I just read this post from Erik Stecker of Berger and thought it was informative enough to put it up in its entirety here. The person as asking about the avilalbity of BErger's 7mm 180 grain bullets at Cabella's. Another reader posted a comment dicsussing Berger 7mm 175s, which are not currently offered, but apparently will be in the future.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I need to clarify which bullet you are asking about. The 7mm 180 gr VLD Target bullet is in stock now. We have about 80 boxes available. We also have over 100 boxes of the 7mm 180 gr BT Target. I am looking into the Cabela's situation but if they stopped selling them this is news to me.
If we are talking about the 7mm 180 gr VLD Hunting bullet then this is a different situation. As I relayed in the video update that is on our website home page, the jacket press that makes 7mm jackets had to be completely rebuilt.
This took nearly 2 months but the good news is the rebuild is finished. Today we are waiting for some tooling to be ground. This should be completed today which means that we should start making 7mm jackets again either later today or tomorrow. We will start with the jackets that make the 168 gr VLD Hunting bullets and then move on to the jacket that makes the 180 gr VLD Hunting. The 180 gr VLD Hunting should be available in about the 2nd or 3rd week in May (if nothing goes wrong).
We are also releasing two new 7mm bullets. These are the 175 gr XLD Target and the 180 gr Hybrid Target. Both of these bullets have been made in testing quantities while we had the THICK jackets in stock. We have a few boxes of these new bullets in stock but a larger run won't be available until we get through the jackets for the Hunting bullets. I estimate this will take us through May so these new bullets will be available in larger volumes in June.
The 175 gr XLD Target is designed with an extremely long secant ogive. It is the most aggressive VLD shape we've ever made. Due to this extreme shape we are using a .062 knockout punch which translates into a larger meplat than out 180 gr VLD Target. If you do nothing to the 175 gr XLD bullet it will have a BC just slightly higher than our 180 gr VLD. If you repoint the tip of the bullet your BC can increase by as much as 8%. This makes this bullet the highest BC bullet we've ever made until just recently (more on that in a moment).
The 180 gr Hybrid Target is designed with a tangent ogive that transitions into a secant ogive. The purpose of this design is to reduce seating depth sensitivity (which is a reality with the VLD) by using the tangent ogive shape at the transition between the bearing surface and the ogive. After the tangent portion of the ogive reaches the point where it is above the rifling the ogive shapes transitions to a secant shape for the lowest drag profile possible.
This bullet is meant to provide the best of both ogive shapes. The BC is a bit lower than a true VLD (secant ogive) but the lack of sensitivity to seating depth makes it a valuable option for those who like high BCs but don't have time or the desire to tune their rifle for the VLD.
I mentioned that the 7mm 175 gr XLD (Extreme Low Drag) is the highest BC bullet we have ever made (especially if you repoint the tip). This was true until we started making our 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid. This new 338 cal bullet is our first offering in the larger calibers. Right now we are testing this bullet. Early results are encouraging and we are nearly ready to release this bullet. We are waiting for a few more test results to come in. Unless something unexpected is discovered this bullet will be available in the next few weeks.
Our 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid bullet has an averaged G1 BC of .891 and a G7 BC of .455. Clearly our highest BC bullet and I believe the highest BC 338 cal bullet in existence.
Regards,
Eric
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I need to clarify which bullet you are asking about. The 7mm 180 gr VLD Target bullet is in stock now. We have about 80 boxes available. We also have over 100 boxes of the 7mm 180 gr BT Target. I am looking into the Cabela's situation but if they stopped selling them this is news to me.
If we are talking about the 7mm 180 gr VLD Hunting bullet then this is a different situation. As I relayed in the video update that is on our website home page, the jacket press that makes 7mm jackets had to be completely rebuilt.
This took nearly 2 months but the good news is the rebuild is finished. Today we are waiting for some tooling to be ground. This should be completed today which means that we should start making 7mm jackets again either later today or tomorrow. We will start with the jackets that make the 168 gr VLD Hunting bullets and then move on to the jacket that makes the 180 gr VLD Hunting. The 180 gr VLD Hunting should be available in about the 2nd or 3rd week in May (if nothing goes wrong).
We are also releasing two new 7mm bullets. These are the 175 gr XLD Target and the 180 gr Hybrid Target. Both of these bullets have been made in testing quantities while we had the THICK jackets in stock. We have a few boxes of these new bullets in stock but a larger run won't be available until we get through the jackets for the Hunting bullets. I estimate this will take us through May so these new bullets will be available in larger volumes in June.
The 175 gr XLD Target is designed with an extremely long secant ogive. It is the most aggressive VLD shape we've ever made. Due to this extreme shape we are using a .062 knockout punch which translates into a larger meplat than out 180 gr VLD Target. If you do nothing to the 175 gr XLD bullet it will have a BC just slightly higher than our 180 gr VLD. If you repoint the tip of the bullet your BC can increase by as much as 8%. This makes this bullet the highest BC bullet we've ever made until just recently (more on that in a moment).
The 180 gr Hybrid Target is designed with a tangent ogive that transitions into a secant ogive. The purpose of this design is to reduce seating depth sensitivity (which is a reality with the VLD) by using the tangent ogive shape at the transition between the bearing surface and the ogive. After the tangent portion of the ogive reaches the point where it is above the rifling the ogive shapes transitions to a secant shape for the lowest drag profile possible.
This bullet is meant to provide the best of both ogive shapes. The BC is a bit lower than a true VLD (secant ogive) but the lack of sensitivity to seating depth makes it a valuable option for those who like high BCs but don't have time or the desire to tune their rifle for the VLD.
I mentioned that the 7mm 175 gr XLD (Extreme Low Drag) is the highest BC bullet we have ever made (especially if you repoint the tip). This was true until we started making our 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid. This new 338 cal bullet is our first offering in the larger calibers. Right now we are testing this bullet. Early results are encouraging and we are nearly ready to release this bullet. We are waiting for a few more test results to come in. Unless something unexpected is discovered this bullet will be available in the next few weeks.
Our 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid bullet has an averaged G1 BC of .891 and a G7 BC of .455. Clearly our highest BC bullet and I believe the highest BC 338 cal bullet in existence.
Regards,
Eric
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