Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 143 ELD-X on elk

Shot a bull this morning with my 6.5-284. Bullet expanded AND exited. Bull was DRT. On a steep hill. Fell on his face and tumbled 20 feet down. I am liking so far. I took some photos but it has been a LONG day packing meat.

Good for ya!

Great going! Looking forward to pics and specifics. Congrats!

Congrats!! I'm thinking I may give them a whirl in my 260, but haven't had any issue yet with the Scenars so it's not a pressing issue.

After hunting since the previous Wednesday I shot a small 6x6 on Monday morning. I had passed quite a few bulls up to this point and actually gone home on Sunday. KRP went back up with me on Monday and it was going to be the last day I had any help. The unit I was in is too rough to really hunt solo and find anything that you shoot. I decided I was going to shoot any 6x6 that wasn't broken up. Most of the bulls that I had previously looked over had broken antlers; several had entire main beams broken off. We saw two really big bulls but they were either too far, moving or just not shootable.

I used my 6.5-284 loaded with 143 ELD-X bullets at 2975ish. They shot fantastic at the range so I had the accuracy part down- the terminal performance was the wild card.

The shot I had was uphill and a few small branches partially blocking. I hit the right side chest, bullet exited after double lungs and clipping the bottom of the spine. Bull dropped in his tracks and flipped downhill about 20 feet. The hillside he was on was incredibly steep and covered with Mountain Mohagany, Ceanothus, Manzanita, Oak brush and Algerita as well as the occasional juniper and pinyon pine.

I took about 30 minutes to make the 200 yards from the bottom of the canyon up to the bull. There was no rolling him over or re-positioning him. It was thick and steep. Kent and I packed out both hindquarters the mile and half to the truck and waited for my son to arrive (he worked graveyard shift that night). We then went back for the last load and packed the rest. Besides the steep hillside and canyon full of dead-fall, we had to negotiate 3 travertine waterfalls (dry luckily). We were pretty beat when we got to the truck with the last load.

We had arrived in the dark and with headlamps made our way through a 2 mile+ of manzanitas and wait-a-minute bushes. We finally got to the ponderosa covered hillside and began peeking through the windows in the trees to the mountain across from us. We spotted a bull and moved closer. We finally got to where I could see him good enough to decide he was going to make a lot of work for us that day. I shot him standing at a little over 200 yards as there was no way to see any other position. He dropped at the shot and at 4.5 power I could see it happen- pretty cool actually.

Using radios, I guided Kent once he got to the other side. The bull had fallen about 20 feet down the hill behind some turbinella oak and wasn't visible from my side. I then dropped down and made my way up through the elk trails on the thick side.




The bull-finally




Packing meat out- first load. arriving at first waterfall




Where he was feeding and shot





Bottom of waterfall

Wound photos





Entrance





Entrance







Exit

Congrats Dennis...

great pics and a great story....

Glad Kent had the time to go and help out...

Saw the pics you sent last night--congratulations! You earned that one.

Great pics and story. Congrats, and thanks for posting good info.

As others have said, great photos and a great hunting story. There has to be a tremendous amount of satisfaction upon accomplishing the entire task of cleaning & humping it out. Well done.

Congrats Dennis. Sounds like that country where you walk on top to the brush rather than through it.

Congrats on your bull.

Sounds like the 143 worked excellent.

Congrats bud....

Sounds like a fun packout....

Congrats! Love those exhausting pack outs.

Nice job, Dennis. Well done.

I'm glad to hear that the 143 gr VLD-Xs do a good job on elk. Someday soon, it may be my last and only rifle.

donsm70

I'm glad to see a positive report on the ELD-X bullets. I bought a 6.5 Creedmoor several months back and the 143's have shot so well I've never bothered to try anything else, probably won't. Like you my concern how well they would perform on game. I've read several positive reports similar to yours. I've been shooting the 178's in my 308 with good accuracy as well.

Dennis, you should have called me if you needed help !

I sat home all day watching Rocky & Bullwinkle...

Funny you say that. I actually stood on top of the brush below the bull at times while butchering. I stepped through once and was about chest-high to it. Kent had to pull me out!

The ELDX has performed very well for us this year. Three bucks, three shots, 150 out of a 7mm-08. One bull, 3 shots (he was dead after the first, but if he's standing my nephew is shooting), same load.

162 ELDX 7mm Rem Mag, one buck and two elk, three shots. No complaints.




P

Congrats. I had a similar uphill shot on my elk this year and had similar results. Left lung was jelly, vertebrae was blown apart. Spined him and killed him at the same time.
This was with a 190gr accubond at about 250 yards.