I don't plan on shooting at ranges anywhere near what Ridge Runner regularly hunts whitetails at, but 4-500 yards isn't out of the question. If I were shooting a 257 Roberts, or even a 25-06 Rem, I wouldn't be as concerned. But the 257 Weatherby will squirt these bullets out at every bit of 3300fps, and I don't want them blasting a wide but shallow crater in the shoulder of a deer at 100 yards like a varmint bullet will do. It seems like the bullet holds together long enough to get into the vitals, but once the tiny meplat starts to open up, it blows up pretty good. If it grenades in the vitals, turning the heart and lungs into jello, then that's great, as long as it gets there. My Remington is factory stock, except that I adjusted the trigger down to 1.5lbs. It'll shoot the Barnes 100 grain Tipped TSX into 0.6-0.7 MOA average, and the best load I found for the 110 grain Nosler Accubond with IMR 7828 averaged just over 1 MOA. If I can achieve that kind of accuracy with the Berger VLD Hunting, which is a "match grade" bullet, then I'll be extremely happy.

Ridge Runner,

Berger sent me several loads for the 115gr VLD. The ones I'm interested in all use slower powders that fill the big case better.

These are:

Hodgdon Retumbo, 69.6gr for 3,300fps, 97.8% load density.
Ramshot Magnum, 70.1gr for 3,299fps, 92.5%
Reloder 25, 66.9gr for 3,287fps, 95.0%

All from a 26" bbl at a COAL of 3.170" which is the SAAMI max. My rifle has a typically long throat and a generous magazine length, so I can play with seating depth if I need to.

I'd lean toward Retumbo or Reloder 25 since they're extruded. I'm not sure about the spherical powder since I like to shoot all year round and hunt in cold weather. I'm curious as to your experiences with these powders and which one you'd start with.

Thanks,

Mike