What do y’all think of Berger versus hornady. Have a big back order of Berger but thinking about canceling it due to the success I’ve had with hornady and preferring the polymer tip eld for killing things ???
- Thread starter BurtGummer
- Start date
I have taken all kinds of game with the eldx. Shoots great out of my guns.
I’m moving away from Hornandy bullets.
A few years ago I was quite happy with Hornady performance but I’ve been bitten a lot in the last two years with Houdini bullets and they’re not doing anything about it.
A few years ago I was quite happy with Hornady performance but I’ve been bitten a lot in the last two years with Houdini bullets and they’re not doing anything about it.
Im not a big hunter but I have several family and friends that are. My group has seriously drank the 6.5 CM koolaid and hunt with it a lot using mostly 143 ELD-X. They have taken something like 10 elk and probably a half dozen mule deer here in Az and surrounding states with that combo. All have been either complete pass through broadside shots with large exit wounds or they found the expanded bullet in the off side hide of the animal. If I remember correctly the longest shot was on a cow elk at 495 yards and it dropped her.
On a related note I know a couple guys that hunt with the ELD-X out of a couple different magnums and they have high praises for it too.
On a related note I know a couple guys that hunt with the ELD-X out of a couple different magnums and they have high praises for it too.
Do you want bullets that shoot straight or blow up
I've shot a pretty healthy amount of both, including the much derided 147 ELDMs. I've never had a bullet blow up, even with 147s at 3120 (6.5 SAUM). I'm happy to run either, and currently do (109 LRHTs in 6GT, 168 ELDMs in 308, 147ELDMs and soon 135 ATips in 6.5SAUM). Try both and see what works best for you and your rifle.
In general Berger has lots of options for target and hunting with the same great consistency. Aside from an Atip Hornady has no options I'd consider for anything, tried 140 ELDMs when I started reloading with poor results switched to Berger and never looked back.
How do you like those 168 ELDMs?
I've been happy with them. I got a 1900ct case last year for a really good (pre-pandemic) price and I've been steadily feeding them to my 308 trainer with Shooter's World Precision.
Berger > Hornady in Absolute Performance
Hornady > Berger in Price/Performance (IMHO) I am not a top shooter. But had good results with Hornady Stuff. And Honrady runs about 20% cheaper.
Hornady > Berger in Price/Performance (IMHO) I am not a top shooter. But had good results with Hornady Stuff. And Honrady runs about 20% cheaper.
I can't justify Berger prices. If I were a top level competitor, maybe. Sierra and Hornady are both higher on the value to price scale for a scrub like me. I was happy to shoot factory ammo with their bullets when it could be found.
I can't speak with any authority on the 147 ELD-M thing. I will simply say that there were more than a few folks that weren't happy when Berger thickened their jackets instead of telling folks to stop running stupid twist and velocity combos.
I can't speak with any authority on the 147 ELD-M thing. I will simply say that there were more than a few folks that weren't happy when Berger thickened their jackets instead of telling folks to stop running stupid twist and velocity combos.
I use the 178 and 200 ELDX in my 308/300WM. Both have given me excellent performance on a lot of whitetail deer over the past couple years doing crop damage shooting. I can’t think of a better bullet for killing power
That said I run Berger in my comp and target guns and they have been more consistent than hornady. That’s lot vs lot and within the same lots.
If absolute precision is key then I run Berger or SMK. But for great performance on deer I prefer the ELDX
That said I run Berger in my comp and target guns and they have been more consistent than hornady. That’s lot vs lot and within the same lots.
If absolute precision is key then I run Berger or SMK. But for great performance on deer I prefer the ELDX
From the reading I’ve done here is seems the consensus would be that Hornady bullets suck the farts out of a prolapsed donkey anus
If your shooting 180 eldm’s at a recommend twist at a realistic speeds and 40% blow up you tend to form that opinion.
I....well, my gun...likes Berger 140 gr hybrids and I have both factory ammo (6.5 man bun) and a good amount of bullets for reloading. I do like them and yes, their ammo is expensive.
However, 140 gr ELD-M's also shoot very well in my gun and tbh they are just fine.
I don't believe that I have had one blow up on me....I have shot some...not a lot but some...147 g ELD-Ms but again, I haven't seen any blow up on me but I certainly have seen video evidence of Hornady factory doing just that so I believe it and share the great disappointment with Hornady basically stone walling on the issue (as in "nah, can't be and must be your fault" crap).
For eastern white tail, and I'm no great and highly experienced hunter, I do like the 178 ELD-X. They shoot very consistently out of my gun and my experience with them is that they do the job on deer very well.
Another thing about Berger....good luck finding factory ammo or even popular bullets.
Cheers
However, 140 gr ELD-M's also shoot very well in my gun and tbh they are just fine.
I don't believe that I have had one blow up on me....I have shot some...not a lot but some...147 g ELD-Ms but again, I haven't seen any blow up on me but I certainly have seen video evidence of Hornady factory doing just that so I believe it and share the great disappointment with Hornady basically stone walling on the issue (as in "nah, can't be and must be your fault" crap).
For eastern white tail, and I'm no great and highly experienced hunter, I do like the 178 ELD-X. They shoot very consistently out of my gun and my experience with them is that they do the job on deer very well.
Another thing about Berger....good luck finding factory ammo or even popular bullets.
Cheers
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I've had 5 out of 160 of the Hornady 147 factory loads blow up. One right before the target, looked like it was used for shotgun target. I still have about 200 left and I'll use them up, but I wouldn't rely on them at all. I'm starting to reload now and have purchased Berger 144's to start off with. Too bad about the Hornady 147's, my Howa will group them in the 1/4 inch range repeatably.
If you are getting good accuracy and the shit is dying that's a good thing. I would not change a thing unless you just have the desire to try something different.
My use is occasional recreational out to 800 yards and lots of shooting at animals. I only shoot factory loaded ammunition, and have found Hornady to be the most consistent down range results for the lowest cost. The Berger loaded ammo is good too, however it’s not enough to justify the 20% extra cost.
Be realistic about your expectations. A thousand yards is still a long way for the vast majority of the audience here at the Hide. The difference between the two choices is probably splitting hairs for most. Pick the one that you can get, that costs less.
Be realistic about your expectations. A thousand yards is still a long way for the vast majority of the audience here at the Hide. The difference between the two choices is probably splitting hairs for most. Pick the one that you can get, that costs less.
Bergers have always shot great for me. I just got some ELD-M to try though. Just can`t justify the price of berger. Hell I paid the same amount for the Hornady that I use to pay for berger. I saw a box of 500 140gn hybrids for $360 I almost puked.
Berger knows that their bullets don't shoot very well and that's why they spend all of that money on marketing and designing flashy boxes that catch the eye and just jump out to new shooters..... or wait- do I have that backwards?
Switching from Hornady to Berger (without doing anything else to my reloading process) improved my groups and consistency immediately. The only hornady bullets that I have been very happy with are the older lower BC match bullets like the 105 and 140 hpbt. The newer ones have better ballistics but they haven't been very consistent for me.
Switching from Hornady to Berger (without doing anything else to my reloading process) improved my groups and consistency immediately. The only hornady bullets that I have been very happy with are the older lower BC match bullets like the 105 and 140 hpbt. The newer ones have better ballistics but they haven't been very consistent for me.
I want them to shoot straight and then blow up?
I have had very good success with Berger, every time. I thought Hornady stepped up their game with the A-Tip's but I can't push them to the velocity I want and get with the Berger's, they blow up! Maybe ok for slower rounds, but not mine.
Hornady sucks not just because there bullets blow up but they deny everything about it and nothing is there fault.
I shoot with some guys that work at hornady and they say through all their testing they can not get them to blow up.
If Hornady can't duplicate the problem then they definitely don't want to find it. It was very sporadic in my gun- but in other guns it is very easy to get it to happen. If they really cared they would find the issue- but they are selling everything they can make anyway- so why make an issue of it.
They do give maximum velocity for their bullets, most of which I find to be slower than I want to go. The A-Tip's list great bc's, and probably have it, but can't handle the velocity of most magnums.
Yes but that delicate construction probably helps with killing guilty animals
I always shot Berger's when they were $35-$45 a box, but once they went over $50 I wouldn't buy them. I've never had any Hornady A-Max or ELD bulet's ever "Blow Up" out of any of my guns, and I shoot them in .224 - .264 - .277 - .284 - and .308 caliber's. I also shoot a lot of SMK's with great results.
Well, yeah....but they have gotten many reports and even video of it happening and still...."you must be over driving the bullet" BS. No?
I really Like the Berger 130 Hybrid target OTM.
Proceeds to talk shit about new bullet design without realized they weren't on mute
Guess what....I've never had a Hornady fail but....I've had Berger's blow up!
What I'm saying up there is true and I'm not bashing Berger. I have a range record here in the state that still stands and I shot it with Berger 7mms. We've also placed in several big F class matches as a team and we all shot Bergers in 7mm.
What I am saying though is this...in my case I could pin it for fact it was the bullets that where the problem.
That being said.... bullets blow up at times and yes it can be a bullet problem. I will also say it's not always the bullets fault either. It can be a combination of things going on.....
Velocity, twist rate, how the barrel was made, damage to the barrel from cleaning or not being cleaned on a regular basis, too many rounds fired on the barrel and it's toast but the shooter keeps shooting it, a rough throat in the chamber area either from bad gunsmithing work or the throat is toast from shooting etc... in cases like this the bullet gets the blame but it's not always the bullets fault.
I've had cases where both Hornady and Sierra have either sent me bullets and or ammo to shoot thru my/our guns here where a customer complained about bullet failure and or accuracy issues and we couldn't get any of them to fail.
For the most part I'm only shooting Hornady's and Sierra's and some Lapua's. No offense to Berger at all. The calibers I'm running I've been happy with Hornady and Sierra and just no reason to run anything differently.
Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
No hornaday for me in anything I want good accuracy from any more. 178 eld m produced way to many fliers. I do like the v max for yotes tho. I haven't tried bergers cause I'm scared they will shoot to good and I'll have to switch from 175 match kings in my 30hate.
The cm doesn't go fast enough to be a problem, it's with higher velocity cartridges that they melted from friction passing through the air.
Okie, must have been screaming! Still wish they kept them as they shot well
I’ve been wanting to try the Hornday 7mm 150 eldx but haven’t had any luck finding them, they have been non existent.
I wonder why guys weren't seeing this issue with the Vmax because they had to be seeing some serious velocities out of the 22-250 and 220 Swift.
I've run the 87 Vmax out of my 244AI and they were moving at 3400 IIRC, sub MOA at 545 yards.
It’s not just the speed, it’s the distance, aka time of flight.
It takes time for the friction to cause the tips to build up heat enough to deform so it’s only at extended ranges it’s detectable. I say detectable because it was hornady using a radar and noticing that the bc value was fluctuating way out there.
It takes time for the friction to cause the tips to build up heat enough to deform so it’s only at extended ranges it’s detectable. I say detectable because it was hornady using a radar and noticing that the bc value was fluctuating way out there.
My experience has been a touch different. However, the only Hornady that I use is the 143 grain ELD-X. Group after group, the difference between the ELD-X and the 144 grain Hybrid has to be measured by a micrometer. I use them interchangeably in the RPR and the new MPA struggles to better it regardless which bullet is used. Both bullets shooting consistently under a half inch. (usually better) Shot in front of witnesses.(at 100 yards thank you) I was impressed. Hitting consistently out to 840 yards.
It is good for us consumers to have a smorgasbord of bullet options. There are great options for the top competitors that cost a little more and there are great options for entry level guys that need to shoot on a budget. If everyone switched to just one bullet manufacturer and the others went out of business it would be very bad for the consumers. Prices would go up and innovation would stagnate.
Here are the bullets I use for certain purposes:
-Berger for competition. They are the most consistent in my experience and that's the name of the game. Berger Hybrids are the easiest bullets to load and shoot tiny groups with.
-Hornady for hunting coyotes, deer, and prairie dogs. Love the performance of ELD bullets on game and the price is great. Many times it's hard to tell the difference in consistency between these and the berger bullets.
I have seen great performance from Barnes and Sierra as well. If you want a tipped bullet that really blows up on game try the Sierra tipped match king. The Barnes match burners are really cheap for the performance they offer.
Here are the bullets I use for certain purposes:
-Berger for competition. They are the most consistent in my experience and that's the name of the game. Berger Hybrids are the easiest bullets to load and shoot tiny groups with.
-Hornady for hunting coyotes, deer, and prairie dogs. Love the performance of ELD bullets on game and the price is great. Many times it's hard to tell the difference in consistency between these and the berger bullets.
I have seen great performance from Barnes and Sierra as well. If you want a tipped bullet that really blows up on game try the Sierra tipped match king. The Barnes match burners are really cheap for the performance they offer.
Shot the NRL hunter match in Utah this past weekend. A guy in the squad ahead of me was blowing up 153 A-tips at 2900fps in a 7.5twist.
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