Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game ELDX bullets and close shots

Unless you are doing quite a bit of shooting past 400 yards, high BC's don't make all that much difference. I use a lot of Accubonds and they have decent BC's, mostly .450+ to a bit over .500 in the bullet weights and calibers that I use. I also use some mono's, mostly TTSX's, and they have slightly lower BC's than the Accubonds, especially since I usually move down a bullet weight with monos.

But I am more likely to take a shot at 100 yards than over 400, so I want bullets that will perform at close ranges, even on angling shots. I'm not willing to trade a slightly higher BC for reliable performance at close range.

A BC of .500 would be acceptable, I'd rather have a BC of .600+ but not sure if it's actually needed. We like to hunt and target shoot with the same rifles and bullets. A 300wm shooting Barnes 168gr TTSX runs out of bullet past 1000yds, and you can't hit steel at 1200yds. Likewise when shooting 205gr Burger bullets with a higher BC hitting steel at 1200yds. isn't a problem.

And that is often what happens when you hunt in unfamiliar territory, where you expect the shots to be short range and it turns out the animal just happens to be in open country 350-450 yards away. So you end up taking a rifle and load that will work well for the longer shots but not perfect for thick cover (e.g. 20 inch barrel short action and lower bc bullets but with excellent close-range terminal performance).

Yep. We more often see that mismatch in the opposite direction. Folks have visions in their heads that "Western" hunting is all long range shot opportunities, so sometimes will have clients who pack rifles with high powered scopes set up for uber distance, then they'll struggle when they're presented with a close range shot in the timber.

Years ago, I made a bad shot on a MD at about 300 yards due to a howling wind that caused more bullet drift than I anticipated. For conversation, the bullet I was shooting at the time, the 100 gr Sierra SBT launched at 3300 fps from a .25-06, drifts about 22" in a 30 mph full-value wind at 300 yards, while the 147 gr ELD-M fired at 2697 fps from a 6.5CM drifts 8" in the same wind at the same distance. I believe my hasty underestimate of the wind would have caused less of a problem that day if I had been shooting the higher-BC, but slower, 147 ELD rather than the 100 gr SBT.

I'd certainly agree with that.

That's a damned solid example of why BC don't hurt us short rangers either!

I like both of them, and shoot both, but it is good to have the knowledge to make smart decision.

Not sharp shooting, but I get 14" of drift from the CM. The 25-06 of 22" is on. Still quite a difference.

I live and hunt in the desert south east of WA State.

I was hunting one year at a farm I’d hunted the previous three years. Shots were between 200 and 300 yards.

So, I zeroed at 200 and practiced out to 600.

And a mulie jumped up from a ditch at 80 yards and I was “huh?” I aimed low and fired killing him.

Luckily, my 4-14 was dialed down to 4, or I’d have lost him.

When I take friends deer hunting now, I advise them to bring a 2-12, 3-15 or 4-16. The top magnifications are more than enough to clearly count points, and the bottom end is still useful for “jump shooting.”

Always walk around on low power such as 4 and zoom up if necessary...not the other way around.

Yessir, my mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. I had the Coriolis effect and spin drift turned on in the 6.5CM profile of my app. With those confounding variables turned off, and isolating for just wind drift, I get 12.5" of drift for the 147 ELD and 25" for the 100 SBT, in my selected atmospheric conditions and 30 mph of FV wind.

Even if the wind isn't blowing that hard as in the above example, but is only slight or multi-directional (swirling), the higher bc bullet is more likely to still be in the vital zone if you aim without allowing for wind-drift.

No sweat, didn't mean to sharp shoot. The gist is 1/2 as much basically and you'd likely had a bit less of a rodeo.

Yup. Still plenty of difference between them to have an impact in the field. In the scenario I described, if a guy mistakenly judges the wind speed at half of the true value, he'll be 6.25" off his POA with the 147 ELD, and 12.5" off with the 100 SBT.

For sure. That 147 is a demon.

Exactly. BC value is proportional to allowance for error in wind estimation and correction.

A few comments:

I've known prairie goat since 2010. He was a U.S. Army sniper in the Middle East for three tours, and has a also been a guide in Montana since his teens. He knows his stuff both about BC and hunting with various bullets, on game from pronghorns to elk.

I have also been a guide in eastern Montana, and have seen the same assumptions/mistakes made by quite a few hunters, another reason to trust his comments.

Well, it would be valuable to hear prairie goat's views on such things as: whether b.c. is important, bullet construction, whether bore size matters, the 6.5 CM, whether the .308 is a poor choice - given the experience he has. That's if he wants to.

I don’t think it much matters. Put a decent bullet at a decent speed into the vitals and stuff dies.
The emphasis should be on ensuring the bullet is placed into the vitals, which means plenty of practice. More folks would be better off spending less time practicing long range and more time getting into position quickly and making shots at normal hunting ranges from a variety of field positions, as well as recognizing field expedient rests and quickly being able to utilize them. Have seen far more blown shot opportunities from people dicking around not getting into a solid position quickly than I have because of shots missed because of the distance.
The practice issue brings me to the cartridge/bullet subject that is the most valuable in my mind: logistics.
Being able to source a large supply of components that will ensure proper practice and a stash for hunting is a big deal. Having to rely on a boutique bullet maker (or even a company like Nosler, who seems to have a hard time coming up with component bullets) makes that sourcing expensive and difficult.
I’ve gone to using 223s and 308s for most of my hunting because of that emphasis on streamlining of logistics. Make up a whole bunch of ammo in a variant that shoots fine in several rifles, and mass produce it. I also like to match speeds and BCs to where my 223s and 308s have basically the same trajectories and drift (within reason). Makes for easy transition between rifles. I certainly still dabble in experimenting with other rounds, but when it’s time to hit the hills I’ll grab a 223 or 308 the majority of the time.

PG what loads do you use to hunt with the 223 and 308 for hunting.

Sounds like you’ve made your life simple mostly.

75 Amaxs and 155 Scenars over Varget are my primary loads.
The simplicity is a big part of the appeal. It’s nice to just grab a box of ammo and a rifle and go hunting!