Berger VLD Question???

[Boss Hoss]

If you are shooting at 250 yards or less a BT is a waste and in almost every instance will not shoot as well as a FB. The BT pills are not finished stabilizing.

Why do you think that the 100 and 200 yard BR guys do not use them??????

 

[Autorotate19]

I didn't know that Boss thanks. Went out today and tested it out at 300yds. Didn't do as well as id hoped. Shot around the 3'' groups with almost all the loads I tried. Must be my seating depth I guess. What do you guys think I should try. Im pretty sure my gun likes the retumbo better. I chrony it today and I was getting just under 3000fps with 92gr so I can probably bump it up a couple grains. My oal is 3.658 which puts me .133 off the lands at mag length and I cant go any longer so if anything jump them farther but I dont want a single shot. I dont know what to do.... Any help would be appreciated!

 

[new shooter]

Berger some times shoot better backed away from the lands. back-away from the lands . 40 thousands give it a try 3 shoot group. Call Berger they will give you more info. They are very helpful. Good luck.

 

[Autorotate19]

I was just curious how you came up with 40 thousands? Is it a random number or is there a reason? Thanks for the help

 

[Toomanytracks]

I just returned from the range today and here are some of the results. These are 5 shot groups with 190 vld 80.7 gn ramshot magnum .25 off the lands 26 inch tube 300WM These are 1 inch dots

 

[BIG MO]

Take some big swings at the seating depth. Some rifles like it all the way out to .120, some into the lands, and some inbetween. Be patient and keep the barrel cool.

 

[Autorotate19]

Im already at .133 off the lands. If anything it will be farther. Can you seat bullets too far from the lands. The freebore in this thing is frustrating.....

 

[bigngreen]

We shoot the 210 Berger out of a 300 WBY that has so much freebore that you can not reach the lands, it shots them at 3/8 in groups just under mag length which puts the bullet seated so far into the case that the mouth is at the ogive, looks weird but shoots the best there. I would't worry about where you are just find the sweet spot.

 

[Autorotate19]

Alright cool I will what about your powder capacity? How much did it affect it?

 

[Autorotate19]

Sorry guys I have another question, the reason the 210gr take so long to stabilize is because of their length correct? So if I shot say 185gr which are quite a bit shorter would they stabilize quicker?

So next time I go to the range will hopefully be tomorrow Im going to have some bergers loaded .04 less than my first load. My question is should I also load another batch at another .04? This would be .08 off my original load..... The bottom line is I want to find this "sweet spot" before I burn my barrel up! Is this the best strategy to find it or what do you guys think?

Finally my third and final question is do the bergers seem to like a really clean bore and have you guys noticed accuracy fallling off rapidly when dirty? What has been your experience with them? My bore wasnt completely clean when I went to the range last and there seemed to be quite a bit of copper fouling. I did run a few patchs, brushes, with bore shine through it but didnt seem to notce a difference. Im about to just kick the bergers out the door and start working with the accubonds lol The bergers got my head spinning on what to do......... Thanks for all the help

 

[Buffalobob]

If you haven't visited the reloading section of the forum yet then you should try it. lightbulb

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/getting-best-precision-accuracy-berger-vld-bullets-your-rifle-40204/

 

[Autorotate19]

Thanks Bbob iv read it a couple times. I called berger with the same question and they said that they thought if im already that far from the lands then it could be a safety concern going any farther away as far as pressures are concerned. I argued that it couldn't be as bad as being jammed but the tech thought I probably shouldn't. Well probably will anyways because some of you guys have and your still here. lol

 

[Autorotate19]

Hey guys thanks for all the help but after a couple hours research I decided to quit messing with the bergers. Not only were they kind of a pain but Iv been reading about a lot of failures at close range which I cant afford. This is my go to rifle for deer and elk hunting and its not uncommon to have that 25-50yard shot in the timber at a bull elk. So I had a couple boxes of Accubonds and Im giving them a try. Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I appreciate it.

 

[MTGunner]

I just worked up some 130 gr. VLD Bergers for my 260AI. This load consists of 46.0 gr. of IMR4350 with WLR primers. These grouped .600 @ 100 yds. off the bench. I dialed my scope for 1 1/2" high @ 100 yds. and should be dead on at 200+ yds. This load was one of four 130VLD loads that I worked up. These will be for longrange feral hogs in TX starting next week. Good luck!