# Reloading 26 nosler



## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

I had a cooper long range hunter built in 26 nosler. I'm ready to start load development and was wondering if anyone else has found a good combo. Going to be loading Berger 130 and 140 VLD's.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

As I am sure you already know, the Berger VLDs are VERY "jump" sensitive. IME, the amount of jump, or lack thereof, is critical to getting the accuracy from them that you would expect. Much more so than getting the exact velocity to match the rifle. Also, IME, if you are hunting with it, the VLDs are a very weak projectile for high velocity penetration, they basically explode on impact with any bone, etc. at close distance/high velocity ranges.

But when you get them right, they are very, very accurate bullets.


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

I've been loading and shooting VLD's for some time and pleased with their performance. A Barnes monolithic would be a better choice but I don't want to shoot a low BC bullet. The VLD is designed to work between 2-3,000 fps. If there is something better I'm all ears. Thanks


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

6.5 shooter dude said:


> I've been loading and shooting VLD's for some time and pleased with their performance. A Barnes monolithic would be a better choice but I don't want to shoot a low BC bullet. The VLD is designed to work between 2-3,000 fps. If there is something better I'm all ears. Thanks


I personally like the Nosler Accu-Bond better for hunting. It works great in a 6.5-284. I am in the process of loading the new Hornady ELD-X for a 7 mag and 6.5-284. No field results yet though.

My comment about the VLDs lack of penetration came from a thick bodied Trans-Pecos mule deer that I shot at about 100 yds with a 7 mag and 168 VLD at about 2950 fps. Hit him a little forward and on that flat shoulder bone. The bullet never entered the chest cavity. It knocked him flat down and he stayed down for a little while, but got back up until the follow up shot. For me, it only takes one time for a bullet to fail to perform on what could be a trophy deer and I will switch in a heart beat. So I have. The 7 mag is still in the safe until I get the ELD-X bullets loaded. If you need a couple boxes of .284 168 VLD hunting, I have some for sale.


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## NFAJohn (Nov 3, 2016)

I'll second the opinion of steering clear of the bergers. Don't get me wrong they shoot lights out and can and do kill large animals stone dead at longer than average ranges. There is a price to all the performance, the kill zone shrinks dramatically. You have to go in clean and not strike bone for the bergers to make it to the pump house on large animals. My father in law shot a large elk in Az last year and it was tagged 3 times with a 7stw and berger vld rounds. None of the rounds exited despite the range being 325. If that animal would have run tracking would have been difficult, two holes leak more than one. When they cleaned it two of the rounds had exploded upon contacting the shoulder blade and the third had slipped into the vitals from a quartering away shot. 
So with that being said whats a better mouse trap? I load my wife's 7stw with 150gr TTSX and have watched her HAMMER deer and hogs. I recently had a 300WM built and didnt have time for load development and chose a box of Horandy Precision Hunter 200gr. Performed spectacular on a whitetail, wrote an after action report on here as my first post actually. I've since worked up a load with the 200gr ELDX and have been very impressed with it to 600 yards, will be pushing it further this weekend. If it continues to impress I'll be switching my wife's 7stw to them at the end of the season.


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## Rmm (Jun 7, 2013)

I shoot a lot of bergers. I hunt with the berger hybrids. In .338 I use the 300 grain hybrid, 7mm I shoot the 180 hybrids and 6.5-284 injured I shoot the 140 hybrids. All of these are set up for long range shooting. If I was going to shoot only 500 yards or less I would probably stay with the Barnes ttsx, but the berger has a much better bc for long range. The hybrids are a little tougher than the hunting vld. I would rather have the almost guaranteed pass through of a barnes, but at long range can not give up the bc. The hybrids have performed very well though. Pass throughs on rib shots, probably not on shoulder shots The hybrids also don't seem to be very sensitive to seating depth.


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## 78thomas78 (Jun 19, 2016)

I also like the VLD Hunting rounds in both my wife's and I 6.5 and 300 win mag. I have loaded fishtails 6.5x284 with VLD's and stopped a Holden deer in its tracks. Wife has a 284 that did almost no internal damage with a nosler accu bond which I no longer load for hunting. Guess I am saying that you are going to get good/bad reviews on almost any round. 
As far as the 26 Nosler if you can get any info out of Derrick in college station he is the go to go for 26 and 28.


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

Thanks for all the replys.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Rmm said:


> I shoot a lot of bergers. I hunt with the berger hybrids. *In .338 I use the 300 grain* hybrid....


That hurt my shoulder just to read it.


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## FFLack (May 10, 2014)

I'm shooting ELD-X factory ammo out of my 308 (178gr.) and 300 RUM (220gr) and I can honestly say from 100 yards to whatever distance I feel comfortable shooting too, they are deadly. Can't see myself ever shooting anything else. Hornady nailed it on these rounds.


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

I load the eldx in my Creedmoor and taken many animals successfully. I thought I would use them in my 26 nosler too, but the max fps on impact is 2500. There is a good chance they will explode if you push that.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

6.5 shooter dude said:


> I load the eldx in my Creedmoor and taken many animals successfully. I thought I would use them in my 26 nosler too, but the max fps on impact is 2500. There is a good chance they will explode if you push that.


Can you provide a link to that data about the max FPS? On the Hornady website they reflect a picture of impacted bullets at 1800 and 2660 fps. I couldn't find any reference to max fps. Thanks.


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

RB II said:


> Can you provide a link to that data about the max FPS? On the Hornady website they reflect a picture of impacted bullets at 1800 and 2660 fps. I couldn't find any reference to max fps. Thanks.


I called them directly, and spoke to their ballistics guy. That 2600 might be right though.


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## FFLack (May 10, 2014)

According to the ballistics chart my RUM was around 2700 fps at 150 yards when I shot my does. Didn't see the second doe behind the one I was shooting, and this is a pick of the exit hole of the second doe after passing through both shoulders of first doe. Bullet penetrated 4 shoulders.









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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Wow. Well their supposed "continuous expansion" that is all over their weBsite is a load of BS then. Very few rifles have a velocity less than 2600 fps at 100 yds.


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

What a hole, hope you had two tags.....lol


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