joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 A couple shots were a little far back just behind the last rib. One shot was lungs and one was just in front of shoulder and hit bone. Do you have to hit bone for a bullet to expand? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pwrguy Report post Posted November 29, 2015 That is poor performance. I seems like you had enough speed for them to work properly. I would try accubond or Accubond LR. I have had good results with with Amax as well but I am shooting a little faster than your 06. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I was trying to post a picture of the coues I shot this year. I shot it at 580 with the exact bullet you are shooting. 185 gr VLD. Exit is 1 small hole thru the hide, and about 5 holes under the hide. Bullet blew to pieces with awesome expansion on a smaller animal. My muzzle velocity is 2900 out of 300 WSM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wish2hunt Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I want to see pics of your bull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Given the fact that a couple of the shots were less than ideal shot placement I find it hard to place all the blame on the bullet. Adrenaline can make animals soak up a lot. Since the elk was recovered I would chalk this experience up as a success. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 I'm definitely not blaming the bullets for shot placement by any means. I made a bad call on wind and I own that! But I don't see how they didn't mushroom at all? Is the bullet only supposed to work if you hit bone? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Trust me after all the load development I do not want to switch things up, but I don't get it. My wife's mule deer with the same exact load barely mushroomed and blew through at 640 yards. And that was a dead perfect shot. I didn't think my 30-06 would have the speed and energy to just totally pass through at 640. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 May need to start inspecting the tips on those 185s to ensure they are not pinched or blocked. There have been some reports of closed tips on some lots. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joelpresmyk8 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Could it be as simple as that? Say I cleaned them out a tiny bit, would that help them expand without affecting accuracy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted November 30, 2015 It could be yes. Dang sure wouldn't hurt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
308Nut Report post Posted November 30, 2015 It's amazing how many posts happen so fast on a Berger failure thread. IMHO, it seems like it's about 1/2 of the hunters swear by them and 1/2 hate them. It's also my opinion that some caliber and bullets weights have a much higher success on expansion than others. The supporters will defend them viciously. Personally I don't hate them nor do I love them. I've had too much success with other types to get caught up in the hype. I've heard and seen too many questionable outcomes for me to consistently leave it up to bergers to secure a successful harvest. I'll use the 6.5 140 with confidence but won't use any 30 cal Berger for hunting. It will be interesting to see how reliable the new ELDX line will be. It's hard to go wrong with a tipped bullet when reliable expansion is an order. If they do expand more reliably and predictably, the will be a great balance between reliability and BC. Coming from hornady, you know they'll shoot very well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rossislider Report post Posted November 30, 2015 Your velocity sounds okay, but IMO that is a lot of bullet out of a 30-06. But that shouldn't really affect expansion. I'd stick with them since it doesn't seem to have affected your success, and working up a new load is a big investment in time and money. I personally love Bergers out of all of my rifles and haven't had any complaints. I'll post a picture below of the exit wound on my October muley. This was 168gr Bergers out of my 7mm mag at 551 yards. This exit is about 6 inches in diameter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted November 30, 2015 We had very similar results with 300 wsm at 600+ on Saturday. I was disappointed, could not tell entrances from exits, but accuracy was great. Ended up swapping for a 30.06 with accutips mid shot sequence and put him down for good with one high shoulder shot. As pointed out above, that 30.06 was shooting a lot slower than the 300 wsm, and with a better bullet, performed better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter1026 Report post Posted November 30, 2015 78% of the time they work every time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted November 30, 2015 Sorry I did not read all the post, but Joel if you like the accuracy with the hunting vlds, I would recommend the target VLD's, I'm sure they will do a better job. I've been using the target ones before the hunting ones existed. From experience those target VLD's are very very very devestating on elk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
