Thread: Accuracy problem, 243, 105 gr Berber VLD hunting

Ok so last year I got my rifle assembled and bedded etc. 243, Remington clone, truflit #3 profile sportier 24" 1:8 twist, hardy gen5. Had been shooting 87 gr Berger hunting vld's (W760/H414) with good accuracy and taken some deer and goats out to 440 mtr. Then I got some Berger 105 gr Vld's loaded them over WIN 780 Supreme for 3020fps. I did go a grain hotter with no issues but liked to keep some margin for error and the extra barrel life.

Did some shooting recently at 175 mtr and got patterns 4-6" Not happy but to be fair the rest I was using and wind conditions were poor and the scope had taken a knock on my previous trip. Went home and remounted the scope as I wanted to move it forward.
Move forward to today. Just shot at 65 mtr and again the 105's gave me 2x3" pattern.
Had loaded some 87gr rounds and got 2 touching and 1 about 0.2" to the left.

Any suggestions guys and girls?

I know cartridge OAL can be important with these VLD's but I would have through that's move about moving from 1.5 MOA down to 0.5 MOA. I have loaded over length but still with a jump of 50 thou.
The holes are clean in the paper both at 65 and 175 mths so they are stable.
Zane

My 243 doesn't like 100 gr for some reason maybe yours is the same

Berger has suggestions on their website on how to get an accurate VLD load, they are very sensitive to seating depth. In my 7mag I jammed the vld's 15 thou into the rifling.

VLD don't like the jump but the classic hunters don't mind. Maybe it's having trouble stabilising them??

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

Try the 105 A-Max. Maybe the Berger isn't for your rifle. I like slow powders in my 243 with heavy for cal pills. 2217, N160, RL22.
If you're good to 440m with the 87g then why worry?

Let me know if it's of any help & I can send you a few 105gr Targex to try, mine are a low drag & a little more forgiving than the VLD's. The VLD's can be a bit of fun to get going sometimes but it could just be a rifle that doesn't like a certain bullet.
It happens & sometimes leaves you scratching your head as there is no obvious logic, stops it getting boring!
Cheers.

Yep it could just be a case of not liking those heavy bullets. Try a few other brands of 105 grainers or 100 grs and see if it likes them. If it does the Berger seating death might be the problem.

Check your neck tensions and case lenghts. The long high BC bullets need really good case prep to ensure they all launch the same.

Have you checked for concentricity? What seating die are you using? I see Berger themselves recommend using a seater with a stem designed specifically for vld projectiles - to prevent 'bottoming out' and help with concentricity. I am starting to wonder if one of these may have helped in some of my recent VLD-H experiments.....

Thanks Guy's.
I'm still keen on working with some 105's mostly for larger animals.
My experiance says the 87 gr berger hunting works very well in goats, falllow and red Hinds & yearlings. I went to the 105's for a Tahr hunt I'm working towards. In goats they get about 1/2 way through before they do their thing leaving massive exit holes so definitly they are more suitable to a larger bodied animal.
Targex I think you are in Dargaville, I get across that every couple of months from Whangarei. I may well take you up and buy a sample pack. Have read some good comments on your work.

I know the VLD's are sensitive to length. I loaded them 0.060" over SAMMI length but still have a jump to the rifling. I can't go longer due to mag length and don't want to hand feed. I had sort of expected that tuneing of the OAL was the sort of thing that you did to get from 1.5MoA down to sub 1/2Moa for long range target work.
Zane

No worries if you want a few to try out, nothing worsen than buying box after box of bullets that don't work in your rifle.
I'm at Matakohe, so a bit closer to you than Dargaville.
I also make a 95gr which are very popular with hunters(I use them in my 6mm284) if you have no luck getting the 105gr to work. They give a bit flatter trajectory & kill well.
cheers, Bryn

Also despite most telling you the VLD need to be seated into the lands, in some rifles they work better with a 15-20 thou jump.
I had a target rifle 6BR which would only shoot them well if they jumped otherwise they were rubbish in it, that was with Berger 105gr VLD's years ago.
When they jumped to the rifling that rifle would shoot consistent .25" groups with them certainly surprised me.
Interesting thing was a few years after I found that out Bergers put out the same info on the website too.
Could be worth you trying it.

On Berger's website they have an info sheet on seating the VLD. you seat them in lots of jammed 10 thou, jump 40 thou, 80 thou and 120 thou. One will shoot better than others in your rifle.

As Targex said if you can't get the 105 bergers to work try some of his 95gn projectile, they will sort out most things in this country.

Load a few seated longer and hand feed. If accuracy improves you will know
what the problem is.