6.5 Berger bullets for elk?

[bigngreen]

Put a Berger 140 through an elks chest and he's dead, that's just the way it works. I have yet to shoot an elk that had armor plating! The 140 Berger hunting bullet penetrates well, opens well and generally terminates life well. I have not had to shoot an elk twice with a 140 Berger!

If I take guys out to kill elk all I want them to do is shoot a bullet that will open and make it to the of side of the chest and put a bullet in the crease behind the shoulder. Don't bring an elk rifle you just bought, don't bring an elk bullet that you have not shot anything else with and please, please don't shoot them in the shoulder!!!

Last year we had a young man pile up a huge cow elk, she took two steps after he pulled the trigger and fell over, he put a 60gr soft point from his 223 right behind her shoulder, later that day his sister did the same thing to a 320 class bull with her 243.

 

[fredo]

Consider me a former skeptic about using Berger 'hunting' bullets to take game. But after taking a bunch of deer with them, consider me a convert. For marginal cartridges and close range, I'd still err on the side of going with a proven tough bullet. But for a 6.5mm, no qualms anymore about using a VLD type bullet...
This is what a deer looks like after catching a 130HVLD from a 6.5SAUM

Based on how they perform on game and how well they shoot at distance, I'll have no problem toting that combo when it comes time to cash in points for a rifle elk hunt.

Oh yeah, the 140 JLK is one killin' sumbeach too...

Good luck & have fun!

 

[STOMP442]

Don't knock Berger bullets until you try them. They are by far the most effective bullet I have ever used on game and by far the most accurate. Although not a 6.5 bullet my nephew was able to harvest a large mature cow elk with his 250 Savage a couple years ago at just over 200 yards. Made a perfect shot right behind the shoulder into the vitals and she dropped right there. Upon field dressing we found half of the heart lodged clear up into the neck of the animal and the insides were complete elk soup. Meat damage was minimal as all the destruction was done on the inside.

 

[JDMock]

I interviewed Walt Berger a few years ago and I asked about using VLD bullets originally designed for target shooting for hunting game animals. He told me that he had tried to make a hunting bullet several years prior to this latest effort and he never got one with which he was satisfied.
While hunting in Wyoming with John Burns (Best of the West) Walt was told by John that he had a good hunting bullet in his target VLD (the old ones with the thin jacket). Walt, like many of you, was a little skeptical but decided to give them a trial. He hunted the American West and had good luck with deer and elk, but he wanted more testing. He and Eric Stecker (Grandson-in-law and head man at Berger) took a trip to New Zealand and shot some stag and water buffalo with the thin skinned VLD's with outstanding results. Some of the target shooters with very fast twist barrels were having the the bullets fail on the way to the target, so Berger decided to put a heavier jacket on their target VLD's. However, they did not drop the original VLD's but rather packaged them as hunting VLD's and changed the color of the box. Many shooters still use these thin jacketed bullets for target shooting, but Walt recommends that the new thick ones NOT be used on game since they tend to punch straight without expanding....especially at long range. Good shooting...James