accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

[Tango down]

Hi everyone
Does anyone use the Berger 190 gr match grade vld hunting bullets in a 308 and, if yes, how do you rate your accuracy from 100 yards to 1200 yards and what loads/powder/brass/primers/OAL are you using?
One more question, what twist in your barrel?
If you do not mind, briefly comment on your rifle, as they all have their particularities and sweet spot.
Thanks and good shooting.
Ombre noire

 

[Zen Archery]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

Following this post been wondering the same thing.

 

[VKC]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

Here is my post from a from a few years ago
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2003430

I've been shooting them for a few years. I have a 1 in 11.25" twist and have no problems stabilizing the 190gr berger hunting bullets. I'm getting 1/4 moa accuracy without having to weight sort the bullets. 2550fps from 23" barrel. 40gr Varget with BR2 primers and lapua brass seated at 2.810" COAL

 

[VKC]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

take a look at this for twist rate stability calculator
http://www.bergerbullets.com/litz/TwistRuleAlt.php

Also quoted from Berger website for VLD bullet seating length:

"For years we have relayed that it is best to jam the VLD into the lands for best performance. This works for many rifles however there are many rifles that do not shoot the VLD well when the bullet is jammed. We have learned that the VLD can shoot best as much as .150 jump off the rifling. VLD bullets can be sensitive to seating depth and it has been found that these bullets shoot best in a COAL “sweet spot”. This sweet spot is a COAL range that is usually .030 to .040 wide.

The quickest way to find this sweet spot is to load ammo at four different COAL. Start with a COAL that allows the bullet to touch the rifling. The next COAL needs to be .040 off the lands. The third COAL needs to be .080 off the lands. The last COAL needs to be .120 off the lands. One of these COAL will outperform the other three by a considerable margin. It has been reported that the VLD bullets don’t group as well at 100 yards but get better as the bullet “goes to sleep” at further ranges. We have learned that by doing the four COAL test you will find a COAL where the VLD bullets will group well at 100 yards. Once the COAL that shoots best is established you can tweak +/- .005 or .010 to increase precision or you can adjust powder charges and other load variables. Frankly, those who do the four COAL test usually are happy with the results they get from this test alone."

 

[Tango down]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

Hi vkc
Thanks for info, the 190 VLD is next on the list. I have a Sako TRG-22, .308, 1-11 twist, all stock. So far, I have found loads that are very accurate at 100 y. and 200 yards. less than .2 for both distances (on my best days), going with OAL, kinda in specs with COAL but, as I go with OAL, I do not care too much about COAL. Rifle doesn't seem to care of how close bullet is from lands, or may be I just got lucky. I am waiting for the weather to get a bit better so i can check the loads up to 1200. Nevertheless, I am curious to try the Bergers 190 VLD, as the guys at Dixie P.R told me they are having great results with it, with .308 Cal. Before I try the 190 VLD, I will give a shot to the Berger 185 Hybrid, as I like the concept explained by bryan Litz. My current loads seem to be right on with my rifle but I would like to see if I can match them with Bergers.
Do you have knowledge on Berger 185 Hybrid in a .308?
For now, I'll go with Berger's specs and go from there.
I also got the VLD seating stem from Redding (goes inside the Redding Competition die that I use) ; I called Redding, as the Hybrid has a secant ogive (at the beginning), as the VLD, I was curious to know if the VLD stem was necessary to also seat the Hybrid. The Redding Tech confirmed that the stem was a good idea to seat the Hybrid. I called Berger too, as I wanted to know their thoughts on it but they must be busy with the coming Shot Show, as I did not hear from them.
Looking forward to hear if you know about these Hybrids and if you are using the VLD stem to seat VLD and Hybrid.
Appreciate your input.
Good shooting.
Ombre noire

 

[VKC]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

I have not used the 30caliber 185 hybrids but used their 7mm hybrids and they work well. They are not as sensitive to seating length and still have the advantage of high BC. So if you aren't going to be hunting with that load, by all means go with the 185 hybrids as they are so similar in BC.

I use the Redding competition seating dies and don't use anything different or special to seat VLD and hybrid bullets.

 

[VKC]

Re: accuracy Berger bullet 190 gr vld hunting in a 308

Here is a copied email response about the Berger 190gr VLD with some load data...

Hi VKC,
Some load data for the 190 grain VLD bullet in your 0.308 Winchester.
Load data below for your 0.308 Win.
Load data was generated using Quick Load a 24 inch barrel a COAL (cartridge over all length) of 2.810 inches and your COAL and velocity could be a little different.
AS WITH ALL RELOADING APPROACH THE MAXIMUM LOADS WITH CAUTION AS ALL RIFLES AND RELOADING TECHNIQUES WILL BE DIFFERENT. If YOU CHANGE ANY OF YOUR COMPONENTS; THIS INCLUDES DIFFERENT POWDER LOT NUMBERS; YOU MUST REFIGURE YOUR LOADS BY STARTING WITH THE MINIMUM LOAD.
If we can be of any additional help feel free to contact us.
Thanks for your interest and have a great day.

Walt Berger
Berger Bullets
Technical Advisor

308 Winchester
Bullet/Powder/Start Load/StartVelocity/MaxLoad/MaxVel/FillRatio

190Grain NORMA 203B 38.0 2330 42.2 2565 100.7%

190 Grain IMR 4895 37.5 2375 41.2 2579 100.5%

190 Grain WW 748 38.0 2365 41.8 2571 92.7%

190 Grain RE-15 38.5 2340 42.2 2577 100.7%

190 Grain AA XMR 2460 37.5 2322 41.1 2516 93.0%

190 Grain H414 43.0 2390 45.5 2534 100.9%

190 Grain IMR 4064 37.5 2330 41.0 2525 100.0%

190 Grain VIHT N140 38.0 2260 42.0 2472 103.9%

190 Grain VARGET 38.5 2589 41.0 2525 97.3%

190 Grain Ramshot TAC 37.5 2346 40.6 2513 92.4%

190 Grain H4895 38.0 2341 39.9 2468 96.2%

190 Grain VIHT N550 41.0 2317 45.8 2592 104.7%

190 Grain Benchmark 36.5 2363 38.8 2483 93.6%

 

[Tango down]

Here is a copied email response about the Berger 190gr VLD with some load data...

Hi VKC,
Some load data for the 190 grain VLD bullet in your 0.308 Winchester.
Load data below for your 0.308 Win.
Load data was generated using Quick Load a 24 inch barrel a COAL (cartridge over all length) of 2.810 inches and your COAL and velocity could be a little different.
AS WITH ALL RELOADING APPROACH THE MAXIMUM LOADS WITH CAUTION AS ALL RIFLES AND RELOADING TECHNIQUES WILL BE DIFFERENT. If YOU CHANGE ANY OF YOUR COMPONENTS; THIS INCLUDES DIFFERENT POWDER LOT NUMBERS; YOU MUST REFIGURE YOUR LOADS BY STARTING WITH THE MINIMUM LOAD.
If we can be of any additional help feel free to contact us.
Thanks for your interest and have a great day.

Walt Berger
Berger Bullets
Technical Advisor

308 Winchester
Bullet/Powder/Start Load/StartVelocity/MaxLoad/MaxVel/FillRatio

190Grain NORMA 203B 38.0 2330 42.2 2565 100.7%

190 Grain IMR 4895 37.5 2375 41.2 2579 100.5%

190 Grain WW 748 38.0 2365 41.8 2571 92.7%

190 Grain RE-15 38.5 2340 42.2 2577 100.7%

190 Grain AA XMR 2460 37.5 2322 41.1 2516 93.0%

190 Grain H414 43.0 2390 45.5 2534 100.9%

190 Grain IMR 4064 37.5 2330 41.0 2525 100.0%

190 Grain VIHT N140 38.0 2260 42.0 2472 103.9%

190 Grain VARGET 38.5 2589 41.0 2525 97.3%

190 Grain Ramshot TAC 37.5 2346 40.6 2513 92.4%

190 Grain H4895 38.0 2341 39.9 2468 96.2%

190 Grain VIHT N550 41.0 2317 45.8 2592 104.7%

190 Grain Benchmark 36.5 2363 38.8 2483 93.6%

VKC

For X reason, didn't see your answer back then, didn't get to hunt last year. As we are up for another try this year, I looked into the same stuff again and found our old posts.
Never got a chance to say thanks last year so...thanks!
Going to give these a try with Varget.

 

[VKC]

VKC

For X reason, didn't see your answer back then, didn't get to hunt last year. As we are up for another try this year, I looked into the same stuff again and found our old posts.
Never got a chance to say thanks last year so...thanks!
Going to give these a try with Varget.

your welcome, hope you get out to hunt this year.

 

[Sharpsman]

The Berger 185 VLD Hunting bullet IMO shoots rather well! It's a .308....'06 type however.

https://flic.kr/p/mLJq7n

Twist rate 1-10 w/55 grs. IMR4350. 12 shots from 1000 yards.

 

[Tango down]

The Berger 185 VLD Hunting bullet IMO shoots rather well! It's a .308....'06 type however.

https://flic.kr/p/mLJq7n

Twist rate 1-10 w/55 grs. IMR4350. 12 shots from 1000 yards.

Sharpsman

I would say "rather well" too, you and that Beanland 06 of yours are dead on, congrats. So now what...open contest between 185 VLD hunting and 190 VLD hunting? What do you say?

 

[JimD]

I'm loading 43.5 varget in Winchester brass with 210m. OAL is 2.813 which is 50 thousandths off the lands. Shoots around 1/2 MOA for three shots at 1k.