Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7mm mag

We agree on placement - with good placement almost any bullet will work.

I'll reserve judgement on the ELD-X until I see multiple test or on-game results and have put some into water jugs. In the meantime I won't use them on elk or deer as they are too close in design to SST and InterLock and I expect similar performance. Haven't used a bolt rifle with an InterLock or other standard cup-and-core on elk or deer since my first back in the early 1980's. If the ELD-X have a pure or soft lead core I would expect them to come apart fairly easily.

At ranges where most elk are taken (under 400 yards for sure, probably under 300 and my guess is even less), the B.C. advantage of the ELD-X is minimal at best. My particular concern, as it is with many cup-and-core bullets, is weight retention with high velocity (close range) impacts, especially on bad angles.

Weight retention isn't the sole determining factor in bullet penetration, but it is an important one. Hornady claims 50-60% retention for the ELD-X, which is probably right -- the InterLock I used on my first elk retained less than 48% (47.7% IIRC). Hornady also admits in their documentation that "High impact velocities may occasionally cause the ELD-X bullet jacket to roll back past the InterLock ring during penetration".

Thanks, but I'll stick with bonded, monos, and other designs like the North Fork SS, Federal Trophy Bonded, Nosler Partition, Swift A-Frame, etc. These bullets are all proven performers, even under difficult circumstances such as close range or bad angles.

But to each their own.

I'm not necessarily against them, I just need more info. I have no doubt they're very accurate, but I'd need to see on game performance at animals killed sub 100 yds before I'd announce they are the next holy grail. They may be great at all distances...I just don't know that. It seems to me though that most of these target/hunting transformation bullets are great at distance, and not so much up close, and shots up close are just as likely as shots at distance where I hunt even though it is open country.

160 accubond is a great one.

If get leery of bullets designed to open up at long range used at magnum velocities. They may work for their designed purpose, but what if you have to shoot through a shoulder at 75 yards?

I was intrigued by the ELD-X, so this summer I decided to try it. Just last Tuesday I went to the range for final sight-in with a newly-developed 7mmRM load using 162gr. ELD-X. (RL-25, 69.0 gr., chrono 3030 from a 26" barrel). Accuracy was fine with multiple groups from 100' - 300' 1/2 to 1 MOA, with a couple slightly larger when using new (not fire-formed) brass. Hornady's web site states the 7mm 162 gr ELD-X® Precision Hunter makes 2940 out of a 24" barrel, so I think their velocity claim is reasonable.

As to the bullet. I have personally had Hornady .30cal SSTs knock whitetail down while going through-and-through at 75' - 125'. I have also had them blow up like tiny grenades just under the skin at similar ranges, although the deer wound up just as dead, fortunately. This did however cause me to pause in regarding this bullet as a deer hunter (let alone elk).

I like Hornady (my reloading presses are red) and I want to like the ELD-X, but due to experience with some of their other products I have a nagging doubt. As Coyote Hunter says, Hornady bullets have been observed to come apart too easily. So, I am taking this new load out this week to try it on sheep and (hopefully) blackbuck. If you like, I will let you know how it goes.

If, instead of sheep/antelope, I were a week away from an elk hunt, I would not be trying this out. I would pick a load with a Barnes TSX/TTSX or a Nosler bullet for the majestic elk.

Coyote Hunter has summed up my feeling as well.
In my humble opinion, most elk are killed at well under 300 yards. I suspect close to 50% of elk are taken at 150 yards or less, but for some reason, all too many people are obsessed with B.C, and match grade accuracy. So obsessed that they compromise on terminal performance.
Here are some facts that I feel confidante in.
*Elk are big targets. The “boiler room” on an adult is about the size of a basketball.
*The trajectory difference between a super low drag “match grade” bullet, and a Barns X or bonded Nosler, at 400 yards is a couple of inches, that’s it. The difference is much less than the diameter of that basketball.
*The real world difference at 400 yards, between a rifle that will hold .75 MOA accuracy, and one that averages 1.5 MOA is ZERO, none, nada.
*Elk are legendary for accepting lots of punishment, and still running a long way.
* Exit holes are your friend

The 162 will work just fine. Personally, I am a fan of 160 Partitions. They have handled every elk that I have shot with them from close to over 400 yards. Interlocks have been working for years and the ELD-X is just a more streamlined version. They are very accurate, also.

If one looks at the cutaway of the ELD-X the jacket on the Interlock has more grip on the lead core. Compare it to a Nosler Ballistic tip for chitts and grins.

I suspect that pure rib shots the ELD will work fine. Me, I'd rather take the BC hit and run the Partition or Accubond.

Son has used these the last few years. 3 large bodied bulls, big bodied mule deer bucks and a black bear have not survived them. Actually nothing has survived them. These were 2 that didn't exit on game and were found under the skin on the other side of the body. But for truly majestic elk, you may not want to use them apparently. For more average bull elk, these do fine though as I suspect the 162 eld would. Me, not being a first timer, I'm going to use a 180 eld-m. I think the m stands for magnum probably.




If you squint you can see these bullets have an L on the bottom of them. I think that could throw off the gyroscopic rotational forces when shot through a faster twisted barrel. Why would they put an L on them like that?

ELD-M equals ELD "Match", for match grade bullet.

The "M" stands for majestic.

I'd always heard Texans were quick enough to catch sarcasm. Guess not.

These were Midway seconds so maybe they are 180 ELD-Midways? 180 ELD-Majestics? 180 ELD-Monsters? Anything but Matches....I'm sticking with Magnums. Crossing my fingers and hope some unfortunate critter catches one.

Pat's probably right. Majestics sounds about right for this thread.

180 Mediocres.

180 Maybes. Going to find out lol.

"Originally Posted by peeshooter
160 or 175 Partition will work!"


"This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"

175 Partitions have always worked well in mine. No recovered bullet photos to share, though. Never recovered a bullet, always recovered the elk.

Gosh fwllows, I harvested half a dozen Elk with the 7 mag but that was probably 45 years ago. Apparently they didn't much care for a hand loaded 154 grain Hornaday as they all fell down when hit almost right were they were.

I am building 7mmRemMag #12 right now for elk in October 2012.
I have now have 4 that I built and 7 that are factory.
I have experimented with a lot of bullets, and my favorite is 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip at 3384 fps.
This requires the least skill with recoil, trajectory, or wind to reach way out there and kill something.