Bullets that well advertised but were not that great

[Green Chile]

I have been working up a load for my 6.5 PRC (New to me rifle) with Berger Elite Hunter 156 grain for Red Stage, Sika Stag & Roe Deer this fall in Scotland.

In your experience, am I going to get into trouble on shots say under 200 yards that these bullets might not hold together? Berger claims the following but I was going to call them to discuss what I should expect from the muzzle to 400 yards using these bullets.

J4 Hunting Jacket​

J4 Precision Bullet Jackets are the #1 choice of custom bullet manufacturers. They are the most consistent and concentric copper jackets in the world holding an unprecedented +/- .0003” tolerance. J4 hunting jackets are produced slightly thinner to allow for 2-3″” of penetration before rapidly expanding, producing extreme hydrostatic shock and a massive wound cavity.

All of my Berger kills were with the 6.5 PRC or 7 STW. Longest shot was around 250…shortest was about 60. I would say their description is correct. You get a few inches penetration then rapid expansion with no exits. Stay away from shoulder bones. I hit an aoudad in the spine and it turned spine into pea sized gravel.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I used Winchester Silvertips in 165g 308 offering exactly one time on deer. I had been hunting WV deer for several years with a 308 and had taken about five up to that point all with the 165g Nosler BT's using my own handloads which were about 1grain below max with WW748 powder. They had worked flawlessly all killing with one shot every deer taken and one very large Wild Boar in TN. When I encountered the Silvertip ammo, I bought a box thinking it might be an improvement on my hand loads. It shot well enough so I hunted that year with it. This would have been about 1997?

I encountered a large buck by surprise one day while returning to camp to assist a buddy. I ended up shooting that buck 5 times and hit it at least 4 of those shots. And three of the hits were in the vital zone. The buck died after being shot all to Hell and having its throat cut with a Gerber LMF. It hangs on my wall as a reminder not to use the Winchester ammo. None of the bullets were recovered and as best we could tell from the autopsy, the Silvertips performed like FMJ's and did not expand at all or very little. I was not impressed. I know that Nosler Ballistic Tips are not exactly the ideal hunting bullet but the Silvertip was not either on the other end of the spectrum. I switched to 44 mag for a while after that and then to a nice old Mauser custom in 270. Both worked very well for me. Without Silvertips, lol.

These days I prefer a good bonded core like the Federal Fusion or the Swift Scirocco and the occasional TSX mono for hunting deer or PG.

 

[BGGMKLR]

I used Winchester Silvertips in 165g 308 offering exactly one time on deer. I had been hunting WV deer for several years with a 308 and had taken about five up to that point all with the 165g Nosler BT's using my own handloads which were about 1grain below max with WW748 powder. They had worked flawlessly all killing with one shot every deer taken and one very large Wild Boar in TN. When I encountered the Silvertip ammo, I bought a box thinking it might be an improvement on my hand loads. It shot well enough so I hunted that year with it. This would have been about 1997?

I encountered a large buck by surprise one day while returning to camp to assist a buddy. I ended up shooting that buck 5 times and hit it at least 4 of those shots. And three of the hits were in the vital zone. The buck died after being shot all to Hell and having its throat cut with a Gerber LMF. It hangs on my wall as a reminder not to use the Winchester ammo. None of the bullets were recovered and as best we could tell from the autopsy, the Silvertips performed like FMJ's and did not expand at all or very little. I was not impressed. I know that Nosler Ballistic Tips are not exactly the ideal hunting bullet but the Silvertip was not either on the other end of the spectrum. I switched to 44 mag for a while after that and then to a nice old Mauser custom in 270. Both worked very well for me. Without Silvertips, lol.

These days I prefer a good bonded core like the Federal Fusion or the Swift Scirocco and the occasional TSX mono for hunting deer or PG.

I took a small baggie containing all of the pieces of four Silvertips recovered from four animals shot in Zim to the Winchester booth at the SCI convention in Reno. I patiently waited my turn to speak with the beautiful young rep working the booth. When my time came I introduced myself and handed her the baggie to which she asked "What is this"?
I told her that it was the remains/ fragments of four 270 gr 375H&H Winchester Silvertips that were recovered from African PG and then added:
"Im certainly glad that I wasn't forced to shoot a Lion in the face with one if those"
She could not get me out of the booth fast enough.
Regards
Spike