I've always considered Berger bullets as target bullets and shied away from using them on game for years..... All that changed recently , My best hunting load for my 338 Edge was the 300 gr Accubond and it worked great on moose and black bear from 35 yards to 450 yards but I always had concerns about this super tough bullet opening up at longer range,
Almost everyone who shoots the 338 Edge raves madly about the Berger 300 gr OTM / H1000 combo so I spent some time and burned up a box with no accuracy to be found ..... I blamed the bullets then the Obermeyer bbl and gave up on Berger ..... Then again I was swayed by the reports of Bergers blasting game at long range and I desperately wanted the bc ...... So I got some 300 gr Hunters and a new jug of H1000, (the other powder was a couple old cans I had from the early 2000's that I tried in my 300 RUM ) Looking at my old shooting/ loading notes and data reminded me that I could not get the H 1000 to shoot worth a rat arse in the 300 Rum nor the 7.82 Warbird .... Reloder 25 shot lights out with same bullets in both rifles ......
That was my problem, the old lot of powder ......switching to the brand new lot of powder I had the Bergers shooting nice and neat 1/2" triangular groups and the point of impact was the same as with the 300 gr Accubonds, I was stoked ! Had my close range and long range loads figured out finally !
In Sept of 2014 I was set up where I could take a shot at 6-800 yards in a series of connecting swamps where I had spotted a large bull a week before, after spending half a day of glassing with no sign of moose I decided to move down to the swamps and do some calling , I'd forgotten that the top round in my Seekins mag was the Berger round with four Accubonds beneath, hunting solo 50 miles into bear infested country I felt the Accubonds were better in the event I met a bear with bad manners . Called in a decent 52 1/2" 3x2 brow tine bull in right at 100 yards, It being the second to last night of the season I decided to take him, pulled the bolt back and pushed that Berger load in and shot the bull with a classic "just behind the shoulder, top of the heart/ bottom of lungs" not realizing that I'd forgotten to switch that round out for the close in / calling set up ....
I witnessed one of the loudest bullet impacts and most dramatic kills out of the 30+ bulls I'd taken over the years, death was instantaneous and the bull was slammed to the dirt stone cold dead, I recovered the bullet jacket against the hide on the other side, While it didn't penetrate the hide It passed through the entire body of the bull, I recovered pieces of jacket and lead in the heart and all the way through the wound channel to the hide,
This year Sept 2015 , I purposely had a 300 gr Berger Elite Hunter bullet on top in the mag followed by the four Accubond loads for mean Mr. Brown ........ I called in and shot my bull at 62 yards and again was rewarded with an explosion of an impact, the bull was tired of hanging around and was getting suspicious, as he headed for cover he stepped into a mudhole as I fired, the bullet impact was high, right under the back , his lungs were wiped out and the force of the bullet impact /energy or whatever the hell happened broke his back also ! He did a rodeo horse kick and was spun around and fell facing in the opposite direction, death was immediate ..... I recovered the bullet jacket and a bit of lead still in it against the hide , see photo of bullet
Two animals down at close range is hardly scientific research but I will continue to use the 300 gr 338 cal Berger Elite Hunters for moose , with the Accubonds as back up of course, just 'cause it feels good that way ......
Now if that new Hornady ELD Match shoots as well as the Bergers ? ........ But then again 300 gr at 2900 fps is hard to walk away from ......
My apologies for the long winded post, but I had to tell somebody y'know !
