joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I just got done with my elk hunt and was lucky enough to harvest on the first day!! I'm shooting a 30-06 that I have been reloading with 185 grain Berger vld hunters. And I was super disappointed with the bullets and will not be shooting them anymore! Here are 3 of the bullets I recovered. Shot a few more that totally passed through with a .30 cal hole in and a .30 cal hole out. I could not believe it. Maybe I'm off base but gosh dang I could not believe they didn't expand?! At 610 yards out of my 30-06?? And to top it off my wife killed her mule deer at 640 and still blew through with a little bigger hole in the exit!? The tips just basically broke off the two and the other didn't expand at all. Read tons of horror stories but I didn't want to believe because they shot so good for me! Any suggestions on another bullet to try? Thanx for reading guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muledeerarea33? Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I like game kings. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Amax and SST 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weston Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Accubonds 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Is that the commission exhibit #399 in the middle? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BRYCE CANYON Report post Posted November 29, 2015 What was your velocity at 610 yards? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
520HUNT Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Are you surprised? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Sucks you had a bad experience with the Bergers. These stories are much less frequent than the positives from these bullets, if they shoot better than anything else I would still be hesitant to change. How many times did you hit the elk? what was the shot placement? To be fair 610 yards is pushing the ragged edge of performance from a 185 in a .30-06 for reliable expansion according to the velocity thresholds. Hard to say a different bullet designed to penetrate and poke holes through the animal like an accubond would have yielded any different results. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest akaspecials Report post Posted November 29, 2015 What did you expect at 610 yards with a 30-06? The round is accurate to 1000+ yards in capable hands, but the bullet loses energy fast. It doesn't have enough energy after 4 or 500 yards to mushroom like it would at 100 or 200 yards. There are rounds that are much better suited for distances above 500 yards. That's why very few long distance hunters mess around with a 30-06 anymore. Anyways, congrats on tagging out the first day! And nice shooting! That's a long shot with that caliber! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost85 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 That is poor performance. I just watched a spike elk get hosed with a 285 amax out of my 338 lapua. I can guarantee it expanded Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I would guess velocity to be around 1650-1700 at 600 yards with about 500 lbs of energy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted November 29, 2015 If you email Berger, they will tell you that for expansion, they want the bullet to be traveling atleast 1800 FPS. Hope this helps. As far as other bullets to try, SMK's would be my choice if the bergers do not expand at that distance. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 The middle is one that I picked out of the off side. Good guess hunt harder! Velocity was 1844 fps with 1396 lbs of energy. Must need at least 2000 lbs for them to work? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Still would like to know the shot placement. Was bone hit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted November 29, 2015 LOL I just saw that it said 500 lbs of energy, meant *1500. dang keyboard. With the #'s you posted, that is bad performance. Should have expanded with those for sure. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
