Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters I will not use a 175 ELD X on game again

2 quick kills at almost 500 and 700 yards then problems at under 300 yards tells the story. Launching bullets faster than what they're designed for never ends well. I loaded some 25-06 ballistic tips for antelope hunting once that were hot-hot but I knew I couldn't pull the trigger unless the animal was 200+ yards out. Took a nice doe at about 450 yards and the bullet worked perfectly.

I used the 145gr ELD-X on a deer and antelope one season. Very soft bullet that makes a mess.

When processing this deer. My Dad, who is not a gun looney, but a meat guy, made the comment "what bullet are you shooting? Sure made a mess and ruined a bunch of meat."



Monometals all the way for hunting. Makes processing much more enjoyable.

I’ve posted about it before, but I’ve had inconsistent results with the 143 ELD-X in the Creedmoor. Splashes on impact, pencil throughs and then perfect performance. I hear great things about the bullet from guys I trust, then poor reports from other guys with experience. I shot about a dozen deer with the bullet. Those were all from early production factory ammo. Maybe a bad lot? I’m just not convinced there aren’t jacket inconsistencies causing issues. Lots of great reports with just as many bad reports mixed in.

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Gave up using Hornasuck bullets in 93 for hunting. Advertised as the best 25 cal they ever made.

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Perhaps, but I had never seen an advertised velocity ceiling. Muzzle velocity was 3050 fps. Either way, I'm switching to a bonded bullet or a mono for whitetail hunting in the future.

When I first got my 6.5 Creedmoor my son used the factory ELD X on a couple of small whitetail does. No exit and jacket looked like above. I load Scenars in it now.

Too many other choices to be messing around with bullets you do not trust. And why go to the M match version if the X hunting version is in question?

Shot a bull elk in October with 6.5CM and 143 ELD-X reloaded to factory specs (2700fps) - not impressed. First shot (200yds broadside) right in the pocket, second shot (200yds broadside bull moving) a bit back but still in the vitals, third shot hit rear leg at knee joint as bull was getting the hell out of there (300yds and moving). Caught up with him 1/2 hour later - shot him head on in the neck/front shoulder (50 yards through the timber) junction and he ran off again. Found again in the timber and shot him 2 more time (broadside) in the chest from 50 yards before he finally dropped. 4 bullets in the chest, 1 in the front and 1 in the hind knee. Not sure if it was the bullets or not enough gun. Bulls that I have shot in the past with 30-06 and good old 180 Interlocks go from 10 to 50 yards and drop dead.

I’m sticking with bonded and monos from now on, maybe the odd Partition.

Sounds a lot like my experience with Berger 140 VLDs on 7-8 elk, cows and rag bulls. Not anything huge.

Now all the usual suspects will proclaim that since you have a dead elk, how did the bullets fail?

What a goat rodeo. I'd be soured too.

I've found the 143 ELDX at 2700 to be pretty good on whitetails, but even slightly quartering angles on 200+lb hogs have stopped them. Killed fine, but not what I'd call a real "controlled expansion" bullet.

I have several hundred of them I'm not going to use in my PRC anymore. Perhaps they will work well in my 6.5 Creedmoor.

I had inconsistent results with the 143 Eldx out of the 6.5 CM on deer. Reloads that should have been very close to factory loads. After the second time it happened I switched to the 129 ABLR and have been very happy with it.

I had an extremely bothersome result with a reloaded 75 Amax out of a 223AI on a coyote. Multiple shots. All would have been from the same box of bullets. I'd never had results like that using them before. The rest of that box I used on targets/steel. I still love shooting the 75 Amax but have moved to the 77 TMK over the last several years and have been pleased with it.

I've been shooting the 175 eldx out of a 280AI but haven't used it on game. I was planning to use it in the 7 PRC. Not an encouraging report and I'm irked to read it...but glad it was posted.

ELDs are a target projectile crudely adapted for hunting. They should honestly never be shot at game, IMO. Something bonded or, better yet, a quality copper monolithic would keep you from having to do this again. Glad you were able to find her and finish the job!

One 75 gr. SSII off hand at a hundred on this 'yote.

The Swift Scirocco II holds together and expands. I like'em, 'yotes not so much.

Rifle is Rem 7 .22-204 with Brux tube, Jewell trigger, Lone Wolf stock. It's a keeper.

DF

had plenty of wonky stuff with 200gr eld-x back in 2017 in New Zealand.

Blow ups up close, not much bullet disruption at distance. 300 yard virtual pencil. Needed follow up shots. Same at 100 something. With the 40 or so kills I was pissed I couldn’t go and buy a different type of ammo.

Fall of 2021 I couldn’t get 108gr eld-ms and slummed 103gr eld-x in the 6br. smoked a doe on at field at about 1900fps impact . Saw blood as she whipped around on the exit side Perfect crease shot. Never found her. Same thing on a big cow elk couple months later, sub 2000fps impact for sure. this time with eld-m… softball size exit 5 steps.



Eld-x are not top shelf. And I’ve shot/seen shot a pile of critters with them in 103, 145, 143, 200gr flavors. Critters would include, stags, tahr, chamois, whitetail, mule deer, antelope and piles of feral goats.

Whereas with 75, 108, 140, 147 flavor of eld-m we’ve shot moose, grizz, musk ox, caribou, elk, mountain lion, antelope, whitetail, mule deer to perfectly good satisfactory levels.

Funny thing is I’ll hunt this coming roar and chamois rut with 145gr eld-x, that bullet has kept my mates kiwi block pest free for quite a few years, meaning u30-50 deer a season. But from records almost all larger animals are shot below 2700fps but above 2300 or so.. and that’s where the eld-x usually shines.

I put bullets into 3 categories: raw chicken egg, hard-boiled chicken egg and golf ball.

Now, imagine getting hit in the head (shot placement) with each of these projectiles at any speed. What's the outcome?

Which would you prefer to get hit with?

Which would you prefer to hit a 'bad guy' with?

To my way of thinking, Barnes TSX/TTSX are golf balls, and bonded/partitions are hard-boiled, with Vmax/cup-and-core being raw eggs.

Use a Barnes type or Partition type bullet and go kill big stuff.

Save the 'raw chicken egg' type bullets for small stuff.

Beautiful photo!

What was happening with these bullets when they landed? Did they fail to penetrate and just crater on the outside of the rib cage or did they ice pick and basically not do much damage?

I've 'retired' the 143 gr. ELD-X for the 143 gr. Norma Bondstrike when elk hunting. Having options in the field is a wonderful thing...

+1!