Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 6.5 mm 140 grain Berger Hunting Bullet Performance in .264 Winchester Magnum

Not long range but wanted to share.

John Burns recommended the Berger, I developed a load, and went Elk hunting

We hunted for the first 4 days of the 5 day hunt and passed up on many bulls every morning and evening, still holding out for �Mr. Big�. On the last evening, My friend John and I decided to check out the area that Bruce and I had bow hunted two years previous. There�s a nice marshy meadow where I park off of the road. It has some nice potholes of water that the elk love to drink from, wallow in, and play. During the previous bow hunt, I noted an area that I wanted to check out. It was about a mile and a half straight down the canyon from the wallows. We crept down the canyon and made it to a tank. Very little sign as compared to where we had been hunting the previous 4 days. Not a sound in the hills, no bugles, no cow calls and hardly a rub. We decided to hunt back to the Jeep and check the wallows there at last light. As we rounded the turn, I glassed the wallows and saw some cows running. I thought they were on to us and were cutting out of the country, but as I glassed around more, I saw some cows feeding quietly. I looked back at the running cows and calves and realized they were just playing and having a ball running through the water, splashing around! I got set up with my sticks just in case a bull would show. I kept glassing until the cows disappeared. No action.

I put the sticks up and slung the rifle and got ready to head back to the Jeep. Just as I finished getting ready, John was glassing the wallows and said, �It�s a shooter! Shoot it!!!!�

You�ve got to know John. He�s got a good sense of humor and I just knew he was messing with me. I told him �Bullshit�. I saw the look in his eyes and when I figured he was serious, I raised my glass and saw what he was talking about. A pretty nice little 6x6 drinking from the wallow right in the center of the meadow. I quickly snapped on my bipod and laid prone on the logging road. The bull was facing me with his head down at times drinking. I ranged him at 270 yards. I cranked the power on the scope to check him out a little better and hoped he�d turn broadside. When I had the shot opportunity, the bull was facing me, head down drinking. He showed his right scapula. John Burns told me to �shoot for bone. Seriously, shoot for bone then watch the show�. I couldn�t make myself take that shot. Ruined meat was a concern. I waited for him to turn broadside facing to my right and sent it behind his scapula.

The animal hunched for a moment and looked our direction. It looked like it wanted to move but couldn�t. It�s rear legs stayed planted and it seemed as though the front legs simply tried to walk or stretch forward. He then wobbled and sat down ass first and collapsed. He rolled a tad putting his legs in the air for a moment. He didn�t go more than 5 feet I�m guessing. No tracking worries.

The bullet never hit any bone on entry or �exit�. It went right between the ribs...

When we got to him, it was dark.



Entry behind right shoulder...


Lungs...




Recovered on the off-side under the hide...


.264 Winchester Magnum with the 140 grain Berger Hunting VLD
Nosler Brass
WLRM primer
78.5 grains WC-872
3230 fps at 10 ft from the muzzle
Impact velocity at 270 yards was 2883 fps
Energy at 270 yards was 2583 foot-pounds
Time of flight was .27 seconds
3� of drop from my 200 yard zero

All of the energy was dissipated into the animal. One of the cleanest and quickest kills I�ve had or seen

I love that 140 berger. Mine starts 350 fps slower but same end result every time. Thanks for posting and nice bull.

Rick, congrats on a really nice bull!

Zounds!!

Great pics!!! Same bullet i'll be shooting out of mine when its done. Really surprised the bullet doesn't look a little more fragmented. I've killed quite a few animals with the 168 30 cal but never recovered one.

Thanks for the cool pics.

Roy

Nice job. My wife shot an antelope with the 140 berger last year from a 6.5WSM. She did aim for bone. The first thing to hit the dirt was antelope chin. Was not too bad for a 400 yard shot on a first antelope for a girl

Good shooting and nice bull. I also love my 264 Win Mag and have three boxes of the Berger VLD 140 GR hunting but haven't tried them . I use the Nosler 120 gr BT and Rel 22 for my Whitetail hunting in my 264 Win Mag.

Thanks all.

He sure isn't the biggest bull but I really think he's a pretty one. I hope to have a few more opportunities to shoot this VLD this year. Maybe a mule deer in November

That's a very nice bull.Congratulations and thanks for the photo's of the innards after the shot.

Nice bull congratz! And I'm running on low to no sleep here but to me the internal damage doesn't appear to be much. Am I missing something...? I would of thought at close range like that it would been all torn to heckola.

But remember, I've not had my morning diet dew and oj yet either...

Dober

Congratulations

Awesome bull! Very encouraging results for lots of the VLD shooters too.

I think it's because no bone was hit...

But it couldn't have died any quicker!

Thanks Tanner and jwp!

Nice Job on a great bull.


How about some bone on the Muley???

If I find one, no problem!

Well the way you shoot the finding is hard part, once found the deer be in serious trouble.

Again, congrats on the fine bull and well done on the postmortem photos.

Thanks John.

I "caught and released" a couple of the big billys on my Ibex hunt in my scope before I shot the runt too. They'll be in trouble if I'm lucky enough to draw before I get too old.

I used the 140 vld h from my 6.5 creedmoor to shoot a mulie buck this year at 218 yards. It dropped in its tracks and the heart and lungs were soup but it looked like I hit bone going in. MV was only 2810 and I recovered a piece of the bullet in the offside ribcage.

Still trying to get my 264 to like that bullet.

Bb

I loaded it .010" into the lands and it shoots great Bb