Not Happy With Berger Performance

[338 dude]

I spent all summer working up a load for my Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag and achieved sub-MOA, which makes me happy. I was drawn for mule deer in the unit where I live so I literally walk out my back door and start hunting, which also makes me happy. On the second to last day of the season, a medium mule deer stayed in one spot long enough for me to get a shot at him at 75 yards, so it seemed God was smiling at me. The buck dropped like a ton of bricks in an area that made it easy to drag him back to where I could get a cart to him, so another win!
I became unhappy when I started processing it. The bullet shredded a lung, which is great and I found the base of the bullet against the far side rib cage. But, parts of the bullet angled upward and shredded the center of both backstraps with tiny bits of lead! That is so frustrating! At this point, I want to go to a monolithic bullet made of copper or copper/zinc. I have a year to get things worked up again.

It's hammer time!

 

[Quicksilver338]

I was amazed at how it dropped. He didn't take a step.
I am thankful my hunt ended in success. I just hate losing so much of the back straps to the tiny bits of lead. I would like to find a happy medium.
I appreciate everyone's comments.

Yeah if it could go ahead and wreck any other meat that those precious morsels that would be great

I lost a lot of meat on my deer quarter this year using a Berger because a buck decided to jump up at 60yds and offer up himself. Would have gone for the vitals but freehand isn't quite as precise. Not ideal but I have no regrets using the bullet I chose. Heart and lungs were jelly and it died within seconds. Would take a repeat scenario any day of the week.

 

[Laguna Freak]

More people need to realize this and switch to copper. Easier for the rest of us to stock up on Bergers.

What he said. Oh yea…stay away from those slow killin' Accubonds too. They're awful

 

[VinceMule]

We have shot a lot of deer with the 7/08 with 140g Berger vld-H, deer die very quickly, even out to 400 yards. This is not a bullet to give a Deer a Texas heart shot with, nor a shot when a deer is facing away from you where you have to shoot from the back of the rib cage.

Our standard go-to in the 7/08 is the 130g Speer btsp, 139g Hornady flat base(acts like a partition) , 140g Sierra flat base.

Whatever bullet you like, there will probably be a lot of YouTube videos on that bullet's performance, failures, and successes. If you think that mono's will not fail you, just check Youtube.

As hunters who have been hunting for a lifetime, we like stuff dead quickly and call it a win.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Had 2 Bergers fail me this weekend on a lion. They both failed to hit the animal because I suck haha. Third one worked. What's left of a 140 HVLD starting at 2850 out of a 6.5SS at 400 yards that went in the neck and was stuck in the hide in front of the offside rear hind.View attachment 508190View attachment 508191View attachment 508192

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Third time is a charm!
Congrats at gettin that LION!!!!!
You going to do a full mount or head ??

 

[carpassasin]

No dout Bergers kill animals BUUUTT as was mentioned shot placement can be critical on larger animals such as elk.At longer distancese even with big magnums in my opinion.

 

[hseII]

I was amazed at how it dropped. He didn't take a step.
I am thankful my hunt ended in success. I just hate losing so much of the back straps to the tiny bits of lead. I would like to find a happy medium.
I appreciate everyone's comments.

Nosler Accubond at 2900-2950 did wonders out of a 270 Winchester.

I've recreated the wheel to achieve the same level of former .270 success with a short action cartridge.

 

[FEENIX]

168 Grain VLD Hunting.

I'd gladly take those remaining PO$ bullets out of your hands.

 

[Tiny Tim]

You recovered more bullet than I have at those ranges. Bedded buck, 210 HVLD at 40 yards from a 300WM. Maybe a .25" lead fragment diameter of a #2 pencil lead. No exit. At that distance, if your concerned about meat loss, maybe shoot lower or neck.

Congratulations on a successful hunt. Nice Buck! Close to home, close to trail, no tracking, I call that a happy ending!

 

[BigNate]

While I understand your wanting less explosive performance it is directly related to the choices you made.

Planning for a long range shot, using a bullet that is designed to upset at a lower velocity, out of a higher velocity cartridge are the exact opposite of the shot taken. If a close shot is atypical, I might consider enjoying the hard work in development, knowing you may not ever take that kind of shot again.

If, during your search you found a tougher bullet that has a useable poi for close range you may consider loading the gun for close shots while keeping some long range ammo in an accessible cartridge carrier. Mono choices may shine up close but be less than ideal at distance.
Everything has trade offs.

 

[ENGUNEER]

I love quick kills on game animals. The elk in my avatar was shot at 1050 yards using a Berger 300 gr 338 bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3170 fps. It was a "liver" hit, a little far back (my bad wind read). The bullet was found under offside skin and was 162 gr. The elk died withing 10-20 yards. On the flip side, I used a Barnes 150 gr 30 cal mono with a muzzle velocity near 3500 fps to kill my largest mule deer at about 125 yards. Hit just behind the front shoulder and quartering to the offside hip. It ran about 150 yards in the thick stuff and died in a "ditch" with virtually no blood trail. It took hours to find him. I'd rather find all the meat, with some damaged, than none of the meat with little damage. And, a quick kill is the most humane.

 

[JTH]

If you want to go monolithic, and your expected ranges are 200-400 yards in a 7 Mag, I'd load the 118 grain Hammer HHT, Likely velocity with the right load would be over 3500 fps, staying above 3,000 fps to about 250 yards. High speed impacts have great terminal results. Most animals I have taken with Hammers have had very little blood shot meat, you can almost eat right up to the bullet hole. All have been either DRT bang flops, or traveled less than 50 yards.

 

[FEENIX]

At this point, I want to go to a monolithic bullet made of copper or copper/zinc. I have a year to get things worked up again.

There is NO magic bullet for all situations, despite manufacturers' claims. But if you are inclined to go with monolithic, know that you have more than one choice.

https://www.apex-outdoors.com/
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http://balistixbullets.com/home/
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https://www.haslerbullets.com/en/monolithics-bullets/
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https://rws-ammunition.com/en/infotainment/faq-frequently-asked-questions/lead-free-ammunition
Sabatti –
Sako - https://egunroom.com/sako-blade/
Titan monolithic fragmentation bullets -

https://www.warner-tool.com/flat-line-bullets/
https://winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Rifle/Deer-Season-XP-Copper-Impact

 

[7mm man]

That's why I only use monometal or bonded bullets. Bergers and ELD-X can break up pretty easily at close range and high velocity. Go Nosler partitions, Accubonds, or get you some Barnes LRX or Hornady CX.