USSR;
In most instances, you are correct, but regarding the Berger VLD "Hunting" bullets, you are mistaken.
The Berger VLD "Hunting" bullets use the very thin J4 jackets. Besides being amoung the best in the industry, they are very thin. The VLD's have been extensively studied and do indeed expand, and very well indeed!
The VLD's tend to penetrate ~2" before expanding, and then destabilize and expand violently. Recovered bullets typically retain ~40% of their original weight. Some hunters actually like such performance on thin skin game. I'm one of those.....
I have verified this myself with 3 deer taken with the Berger .257" 115gr VLD "Hunting" bullets. 2 from a .257Roberts and one from a .257WbyMag. All three were "bang-flops", DRT...
On both the deer shot with the Roberts, the bullets exited broadside chest shots. Damage was dramatic. Exit wound was about 3" diameter. Similar to that of a 115gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, which is essentally a hollow-point with a plastic nose cone.
With the .257wby, the angling chest shot ended in the paunch and bullet was not recovered from a very messy gut cavity. The deer look liked it had fallen on an exploding hand-grenade.
Often times, the Sierra's will fail to expand due to nose collapse on impact and penetrate as a FMJ. Occasionally, they will rupture and break-apart and fail to penetrate. Sierra takes a lot of pride in their game bullets, so as such don't recommend the use of their match bullets for hunting...... Though a well placed 169gr of lead will often do the trick on light thin-skinned game such as white tail deer, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope....
The Berger "target" bullets actually use a much thicker jacket than the original match bullets with the thinner jackets. Some rifles shoot better with the thicker jackets, such as semi-auto rifles. Hence, the difference in the various Berger VLD's. Berger does NOT recommend the use of the "target" bullets for hunting.
