Rem 260 Berger 130 VLD hunting - is this normal?

[haeffkr]

Hi,
I have my rem 260 shooting 130 grain Berger VLD hunting bullets out of my Remington long barrel custom rig at 2780 fps.

I shot 2 deer the past weekend, a good size 8 point with a shot off bum front leg at 215 yards.
I hit him broad side and took out both lungs and the top of the heart. The deer ran straight off into the woods and piled up 50 yards from the shot.
When he was dressed I saw the entry hole about the size of a quarter on the rib and the exit hole about the size of half dollar. Part of the lungs and top part of the heart was gone.

I shot the big doe at 210 broadside in a field, deer ran 150 yards across a hay field and piled up in the field. Again, quarter entry hole, half dollar exit hole, lungs and top of the heart where damaged and quite a mess.

I was expecting even more damage internally, a bigger exit hole, if not any at all and definitely not anything running 150 yards. I know it was pure adrenaline but still.

Do these bullets need to be pushed faster to blow up more, is this expected results?
My Strelok ballistics chart says these bullets were going about 2400 at point of entry.

thoughts?
thanks Kevin

 

[Michael Eichele]

Hi,
I have my rem 260 shooting 130 grain Berger VLD hunting bullets out of my Remington long barrel custom rig at 2780 fps.

I shot 2 deer the past weekend, a good size 8 point with a shot off bum front leg at 215 yards.
I hit him broad side and took out both lungs and the top of the heart. The deer ran straight off into the woods and piled up 50 yards from the shot.
When he was dressed I saw the entry hole about the size of a quarter on the rib and the exit hole about the size of half dollar. Part of the lungs and top part of the heart was gone.

I shot the big doe at 210 broadside in a field, deer ran 150 yards across a hay field and piled up in the field. Again, quarter entry hole, half dollar exit hole, lungs and top of the heart where damaged and quite a mess.

I was expecting even more damage internally, a bigger exit hole, if not any at all and definitely not anything running 150 yards. I know it was pure adrenaline but still.

Do these bullets need to be pushed faster to blow up more, is this expected results?
My Strelok ballistics chart says these bullets were going about 2400 at point of entry.

thoughts?
thanks Kevin

I think it's pretty normal for deer to run 50-150+ yards after having their heart/lungs destroyed. If you want more bang/flops, you'll need bigger heavier bullets and more 'energy'.

If you're getting half dollar sized exits, and severely damaged organs, there's nothing wrong with the bullet.

 

[longrangehunterII]

+1 Same here...... Any more of an exit wound would/could just ruin good meat.

 

[WildRose]

Hi,
I have my rem 260 shooting 130 grain Berger VLD hunting bullets out of my Remington long barrel custom rig at 2780 fps.

I shot 2 deer the past weekend, a good size 8 point with a shot off bum front leg at 215 yards.
I hit him broad side and took out both lungs and the top of the heart. The deer ran straight off into the woods and piled up 50 yards from the shot.
When he was dressed I saw the entry hole about the size of a quarter on the rib and the exit hole about the size of half dollar. Part of the lungs and top part of the heart was gone.

I shot the big doe at 210 broadside in a field, deer ran 150 yards across a hay field and piled up in the field. Again, quarter entry hole, half dollar exit hole, lungs and top of the heart where damaged and quite a mess.

I was expecting even more damage internally, a bigger exit hole, if not any at all and definitely not anything running 150 yards. I know it was pure adrenaline but still.

Do these bullets need to be pushed faster to blow up more, is this expected results?
My Strelok ballistics chart says these bullets were going about 2400 at point of entry.

thoughts?
thanks Kevin

That is perfect bullet performance so I'm not sure what more you could ask for.

If you want to drop them in their tracks you have to hit the spine or brain.

 

[haeffkr]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess I was hoping for bang/flop but that does not seem to be accurate unless I hit the head or neck or spine.

thanks Kevin

 

[gillettehunter]

A lot of the bang flops are also high shoulder shots. Probably also affects the spine. You will lose some shoulder meat tho..... Bruce

 

[mitch260]

I shot a large bodied whitetail buck a couple days ago with a 185gr Berger Hunting VLD out of my .308 win at 360yds. He was quartering towards me and i put it right in front of the shoulder, very little meat lost (I didn't actually hit the shoulder). It took out the lungs, heart, and the spine with no exit, dropped him in his tracks. I was very impressed. That was my first experience with Berger VLD's on game.

 

[Michael Eichele]

I shot a large bodied whitetail buck a couple days ago with a 185gr Berger Hunting VLD out of my .308 win at 360yds. He was quartering towards me and i put it right in front of the shoulder, very little meat lost (I didn't actually hit the shoulder). It took out the lungs, heart, and the spine with no exit, dropped him in his tracks. I was very impressed. That was my first experience with Berger VLD's on game.

What's your muzzle velocity?

 

[mitch260]

2,740 fps, it has a 28.5" barrel. Used to be my main F-Class rifle.

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

The deer I shot this year was from a 308 using 168 Vld hunting bullets at 246 yards. Had a small .30 entry and a silver dollar sized exit. Deer did drt, but I've seen plenty of well placed shots in the past where the deer ran 50-100 yards on auto-pilot. One time just stunned my nephew and I because it was a heart double-lung... And I defied explanation, other than you just can't predict what an animal is going to do, even with a good shot.

Sounds like the VLDs worked splendidly for you! Congrats.

 

[WildRose]

A lot of the bang flops are also high shoulder shots. Probably also affects the spine. You will lose some shoulder meat tho..... Bruce

Done right the high shoulder shot transects both shoulders and cuts the spine in half.

You lose meat but you'll never lose the animal unless it falls off of a cliff rolling down hill because all four legs become instantly useless.

 

[stomp442]

I always aim for bone. Especially on deer they are not built like tanks and I have found they don't run very often and when they do is not real far with a broke shoulder.

 

[dogbuster0006]

If you want bang/flops with berger you need a high shoulder shot. You have to hit real bone not just ribs to get the dramatic results you're looking for. I've killed a few deer with the 115 out of my 25-06 frontal shot on one at 390 bang flop hit the base of the neck/shoulder. Another big doe at 400 broadside and hit the onside shoulder bang flop lots I mean lots of damage. That's pretty good for my little 25-06.

 

[Greyfox]

That's pretty normal performance for the Bergers in 6.5, 140's included. I like a high shoulder shot on deer and antelope which almost always go down on the spot. What you describe with your wound channel is what I consider "perfect" performance.