Determining bullet weight??

The further you want to go, the higher the BC should be to help reduce wind drift, the higher the retained velocity and energy, the better on game performance a bullet can give you.

Amax and Bergers are wonderful bullets with light jackets. Hit something at moderate impact velocities and the results are spectacular. Up close.... not so much.

The Sierra MK's have a lower BC for the weight but much thicker jackets so can handle higher impact speeds well.

Bullets like the SST, Accubond, Swift give you decent BC's and proper hunting internals.

It is surprisingly hard to find a place to take such long shots, once you account for winds, terrain and access.

longrangehunting.com is a place to find any and all info on this form of hunting. There really isn't anything that hasnt already been tried with real world on game results. Just ask. A great bunch of guys with many who take LR hunting to a level that borders on an art form.

Ain't many spray and pray guys there.

Some articles on my website that will help with loading tuning and scope set up so critical to this form of hunting.

Test, shoot, practise and repeat ALOT. The realities of LR hunting quickly reduce the effective range a knowledgeable LR hunting will engage game.

Most importantly, get out there and shoot (can't repeat this enough). Think of LR hunting with a magnum chambering as a multi barrel journey.

When you start shooting, you'll understand....

Enjoy...

Jerry
 
Thanks mystic. But like I said earlier I am looking to do 90%+ shooting at the range. I am not focusing on the long range hunting. My main focus is long range shooting. The berger vld did have more appeal because if I did decide to go hunting with it, long range or not, I could still use the match hunting vld. Going to checkout that website for sure though.

Another thing I realized needs to be considered is will a 210gr bullet fit into the magazine and feed properly with out compressing powder? Anyone else have experience with this?
 
I agree with Mystic. The VLD bullits are wonderful, Ive shot alot of them. A few things to consider tho are availabilaty and price. When I first started shooting the VLD's they were almost half the price. With popularity the price went up and avalability became spotty. I now will sacrifice a little bit of BC for another bullet that is half the price and more easier to attian as long as my down range performance is acceptable.
 
you just have to plan ahead a bit. availability is possible for all options.

hrn amax is the best bang for $ in LR match bullets.

Loading to mag length is something you have to experiment with. tons of powders to choose from.

Jerry
 
Is the a-max capable of taking game? I read somewhere that it is not recomended by hornady but people do so successfully. Sierra matchking is also out there with a slightly better BC but they are pricey.
 
Be carfull of advertised BC's. Not all are accurate. I use Brian Litz data in the back of his book "Applied balistics for long range shooting" for My BC's and have found them to be quite accurate. The book is a must read especually if your new to long range. If I would have read it earlier I probubly would have saved some time, money and barrel life to get where I am now.
 
Any bullet can be used for taking game.

You just have to apply it properly.

all match bullets need a slow impact velocity to function properly.

Grab bullet brochures from hrn, nosler and there are some great pics of how things compare.

Each bullet is designed to work under a certain set of parameters. Engage game in their sweet spot and they work as desired. otherwise, they will give you problems
Jerry
 
Hi Logan1080:
TO answer a question you had earlier, i have compared the difference between the Vld hunting & the Target/Match bullets extensively last fall.
At 1000yards with both the 168 & 210 (.308).
Shooting first the 168's, i shot groups of target Vlds and hunting vlds. They averaged very close to the same.
I then mixed two batches of 5 rounds (hunting/target of the same weight & style) them shot two groups.
The size of the mixed rounds hit the exact same point of aim. The group size was also witin the average of both.
It was kind of a cool experiment! So I myself would shoot either the target or hunting varieties. Which ever is available at the time.
Just save some hunting vlds for actual hunting. Or use ALL hunting VLDs
Thats just my two cents about the Vlds.
Have fun you gunnutz, and straight shoot'in!
 
dthunter said:
Hi Logan1080:
TO answer a question you had earlier, i have compared the difference between the Vld hunting & the Target/Match bullets extensively last fall.
At 1000yards with both the 168 & 210 (.308).
Shooting first the 168's, i shot groups of target Vlds and hunting vlds. They averaged very close to the same.
I then mixed two batches of 5 rounds (hunting/target of the same weight & style) them shot two groups.
The size of the mixed rounds hit the exact same point of aim. The group size was also witin the average of both.
It was kind of a cool experiment! So I myself would shoot either the target or hunting varieties. Which ever is available at the time.
Just save some hunting vlds for actual hunting. Or use ALL hunting VLDs
Thats just my two cents about the Vlds.
Have fun you gunnutz, and straight shoot'in!
Click to expand...


IIRC the target bullets have a thicker jacket due to higher anticipated muzzle velocities. The hunting bullets are the origional jacket design that did not hold up under velocity.

Hopefully someone can confirm this? Or do I have it backwards?
 
logan1080 said:
Another thing I realized needs to be considered is will a 210gr bullet fit into the magazine and feed properly with out compressing powder? Anyone else have experience with this?
Click to expand...

I've been reloading .300 WSM for a few years now. 185 gr bullets is the largest I've been able to load to magazine length and still perform well.

In order to take full advantage of the longer 210+ gr bullets, sooner or later you will want to think about lengthening your chamber throat to allow you to seat the bullets out further, thus giving you more powder capacity. Once you do that, forget about loading from the mag.

IF you ever start kicking around the idea of building a custom gun, or at least rechambering a gun, think about making a .300 WSM on a long action. It seems counter intuitive, but the long action and long ejection port will allow you feed the heaviest of bullets seated well out of the case and still feed from the mag.
 
CanuckWR said:
IIRC the target bullets have a thicker jacket due to higher anticipated muzzle velocities. The hunting bullets are the origional jacket design that did not hold up under velocity.

Hopefully someone can confirm this? Or do I have it backwards?
Click to expand...

You did it backwards.

Thicker jacket was used on hunting rounds to prevent over-expansion.
 
Hunting VLD is ORIG J4 jackets.

Target VLD have THICKER jackets due to bullet failures reported in flight. Difference is very slight.

Neither bullet is thick enough to be considered a standard hunting bullet. Either bullet WILL expand rapidly on impact at most common speeds at close range.

Their appeal is the rapid expansion and fragementation in the boiler room which can lead to dramatic stops. Exit wounds are not anticipated but can occur.

At LR and slower impact velocities, they can work alot like conventional bullets up close making them great choices for LR hunting.

Hope this clears up the Berger bullets.

Jerry
 
Yup sure does. Im starting to think I will go with 208gr amax over the begers but I am still not positive. I should start a poll.
 
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