I used the 6.5mm 140 gr hunting vld in a 6.5x284 to take 2 whitetails.

The first was at 235 yards off a sandbag rest in my tree stand. Waited for him to go broad side and put one in just behind the shoulder. Spectacular kill! The second was at 85 yards walking back to the trail from a mountaintop glassing morning. The 14 point whitetail was quartering towards me. I took him on the point of the shoulder at 85 yards. Fired again at 230 yards on the hillside ( total miss) and then again at 355 yards and hit him in the liver. After he topped out I waited 45 minutes and then walked over to the point I lost him creating the hill. I then tracked him for about 2 miles before I finished him off with a neck shot at 30 yards.

I stopped using Berger Hunting VLDs after that for anything but coyote and Wolfe. Not my best shooting but with a Barnes x that first shot would have put him down within eye sight, at least I think so.

My conclusion based on a huge sample size of 2 .... Is that the Berger hunting bullets kill like wildfire if you hit them in the boiler room. If you have to go through bone, not so much.

When I head to Africa I'm always worried about shooting in front of a crowd, if a flub the first opportunity I can start a negative spiral and my confidence and maybe even my accuracy go to hell. No way would I risk it with this bullet.