I can't argue with others experiences but my own experience with Berger VLD Hunting bullets has been exceptional, very similar to @billmazelin... I've harvested several elk, large bodied mule deer, whitetails, black bear, a shiras moose, antelope, and caribou with 210 gr Berger VLD Hunting bullets... All were taken at ranges from 100 yards out to 600+.. all except the Shiras moose were one shot, DRT, collapsed in their tracks. There were no exit wounds on any of them. The Shiras Moose was the closest at 100 yards and it was in full rut, roaring/grunting and shaking it's head. I shot it broadside at 100 yards while it was walking and it didn't even respond, other than by starting to trot. I hit it again and there was no noticeable reaction.. as I was lining up for a third shot, the bull stopped, sat down on its hind quarters and rolled over on it's side, dead.. it had only traveled about 35 yards from my initial shot but those 35 yards seemed like a lifetime to me.
When I dressed out and skinned the bull, both shots were within 2 inches of one another and the trauma within the chest cavity was immense. The heart was literally gone and the lungs were jello. How it remained on it's feet for 35 more yards is a mystery to me.
I shot a big black bear in the head and the Berger never exited, but when I caped out the head the only bone structure that remained was the muzzle, every piece of skull from the eyes back was gone.. the only thing that I can figure was it all vaporized and went out it's ears because it's ear canals were bloody and full of debris. I had the similar experience on our sniper team..
Our sniper team shot a man that had brutally murdered another officer and was physically holding his own young daughter hostage. We shot him in the face at 75 yards with a 308 caliber 168 gr Hornady AMAX bullet. That bullet did not exit his head and when I reviewed the coroner's report and looked at the X-rays and coroner's photos, it looked like a glitter bomb went off in his head all the pressure went out his ears.
I know some of these debates can become "emotional" for some guys. I respect different opinions, I won't argue what other people have experienced. Everyone has their own experiences. The examples I provided are why I personally prefer bullets that expend ALL of their energy within the target and not "through" the target (exit wound). Exit wounds are ideal in Archery hunting. But with firearms, whether it's a pistol, sub gun, or rifle make mine explode in the target. I think of it this way, would I rather shoot a grenade "through" a target, or into a target and have it explode. I don't need to recover a pretty mushroom, and I don't care if the thin little bit of meat along the rib cage and chest cavity turns to Jell-O slop, crows and magpies need to eat to. I want DRT.
