would use a berger VLD on anything at all from the U.S. to Africa hunting. They are as accurate as you can get out of a box as well. Ive shot plenty tiny tiny groups, and placed in f class matches everytime with em too. I dont even bother buying berger target bullets because the VLDs shoot just as good, if not better sometimes so there's been no reason for me to buy anything other than VLD hunting.

I swear by berger bullets... just as I swear by kwiggler soft plastics fishing.. I should be pro team there too lol.

 

[hogpatrol]

Have used the 6.5 130 VLD hunting bullets extensively in Africa, 6.5x47 Lapua, 6.5-.284, 26 Nosler, everything from warthogs to zebra and wildebeest. Thin skinned animals, the Nosler blew big holes on exit. Everything else, one and done. Most of the dislike comes from improper use. Stay off the shoulder and go for double lung shots. Had more than one PH tell me the only reason they don't use them is because they aren't consistently available.

 

[WV Hitman]

The way I decide what bullet on game is to shoot 10 deer at all possible angles with my handguns. I used Bergers in my 6.5/.284 XP handgun. Angled shots were terrible. I shoot deer in cornfields. Angled shots let them run to dense treed/brush woods. I lost several. Don't use them anymore. My primary hunting bullets are 130 Nos. ABs, 125 Nos. PTs(800 # kudu, 365 yds.-DRT), 120 gr. BTs for my 6.5. That's based on over 2900 handgun deer kills.

 

[hogpatrol]

The way I decide what bullet on game is to shoot 10 deer at all possible angles with my handguns. I used Bergers in my 6.5/.284 XP handgun. Angled shots were terrible. I shoot deer in cornfields. Angled shots let them run to dense treed/brush woods. I lost several. Don't use them anymore. My primary hunting bullets are 130 Nos. ABs, 125 Nos. PTs(800 # kudu, 365 yds.-DRT), 120 gr. BTs for my 6.5. That's based on over 2900 handgun deer kills.

Just curious, what length barrel and what muzzle velocity out of the handgun. Out of around 300 animals at all ranges, had one that ran off with Bergers of 6.5 and up all different angles.

 

[SGT. Slaughter]

If your looking for good expansion and lots of trauma I've loaded several people the berger 130 grain otm with great success. Yes the bullet will exit, Rl 16 at 2900 2950 mv great bullet in a 6.5 creedmoor. 24" barrel.

 

[X Count]

Too be honest, I'm not fussed if angled shots were terrible. That just tells me they are fragile enough to do what I want.

I have tried Berger 155.5 target hybrid in .30 cal and they punched through. Small exit hole but that was pretty expected being a target bullet.

I use stacks of Berger target bullets on paper and know what kind of accuracy they are capable of and if they perform on game then that would make bullet shopping easier!

 

[extremeaccuracy]

Wow, this is kind of an age-old question…

We pioneered using Berger VLD bullets for hunting. I spent a lot of time in some pretty heated discussions with Walt about using his bullets for hunting. He was VERY against it. I had started a company (Extreme Accuracy) to become his first dealer on the West Coast (the other two were on the East Coast). We were all supplying bullets to competition and target shooters around the world soon after.

My shooting life, however, started as a hunter, and it was in my blood. Not using such a precision bullet for hunting at times was out of the question.

Walt was adamant that his bullets were not built for hunting and that they should not be used for it. Walt grew up a hunter as well and knew that his J4 jackets were way too thin to provide adequate weight retention in many situations. He was right, but I told him that in many situations, the light-jacketed bullets excelled under certain circumstances.

I told him that from 600 yards out, for instance, as the bullet speed slowed, the Berger VLDs were doing a great job and were far outperforming heavier-jacketed bullets. I had been taking caribou, mule deer, blacktail, elk, bear, and the like out to 1,200 yards with one-shot drop results. He was far less than amused. I got quite a lecture on more than one occasion about not selling his bullets for the purpose of hunting.

With the help of Carla (who was key in running Berger Bullets at the time), Walt continued to supply us with bullets for all of our competition shooters as long as I didn’t market them as hunting bullets and kept the hunting aspect to myself.

After several years of sending him successful hunting report after report—and even setting up two professional coyote hunters with his bullets to use—he finally admitted they had their place in the hunting world. Over 700 dead coyotes a year couldn’t be wrong.

It wasn’t long after that his Grandson in law, Eric Stecker, started working for him, and Eric quickly saw the potential of the Berger bullets for certain hunting situations.

To answer your question, though: yes, you should have no trouble making clean kills with proper shot placement for your intended use with Berger VLDs. Just like many other bullets, they have their strengths and weaknesses. Shot placement and conditions are always key.

On a side note, you should have seen Walt’s face when I told him I had his bullets riding in the nose cone of missiles to intercept and shoot down other missiles. The look of shock, followed by head-shaking and laughter, will be etched in my memory forever.

I sure miss him.

Carl C.
Extreme Accuracy
www.14caliber.com

 

[Scalloper]

Wow, this is kind of an age-old question…

We pioneered using Berger VLD bullets for hunting. I spent a lot of time in some pretty heated discussions with Walt about using his bullets for hunting. He was VERY against it. I had started a company (Extreme Accuracy) to become his first dealer on the West Coast (the other two were on the East Coast). We were all supplying bullets to competition and target shooters around the world soon after.

My shooting life, however, started as a hunter, and it was in my blood. Not using such a precision bullet for hunting at times was out of the question.

Walt was adamant that his bullets were not built for hunting and that they should not be used for it. Walt grew up a hunter as well and knew that his J4 jackets were way too thin to provide adequate weight retention in many situations. He was right, but I told him that in many situations, the light-jacketed bullets excelled under certain circumstances.

I told him that from 600 yards out, for instance, as the bullet speed slowed, the Berger VLDs were doing a great job and were far outperforming heavier-jacketed bullets. I had been taking caribou, mule deer, blacktail, elk, bear, and the like out to 1,200 yards with one-shot drop results. He was far less than amused. I got quite a lecture on more than one occasion about not selling his bullets for the purpose of hunting.

With the help of Carla (who was key in running Berger Bullets at the time), Walt continued to supply us with bullets for all of our competition shooters as long as I didn’t market them as hunting bullets and kept the hunting aspect to myself.

After several years of sending him successful hunting report after report—and even setting up two professional coyote hunters with his bullets to use—he finally admitted they had their place in the hunting world. Over 700 dead coyotes a year couldn’t be wrong.

It wasn’t long after that his Grandson in law, Eric Stecker, started working for him, and Eric quickly saw the potential of the Berger bullets for certain hunting situations.

To answer your question, though: yes, you should have no trouble making clean kills with proper shot placement for your intended use with Berger VLDs. Just like many other bullets, they have their strengths and weaknesses. Shot placement and conditions are always key.

On a side note, you should have seen Walt’s face when I told him I had his bullets riding in the nose cone of missiles to intercept and shoot down other missiles. The look of shock, followed by head-shaking and laughter, will be etched in my memory forever.

I sure miss him.

Carl C.
Extreme Accuracy
www.14caliber.com

Excellent post.
I have nowhere near the kills that many others have but I have shifted from some great bonded bullets ,that worked well when they hit the animal, to exclusively Berger VLDs in 7mm mostly. I changed about 16 years ago. I more then doubled my affective realistic hunting range and I believe I have only lost one aoudad (only about 80 yd shot) while culling some on my buddies ranch in TX. I have never counted the numbers of animals but it has to be pushing 180+ 8-10 from 500-635 yds one shot kills and 0 missed or lost.
Also found a hog 5 days later, I shot at 350 yds at heavy dusk 3 weeks ago.

 

[alf]

One of my favorite aftermath pics, 130 HVLD at 3150 out of a 6.5-284.

Shot was at 350, hard quartering away, got the liver, both lungs, and the heart:

Another with a 6.5x47 Lapua, 130 HVLD at 2820, 225 yards slight quarter to me:
In:

Out:

In between"

 

[Handi204]

I use them in a 260 Encore for the last 4 or 5 years, probably 200 yds longest shot, haven’t lost a deer yet most ran 40 yds or so. They seem to do what they are supposed to do.

 

[X Count]

Wow, this is kind of an age-old question…

We pioneered using Berger VLD bullets for hunting. I spent a lot of time in some pretty heated discussions with Walt about using his bullets for hunting. He was VERY against it. I had started a company (Extreme Accuracy) to become his first dealer on the West Coast (the other two were on the East Coast). We were all supplying bullets to competition and target shooters around the world soon after.

My shooting life, however, started as a hunter, and it was in my blood. Not using such a precision bullet for hunting at times was out of the question.

Walt was adamant that his bullets were not built for hunting and that they should not be used for it. Walt grew up a hunter as well and knew that his J4 jackets were way too thin to provide adequate weight retention in many situations. He was right, but I told him that in many situations, the light-jacketed bullets excelled under certain circumstances.

I told him that from 600 yards out, for instance, as the bullet speed slowed, the Berger VLDs were doing a great job and were far outperforming heavier-jacketed bullets. I had been taking caribou, mule deer, blacktail, elk, bear, and the like out to 1,200 yards with one-shot drop results. He was far less than amused. I got quite a lecture on more than one occasion about not selling his bullets for the purpose of hunting.

With the help of Carla (who was key in running Berger Bullets at the time), Walt continued to supply us with bullets for all of our competition shooters as long as I didn’t market them as hunting bullets and kept the hunting aspect to myself.

After several years of sending him successful hunting report after report—and even setting up two professional coyote hunters with his bullets to use—he finally admitted they had their place in the hunting world. Over 700 dead coyotes a year couldn’t be wrong.

It wasn’t long after that his Grandson in law, Eric Stecker, started working for him, and Eric quickly saw the potential of the Berger bullets for certain hunting situations.

To answer your question, though: yes, you should have no trouble making clean kills with proper shot placement for your intended use with Berger VLDs. Just like many other bullets, they have their strengths and weaknesses. Shot placement and conditions are always key.

On a side note, you should have seen Walt’s face when I told him I had his bullets riding in the nose cone of missiles to intercept and shoot down other missiles. The look of shock, followed by head-shaking and laughter, will be etched in my memory forever.

I sure miss him.

Carl C.
Extreme Accuracy
www.14caliber.com

Interesting info. I'll give them a go and see what happens. I'm more comfortable using a fragile bullet so the Berger might be just what I need.

 

[hogpatrol]

IIRC, around 296 yards 6.5x47 Lapua 130 HVLD. blue wildebeest, DRT.
zebra around the same distance, 6.5-284 130 HVLD, wobbled less than ten yards, dropped, dead.
both lungs were mush. Same PH that gave me the stink eye when I showed up with "pointy" bullets converted to a believer in Bergers. Killed 14 springbok culls the same trip, all one and done and no lost animals and no tracking.

 

[troper]

I'm in a bit of a pickle. After burning more powder that I should have I've given up on the bullet I was hoping to use. Happened to try some Berger 130gr VLD hunting and they punch ragged holes running them out of a 6.5x284 at 3030fps with zero load development.

Game will be goats, foxes and small deer. Anything from 20yds to 300yds is common. Normally I'd use a designated fragile varmint type bullet as things just fold up on the spot.

Does anyone have experience on how well these things expand on small thin skinned game? Don't care about meat or fur but do care about wasting my day and ammo finishing game.

Berger otm is the way to go .use them after marginal success on deer with 130 and 140 .264 hvld.the otm work great in 6.5x47L and 6.5 gap. Ranges from 100-500 yrds

 

[Down South]

I've shot several whitetails out to 300 yards with 130 VLDs in 6.5X47 Lapua and short barreled .308 with 168 gr VLDs. They worked great in my experience. Both were moderate speed loads.