6mm Remington deer bullet

[PRDATR]

2 hours ago, recurveman said:

Personally, I can't stand the terminal performance of berger bullets on smaller animals like CWT/ yotes.   I've shot a few to many that didn't die like they should have.    You won't see me shoot those bullets at game animals again.    

I agree. I have used the HSM ammo with 168gr Berger HPBT VLD and at 225 yards it put a fist sized hole in a Coues. I also saw how much meat damage the same ammo did to a fellow CWT member's Elk at 550 yards with wasted meat and fragments galore.

[Upland81]

I am not a Berger fan myself either. I think they are a great bullet and accurate but in a lot of cases they are used to make a cartridge something it was never designed for. I rather go with other choices for less money. Yet this is the good old fashion ford, chevy, toyota debate. 

[loboscout]

Differerent strokes for different folks.

With Berger, gotta pick your shot placement for sure. That is why its a double lung behind the shoulder for me. Punching a fist size hole is a good thing when it is vitals. A bonded bullet is better for shoulder shots.

As far as ruining meat, I would rather have it on the ground with no tracking than rely on a blood trail. If I ruin meat on an elk it's cause I made a bad shot. 

Yeah, a 7 mag is way more than needed for coues. A smaller bullet like a 6mm is just fine.

I think recurveman was having a different problem, cause it sounds like animals ran off with smaller Bergers.

[recurveman]

4 hours ago, loboscout said:

What Bergers were you shooting?  Curious about your experience. 

I do understand tipped Nosler and the Tipped Sierra Match King expand quicker on penetration, typically sooner than Berger.

I was shooting the 6.5 140 grain VLD hunter out of a 6.5 X 284.    Shot a few to many critters where the bullet didn't expand on smaller critters like CWT and yotes.    My ELDX, sierra, and nosler bullets don't have the same problem.    The ELDX bullets are really close in accuracy to the Berger but the Bergers are just more consistent from bullet to bullet.    Terminal performance of the Bergers suffers from my real life testing.  

[loboscout]

4 minutes ago, recurveman said:

I was shooting the 6.5 140 grain VLD hunter out of a 6.5 X 284.    Shot a few to many critters where the bullet didn't expand on smaller critters like CWT and yotes.    My ELDX, sierra, and nosler bullets don't have the same problem.    The ELDX bullets are really close in accuracy to the Berger but the Bergers are just more consistent from bullet to bullet.    Terminal performance of the Bergers suffers from my real life testing.  

Thanks, I will keep that in mind to watch for. 

Ya think you just did not get expansion soon enough on smaller game?

[recurveman]

1 hour ago, PRDATR said:

I agree. I have used the HSM ammo with 168gr Berger HPBT VLD and at 225 yards it put a fist sized hole in a Coues. I also saw how much meat damage the same ammo did to a fellow CWT member's Elk at 550 yards with wasted meat and fragments galore.

My bullets performed exactly the opposite.    I shot a CWT and the exit hole wasn't the size of a .30 caliber bullet hole.    The internal damage was very little.   I was not happy when the deer got up and took off running when I approached it.    Gave me a chance to work on my pistol skills!!!!!!

[recurveman]

2 minutes ago, loboscout said:

Thanks, I will keep that in mind to watch for. 

Ya think you just did not get expansion soon enough on smaller game?

Honestly I think the bullet is designed to go through the air with very little drag (which is a good thing).   The issue is the bullet will also go through critters with the same concept.    I think the thicker and more dense critters will probably do fine with the Bergers because the bullet will have time to expand.    The normal hunting bullet seems to expand quicker than the Bergers but they don't slip through the air like Berger bullets do.   I think the ELDX bullets are about the best compromise in a good BC and terminal performance.    

[loboscout]

14 minutes ago, recurveman said:

My bullets performed exactly the opposite.    I shot a CWT and the exit hole wasn't the size of a .30 caliber bullet hole.    The internal damage was very little.   I was not happy when the deer got up and took off running when I approached it.    Gave me a chance to work on my pistol skills!!!!!!

I've heard reports of this. Seems like if Berger's fail, that's what happens. I know guys watch the tips of the bullets to make sure they are not deformed or meplat is clogged. Its odd, because I know guys who swear by the 6.5 OTM bullets, and they have the thicker target jackets.

With my 7mm 180 vld, I have gotten expansion every time. But, you have me thinking, I may try Tipped SMK for smaller calibers because expansion starts sooner on small game with the tip. I can't bring myself to shoot the ELDX. I want the full glorious detonation and carnage the thin jacketed match bullets leave behind. I might shoot the ELDM if the tipped SMK don't shoot.

 

[recurveman]

20 hours ago, loboscout said:

I've heard reports of this. Seems like if Berger's fail, that's what happens. I know guys watch the tips of the bullets to make sure they are not deformed or meplat is clogged. Its odd, because I know guys who swear by the 6.5 OTM bullets, and they have the thicker target jackets.

With my 7mm 180 vld, I have gotten expansion every time. But, you have me thinking, I may try Tipped SMK for smaller calibers because expansion starts sooner on small game with the tip. I can't bring myself to shoot the ELDX. I want the full glorious detonation and carnage the thin jacketed match bullets leave behind. I might shoot the ELDM if the tipped SMK don't shoot.

 

I've now shot more than a few critters with the ELDX bullets and they perform great.   The expand quickly and are very explosive.    I think they perform very close to the nosler BT bullets.    I haven't recovered one yet but they leave devastate game.   

[CouesPursuit]

1 hour ago, recurveman said:

I've now shot more than a few critters with the ELDX bullets and they perform great.   The expand quickly and are very explosive.    I think they perform very close to the nosler BT bullets.    I haven't recovered one yet but they leave devastate game.   

+1 except I did recover one of many. 

This 143gr ELDX was recovered from a lion sleeping on its side this last year at 400 yards. It was found just barely piercing the hide but not passing through the opposite shoulder.

Entry-

Retention-

 

That 90gr 6mm ELDX is definitely something to look at.

[recurveman]

I've also noticed velocity will have a dramatic effect on expansion and terminal performance.   I've shot the 90 nosler BT up to 3300 fps at 100 yards into critters and the bullet will explode into pieces.   Then at 3100 fps the bullet will still be intact with about 50% retention.    So bullets will perform differently depending on velocity.   

[loboscout]

Interesting, I hear ELDx failure stories too.

Just shows to run what you trust.

[CouesPursuit]

That sounds logical to me, recurveman. That bullet was my farthest critter with the ELDX but have killed 5 animals in 5 shots that dropped where they stood (or laid), from a sheep at 90 yards to the lion at 400, with coues and a yote in between.

[Stallone A.]

My kids Tikka loves the 87Gr Berger VLD Hunting. 

Perfect for Coues Deer and Javelina.

[PowellSixO]

I used to be a big Berger fan. They shoot really well and they do kill. However the performance on game was hit or miss. I’ve since switched to the eldx. It’s a fantastic bullet. It’s similar to Berger in design, with a polymer tip, and a copper ridge inside the jacket to allow the front of the bullet to expand and fragment. The base stays together to allow as much penetration as possible. I’ve taken game from 150 yards, to 809 yards. I took this bucks last year at 809. Bullet was dangling from the skin on the opposite shoulder. This was a 175 eldx, from my 7saum. I shoot the 103eldx from my 243 win. But if you don’t have the twist, I’d go with the 90eldx. Great bullets.