Berger Boar Ballistic Blowout - First Field Test

[Brian Shaffer]

I am testing out some new Berger VLD-Hunting 130 gr. Grendel ammo. I must admit to being a little surprised to walk up on my downed boar only to find him still alive some 10 minutes after shooting him despite what I thought should have been an immediately lethal shot. Butchery revealed the extent of the damage, massive. The Berger round entered behind the ear and exited the other side. The exit wound was large, larger than I normally get with Hornady SST ammo. Cutting back the skin revealed a cavernous amount of destruction.

The ammo performed as designed. I just can't figure out why the hog wasn't dead, LOL.

 

[DaveABQ]

Bullet did well. Surprising he was still alive, tough animals.

 

[FrankT]

Hard to judge with 1 shot/hog, when you get more data it will become clearer, I am betting they are very effective.

 

[Ratdog68]

Did get a good sever to the spinal column? Big hole. Nice shot on him there. Even a little daytime action for Pingerator. Congrats on it.

 

[Brian Shaffer]

Yep, samples of 1 are pretty meaningless statistically. What I would like to determine is whether or not the bullets will perform as general hunting bullets or if they are more of a limited application/specialty bullet. It is hard to argue with the Hornady SST's terminal ballistics for all around hunting.

The spine apparently was not severed. The coup de grace shot to the top front of the head resulted in new, vigorous kicking, indicating that trauma to the brain triggered the spasms.

 

[Ratdog68]

A little surprised at the result. With a hole that large, one would HOPE for a severed s/c... kind of why I asked that question.

Ya know? Curly Shuffle missed the Curly Shuffle Show since you edited that out. You may not qualify for a Bang Bang in his reply now. LOL But, hopefully, the little bit of hip hop he gave will suffice.

 

[gshock]

Good video and looks like the bullet did a lot of damage. What is the pouch you have attached to your butt stock?

 

[Brian Shaffer]

I believe that one was made by a company called Allen, something I picked up on Amazon. It had bullet loops velcro'd to the outside where I have the patches. I think Allen changed their design and no longer has the exterior velcro, but some other companies do. These are generally very inexpensive, in the $10-25 range. Aside from decoration, I use mine to carry 4 CR123 batteries inside the pouch, plus a couple of rounds of spare ammo and spare ear plugs.

 

[ZenArchery]

Burger VLD's are incredible bullet. Especially for long range shooting.
Awesome review. Keep killen em....

 

[gshock]

I believe that one was made by a company called Allen, something I picked up on Amazon. It had bullet loops velcro'd to the outside where I have the patches. I think Allen changed their design and no longer has the exterior velcro, but some other companies do. These are generally very inexpensive, in the $10-25 range. Aside from decoration, I use mine to carry 4 CR123 batteries inside the pouch, plus a couple of rounds of spare ammo and spare ear plugs.

Thanks!

 

[Jake]

Nice kill Brian and good review, that was a heck of a hole.

 

[dman62]

Need a larger sample size before making a decision please!

 

[Beacon22]

I used the Berger VLD's for the first time last year on a hunt in Montana. I shot a buck and an Elk. My guide who has been guiding for over 30 years was amazed at the internal damage that the VLD caused. The VLD is designed to penetrate and than expand rapidly and partially fragment causing larger than normal wound channels. I was skeptical at first but after that trip very quickly became a believer.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

He didn't die because they are too dumb to know when to die!! Dirty rotten sons a' no good vermin hole digging land destroying corn eating pork porking nasty rib factory making piglings!!!
Other than that I have no idea why he was still alive .... but nice job!

 

[theblakester]

Nice going Señor Brian!
Looking forward to more testing videos!
What's the price point of those Bergers compared to the SSTs

 

[Brian Shaffer]

Blakester, the loaded Berger 130 VLD-hunting with Lapua brass from Precision Firearms runs me about $1.80 a round after delivery. Factory Hornady SST 123 gr ammo runs me about $1.00-1.10 per round, delivered, depending on when and where I order online. So there is definitely a huge price difference.

The Berger bullets themselves run about 45-50 cents each, whereas SSTs run about 28-30 cents.

 

[rrv333]

Great video, I'd heard of the Berger bullets but have never had the opportunity to shoot any, that is going to change after that wound channel

 

[Curly Shuffle]

SPLAT!! BANG BANG!!

 

[Lancer]

Very impressive!