Meplat is a term for the small blunt tip of a bullet or projectile. Most traditional Open Tip Match (OTM) style bullets have a small opening at the very end of the meplat, which allows for air to gather in flight and create air pocket which fills in the missing point in a perfect geometric shape, increasing the BC of the bullet. This is optimized by the point being as small as possible, such as with our Meplat Reduction Technlogy we use with our Long Range Hybrid Target bullets.
Bullet seating is important because it allows you to create the most optimal precision shooting results by customizing your hand loaded ammunition to tailor-fit your specific rifle. This is one of the major benefits of hand loading. Find out more about hand loading here: https://bergerbullets.com/reloading-data/
The reason that the CBTO is not listed in our loading data is because different bullet comparator tools often provide different measurement results from the same bullet. We encourage the measurement of CBTO rather than COAL whenever possible, as it will vary much less measuring from the bullet ogive than from bullet tip: https://bergerbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/COAL.pdf
CBTO (Cartridge Base To Ogive) is the measurement of a cartridge from the ogive of the bullet to the base of the cartridge length. This measurement is used when you are doing bullet seating depth testing: https://bergerbullets.com/vld-making-shoot/
COAL (cartridge over-all length) is the measurement of the cartridge from the tip of the bullet to the base of the cartridge. The cartridge over-all length is an important dimension to understand, especially if functioning hand loaded ammunition through a firearm magazine. https://bergerbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/COAL.pdf
The benefits of loading a cartridge long is that you may tailor the cartridge dimension to more closely fit a specific firearms’ dimenstions. This is a technique often used by many competitive shooters and accuracy enthusiasts to improve accuracy as part of the tuning process. https://bergerbullets.com/effects-of-cartridge-over-all-length-coal-and-cartridge-base-to-ogive-cbto-part-1/
CIP is the Commission Internationale Permanente that provides standardized rules for proofing weapons and ammunition for participating countries.
SAAMI stands for Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute. SAAMI provides max pressure, cartridge dimensions, chamber dimensions and many other commercial guidelines so that both ammunition and firearm manufacturers may standardize their products.
A Hybrid Ogive blends the best aspects of the tangent and secant nose shapes into one Ogive. It starts at the bearing surface with a tangent section that will align itself more effectively when the bullet contacts the rifling. Beyond this section, the shape transitions into a secant section which is proven to be more effective in the wind. The result is a high BC bullet that is easier to tune.
A Tangent Ogive is less sensitive to seating depth but has more drag and a lower BC than a Secant Ogive of the same length.
A secant ogive is an ogive that tapers more gradually relative to its length than does the tangent ogive and touches the curve at two places, which provides a higher Ballistic Coefficient (BC) and less drag.
Berger bullets work differently depending on what line you choose. To learn more about Berger’s Lines and Designs visit: https://bergerbullets.com/information/lines-and-designs/
Berger hunting bullets are built with a thinner J4 jacket, allowing for 2-3” of penetration followed by a rapid expansion. Learn more about Berger hunting bullets and their performance on game.
Berger Hunting bullets, by design, create devastating hydrostatic shock to stop animals in their tracks. Each Berger hunting bullet is also built with the best quality raw materials and the exact same match-grade specifications as our sought-after competition target bullets. This provides the accuracy necessary for you to guarantee success in the field. Learn more about Berger hunting bullets and their performance on game.
You may receive bullet samples, pending availability, by emailing us at: promos@capstonepg.com. Please provide your name, physical address (No PO Box deliveries), daytime phone number, product number and bullet description(s) you prefer. Please reference the product number from this list.
Berger Ammunition uses the highest quality Lapua premium cartridge cases for all offerings except 300 Winchester Magnum. The 300 Winchester Magnum is loaded with a high-quality alternative. Lapua premium cartridge cases are the #1 choice for demanding competitive shooters and accuracy enthusiasts who reload.
No. Berger Bullets no longer moly coats bullets. To assist customers who want to moly coat their own bullets, we have created a how-to guide for Berger’s official moly coating process, which can be found in the Tech Talk section of our website here.
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Our loading manual is now available at a dealer near you. You can also find new reloading data here. For information not listed in the manual or reloading data page, please contact support@capstonepg.com.
You can find a dealer near you by visiting our find a dealer page and you can find a list of online dealers on our dealer webstore page.
Spinning a bullet faster than necessary can amplify any inconsistency in the bullet. Since we use J4 jackets, you can shoot Berger Bullets in faster twist than what is listed. We list the slowest twist rate needed because we want to squeeze every bit of accuracy out of a rifle.
Twist rate refers to the rate of spin in the rifle barrel, and is represented in inches per turn. It’s important that your barrel has an adequate twist rate to stabilize the bullets you’re shooting. A barrel that is a 1:10” twist means that the rifling will spin the bullet one revolution in 10 inches. The lower the number of the twist, the faster the twist rate or the faster the bullet will spin. For example, a 1:8 twist will spin the bullet one revolution in 8 inches, whereas a 1:10” twist will spin a bullet one revolution in 10 inches. If you were shooting a bullet in both barrels at a velocity of 2800 feet per second, the 1:8” twist barrel (252,000 RPM) will spin a bullet much faster than a 1:10” twist barrel (201,600 RPM). So a 1:10” twist is slower than a 1:8” twist, a 1:12” twist is slower than a 1:10” twist, and so on. Generally, fast twist barrels are used for longer bullets while slower twist barrels are used for shorter bullets.
If a bullet has a twist recommendation of 1:10”, it will be stable when fired from any rifle having a 1:10” or faster. So a 1:9” would work fine, but a 1:11” may not. The recommended twist rate will ensure adequate stability in all conditions, but there are some cases when the bullet may be stable from a slower twist (high altitude for example). Use the twist calculator on this page to calculate a stability factor for any bullet in your conditions to determine the actual twist requirement.
The best place to start is with the barrel or rifle maker. Sometimes this information is not available. One method of finding the twist rate of your barrel is by using a cleaning rod.
- Put a dry, loose fitting patch (so it doesn’t get stuck in your barrel) on a jag and put your rod into your barrel from either the muzzle end or the chamber end. (Note: When putting a rod into the muzzle end, be careful not to damage the crown/muzzle).
- Move the rod back and forth to verify that the rod spins freely as the rifling turns the rod.
- With the rod in the barrel, make a mark on the rod with a Sharpie at the point where the rod enters the muzzle or the action.
- Near the handle of the rod place a piece of tape on the top of the rod. Push the rod into the barrel.
- You will see the piece of tape travel one full revolution as the rifling turns the rod.
- When the tape is back to the top make another mark with your Sharpie on the rod where the rod enters the muzzle or the action.
- Pull the rod out of the barrel and measure the distance between the two Sharpie marks.
If the distance is 12 inches, you have a 1:12” twist barrel. If the distance is 8 inches, you have a 1:8” twist barrel, and so on. For best results, repeat this process two or three times. If you find the measurement is 9.2 inches or 9.8 inches, you can shoot any bullets that are recommended for a 1:10” twist. You may or may not be able to shoot bullets that are recommended for a 1:9” twist.
BC stands for “Ballistic Coefficient”. In words, BC is a measure of how well a bullet retains velocity; the higher the BC, the more velocity is retained, and vise-versa. Heavy bullets with streamlined profiles will have higher BC’s than shorter bullets with blunter profiles. BC is the fundamental measure of external ballistic efficiency and performance. The higher the BC, the better the bullet retains velocity/energy and resists wind deflection and drop.
BC is more important for long range shooting than short range. The BC’s of Berger bullets are based on carefully controlled test firing and are accurate to within +/- 1%*. All BC’s reported for Berger bullets are corrected to the ICAO Atmosphere.
*For some flat based bullets which are typically used at short range, BC’s are based on calculated rather than fired BC’s.
The Ballistic Coefficient (BC) is used to do external ballistic analysis. The most common use is to input the BC into a ballistic computer program along with other data about the shooting conditions (muzzle velocity, zero range, atmospheric conditions, etc) in order to calculate a trajectory for the bullet. The trajectory information is used to make sight corrections for drop and wind deflection.
BC’s of various bullets are often compared when selecting a bullet for a particular application where external ballistic performance is important. One example is long range target shooting where the shooter wants a high BC in order to minimize wind deflection. A high BC does not indicate a more accurate bullet. However, a high BC does minimize the effects of many shooting variables like uncertainties in range and wind conditions. Through minimizing the effects of the uncertainties, the higher BC can reduce the net miss distance compared to a bullet with a lower BC.
Our flat based bullets only have a G1 coefficient while our boat tails will have both G1 and G7 coefficients. G1 and G7 are two different methods of calculating Ballistics.
G1 is the old system for measuring BC and is suitable for flat based bullets, but many bullet manufacturers use this coefficient for boat tail bullets as well, so we include the G1 information so that you can directly compare our bullets to their bullets.
G7 is an updated equation and the better system of measuring a ballistic coefficient. It provides more accurate and reliable results when calculating trajectory using a ballistics program that allows for a G7 to be used.
You can find more detailed information on our blog at the link below: https://bergerbullets.com/a-better-ballistic-coefficient/
The new version of our ballistics calculator can be found here: https://bergerbullets.com/ballistics/
Due to trade regulations on firearms, we do not offer direct shipping to international customers for our bullets. We do ship internationally to authorized resellers.
You can find a list of dealers closest to you by clicking here. We also have a list of dealers that sell online that you can find by clicking here.
We do offer shipping directly to our customers on our reloading manual, t-shirts, and hats. You can order these by phone by calling 714-441-7200 M-F 8am to 4:30pm Pacific Standard Time.
Even though we ship our manuals internationally, we usually recommend you try a reseller first, simply because shipping charges internationally can be expensive. For instance if we are to ship a manual to Canada, the manual costs $29.00 USD and the shipping through USPS.com is $27.40 USD (03/06/13), making the total $56.40 USD.
Depending on the bullet or ammunition offering, it can take some time before we are able to release a product from the initial R&D phase, which is why we try hard not to publicize a new product until it is ready to release. However, sometimes a bullet might get into our marketing team’s hands before production is ready to produce it. Rest assured, as soon as we have information about release dates, we will post on social media, email those who sign up for our newsletter, post the product to our new products page, and post a blog about it. If you aren’t certain if a bullet you heard of has been released, you can use our website’s search function found in the top right corner of our website.
CLICK HERE to sign up for our newsletter to hear information as it becomes available.
Our Target and Tactical bullets are designed with thicker jackets that withstand more stress before bullet degradation occurs. A target or tactical shooter generally fires multiple rounds in a row, causing the barrel to heat up and more stress on bullet. To keep performance high, we give these bullets thicker jackets.
Our Varmint and Hunting bullets have slightly thinner jackets. This means that the bullet will expand more effectively, creating a large wound cavity that devastates the animal using hydrostatic shock. Hunters generally shoot 1-3 bullets at a time, so bullet degradation is not as much of a concern as expansion.
Read more here: https://bergerbullets.com/information/line-and-designs/
These are simply different naming conventions that we use to clarify that the bullets can be used for each application. The military requires that OTM (Open Tip Match) bullets be clearly defined as OTM in the product name for clarification. There are no differences between these two bullets.
The Tactical bullet is made on a shorter jacket so the nose lengths allow a COAL that will feed through a magazine and shoot well in standard issue chambers. The target bullet is on a longer jacket and will not meet COAL standards and most likely will not function through a magazine, but this longer jacket gives the Target bullet a higher BC than the Tactical.
We do not recommend that you use Target bullets for hunting. The wound channel with a Target bullet is narrow compared to the wound channel of a Hunting bullet. The wider wound channel produced by the Hunting bullet is more likely to impact vital organs if the shot placement is not ideal.
A Tangent Ogive (like our standard BTs) is less sensitive to seating depth but has more drag and a lower BC than a Secant Ogive of the same length.
A Secant Ogive (like our standard VLDS) has a higher BC and lower drag than a traditional Tangent Ogive but can be quite sensitive to seating depth.
A Hybrid Ogive blends the best aspects of the tangent and secant nose shapes into one Ogive. It starts at the bearing surface with a tangent section that will align itself more effectively when the bullet contacts the rifling. Beyond this section, the shape transitions into a secant section which is proven to be more effective in the wind. The result is a high BC bullet that is easier to tune.
For more information on our designs, please visit: https://bergerbullets.com/information/line-and-designs/
The part numbers for some of our bullets (30423, 30428, 30110, 33104, and 33106) have been changed to accommodate a change in the size of boxes. So while the numbers are different, the bullets are still the same. They are simply now in boxes of 100 instead of boxes of 50. Please see our chart below:
| Bullet Description | Old 50 Count Part Number |
New 100 Count Part Number |
| 30 cal 215 gr Hybrid Target | 30423 | 30429 |
| 30 cal 230 gr Hybrid Target | 30428 | 30430 |
| 30 cal 230 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical | 30110 | 30112 |
| 338 cal 250 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical | 33104 | 33107 |
| 338 cal 300 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical | 33106 | 33109 |
Many websites show these bullets as “discontinued” because the part numbers changed, but you should be able to find these bullets under their new part numbers.
We make a few solid copper projectiles under the Berger Match Solid line, but most Berger Bullets have a copper jacket and a lead core. For additional clarification, email us at support@capstonepg.com or call us at 660-460-2800.
We currently do not offer sample packs of our bullets. submoashooting.com offers some sample packs for sale, but not our full line. If you have specific questions about a bullet, please contact us at support@capstonepg.com.
It depends on a lot of factors, but usually it has to do with supply vs demand. For instance, a new and/or popular bullet might just be sold out because demand is outpacing how fast we can deliver product to dealers. The firearms industry, and ammunition specifically, is very susceptible to market fluctuations. Every few years demand drastically increases for a few months at a time, usually due to worries about regulations or because of other such issues. “Ramping up production numbers” isn’t a flip of a switch solution for high quality manufacturers, it requires significant capital investments in machinery, which can take months-years to get in place and operational, and then weeks-months of training employees on the new machinery. If a company makes a lot of investments in increasing production numbers, then the market goes back to it’s normal state (as it always does), then they’ll be in a particularly bad position. Over the past decade, we’ve seen many companies that were extremely well known go bankrupt from this exact practice. Seeking short term wins without thinking about long term stability. We believe in responsible long term growth, without any compromises to product quality. We have been increasing our production numbers significantly every year by expanding our manufacturing shop, but we simply cannot keep up with growing demand. Your best bet to find a specific Berger bullet is to contact your local dealer and place a back order or to look through our online dealer list to see if anyone has them in stock. You can find a dealer near you by visiting our find a dealer page and you can find a list of online dealers on our dealer webstore page.
We do not have an online store, but many of our dealers do. Please visit our find a dealer page to find an authorized Berger dealer.