Consensus on 156 Berger’s?

[mt100gr.]

I shot 2 cow elk back to back this past February with the 156 from a 20" 6.5CM at 2680fps muzzle velocity. One at 470 and the second at 515yds. Zero drama.

It was about 0° and dropping that evening (-27° the next morning) so I didn't take any pictures, but the wounding was typical.

And here's a higher velocity exit from my 18" 6.5 saum pushing the 156 at about 2800fps. This was probably 90ish yards...liquefied the lungs.

 

[Kimber7man]

I shot 2 cow elk back to back this past February with the 156 from a 20" 6.5CM at 2680fps muzzle velocity. One at 470 and the second at 515yds. Zero drama.

It was about 0° and dropping that evening (-27° the next morning) so I didn't take any pictures, but the wounding was typical.

And here's a higher velocity exit from my 18" 6.5 saum pushing the 156 at about 2800fps. This was probably 90ish yards...liquefied the lungs. View attachment 866981

That's awesome. Mind sharing your 6.5 creed load info? 2,680 is a great velocity for the 156. Thanks

 

[mt100gr.]

That's awesome. Mind sharing your 6.5 creed load info? 2,680 is a great velocity for the 156. Thanks

My 20" creed is a Tikka CTR. If i remember correctly, I measured the internal CTR magazine length for OAL, made sure they'd chamber, and started with about 46.0gr of Reloder 26....ended somewhere around 47.5gr. Hornady brass, BR2 primer.

Be careful, work up, etc, etc.

 

[wfv56]

I took a frontal shot on an antelope at 225 yards, 3150MV and the internal results were devastating. Dumped him where he stood. Completely destroyed the sternum and found fragments back into the diaphragm.

What cartridge did you use to achieve that muzzle velocity?? That’s rocking, I’m nowhere close to that with my 6.5 Prc.

 

[fisherman983]

Black bear. 123 yds. Went zero feet.
Here is the exit, bullet entered thru offside shoulder and came to rest on the bone just inside the hide.
Entrance was as expected, small hole minimal damage to onside shoulder.
Some bloodshot on the inside area between offside shoulder and ribcage.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

 

[Arithson]

I have used the 156 a bit and have never been disappointed with its performance. I have two 6.5 prc’s a 24” & 18” detailed below


-6.5 prc, 156 Berger, 3030fps @muzzle following were all with this setup

-cow elk 1038yards - impact velocity 1986, blew through onside scapula bone - minimal meat loss on outdside shoulder meat. Huge wound channel. Cow stood up on hind legs and fell over backwards .Found jacket and lead in offside armpitView attachment 859793

-Doe antelope 770 yards- impact velocity 2231, broadside in the shoulder, took 1-2 steps. Jacket fragments found throughout.

-cow elk 625yards - impact velocity 2375, behind shoulder quartering away. Wobbled stepped around in a circle. Gutless, no bullet recovered

- cow elk 727yards - impact velocity 2271, behind the shoulder broadside, went 50 yards and laid down - dead. Gutless, no bullet recovered.

-cow elk 189 yards quartering away steep angle shooting down, impact was lower than I would have liked. Took out bottom 1/3 of onside lung. Cow traveled 100 yards. Unable to make a follow up shot due to terrain.

-cow elk 453 yards - impact velocity 2980- broadside, behind the shoulder, stumbled in a circle and fell over.



--6.5 prc, 156 Berger, 18” barrel 2909 @muzzle following were all with this setup- this was my first year hunting with this rifle

- bull elk 739 yards, quartering away impact velocity 2187, dropped see video

- cow elk 584 yards broadside behind shoulder, cow went 20 yards see photos with with bullet from off side against hide Bullet held together more than I have experienced before.. still came apart and did massive internal damage.

View attachment 859796View attachment 859797

Mind if I ask what powder and brass combo you’re using in the 18” to get that velocity? Thanks!

 

[khuber84]

Mind if I ask what powder and brass combo you’re using in the 18” to get that velocity? Thanks!

I'd like to know as well, I'm about to start doing load dev on my friends new rifle which has a 21in barrel. I'd be totally happy with high 2800s or low 2900s with the 156.

 

[voltage]

I’ve been happy with the 156 Bergers. I have been running them out of a 6.5 PRC at 2950. They are 5/5 for me, but no elk experience and no long shots. 2 mule deer, 1 whitetail, and 2 pronghorn. Shots ranging from 50 to 350. Here’s an exit on my pronghorn from last fall at 250ish.

 

[WyOwen]

Mind if I ask what powder and brass combo you’re using in the 18” to get that velocity? Thanks!

Post #58

 

[DallyB09]

Killed multiple whitetails this year from 100-300 and all looked like this

 

[Pilsner]

They shoot LASERS out of my 6.5 PRC. I haven’t shot any live critters yet, but I will hunt with these this year. I hunted 147 ELDM all last year and everything I shot (5 deer, 10+ pigs, couple of coyotes) was bang flop. I’m switching to Berger because it grouped about 15% better out of my rifle and I can actually reuse the brass. I’ll also be shooting the NRL stuff with Berger this year.

If Berger will get it together, my backup rifle is a custom 7PRC that I’d love to switch over as well. Just waiting on them!

20” carbon Bartlein running 2745fps and an SD of 6 for anyone who’s curious. Not half bad for factory!

Why cant you use the brass from the factory ELD-M's?

 

[loadsandlattes]

Why cant you use the brass from the factory ELD-M's?

Hornady’s brass isn’t the greatest…

 

[Taudisio]

Hornady’s brass isn’t the greatest…

Can you explain?

It’s been working fine in my reloads and rifles.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Can you explain?

It’s been working fine in my reloads and rifles.

Not speaking for the other guy but in my experience it is very weak and inconsistent. Not even able to get 3 firings from some cases in a 6.5CM.

 

[BBob]

Not speaking for the other guy but in my experience it is very weak and inconsistent. Not even able to get 3 firings from some cases in a 6.5CM.

I'm at 8 ish reloads on a 6.5CM with RL-16 at just over 2900 fps and 130g VLD's. Not a weak load. Might be lot dependent.

 

[Taudisio]

Not speaking for the other guy but in my experience it is very weak and inconsistent. Not even able to get 3 firings from some cases in a 6.5CM.

This is just out of curiosity and so I can be aware of any potential issues that may arise.

Weak, as it case head separation, split necks, blown/loose primer pockets?

Inconsistent how? (As a follow up, how did you measure your observed inconsistencies?)

I’m on my 3rd firing of a load that’s above book max, so if there is somewhere that I need to keep a close eye on it, I want to know. I wouldn’t expect any brass to last beyond 5 firings at the load I’m pushing.

 

[Dixonml2]

Following, what I’m loading up for my 6.5 saum

 

[huntnful]

Following, what I’m loading up for my 6.5 saum

They wreck shit. From coyotes, pigs, aoudad and now a big mule deer. Can’t find a fault with them. They shoot small groups and blow lungs to pieces.

 

[Dixonml2]

They wreck shit. From coyotes, pigs, aoudad and now a big mule deer. Can’t find a fault with them. They shoot small groups and blow lungs to pieces.

Pumped to use them this season for whitetail/yotes and most likely take it out to Oklahoma for Muleys next year

 

[Mike D Texas]

This is just out of curiosity and so I can be aware of any potential issues that may arise.

Weak, as it case head separation, split necks, blown/loose primer pockets?

Inconsistent how? (As a follow up, how did you measure your observed inconsistencies?)

I’m on my 3rd firing of a load that’s above book max, so if there is somewhere that I need to keep a close eye on it, I want to know. I wouldn’t expect any brass to last beyond 5 firings at the load I’m pushing.

Primer pockets loosen quickly when pushed slightly hard. Expansion at the .200 line exceeds .002 when loading at book max which I consider very conservative.

Inconsistent neck thickness, inconsistent case length, high SD on H2O capacity. I’ve seen it differ up to 3 grains of water capacity from lot to lot. Not sure what that translates to in powder capacity but it’s there.