Not happy with 156 EOL

[azsugarbear]

It seems a thread like this comes up every few years. Given enough time and circumstances nearly every bullet out there will fail to perform as advertised. Somebody will report lousy velocities or es numbers for a certain powder. A specific model scope will fail to track, or a specific model of a new rifle will fail to group no matter what the shooter does. I refer to these sorts of things as "gremlins in the system". It's usually something that cannot be explained - it just happens.

A good gunsmith can build a half MOA rifle most the time. But every once in a while, he will put together a rifle that shoots sub-quarter MOA all day long. He built that rifle just the same as the others. It just went together perfectly. He will also build a rifle every now and then that will fail to meet his standards. Just gremlins in the system.

We tend to hear more about things when they go wrong, than when they go right. Having things perform as expected is fast becoming the new norm in the golden age of LR shooting. When I hear things like what the OP reported, I find it interesting and then file it away. If I hear several more hunters experiencing the same thing, I will take notice, sit up and then begin to ask questions. Just saying that it is hard to draw any type of conclusion or get too excited from a single experience.

 

[coyotezapper]

Not very happy with the performance, had a good hit in a whitetail. Didn't seem to be a ton of internal damage. Took out one lung , good shot placement. Ran 200 yards, then piled up. Didn't seem to perform like I wanted it to, will try it again on a doe to hopefully change my opinion.

I have not read all of this thread so if I repeat someone else, my apologies. Most all of the Berger bullets share one thing in common and that is too much material at the tip of the bullet. The fix is very simple. Call Berger and ask them for the hollowpoint diameter for this bullet. Then buy a pin drill set and take the closest bit to this size and clean up the hollowpoint. Problem fixed.

 

[Andrew Massi]

I have had the opposite experience with the 156s. Shot an elk at 300 right behind the shoulder. It caused such a shockwave inside the chest there was stomach matter in front of the diaphragm. And this thing was broadside. Its insides were a mess. MV of 3100

velocity cures most. Believe the op is about 500 fps behind you

 

[Elk Fire]

My 6.5 Sherman Short has 5 whitetailes and a mountain lion under its belt this year. All but one were at 400-500 ish yards. Tonight I stretched it out to 1020 on a doe. All with the 156 in 8 twist 26" heart barrel, at 3100 FPS.
One buck I thought I had a possible bullet issue, but after cutting him up it was just a high hit at a steep down hill angle. My daughter shot just on top of the shoulder, no real bone involved. Just top of spine fins. Bullet still expanded for sure, and did a lot of damage, just didn't get inside the ribs. Second shot cleaned that up.
All the rest had expected results and damage was extensive. Most shots involved some bone though. Still had exits on all shots, including the quartered away deer at 1020.
Daughters have cow elk tags still so should get some action there.

 

[window licker]

I've seen deer shot with a 50 cal , 300 grain bullet at 50 yds and run for approx 300 yds with no blood trail. No blood until we got to where she died. Autopsy revealed bullet went through both lungs and heart but deer still survived. They can be tough at times. Not all animals react like you want them to all the time. Good placed shots always gets it done. They can run 10 yards or 300 yds but they can't run forever without lungs or a heart. I just recently stopped using a bonded bullet in my muzzleloader because at slower speeds you need a softer bullet. Bonded bullets just poke holes and don't do much damage or expel their energy into the animal at slower speeds.

The deer was shot through the heart/lungs, went through an autopsy, and still survived??? I would run for my life if I were you...

 

[DKSDonnie]

The deer was shot through the heart/lungs, went through an autopsy, and still survived??? I would run for my life if I were you...

I was meaning she lived to run 300 yds with no lungs or heart. If after the autopsy she survived, I would run for my life. That's funny right there.

 

[PBR driver]

I am launching this 156gr. Berger @ 2657 - 2699fps depending on the temperature.
Shooting Reloader 17 my accuracy has been consistantly stellar out of my Savage Long Hunter, 3 shots into .153".
Killing an Elk at 400 yards should be no problem I do believe.
Shooting beyond 400 is not much of a problem for me.
I do not shoot at unethical ranges on Big Game...except Wolves.
To me they are in a class by themselves.

 

[rockwallraider]

out of my 6.5 sherman short at 3060 1/7.5 twist at 293 yds. bang flop. inside was soup very similiar to vld