Berger 155-168 Hunting bullets in .308 cal
- Thread starter wboggs
- Start date
Down South
FTR Junkie
I use the 168 Hunting VLDs in 308 for deer and hogs.......Works very well.......Shot 17 whitetails in the last 3 years with that load, most dropped on the spot, the ones that did run didn't go far and had a blood trail a blind man could follow.......Longest shot was just over 200 yards, most shots were 75-150 yards.
Down South said:
A fella like you isn't even getting warmed up with his bow at 200 yards. That's like shooting fish in a barrel.
With any deer hunting rifle bullet all the variables that might present themselves should be considered.
If a deer turns away from you and it's the only angle do you shoot or pass up the shot? If you use a heavy, long bullet that will penetrate at almost any angle will it be effective on a broadside shot where less bullet expansion may happen?
I am shooting medium weight Berger Hunting VLD's in some of my rifles for longer range hunting of deer and pests.
For woods hunting I prefer my .358's.
Here is a buck taken with my 30-06 at 280 yds with the 155 VLD.
If a deer turns away from you and it's the only angle do you shoot or pass up the shot? If you use a heavy, long bullet that will penetrate at almost any angle will it be effective on a broadside shot where less bullet expansion may happen?
I am shooting medium weight Berger Hunting VLD's in some of my rifles for longer range hunting of deer and pests.
For woods hunting I prefer my .358's.
Here is a buck taken with my 30-06 at 280 yds with the 155 VLD.
155 Bergers work great on the Arkansas whitetails.
300 yard shot with bullet entering just behind the last rib on the right side and the base exiting just forward of the neck/shoulder junction on the left. Nuked the insides. Deer weighed approximately 120 lbs.
Shortround out
300 yard shot with bullet entering just behind the last rib on the right side and the base exiting just forward of the neck/shoulder junction on the left. Nuked the insides. Deer weighed approximately 120 lbs.
Shortround out
I will add that the load was 44.7/44.8 gr, IMR 8208, out of a Rem 700 SPS Varmint. 1/2 grain under Hodgdon's max.
The hunting VLD performed as Berger said it would. It penetrated about 4" and came unglued. There was an area about 12-14" long under the skin with substantial bullet fragments. The insides were mush. Bang, flop, no kick.
As far as a shoulder shot, I don't know, at least as far as deer are concerned. However, we have had some dog issues killing livestock and the 155 thru the shoulders leaves a fist size hole on the back side of a shepherd/husky mix. Not even a yelp.
The 168's are a bit more robust, but perform the same way.
Shortround out
As far as a shoulder shot, I don't know, at least as far as deer are concerned. However, we have had some dog issues killing livestock and the 155 thru the shoulders leaves a fist size hole on the back side of a shepherd/husky mix. Not even a yelp.
The 168's are a bit more robust, but perform the same way.
Shortround out
wboggs said:
As noted above a simple cup and core bullet like the VLD's or other similar bullets may not be strong enough for an angle shot on deer!
I waited for the buck to turn broadside. Perhaps some special partition bullet may be superior for an angle shot yet be second best for wind bucking, accuracy, or a fast kill on a broadside lung shot like I had.
Posted this a while back. Basically, the 168 Hybrids are still pretty fatal on deer at 556 yds from the old 308 Win. Moderate expansion at that range but it was also not in the "nerve ball" just through the ribs.
"I've had great accuracy for medium range with my 168 hybrids for .30 cal. After my ladder testing my first load sent 5 touching at 200. I was pretty surprised and replicated the results three times more at 200 over the next 3 days before I worked on improvised shooting situations each day. I never bought any VLDs and was overjoyed when I read about the hybrid ogives Litz was working on. Developing my hunting load for magazine length was a cakewalk.
Now my ES with this load isn't great but for my purpose of a .308 Win for 0-600 deer hunting I was more than fine with the accuracy I was getting testing at 375, 450, 550, 650, and 730. I set my mule deer hunting limit at 600 but I wanted to see how they'd shoot a bit further with a neophyte load.
After getting my range card built up and tuned within +-1" precision from POA at each range, vertical and lateral, I shot groups at 550 and 650 and never shot worse that 5" at 550 with a couple 3"s. On two range trips I kept 4 shots in 2" (about 0.5" high with the group flat 2" wide - winds were mild all week and were at least 8 with gust of 17-20 that day as measured on a Kestrel) at 650 with a "flyer" that would bring it to 5.5". The flyers were vertical each time my good group was botched. Shameful :'(
Now I know this isn't world class shooting by any means, but I shoot field-tac style with a Harris bipod and a rear monopod from a rifle that at the time of this loading had 3500+ rounds through it.
I just wanted to say that these bullets have a lot of potential as I have barely worked on them. I had heard Berger bought a new "drawing" machine and they had a rough batch of .338s so I was a bit hesitant, but my decent results without any tinkering calmed my qualms. The hunting season really put a damper on my precision work, as I meant to compare the 400 hybrids I have on hand in weight and bearing surface lengths. I guess I got a little dopey after my mule deer hunt.
Thankfully I got a midrange opportunity with these 168 hybrids and put 2 within 4" (about 2" high of POA) at 556 yards in New Mexico. The buck didn't act hit one bit, but trotted a few yards and coughed up his lungs and what looked like a gallon of blood. Both bullets exited with pretty small holes, but one was slender and 3" tall and allowed some of the vitals to drag out through the crack. I was a little less than impressed with the expansion/ fragmentation but it really was at terminal range for my .308 IMHO. BUT they sure put the deer to sleep as he trotted off some 40-50 yards, sat down, and expired in less than 15 seconds with not so much as a kick. 8)"
"I've had great accuracy for medium range with my 168 hybrids for .30 cal. After my ladder testing my first load sent 5 touching at 200. I was pretty surprised and replicated the results three times more at 200 over the next 3 days before I worked on improvised shooting situations each day. I never bought any VLDs and was overjoyed when I read about the hybrid ogives Litz was working on. Developing my hunting load for magazine length was a cakewalk.
Now my ES with this load isn't great but for my purpose of a .308 Win for 0-600 deer hunting I was more than fine with the accuracy I was getting testing at 375, 450, 550, 650, and 730. I set my mule deer hunting limit at 600 but I wanted to see how they'd shoot a bit further with a neophyte load.
After getting my range card built up and tuned within +-1" precision from POA at each range, vertical and lateral, I shot groups at 550 and 650 and never shot worse that 5" at 550 with a couple 3"s. On two range trips I kept 4 shots in 2" (about 0.5" high with the group flat 2" wide - winds were mild all week and were at least 8 with gust of 17-20 that day as measured on a Kestrel) at 650 with a "flyer" that would bring it to 5.5". The flyers were vertical each time my good group was botched. Shameful :'(
Now I know this isn't world class shooting by any means, but I shoot field-tac style with a Harris bipod and a rear monopod from a rifle that at the time of this loading had 3500+ rounds through it.
I just wanted to say that these bullets have a lot of potential as I have barely worked on them. I had heard Berger bought a new "drawing" machine and they had a rough batch of .338s so I was a bit hesitant, but my decent results without any tinkering calmed my qualms. The hunting season really put a damper on my precision work, as I meant to compare the 400 hybrids I have on hand in weight and bearing surface lengths. I guess I got a little dopey after my mule deer hunt.
Thankfully I got a midrange opportunity with these 168 hybrids and put 2 within 4" (about 2" high of POA) at 556 yards in New Mexico. The buck didn't act hit one bit, but trotted a few yards and coughed up his lungs and what looked like a gallon of blood. Both bullets exited with pretty small holes, but one was slender and 3" tall and allowed some of the vitals to drag out through the crack. I was a little less than impressed with the expansion/ fragmentation but it really was at terminal range for my .308 IMHO. BUT they sure put the deer to sleep as he trotted off some 40-50 yards, sat down, and expired in less than 15 seconds with not so much as a kick. 8)"
Romulus said:
The Berger Classic Hunter hybrid bullet or the Target Hybrid bullet?
I have only shot one deer with a Berger VLD. It was with the 155 gr our of my 30X47 rifle at 2650 fps muzzle velocity. Shot was on a 130 lb class doe at 111 yards broadside into the shoulder. At the shot she just squatted slightly and took off like a race horse into a very thick cut over. From where she was standing when shot the offside ground had a line of blood and lung tissue about 5 yards long and a foot wide. There was not another drop of blood to be found from that spot to 50 yards into the cut over where I had to get on my hands and knees to crawl down the deer trail to find her. She had a baseball size exit hole just behind the offside shoulder and she sloshed on the inside with everything being mush. Both shoulders and rib cage was almost total blood shot. I went back to using the 125 Nosler ballistic tips. As long as you keep impact velocity under 3000 fps the 125 BT is really good and usually drops a deer in it's tracks but does not ruin so much meat.
kyreloader said:
Targer Hybrid.
I also forgot to mention I shot a mule deer at 288 yds in the shoulder and it took him off his hooves and he expired shortly. no exit hole on that. Not a catastrophic blender like a ballistic tip from a .243 does but a lot of damage, bruising, and very very dead.
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