When we learned that our VLD bullets were a very effective and quickly lethal hunting bullet, we knew that this fact was going to be met with resistance. For decades, other bullet brands and many of those whose opinions are regarded highly by others have said that Match bullets are not good for hunting.

Long ago, we made a commitment to a factual, scientific-based marketing position so we decided to leave the “Match Grade” on the box. Later, when we made thicker jackets to resolve an issue with bullets used on targets, we separated the bullets made on standard thickness jackets into the “Hunting” line since these are the bullets that are known to work so well on game.

This was the beginning of putting our Hunting bullets in the orange boxes with labels that said both “Hunting” and “Match Grade”. Over the years, we worked hard to educate hunters that even though our game hunting bullets are match grade, this did not mean that they are not good for game hunting.
This challenging effort to educate hunters went on for several years. Fortunately, our bullets work so well that we are helped tremendously by hunters talking to each other about how well they perform. Even though this is true, we still heard many people say that they don’t feel comfortable using a “Match” bullet for hunting.

To resolve this, about 6 months ago I made the decision to change the label from “Match Grade Rifle Bullets” to “Premium Rifle Bullets”. The bullets were not changed in any way, which is a fact that we promoted during this change. My intension was to provide comfort to those who were hung up on the word “Match” as a reason why they won’t try our game hunting bullet.

I am willing to try new things to effectively connect with the discerning rifle shooter, but this change never felt right. I am resolved to follow my gut and go back to what we were doing in the first place. As of October 8th 2010, the labels for all bullets in the “Hunting” line will be changed back to say “Match Grade Rifle Bullets”. It is not a negative thing that we figured out how to make quickly lethal and extremely effective game hunting bullets that are also Match Grade.

Keep in mind that nothing about the bullets have changed through these label changes. The bullets are exactly the same as they have been for decades. We do not have a different grade of bullets. Everything we make for our Target, Varmint, Hunting and the new Tactical lines are made to the same “Match Grade” tolerances and standards. We don’t do it any other way.

We will go back to educating hunters about the difference between Match bullets that are admittedly not good for hunting and our Hunting bullets which are great for hunting and made to Match Grade tolerances. I accept that those who are not comfortable with Match Grade Hunting bullets have dozens of options to choose from that are not Match Grade. I offer that if they give our Match Grade Hunting bullets a try, they will be very happy with the results.

Regards,
Eric Stecker