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Forum Index > Precision long range hunting and shooting > Berger Bullets new developments

Berger Bullets new developments

15 Aug 2012
@ 08:58 pm (GMT)

im2lazy

Cut and pasted from austargets.com

I've been asked to relay some recent developments at Berger Bullets. We have been working on several projects and some of these are getting ready to launch. The first is not likely to excite the avid long range hunter. We are introducing a new line of hunting bullets which are designed by Bryan Litz to comply with SAAMI specifications in factory hunting rifles. This line will be known as the Berger Classic Hunter line.

In April I took some of these bullets to New Zealand for a test on game. We already tested them in media and they perform the same as our VLD Hunting bullets. I took 71 animals all of which expired either where they were hit or within yards of that spot. We are very excited about these bullets since we get a lot of feedback that hunters like how are bullets work but they have trouble getting them to shoot at magazine feedable COAL. These bullets are designed precisely for this purpose.

On the long range hunting front, we are soon to release our new 338 cal 250 gr Elite Hunter bullet. This bullet is the same shape as our current 338 cal 250 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical. The difference is on the inside. We changed the jacket so that it doesn't have the same high velocity/pressure performance issues as the Gen 1 (300 gr) bullets but will retain the same terminal performance as the Gen 1 bullet (which is very good). A 300 gr is planned to be released after the 250 gr is thoroughly tested.

Other developments are two ultra-heavy, high BC hunting bullets. The first bullet which has been made and is being tested now is the 270 cal 170 gr EOL Elite Hunter. We are in the early testing stage but so far things look good. The other bullet of similar design is the 7mm 195 gr EOL Elite Hunter. This bullet is going to take a while. The tooling makers recently relayed that the dies won't be available until Dec. We are working with them to push that delivery date up but I can't confirm that it will be any earlier.

Lastly, we are within a few months of making a new line of optimized Hybrid shaped hunting bullets. These are not like the Hybrid bullets mentioned above because these have been designed to achieve the highest BC possible with no regard for SAAMI dimensions. These bullets are for the precision long range hunter and will be a welcome addition to the line as most of these bullets have a higher BC than our current VLD Hunting bullets. All optimized Hybrid hunting bullets will be known as our Elite Hunter line.



Regards,
Eric Stecker
Berger Bullets

Replies

1
04 Sep 2012
@ 11:55 am (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Berger Bullets new developments
Sounds like the prototypes for the 'classic hunter' line of bullets are giving rapid expansion / fast kills. I wonder what the BC's will be like.

Its a shame that the gen 1 bullets in the VLD line has been changed, many VLD bullets have suffered from this, failing to fragment on impact (Im2Lazy was using the VLD during this change over and saw the results for himself). The original bullets were fast killers indeed. One thing I am hoping is that as Berger bring out ever sleeker bullet designs, hunters will be able to meplat trim to open up the HP and although BC's will be reduced, retained BC's will still be high. One of the great strengths of the VLD was in such bullet designs as the 7mm 180 grain bullet, wounding was wide but penetration was very good for a fragmentary bullet, the high SD allowing for more gradual fragmentation combined with a large fragmentary cluster which retained its own momentum. This made the original VLD versatile across a wide range of game body weights.

When Berger bring out the 195 grain 7mm VLD, this will be a good candidate for meplat trimming. Again, this will hopefully allow the long VLD to work well on a wide range of game body weights, not simply heavy game or precise shoulder/bone hits.

Of course, what would be optimal would be a further improvement in the VLD design for improved killing performance- speed of fragmentation on impact at low velocities / rear lung shots/ especially on lean game. I will need to be on guard for this. Eric Stecker notified me that he would communicate to me any future design changes and send test bullets to me. But this never happened. So I have to keep up with design changes myself, a costly exercise. Reader feedback (such as Im2lazy's personal results and careful autopsies) is equally invaluable in this regard. No doubt we will see improvements in the future, Berger seem very studious in their endeavors.

06 Sep 2012
@ 11:35 am (GMT)

Jim Moseley

Re: Berger Bullets new developments
I hope they can make them easier to reload. I could never get the 168 Berger to shoot in my 7 mag with a 9 twist. The 162 A-max was a piece of cake to work up an accurate load and had a slightly higher BC.
10 Feb 2017
@ 08:28 am (GMT)

Sen hawkes

Re: Berger Bullets new developments
So wanted to bring this post back from the archives, to see, now that these bullets are out, how they are doing. Especially, the 195gn 7mm EOL Elite hunter.

Sean
15 Feb 2017
@ 10:22 am (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Berger Bullets new developments
Hi Sean, please see my Cartridges book 2nd edition for photos.
15 Feb 2017
@ 06:37 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: Berger Bullets new developments
170 grn .270............ well in the words of that good looking Aussie sheilah..."where the bloody hell are you?"
while wandering down the hill in the heat the other day I was thinking about just how good a 170 grn partition would be if they left the tip section alone and increased the rear to gain the extra weight.
Im hoarding my few remaining speer 170grn round noses.
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