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Berger .284 / 7mm 180 grn Hybrid vs. VLD for F-Class Open


Bianchi

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Any new trends in F-Class using both of these bullets? I have a few Hybrids lying around for testing and was planning to order some more to try out in competitions.

 

Although the Hybrids have an edge on BC despite the larger Meplat (more enhancement potential when pointed) and should be less sensitive to seating depth, I have heard that the VLDs are still popular and that some may have even moved back to using them after the Hybrids were introduced.

 

If so, some background information or experiences would be useful before taking a "shot" at one of them. No probs, If it's a case of "Try both and see which one works best".

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Hi this is Nick in the uk, I shoot 7mm Scenar L 180 grn. Having good results with them.

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Think youd need to see what works best in your rifle.

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Berger recently re-evaluated the BC of both bullets and said that the VLD actually had a better BC. But you are correct that when pointed the Hybrid has a bigger gain in BC, in fact one of largest gains of BC there is by pointing.

 

The statement of the Hybrid being less sensitive to seating depths is utter tosh from my experiences and also of a few others shooters. Like powder charges there appears to be several nodes with seating depths, move out of that node and it all goes wrong.

 

Try both and see what the rifle likes.

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The statement of the Hybrid being less sensitive to seating depths is utter tosh from my experiences and also of a few others shooters. Like powder charges there appears to be several nodes with seating depths, move out of that node and it all goes wrong.

 

 

 

I can't comment on the 7mm Hybrid, but that has certainly been my experience with 308 versions and it varies according to model / weight even in the one barrel. One I use a lot has to be treated like a VLD seated 'in'; another I'm still trying to get grips with won't live with that treatment, or a 'normal' degree of jump, and only apparently works with a 40 thou' + one.

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I'm finding with the Hybrid that it normally likes being seated between 20-25 thou off, but I also often find another node between 10-12-15 thou off. I can't ever remember testing further back than 30 thou.

I will see if I can find some seating depth test targets that I have shot which will highlight the nodes.

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The Hybrids Ive used successfully in 6mm and 6.5mm have been as fussy regarding seating depth as most other bullets, its pure market BS to suggest they are tolerant to wide changes, they are not. Even a 0.010" shift in seating depth has changed my group sizes markedly.

 

Ive had 6.5x47s shooting the 140 Hybrid best with a 0.040" jump and yet my 6 Dasher with the 105 Hybrid is by far the best with a 0.015" jam into the lands. Every barrel is different and you really need to test seating depth thoroughly to get the best results.

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I have no experience with a .284 but have used 180 VLDs and 180 hybrids in my 7-270WSM (specifically, 2 barrels' worth of VLDs and very nearly a barrel's worth of hybrids).

 

Personally, I found the VLDs to be extremely sensitive to seating depth. The VLD solution (in my barrels at least) was to jam/ soft seat them, although brass life seemed to suffer.

 

The hybrids were much easier to tune, although they didn't respond well to jamming/ soft seating or just touching. Once off of the lands, I found they were fairly insensitive to jump until about 25 thou out, at which point I stopped testing. I settled on about 8 thou off the lands.

 

In *my* experience, the hybrids have been a lot more consistent and a lot less fussy. Saying that, the VLDs were more accurate when in tune.

 

As Ian said, "Try both and see what the rifle likes".

 

For what it's worth, my next barrel has been throated for hybrids...

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