Berger hunting vld preferred distance to lands

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DonnieM

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Wanting to hear from anyone on here reloading Berger hunting vld's, and how much jump or dist to lands you found is the sweet spot. Everyone I know that is shooting the Hornady ELD-M's or ELD-X's are using a .020 jump and that seems to be working great. Even from my own experiences, the 208gr ELD-M's I was using liked .020 jump in my 300wsm. I'm looking if there is a common preferred jump that Berger hunting VLD's like. Let me know what size groups you are getting at 100/200/300 or whatever yards also with Berger hunting VLD's.
Thanks!
 
Every rifle can, and probably will shoot best with a different OAL. When I have run this test, I skip the 120thou OAL, eats up too much case capacity imho.

Load 24 rounds at the following COAL if you are a target competition shooter who does not worry about jamming a bullet:
1. .010 into (touching) the lands (jam) 6 rounds
2. .040 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds
3. .080 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds
4. .120 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds

Load 24 rounds at the following COAL if you are a hunter (pulling a bullet out of the case with your rifling while in the field can be a hunt ending event which must be avoided) or a competition shooter who worries about pulling a bullet during a match:
1. .010 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds
2. .050 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds
3. .090 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds
4. .130 off the lands (jump) 6 rounds

Shoot 2 (separate) 3 shot groups in fair conditions to see how they group. The remarkable reality of this test is that one of these 4 COALs will outperform the other three by a considerable margin. Once you know which one of these 4 COAL shoots best then you can tweak the COAL +/- .002 or .005. Taking the time to set this test up will pay off when you find that your rifle is capable of shooting the VLD bullets very well (even at 100 yards).
Click to expand...

http://bergerbullets.com/getting-the-best-precision-and-accuracy-from-vld-bullets-in-your-rifle/
 
DonnieM said:
So......... what did you settle on for distance to lands? Do you use Berger hunting vld's?
Click to expand...

The chances that my rifle and your rifle will "like" the same amount of jump or jam is extremely unlikely. This seating test works for all VLD type bullets, not just Berger hunting VLDs.
I have done the non-jammed test in 4 different barrels, each gave different results.
 
I usually start at, or .015" into the lands with the difference being whether I view it as a shooting rifle or a hunting rifle. The lines get a little blurry. In the unlikely event that I move it by choice there's only one way to go. My 28 Nosler is a bit of an exception; it gets a .030" jump so it can fit in the 3.700" mag. More typically, if I have jump them more a smidge I end up with a different bullet.

If you gave the same bullets and rifle to three different guys they'd likely give you three different lengths to lands. If you can't count on people agreeing on where the lands are, good luck on getting them to agree on how much or even if they are jumping.

Couple that with Berger's seeming inability to make the same bullet two boxes in a row and its surprising that more shooters don't jump off of buildings. The last lot of 210s I broke into had to be seated .040" longer to make the lands. That proved to be not the end of the world in a single shot target rifle; but does illustrate a point. .010" plus or minus differences are routine.
 
Dogleg said:
I usually start at, or .015" into the lands with the difference being whether I view it as a shooting rifle or a hunting rifle. The lines get a little blurry. In the unlikely event that I move it by choice there's only one way to go. My 28 Nosler is a bit of an exception; it gets a .030" jump so it can fit in the 3.700" mag. More typically, if I have jump them more a smidge I end up with a different bullet.

If you gave the same bullets and rifle to three different guys they'd likely give you three different lengths to lands. If you can't count on people agreeing on where the lands are, good luck on getting them to agree on how much or even if they are jumping.

Couple that with Berger's seeming inability to make the same bullet two boxes in a row and its surprising that more shooters don't jump off of buildings. The last lot of 210s I broke into had to be seated .040" longer to make the lands. That proved to be not the end of the world in a single shot target rifle; but does illustrate a point. .010" plus or minus differences are routine.
Click to expand...

Just curious, Dogleg, how do you find your usual .015" in? I think about this every time I read about guys jumping / jamming / touching. And as you say, it's rare that two guys will agree (especially about touching:rolleyes:). And then some guys will throw in "soft jam / hard jam" to add to the confusion...

I have two methods depending on rifle and purpose: stripped bolt for target rifles where I think I feel a need to know precisely where the lands begin (at least initially), and slip-fit neck/bullet for the more 'utility' rifles. The slip fit, I find, typically pushes the bullet into the rifling up to .050" - largely dependent on bullet shape and neck tension. I try to hone the test case neck to provide just enough tension so that the rifling doesn't grab and keep the bullet.

Rooster
 
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