6.5 hunting bullets

[CaptnC]

That video is pretty much spot on for my last hunt...which was my first metal on meat test of Berger bullets.

323yd shot with 168gr VLD Hunting 300wm. Hit behind the front shoulder no exit but dead Aoudad after about 25yds.

100yd shot...same bullet/rifle 3 different Corsicana ewe's. One no visible entrance or exit but DRT. #2 massive exit hole in mid shoulder...ran 20yds. #3 entry on shoulder...no visible exit, but massive blood loose on entry hole...ran maybe 30yds.

Ewe #2

 

[FEENIX]

End result of 175 Matrix VLD at 2993 FPS out of my .270 AI at 528 yards ...

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I want to know how thwy get the tiny little 3-5" penetration sensors mounted in each bullet. Or maybe it is pixie dust.

There is no such thing as a bullet that knows how far it has penetrated and then goes into self destruct mode. It is a function of velocity forcing fluid inside of the bullet causing outward expansion. Period.

Steve

 

[CaptnC]

One of the above ewe's had one pedal of the the nose go up through the backstrap. It almost made it to the skin...

The entry on it was normal crease behind the shoulder.

My Aoudad Ram was heavily blood shot in the brisket area with a mid crease entry. I have only meat tested on 4 animals but inside they are pretty much mush.

 

[Plinker147]

I've had good luck with Berger 140 Vlds expanding at close and longer ranges. Shot coyotes at close range and they did fine.

You might try the 129 LRABs. They work have worked well at close and far on game for me. Shoot accurate too.

I would keep shooting yotes and see if your same experience holds true before changing anything. There is so many variables to how a bullet acts it's hard to judge on small samples sizes.

I'm my experience from target to hunting bullets if you put them where the are supposed to be they all work. Bullets get blamed for a lot of not so perfect shooting

 

[FEENIX]

inside they are pretty much mush.

I have similar experience with both Berger VLDs and Hornady A-Maxs.

 

[Txsailfish]

Any thoughts on the 140 grain Accubonds out of a 6.5 SAUM? I'm currently running Eld-x's but am not overly ecstatic regarding their performance to date.

 

[CaptnC]

My Aoudad Ram was heavily blood shot in the brisket area with a mid crease entry. I have only meat tested on 4 animals but inside they are pretty much mush.

Here is what was left of the Berger 168gr VLD Hunting bullet out of my 300wm.

This all that was left by the time the bullet reached the off side at 323yds.

Yep...just a hair over 18gr left...

 

[5RWill]

Load up some ELD-Ms.. they'll do just fine. My girlfriend DRT'd a 200ish lb buck at 330yds. She spined it, but the bullet went in, through bone, and exploded. Found the tip in the backstrap tonight trimming them. Got the small tail end of the jacket that was stuck in hide on the exiting side, it shed everything. Tried to get some results today on a high shoulder shot on what i though was a doe at 400yds. Though i must be getting misranges, just checked DOPE yesterday, similar conditions drilling a 4" 400yd circle.

 

[midnightmalloy]

I shot 8 animals this fall with a custom 6.5 creedmoor with 140 gr berger EOL bullets from 45-530 yard.
All bullets performed excellent. 2 coyotes, 1 huge Mule deer buck at 450, 2 doe antelope, 1 good size antelope buck at 530, a doe whitetail at 45 yard and a small elk at 95 yards. The only one I shot more than once was the Mule deer buck and the only reason was that I didn't want him to run into the private ground.

Load was at 2900 FPS with a 24" barrel and all distances were confirmed with a sig kilo 2400

 

[WildRose]

Well, I got out to call and shoot some coyotes with my 6.5-284 bench gun.

I shot 7 dogs with it so far and haven't had the results I expected. I'm loading 49.5 gr of r17 and using the 130 gr VLD hunting bullet. I'm pushing it around 2950 at the muzzle. It is extremely accurate.

I shot all but 2 of the coyotes between 2 and 3 hundred yards. In that range the bullet preformed very well.

The other two were shot between 5 and 6 hundred yards. The bullet did not expand at all and passed through the animal just like it came in. Exit wounds were the size of my pinkie finger. This was quite disappointing to me as I expected the bullet to still be moving around 2200fps at that range and should expand.

I'm planning another rifle in this caliber to use as a dedicated hunting platform. With results like these I'm very leary of its use as a big game rifle beyond 500 yards.

What are your thoughts or recommendations?

Personally I'm not a fan of the VLD's or big holes in general.

As a rule when predator hunting most people would be thrilled with such small exit wounds as it makes for beautiful hides when tanned.

There's no lack of big exit holes on larger animals, often far too large for my liking but I wouldn't be concerned over this.

If you want bigger holes try the ELD's or Ballistic tips as they will generally pop a coyote like a prairie dog.

Personally I see no sense in blowing them up, dead is dead.

 

[Greyfox]

Lever the past 8 years I have taken a few dozen medium sized game animals from <100 pound deer/antelope to +250 pound Northern Mule Deer and whitetails with my 6.5x284. Lost count of the DRT coyotes along the way. The Berger Hunting 140VLD and the JLK 140/142 JLK's have performed superbly. Most shots are small entrance. 1-2" exit. The average range for all game is about 450 yards with the closest at 100 yards, the longest, a small antlerless antelope at 1188 yards. With animals DRT or down within 50 yards, I would not hesitate to use a 6.5x284 for medium game with a good bullet running at 2950-3050 FPS.
Recovered JLK taken from under the far hide of a +500 yard Alberta mule deer. Most bullets have not been revovered but internal damage is massive from the Bergers and JLK's.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

That is a great buck!

Steve

 

[Greyfox]

That is a great buck!

Steve

Thanks Steve!!!