Accessing interest for 6mm 105 VLD bullet production
- Thread starter SteveB
- Start date
There seems to be a trend away from VLDs. A lot of people don't like chasing the lands. Hybrid or Tangent Ogives seem to be the rage. Also heavier bullets. Even in the smaller 6's (6x47L and even Dashers), lots of guys are moving to 115 DTACs. Newer powders let you push them fast enough that they still beat the 105s in ballistics. New rebated boat-tail ones have a higher BC than the 6.5mm 140 Hybrid. With PRS matches having velocity limits to protect the steel, this essentially means that a little 6x47L is matching or beating a 6.5 SAUM or 6.5x55 AI with much less recoil.
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It is my understanding that the advantage of a RBT is simply for the ease of manufacture if you have a sharper boattail. The BT punch is thicker at the RBT point than the traditional BT and the punches last longer. There is no ballistic advantage at all.
I would be interested in trying a new VLD produced by someone other than Berger. In Canada the demand exceeds supply of Berger. Berger 105 vld with a BC of about 500 seem to group better than the sleeker Hybrid out of an 8 twist barrel at 1000mtr. I noticed Berger first recommended an 8T barrel for the hybrid and now recommends a 7T barrel (so much for their testing). I look to the VLDs over the Hybrids for all except one of my rifles for bench shooting.
No interest in 105's when you can use the 115 Dtacs. As kombayotch said many of us have moved to the 115.
They group better , easier to tune and have a better feedback on the plates.
The new version will be even more consistent due to the rebated boat tail and will seal the gas better.
They group better , easier to tune and have a better feedback on the plates.
The new version will be even more consistent due to the rebated boat tail and will seal the gas better.
Well, its not so new now (although it sounds like there is an even newer one now). A few years ago I tested the original 117 Matrix in my 6mm Crusader. They shot really well at 300 yards, but when I tested them at 500 yards, only half of them made it to the target. On the ones that did, I could follow the swirl into the target and see the splash in the dirt behind the target. On the ones that didn't make it, the swirl just all of the sudden got really big, then nothing. They were exploding in flight somewhere between 300 and 500 yards.
Anyway, Marshal fixed the problem by switching to a newer, thicker jacket. Only, this jacked was longer, so the bullets ended up with a longer ogive and a really small metplat. The result was a bullet with a BC that was significantly higher. I was shooting pointed DTACs at the time (BC = 0.585). I fired them beside each other at the same velocity and in a round robin sequence. At 800 yards, the Matrix bullets hit higher and were less affected by wind. Their zeros were the same at 100. I calculated the BC to be in the 0.610-0.620 range.
Anyway, Marshal fixed the problem by switching to a newer, thicker jacket. Only, this jacked was longer, so the bullets ended up with a longer ogive and a really small metplat. The result was a bullet with a BC that was significantly higher. I was shooting pointed DTACs at the time (BC = 0.585). I fired them beside each other at the same velocity and in a round robin sequence. At 800 yards, the Matrix bullets hit higher and were less affected by wind. Their zeros were the same at 100. I calculated the BC to be in the 0.610-0.620 range.
I shoot with the Bull River Silhouette club in Cranbrook. Several of us have gone to the 6 BR-Dashers to minimize recoil.
Safe to say that we would buy 5000+ 105VLDs a year if the price was right, and as importantly if the bullet works on 500m rams. The 200m chickens, 300m pigs and 385m turkeys are no worry, but if a bullet doesn't tip over a 500m ram consistently it's a non-starter. To this point the best bullet we 6mm shooters have found is the 105 Berger Hunting VLD.
We need a max BC to maintain energy for the 500m rams, with correct toughness to maximize momentum/energy transfer to the rams without that disintegration.
If someone would work with us to tweak a pointy 105ish bullet for silhouette we would buy a bunch on an annual basis. PM me if interested.
Safe to say that we would buy 5000+ 105VLDs a year if the price was right, and as importantly if the bullet works on 500m rams. The 200m chickens, 300m pigs and 385m turkeys are no worry, but if a bullet doesn't tip over a 500m ram consistently it's a non-starter. To this point the best bullet we 6mm shooters have found is the 105 Berger Hunting VLD.
We need a max BC to maintain energy for the 500m rams, with correct toughness to maximize momentum/energy transfer to the rams without that disintegration.
If someone would work with us to tweak a pointy 105ish bullet for silhouette we would buy a bunch on an annual basis. PM me if interested.
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