From Bryan Litz
This is the culmination of over 2 years R&D, testing and competing. We thought we had it so many times but solid bullets presented some interesting obstacles. It was a challenge to create a design that reliably provides: high performance, consistency, and precision all at once but I can say with pride this design delivers on all fronts.
Our first victory with very early prototypes of this design was Mitchell Fitzpatrick winning the King of 2 Miles in 2016. Then we learned about all the flaws in that version! We didn't want to offer something to the market that was half baked, so we spent another 2 years in development until finally arriving at the current configuration with which Christopher Palka won the 2018 Worlds Longest Shot Challenge, and Chase Stroud placed 2nd in the NRA National Championships (among other feats including his 2400+ cold bore impact with this bullet).
Performance, as measured by Doppler radar is:
.375 cal 379 gr: G7 BC = 0.479, G1 BC = 0.944
.375 cal 407 gr: G7 BC = 0.507, G1 BC = 1.000
Of course the Doppler radar measured Custom Drag Models (CDM's) are available in the Applied Ballistics software for these bullets as well.
Recommended twist is 1:7" for both. 1:8" works in most cases, but nothing slower than 1:8" is advised.
These two configurations are final. Although the exact timeline for availability is not yet known, we can at least say the R&D phase is finished for these two bullets and availability is now a matter of production, logistics, etc.
In past years, ELR shooting has struggled with a 'niche' status, not well supported by a great selection of highly refined products*. We hope these bullet offerings can add to the bedrock that's building beneath the growing sport of ELR shooting so that more shooters can be happy with their investments, and this leading edge discipline can enjoy further growth.
*This is not a slight to the dedicated companies who've been supporting ELR in recent years, only to say that Berger is proud to offer our contribution now as well.