Death of the Berger 6mm 105 VLD

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Obtunded

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Those of us 6BR addicts have been strung-out in full-on withdrawal trying to score some 105 VLD's.

I maintain these bullets are the most user-friendly 6mm bullets going, and I have tried them in almost everything 6mm. They WORK.

I saw today that Berger is dramatically altering these bullets with a larger meplat and a whopping 8% reduction in ballistic coefficient. I understand the G1BC will be only .491 (from .535)

This really and truly sucks!

Time to dust off the Sierras and work up a load I guess.
 
Will the differnce be very noticeable? Kinda sucks when Mick just chambered my 6br specifically for the Bergers... Will I still be able to use SMKs or AMAXs effectively if the new Bergers flop?
 
Not too happy about this either, been waiting since last fall for some and I'm going to have to change the order. An 8% loss in BC directly translates into an 8% increase in wind drift.

http://02b0516.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=81

On the other hand, the Lapua 105's work very well with and are readily available.
 
Brian, the ogives will be the same, so your throat will be fine. The bullets gets blunter in front of the ogive, that's all.

As to the Lapuas, I'm sure our respected and esteemed contributor Peter at Hirsch gets pyssed when I say this, but they have been a very finicky bullet to make work. You need a tight bore since they are an undersized bullet. There are a gang of us that cannot make them work to save our souls.

#2 for ease of use was the Sierras.

Berger says the Hunting Match 105 VLDs will remain unchanged. I grabbed some to try and see if they will work as well as the match VLDs.
 
mysticplayer said:
The 6mm 105's are shipping and I will be getting my shipments shortly.

I bet if you compare the G7 BC, the difference will be slight.

Jerry
Click to expand...

8% of a G1BC and 8% of a G7BC are both 8%!

http://02b0516.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=81 said:
.....the G7 BC is reduced from .272 to .251, a reduction of 8% from the previous value.
Click to expand...


also....

This new bullet stands to benefit a great deal from aftermarket bullet pointing which will close up the meplat to a finer point. Pointing the new 105 VLD will yield a greater improvement in BC than it did for the old 105 VLD, but you won’t be able to re-claim all of the BC by pointing because the new ogive is shorter.
Click to expand...

Watch 6mm Berger sales plummet
 
This new bullet stands to benefit a great deal from aftermarket bullet pointing which will close up the meplat to a finer point. Pointing the new 105 VLD will yield a greater improvement in BC than it did for the old 105 VLD, but you won’t be able to re-claim all of the BC by pointing because the new ogive is shorter.
Click to expand...

Yeah....cuz everyone can afford $400 pointing dies.....no biggie. :rolleyes:

Glad I have 3000 High BC Sierra's in the stock pile, and may have 1100 Berger Low BC bullets for sale/trade very shortly.
 
Well, I know who I will be calling Monday morning.

I am sure the bullets will be every bit as accurate as before but it really gauls me that after several months of chasing them for production updates, they never mentioned these changes.

Looks like I will be able to get the Whidden bullet pointing system for a reasonable price.

For those that are getting these Bergers, I can offer the system at my cost.

PM's have been sent...

Jerry
 
Damn!! That takes the cake!. You get something to work, and the manufacturer decides to alter it. If one is shooting a chambering that delivers "marginal" velocity at long range, BC is a factor that really counts. Oh well, maybe the sales will take a hit, and they will reconsider. Eagleye.
 
Jerry,

I don't think it is worth the time or the money for me to HAVE to point bullets in order to recover BC. Sierra's have worked VERY well for me in the past and will continue to do so.

If the bullets that come are indeed the new lower BC Target bullets, I will be contacting Eric Stecker personally to see about getting them switched out to the higher BC "Hunting" bullets in a timely fashion so that I can have them for March Madness in Sacramento.

It is only the thicker jacketed Target bullets that are affected, the thinner jacketed "Hunting" bullets are apparently not being changed.

Here is the new G7 BC
Effect on BC
Since the new bullet nose is shorter and has a wider meplat, the drag is higher. The result is a lower BC for the new bullet. How much lower? Figure 2 shows that the G7 BC is reduced from .272 to .251, a reduction of 8% from the previous value.

6mm-split-imagae.gif
Click to expand...
 
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Cyan1de, thanks for the heads up. From what I understand, the reason they went to the thicker jacket was bullet blow up at high velocities.

Most F class rigs will not push a bullet fast enough to blow up so the hunting version would be a very useable alternative. This was the version that used to be the target bullet, a bullet which help put Berger on the map.

I will be contacting Berger to see what I can do to remedy this royal FUBAR.

I have no problem with a company making any changes to their product.

But I do mind when you don't tell your dealers until AFTER the fact...

I wonder how many WTF conversations Berger had at the SHOT show???

Jerry
 
If you were using a 6-06, 6-284 or some other fast wildcat, then you might experience the bullets coming apart mid flight.

My 6BR isn't going to (nor has it had in the past) have problems with bullets not making it to its intended destination at a MV of 2950fps.
 
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I have pushed 105 VLD's to 3350 in 7" twist and none flew apart.

In fact, I have NEVER had a Berger fly apart.

If you read the explanation, it was simply because it is complicated for them to mmanufacture these bullets and they are switching to a process that may be easier and more "consistent" .

If I wanted a low BC bullet, I would shoot the 105 boat tail match or the 108.
 
BUM, it doesn't matter HOW they shoot, these new bullets won't shoot any tighter, basically the barrel limits us now not the bullet. The problem is the BC is 8% lower. What that means is significantly larger groups at longer ranges because the shooter cannot make the PERFECT wind correction every time. If we made perfect calls, the 1000 yard target would be the size of an apple. Our error dictates groups size and an 8% loss in BC will make that group size larger, which does not make us happy. They made a great bullet mediocre.
 
Guess I'll be using the 105's at 300M and my .284 with 180 Bergers for longer ranges - or are there changes in the works for the 180's???. Berger must have hired the Coke executive who decided to change the recipe for the best selling product in the world.
 
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