Disappointed with the Berger 156 grain EOL

[markg208]

I shot a buck at 130 yards with my 6.5 PRC using Berger 156 grains EOL. I hit him right behind the shoulder. The buck ran about 50 yards with no blood. There was no exit wound. My Son and Grandsons have shot whitetail and axis with no exit wounds. Kind of disappointed with this bullet. My loads were going about 2860 fps and no exit wounds on that buck I shot. Looking for some advice as to what would be a good bullet to use that would have good exit wounds, thanks in advance

Some animals just have a stronger will to live. I love Berger's but if u want an exit all the time Barnes are hard to beat

 

[loonie]

Like I said before. Bergers are like a box of Cracker Jack 'Surprise Inside" You never know what's going to happen. They will work great on one animal and then get the surprise on the next. Thats been my experience with many of them.

 

[Raudy707]

Anchorman style.

 

[xsn10s]

 

[OldElkHunter1961]

Things aren't always what one expects. 6.5mm 140 gr Sierra Game King MV 3035 FPS at 250 yards on 1/2" boiler plate. Like a cutting torch.

 

[chav0_12]

But he said he wanted a good exit

Then the mistake was his from the beginning by choosing a bullet that doesn't do what he wanted. I'm pretty sure doing a tiny bit of research, not just finding load data, would've revealed this trait of Bergers. The time to have a revelation that the bullet doesn't do what you hoped isn't after you shoot an animal. If you want full penetration and pass-throughs then Bergers aren't for you and they never have been. Back to my first post on this thread; I really don't understand why people buy Bergers and then expect them to do something they were never meant to do.

 

[Doghunter23]

I had the same issue with them out of the creedmoor with the 156. I lost a NICE buck, 100 yd easy shot. It should have taken the whole vital cavity out with it. Deer stood up on back feet and almost went over backwards. Ran into the swamp never to be seen again. 20 minutes later I smacked a doe the same way, she ran off too. I found her in a ditch she fell in and was not able to get back up. No exit, no blood, and the bullet striped the jacket and retained next to no weight. 100% confident I hit the buck, the gun is a tach driver, the shot was stable and plenty of light.

Did you track it? If it was a buck I really wanted, I would have started a grid pattern and circled till I found blood. Deer probably died! Might not have even gone far. I hate hearing stories like that, as a bow hunter for 30 years and a white tail guide I have recovered maybe a hundred deer others would have given up on. Sometimes the first drop of blood won't be for a hundred yards or more. One of my biggest buck ever a big semetrical 10 ran 1.5 miles with a bad shot, but I found him in the morning. Another big 12 I shot ran a full mile with the heart center punched, very little blood. I think tracking and recovery are the most neglected skills in the hunting world today. A broken twig or scuffs in the leaves tell a story if you listen. If you don't have good eyesight maybe buy a hand held thermal for recovery or make friends with some one with tracking Dogs.
Another pro tip is always have a compass, deer will usually take a certain direction and stick with it until the very end when they are going to crash they vere off.

 

[WildRose]

But he said he wanted a good exit

Wrong tool for the job.

 

[big johnson]

We shot two mule deer bucks lest fall with the 6.5 prc and 156 eol's at 3008 fps. Deer #1, 260 yds. bullet entered the back of the left shoulder into the top of the lungs and took out 2 inches of spine then went through the right shoulder and broke it really bad and came to a stop under the hide. the bullet weight was 25 grs. that deer dropped like a turd from a tall cow. If it wouldn't have hit the spine it would have passed through. Deer #2 370 yds. same load facing just a little off center from straight on. Bullet hit the back of the right shoulder entered the 2nd rib back into the lungs and exploded. Then part of the bullet went through the paunch with no damage and I found a piece of the jacket in the left ham that was the size of the finger nail on my little finger. It also dropped like a turd from a tall cow. Iv'e shot lots of animals in my 60 years of hunting from rabbits to grizzly with all types of lead bullets no copper ones yet and have never seen any critter hit the dirt any faster then these 2 mature bucks did . I know one was a spine shot , but the point is that bullet held together better than the other one. This was the first time Iv'e used berger bullets and so far I like what I see , maybe after a few more animals harvested I'll switch back to something else. Wish Swift made a heavy 6.5 sir. Iv'e got 400 130 gr. left over from the 6.5 creedmoor that I sold, but haven,t tried them yet. The 156 EOL's shoot such tiny groups it's hard to try anything different.

 

[WildRose]

We shot two mule deer bucks lest fall with the 6.5 prc and 156 eol's at 3008 fps. Deer #1, 260 yds. bullet entered the back of the left shoulder into the top of the lungs and took out 2 inches of spine then went through the right shoulder and broke it really bad and came to a stop under the hide. the bullet weight was 25 grs. that deer dropped like a turd from a tall cow. If it wouldn't have hit the spine it would have passed through. Deer #2 370 yds. same load facing just a little off center from straight on. Bullet hit the back of the right shoulder entered the 2nd rib back into the lungs and exploded. Then part of the bullet went through the paunch with no damage and I found a piece of the jacket in the left ham that was the size of the finger nail on my little finger. It also dropped like a turd from a tall cow. Iv'e shot lots of animals in my 60 years of hunting from rabbits to grizzly with all types of lead bullets no copper ones yet and have never seen any critter hit the dirt any faster then these 2 mature bucks did . I know one was a spine shot , but the point is that bullet held together better than the other one. This was the first time Iv'e used berger bullets and so far I like what I see , maybe after a few more animals harvested I'll switch back to something else. Wish Swift made a heavy 6.5 sir. Iv'e got 400 130 gr. left over from the 6.5 creedmoor that I sold, but haven,t tried them yet. The 156 EOL's shoot such tiny groups it's hard to try anything different.

I discussed he bullet selection with Swift a few years ago pointing out that they are really giving up a lot in the LR hunting market.

There response was that the owner does not approve of LR hunting and they would not produce bullets for that purpose.

 

[Hard rock]

I discussed he bullet selection with Swift a few years ago pointing out that they are really giving up a lot in the LR hunting market.

There response was that the owner does not approve of LR hunting and they would not produce bullets for that purpose.

So at what distance does a animal need too be before you can shoot it with a Berger ,from what I'm reading ,as long as he is at 200 plus yards the bullet is designed for a long distance shot but at close range under 100 yds any thing might happen. Also someone on this forum stated Burger was originally a target bullet , like the Hornady eld bullets and hunters started using them at long range hunting successfully ,so Berger kinda got into the hunting style bullets accidentally . It's pretty obvious that a lot of hunters and shooters like Berger bullets and I think I understand , but in reality was the Berger bullets designed too do any thing other than shooting targets?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

So at what distance does a animal need too be before you can shoot it with a Berger ,from what I'm reading ,as long as he is at 200 plus yards the bullet is designed for a long distance shot but at close range under 100 yds any thing might happen. Also someone on this forum stated Burger was originally a target bullet , like the Hornady eld bullets and hunters started using them at long range hunting successfully ,so Berger kinda got into the hunting style bullets accidentally . It's pretty obvious that a lot of hunters and shooters like Berger bullets and I think I understand , but in reality was the Berger bullets designed too do any thing other than shooting targets?

According to Berger themselves - No.

Walt Berger was a dedicated benchrest shooter and the originator of Berger bullets. I'd bet that he never shot anything but paper. But that's just a guess.

It was after Berger determined that many of their loyal customers where successfully taking game with their match bullets that hunting bullets became a business model of it's own. I kind of liked it when Berger put designated hunting bullets in orange plastic boxes and their designated match bullets in yellow plastic boxes. However, today there is so much crossover use with all the Berger bullets that it almost makes sense that they decided to drop the orange boxes.

 

[big johnson]

If both the bucks we shot last fall would have been at 50 ,100, 150 ,or 200 yds. etc. we would have shot them. We just couldn't get any closer. I'll use them next fall and make my final decision after a few more animals have hit the ground.

 

[big johnson]

I love swift bullets ,but they haven't had any stock for 10 months or so . My smith is a swift dealer and can't get any either. They could be gone forever before this all shakes out only time will tell. Iv'e had 338 210's on order through my smith for over 14 months and he told me when he calls them he gets the run around .