New Berger 6mm BR Column Bullet

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Eric Stecker

New member
There have been BR bullets in the past which were well known for achieving consistently small groups over a wide tune range in many rifles and loads; the Euber bullet for example. The seemingly 'magical' performance of these bullets has been attributed to special dies, stars aligning, owl feathers, or some other unknown influence. However there are actually specific mass balance and aerodynamic properties which allow a bullet to mitigate dispersion and shoot precisely over a wide range of imperfect launch dynamics.

Understanding the physics behind dispersion mitigation, Bryan went to work on creating a specific design for a bullet that had the widest and lowest tune valley. This means that the bullet shoots best in the widest variety of loads and seating depths. He came up with three different designs. Within each design we made lead columns at three different heights in order to identify the truly optimal design. Over the next 4 years, Lou Murdica shot literally thousands of shots in the data capture phase of the project. When the smell of burnt powder cleared there was one bullet left standing that was head and shoulders above the others in its ability to shoot well at the widest variety of loads and seating depth.

This bullet is the new Berger 6mm BR Column. You'll notice that I didn't list a weight. This is deliberate since the overall weight is not as important as the overall balance of the bullet, which is achieved with a specific internal lead column height. Due to slight variations in copper and lead material batches, one lot may weigh 64.8 gr where another lot might weigh 65.1 gr or 64.6 gr. So long as the column of lead is the correct height to achieve the desired balance, the overall weight is a by-product.

In another thread I jumped the gun by saying that these bullets were being made already. I was wrong and I sincerely apologize. According to Walt's Grandson and Plant Manager, David Hamilton, these bullets will be available in 3 weeks (3-16-12).

These bullets have already been used by Lou Murdica to win a Two Gun Agg in Florida. I encourage you to ask him about his test results and his thoughts on whether these are a genuine option for competition BR shooters.

Regards,
Eric
 
This is a flat base bullet with a special ogive shape. It is not like our Hybrid bullet but it does use more than one radius size to make the ogive shape. We tested three different ogive shapes to find out which one worked the best. All three were made with the same concept but were slightly different and used different lead column heights.

If you've shot our 6mm 62 gr Euwin or 6mm 65 gr WEB you have seen the ogive shape. We made both of these bullets based on my assumption that they would work best. I did not fully understand Bryan's plan for the different designs. The primary purpose of the different designs was to test all the shapes deliberately to see which one is the best performer. By the time I understood this plan the 62 gr Euwin and 65 gr WEB were already part of our line.

Both of these bullets shoot well but they don't have the same balanced results as the BR Column. We will continue to make all three and let the BR shooters decide which bullets will stay a part of our line and which bullets will be disconintued. I'm pretty comfortable as to which bullet will become the most popular.

Regards,
Eric
 
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Eric,
This seems like a good time and place to say how much I appreciate what you at Berger Bullets are doing. I have been eating up these new long range bullet designs that you have been putting out and I am so impressed with the results I have been getting. The new bullet designs are really allowing me to get performance in my big cases that weren't attainable before. It is great to see that you haven't forgotten the short range benchrest community and are putting some of your efforts into advancing what is available for that application as well. Thank you for your efforts and I hope you know how much it is appreciated.

Russ
 
Russ,

I really appreciate your comments. Frankly, when I left Berger in 2000 we were regularly found on every equipment list. When I returned to Berger in 2004 this was not the case. This was a very difficult situation for me to process given that at the end of the day I regard Berger as a competition benchrest level of quality bullet maker. This is why the center of our 5 circle logo is a representation of a BR target. This is our core.

It has been much easier for us to rebuild our reputation among the long range crowd where other options are not as plentiful. I'm not saying that there aren't good long range bullets out there that are not made by Berger but the long range market is much larger and equally comparable options are less available (in type and quantity).

In BR there are numerous bullet makers who make a good bullet and the number of benchrest shooters is fewer (by a lot). This reality has made it very difficult to get our reputation back in the BR community as a viable option for competition.

After I came back to Berger and we fixed what others had broken we still could not get back into BR. I went to Bryan Litz and asked him for what I thought was impossible. I asked him to figure out why legendary bullets like the Euber shot so well in so many different barrels. I expected him to say what so many others have said which is that it "must have been a great die". But this is not what he said. Four years later we have what I truly hope will be the bullet through which Berger can regain the respect of those who I regard as the most discerning rifle shooters in the world.

Regards,
Eric
 
Thanks for all you're doing, Eric. Is this column concept going to be limited to the light 6mm stuff or will it apply to different weights, jacket lengths, and calibers?
Also, I'm sure you know the numbers well, but while long range shooters may outnumber short, I'd believe that short range guys shoot more rounds at a match etc. Thanks!--Mike Ezell
 
Mike,

We are going to start with the 6mm. It is important to sort out that this works as we expect it to. Lou has done a lot of work on this project and these bullets and similar bullets have been shot by other BR shooters with success but the true test is when these bullets are used by many BR shooters rather than a few. When we understand that everything is working as expected we do plan on applying this solution to 22 cal and 30 cal. This situation works only on flat base, short range bullets so only the bullets used in short range BR will be considered.

Regarding long range vs. short range I am not suggesting that one group is "better" than the other in any way as a group. They are very different and have unique interests. Our desire to get back into competition BR has nothing to do with sales but rather it is entirely based on my desire to earn the respect of active competition BR shooters. If my interest was in selling the largest quantity of bullets we'd be doing things much differently.

Regards,
Eric
 
Well...when this bullet proves itself in 6mm competition short range, a good place to start with 30 caliber would be your excellent 135 gr. I've had excellent results with it in my 30HBR in Hunter competition. In addition most of the 30BR shooters are using 118 and 112 bullets in VFS competition.

Love to see this sort of work being done. We can't have too many excellent bullet makers.

Virg
 
This bullet is the new Berger 6mm BR Column. You'll notice that I didn't list a weight. This is deliberate since the overall weight is not as important as the overall balance of the bullet, which is achieved with a specific internal lead column height. Due to slight variations in copper and lead material batches, one lot may weigh 64.8 gr where another lot might weigh 65.1 gr or 64.6 gr. So long as the column of lead is the correct height to achieve the desired balance, the overall weight is a by-product.

Eric
Click to expand...


Gold there...! This Is how I make my bullets too........ "The overall weight is not as important as the overall balance of the bullet"... This goes for the specific "lot" of bullets due to specific lot of jackets (thickness at taper of jacket). The resulting bullets having their unique weight but ALL the same in the lot...

Hallelujah..!

Fine work Eric, Bryan and Lou....!

cale
 
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