Bull Elk. Berger 195 EOL terminal performance video.

[bigngreen]

The farther forward and higher you shoot elk the tougher elk get!!

 

[GoosePilot]

In my blaser the 195 is at 2850 and now 2890 with can. 1st bull was 600 yds and took a few steps and flopped. Bullet was on off side under skin after hitting rib on entry. 2nd bull was at 100 yds on ridge top. Put bullet through leg just under shoulder blade and found bullet laying against offside leg, not quite to skin. He took a few steps and flopped. Mule deer buck at 320 dropped on the spot. Part of bullet exited, some under off side skin. Bedded white-tailed buck at 420 did not flinch. Bullet on off side skin. Antelope buck at 160 yds, golf ball sized exit in rib cage, sprinted 60 yds and flopped.

I'm very happy with its performance and don't care about an exit hole.

 

[Kay0404]

The second WT I ever shot was behind my house.. maybe 80yrds with a 14lb directionally ported .308 target rifle (only legal center fire I owned at the time and kicks about like .223).. impact looked like an invisible person threw a 5 gallon bucket of blood into the air on the far side of the deer.. that deer ran, laid down and got back up 3 times over 125yrds with no heart.. it was completely gone.. all of these animals can be amazing at their will to live and stubbornness to give up and die when they want to be…

 

[orkan]

The farther forward and higher you shoot elk the tougher elk get!!

Great point... I should have specified that the bulk of my targets are deer, pronghorn, and coyotes. They drop hard on shoulder shots.


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[LongWalker]

The second WT I ever shot was behind my house.. maybe 80yrds with a 14lb directionally ported .308 target rifle (only legal center fire I owned at the time and kicks about like .223).. impact looked like an invisible person threw a 5 gallon bucket of blood into the air on the far side of the deer.. that deer ran, laid down and got back up 3 times over 125yrds with no heart.. it was completely gone.. all of these animals can be amazing at their will to live and stubbornness to give up and die when they want to be…

Very similar experience with a 175 Berger EH out of my 280 AI. Had a TX Dall at just under 200. Was set for a high shoulder shot and just before the trigger breaking my shooting position shifted (standing off a hood on my pack) down and right just a tad. Knew I still hit him good but he turned 180 and ran about 50 yards before he piled up. Massive blood on the ground where he was hit from the offside pass through and when we field dressed him the heart was just goo. Perfect unintentional heart shot with the 175 leaving the muzzle at 2924 fps with a smaller than whitetail sized animal and he still had a heck of a death sprint.

 

[Joefrazell]

I killed 3 mature muleys and that elk with 195's @3030fps. From 30 yards to 540 yards and never got an exit. Yes, I shot a buck at 30 yards in the timber, perfectly broadside and no exit. But he didn't make it far as you could imagine lol.

That's interesting. We shot two mule deer bucks last year with the 195. Both were large mature bucks at right around 400 yards on both five or take 15 yards or so. Both passed through. One was hit in the shoulder and the bullet passed through the opposite shoulder but the exit was fairly small. Maybe a quarter or so. That bullet came apart pretty hard. Buck was drt. The other was hit behind the shoulder and blew out the other shoulder with a fist sized exit hole. This one was a old mature ground down teeth buck that was probably the largest bodied mule deer I've ever seen.

The only thing is that my muzzle velocity was only 2770 out of a 22" proof 7 rem mag. So I'm guessing the velocity was the key difference. Did you do any kinda in field autopsy on the 540 yard deer? I'm assuming that impact velocity was close to ours at 400 yards.

 

[Huntnful]

That's interesting. We shot two mule deer bucks last year with the 195. Both were large mature bucks at right around 400 yards on both five or take 15 yards or so. Both passed through. One was hit in the shoulder and the bullet passed through the opposite shoulder but the exit was fairly small. Maybe a quarter or so. That bullet came apart pretty hard. Buck was drt. The other was hit behind the shoulder and blew out the other shoulder with a fist sized exit hole. This one was a old mature ground down teeth buck that was probably the largest bodied mule deer I've ever seen.

The only thing is that my muzzle velocity was only 2770 out of a 22" proof 7 rem mag. So I'm guessing the velocity was the key difference. Did you do any kinda in field autopsy on the 540 yard deer? I'm assuming that impact velocity was close to ours at 400 yards.

This was his offside shoulder pocket. Just a few bullet fragments under the hide.

 

[Charlie Brown Jr.]

What did he look like on the inside?

 

[Huntnful]

What did he look like on the inside?

I didn't gut him. I don't gut anything really. Just do the gutless method.

 

[archeratlrg]

Yeah, a pass through I can understand. It tells my mind, "well they didn't take all the energy." This video blows my mind though. No pass through, took over 3k ft lbs and just stood around afterward. That's something you see with small guns... that's not something super common with a 195 moving out like that from a 28 nosler! lol

I watched my dad shoot a 4pt Roosie at 40 yrds with his 358 Norma magnum and 250gr Hornady bullets. Complete pass-through and sucked nearly half the liver out through the bullet hole on exit. Liver was found between ribcage and hide. Bull didn't even quiver, just kept on trotting. He went about hundred yds before going tots up
In 38 yrs of guiding, I only saw a handful of bulls drop at the shot regardless of cartridge used.

 

[Joefrazell]

This was his offside shoulder pocket. Just a few bullet fragments under the hide.
View attachment 353358

Wow, that's pretty minimal. I don't know if I have any pics of mine. I got a new phone since then.

 

[staghunter]

I do not use Bergers anymore to hunt just because of not being able to pass through an animal. WT buck at 70yds with no pass through. Just lucky I had room to watch him till he dropped. Otherwise lost animal.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Yes sir. This is a great example of just how resilient elk are. Who knows how long he would have stood there without the second shot. He was definitely getting wobbly though. But 40 seconds on his feet after a double lung with 3000ft lbs of energy might open some eyes. And this is a TINY bull lol. This scenario is what led me to seeking out bullets that would leave exit holes. If that bull decided to run into that timber patch for a full minute…. That would have been about an impossible track job.

I've shot elk with 160 grain .284 bullets at 300+ yards and watched them take one step and hit the dirt dead. No two scenarios are identical with elk. Some Monster bulls drop easier than smaller satellite bulls. I've seen .243 bullets drop elk fast also. 105 grain Berger's have done the job so well, the guys I know using them wouldn't change a thing yet other guys swear a .300 mag is minimum. Predictability in killing big animals is impossible. Some drop fast while others have the will power to make a tracking job nearly impossible. Over years of killing dozens of big game animals, my conclusion is there's no guaranteeing the outcome regardless of what gun you pull the trigger on. Hit exactly where you put the crosshairs and likely you'll have a freezer full of meat. Never a guarantee unfortunately.

 

[nksmfamjp]

For those of you that need some, shoot me a pm….I have a few boxes I can ship flat rate!