6.5 bullet performance

bulldog284

bulldog284

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Good evening

I was wondering if any of you had any real experience with the 130 grain Berger vld and the 135 classic game hunter? In the past I was using the 130vld out of a 6.5-47 on whitetail weighting from 160 pounds to 200 pounds,distances were from 100 yards to 340yards. With the vld I had very good performance with exit wounds and all heart lung shots.
This year switched to the 135 classic hunter same load same rifle shot 4 bucks from 60 yards to 150 yards all same shot placement heart lungs. These not one exit wound expanded very fast just off the hide with lots of damage inside,they all ran from 50 to 100 yards with no blood trail.

I'm wondering what is the difference between the jackets thickness if any or is it the nose point that is making the difference?

Anyone using the Sierra 130 game changers with better results?

Thanks bulldog
 
I think a large percentage of 6.5 shooters up here just are shooting long range paper. I did pick up a 6.5 Creedmoor to try a couple years ago, thinking I might use it for sitting on fields. The bullet getting all the hype for hunting was the Hornady 143gr. ELD-X and I found a lot of mixed reports about it in various forum searches (mostly US sites). Berger makes great bullets, but they don't seem to turn up in the field much (at least not in Canada). It may be you're the most experienced 6.5 Berger bullet/deer killer on CGN. And as the saying goes, it's lonely at the top. lol
 
I've used Serria Gamekings in 140gr 6.5x55 at 2650 fps. Blew up on the shoulder of the mule buck (5x4) pictured in my avatar. Didn't make it in the vitals. Just a flesh would. Needed a couple follow ups to put it down with the last 2 shots failing as well. Had to finish the buck with a knife. 1st shot was 40 yards and the last 2 about 150 yards. There was nothing left of the bullets, just pieces of ground up lead from impact. Never again will i use them while i have other choices. I'm sure it was a bad batch but it was enough for me to switch over to Nosler Accubonds and Partitions.
 
Berger is not a bullet I'd ever use on big game again.From bullet blowup at the muzzle to a full 600 yards on an elk.I read the only difference between the target and hunting bullets is the color of the box.
 
Target bullets designed to fragment not my cup o tea. Do you really want all those fragments in your burger?

My go to choices are 140 NP, 140 Hornady, 129 Hornady, 120 Sierra SP, 120 TTSX, 130 TSX. not in that order...just a laundry list of what goes through my 260 rems for big game as an example.
Elky...
 
Here is another long time hunter who will NEVER use a Berger anything on a game animal.

Before anyone accuses me of condemning something I have little experience with, I have
seen on several occasions the way Bergers perform on game. [Others using them] The
fragmentation alone is dramatic, with many not reaching the far side of the cavity on
broadside shots.
With so many very fine "true" hunting bullets out there, I am at a loss why one would use
what is basically a target bullet to shoot game.
You want a good BC + great performance on game, the Scirocco II is a great choice,
and the Nosler Accubond LR is fairly good, albeit a bit fragile close in.
You want dependable penetration, even through heavy bone, go Partition or A-Frame.

The list is lengthy and diverse. Choose wisely!! Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
Here is another long time hunter who will NEVER use a Berger anything on a game animal.

Before anyone accuses me of condemning something I have little experience with, I have
seen on several occasions the way Bergers perform on game. [Others using them] The
fragmentation alone is dramatic, with many not reaching the far side of the cavity on
broadside shots.
With so many very fine "true" hunting bullets out there, I am at a loss why one would use
what is basically a target bullet to shoot game.
You want a good BC + great performance on game, the Scirocco II is a great choice,
and the Nosler Accubond LR is fairly good, albeit a bit fragile close in.
You want dependable penetration, even through heavy bone, go Partition or A-Frame.

The list is lengthy and diverse. Choose wisely!! Dave.
Click to expand...


Words of wisdom and 100% agree. Definitely better choices out there for a reliable hunting bullet.
 
My 6.5 Hunting bullets are Nosler 140 NBT and Nosler 140 AB... they perform every time... I have used them on medium game from 20 yards to 450 yards, with predictable results.
 
I have heard good and bad about Bergers performance on game, with the bad mostly being the fragmentation and destruction of a lot of meat.
Having never tried them for myself, I needed to see for myself.
Two years ago, I shot a caribou cow at about 130 yards with the 140gr VLD out of my 6.5x55. The bullet entered the chest, split and the main part of the bullet turned and exited through the liver on the far side, with the remaining smaller fragments travelling on through the lungs. She ran over 250 yards, with a lot of blood sprayed on the snow over the last 100 yards or so. The one lung was completely destroyed while the other had some damage, as did the liver. Yes, she died from one shot. But not as quickly as I have seen from Nosler AccuBonds, Partitions, Ballistic Tips, or Sierra GameKings, Hornady Interlocks, Speer HotCors or Winchester Power Points from a variety of cartridges over the years. I do not intend to hunt with these bullets again. But, one instance is not a great test. I do however have a great deal of confidence and experience with the other bullets listed here, so will use them instead.
Three years ago, I shot a young bull moose at 20 yards with my 6.5 Creedmoor using the 143gr ELD-X ammo. The bullet entered the chest of the bull while quartering hard towards me. I found a little bit of gilding metal on the edge of the ribcage where the esophagus and trachea enter the chest, but never did find the bullet inside the chest cavity. The lungs and heart were a mess, but the bullet did not penetrate through or beyond the diaphragm. Again, yes, the animal died quickly, as he did not go 10 yards and was just expiring as I got to him as I followed up immediately after the shot. With a lower velocity from a longer shot, I would expect this bullet to stay together better, and penetrate further.
Previous animals harvested (stone's sheep, whitetail deeer and moose) with the 6.5x55 were with the Nosler Partition, Barnes X bullet and Hornady Interlocks from 85 to 100 yards,with quick, clean kills and good bullet performance.
 
My 6.5 is a 264wm. Probably old.school, old.school partitions, going to try accubond. At probably 500 ft/sec more than a 6.5 cred.or x47, have never recovered a bullet, never had to track a animal.

IMO, finding a bullet onthe offside hide is perfect , most want a exit wound and blood trail. I want all the energy expended inside the animal, rather than the alder behind it.
 
I've hunted with a 6.5x55 for several decades, and while never shooting a Berger bullet, have tried almost everything else. The only bullet which didn't perform well for me was a 140gr Sierra Gameking. I shot a buck in the neck while facing me at about 15 yards, and it failed to exit. Now it did result in a dead deer so I guess you could argue that it didn't fail, but the lack of penetration at modest velocity 2600 fps +/- didn't inspire confidence.
I doubt that the Berger is more stoutly constructed than the Gameking.
 
my favorite combo is a high sd bullet of rapid expansion construction at a moderate velocity...in the 6.5 creedmoor i'd be all over that 147gr eld-m...i'll get roasted up the whazzoo for this but currently i shoot 6.5 Grendel with the 123gr eld-m and so far in the first 7 head of big game the average shot distance has been 151 yards and average recovery distance has been 4.3 yards, 1 bull moose, 3 whitetail bucks, 1 mule deer buck, 1 bighorn sheep ewe, 1 black bear, everything dropped but two that went 15 yards, shot distances 10 yards to 238 yards, most in the 170-200 yard range

i'm getting shorter recoveries than i was getting with .270 wsm and .270 win running 140gr accubonds, so there is a wide range of performance configurations available and most are over conservative but you can find magic when you get the right construction and velocity for the game intended

don't be afraid of the cup and core match type imo, if they have great sd (like .25 or higher for big game) and they land at moderate velocities they are awesome, probably why those best of the west guys crushed elk so hard at 700-1000 yards with those bergers out of the 7 rem mags and 6.5-284's....hitting the impact velocity window just right for that bullet construction, little too explosive up close, i could care less to hunt past 300-400 for big game so i'm in the window from the muzzle to 400 now with my current set up ;)

the window goal for me being that you penetrate deep enough for game intended but dump as much of the energy in expansion as possible along that path inside the animal, a lot of guys prefer much safer tougher delayed controlled expansion bullets for insurance reasons etc. but you don't have to play that game if you understand what your limitations are, if you need to shoot running away elk up the whazzzooo then you'll want some horsepower and very tough bullets that stay together and maintain that sd while in the animal to penetrate the deepest....penetration is directly related to how much sd sheds once in the critter, i'm going easy 18" in critters and dumping every ounce, awesome internal damage cones, the broadside deer/sheep i'm still exiting though, even at 238 yards, if enough angle i can catch the bullet under hide opposite side, when i don't get an exit, the bigger animals, the internal damage seems more impressive than the smaller critters with exits, your mileage may vary, i've studied this for long time and tried many combo's...here's where i'm at now and zero surprises in choices, and actually getting better than expected performance even though i knew exactly what i was shooting by the numbers/construction etc.
 
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