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Difference in Berger Bullets ?

para1505

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 20, 2010
699
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58
Columbia MO area
Their is so many Berger bullets, hunting and target. The BC,s are so close on most of them. So can their really be that much difference between them?
 
The problem is not choosing which one coz they all out of stock most of the time.
 
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Difference could be in the jacket thickness. What I can tell you from experience, the Berger hunting bullets I've shot have been very accurate bullets. I used them all one year hunting and will never again use 1. Some act as FMJ's , some as grenades. Killed everything I shot but were a sorry excuse for a hunting bullet. Some will disagree and that's their right but I will keep shooting targets with them.
 
Difference could be in the jacket thickness. What I can tell you from experience, the Berger hunting bullets I've shot have been very accurate bullets. I used them all one year hunting and will never again use 1. Some act as FMJ's , some as grenades. Killed everything I shot but were a sorry excuse for a hunting bullet. Some will disagree and that's their right but I will keep shooting targets with them.
I won’t argue with you because I’m really not a big fan of the Berger hunting bullets as well.
But I love their target Bullets.
 
I won’t argue with you because I’m really not a big fan of the Berger hunting bullets as well.
But I love their target Bullets.
I have taken a lot of game with them. I will still use them but I am trying other bullets to eventually switch to. The whole exploding bullet thing has really gotten old......
 
The whole exploding bullet thing has really gotten old......
I dont know. I too wasnt a fan of the berger exploding in the 270 hunters but thats not to say I dont like a good exploding with a bit more penetration... the sierra gameking soft point is pretty explosive in its own right and I love it for whitetails in a couple different long action chamberings.

I think the tipped gamekings may be exactly what youre after for a little less burst and a little more hold together.

Or there are the accubonds and elds that pop noticeably less and hold together through the other side for a good exit.
 
I dont know. I too wasnt a fan of the berger exploding in the 270 hunters but thats not to say I dont like a good exploding with a bit more penetration... the sierra gameking soft point is pretty explosive in its own right and I love it for whitetails in a couple different long action chamberings.

I think the tipped gamekings may be exactly what youre after for a little less burst and a little more hold together.

Or there are the accubonds and elds that pop noticeably less and hold together through the other side for a good exit.
I am trying the 175 ELD-x now in my 20 inch 280AI. Fingers crossed.....

I hunted with the lead nose GameKings but they did not fly as well. Also, I don't like exposed lead bullets, both for health concerns and due to running a TBAC sealed can.

I have some of the green tipped GameKings but the BC is not that great. Here on the Wyoming High Plains, a great BC really helps, which is what I really love about Bergers. The fly very exceedingly well....

The thing about the exploding bullet is that it can be very unpredictable. You can make a perfect 600 yard shoulder shot and find a exit near the rear from a fragment. I had one where it nicked the guts back there. Other times you will just get a three inch exit and hardly lose any meat, Other times you will get unreasonable meat damage and fragments throughout. One of this years kills it even weaponize some bone on a high shoulder hit, that took out the spine.

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Their is so many Berger bullets, hunting and target. The BC,s are so close on most of them. So can their really be that much difference between them?

bulets for target you cant use for hunting.

is this clear to everyone ?

 
I've used bergers exclusively in a 260 and a 6.5-284 and been very successful at killing game but then again I've been successful with all the calibers and bullets I've used over the years.
Guess I'm just Blessed!
I do like how the berger's fly
 
Just my opinion as a layman but I'm pretty sure there's a trade-off...

If you want good penetration, expansion, weight retention, etc... You're going to have to sacrifice on the aerodynamics/BC.

The inversion is that target bullets with fantastic aerodynamics aren't going to give good performance when they slam into living flesh at 2x the speed of sound.

I'm sure someone can come up with a projectile that will deliver both... But the manufacturing process might be complicated enough that it would cost a pretty penny to make it.

Mike
 
Just my opinion as a layman but I'm pretty sure there's a trade-off...

If you want good penetration, expansion, weight retention, etc... You're going to have to sacrifice on the aerodynamics/BC.

The inversion is that target bullets with fantastic aerodynamics aren't going to give good performance when they slam into living flesh at 2x the speed of sound.

I'm sure someone can come up with a projectile that will deliver both... But the manufacturing process might be complicated enough that it would cost a pretty penny to make it.

Mike
Not really, already done. A whole line of all copper high BC bullets that expand and penetrate are already there and more arriving every day. Is the BC is high as the very best target bullet? No, but it's pretty damn good.
 
Not really, already done. A whole line of all copper high BC bullets that expand and penetrate are already there and more arriving every day. Is the BC is high as the very best target bullet? No, but it's pretty damn good.
I don't partake in long range hunting... Just my personal take on it. But I'm not after antelope, or an elk on the other side of a valley either...

Having said that... I'm curious about the Nosler 190 gr ABLR. Published (G1) BC is .640 which is light years ahead of a 190 gr SMK. Reviews all paint a nice picture. But I am leery of a lot of review articles which seem to be advertising in disguise.

But again, even if the hype holds up... They're still in the neighborhood of $1 a piece. Which is a consideration for a lot of folks.

Mike