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

I've got 500 of them. Going to give them a whirl.

Of all the posts on this topic, this one seems to possibly provide a rock to look under. I'm wondering if engaging the rifling is damaging the jackets. Maybe cut vs button or a few 10s of thousands more/less in bore diameter somehow damages the thin jackets. I find it interesting that a single bullet can have such varied results as witnessed on this thread.

The berger vld et all have a very hard nose on them and no means to initiate expansion. That is why they penetrate a little ways and then come apart. At longer range they penetrate a bit further before comimg apart as there is yaw dependence with the design. Watch the Barbour Creek videos and you can clearly see the neck longer on long range impacts. OTM bullets have been studied super extensively and one of the main reason they are “ok” for military applications is because there is no design features to promote expansion/flattening. The fact they can fragment is apparently ok…

So, I have personally preferred the bergers when I want a high bc bullet for hunting since shallow penetration is less likely with this design despite thin jackets. There is some risk of no expansion but berger minimizes this by keeping their hunting bullet jackets thin. The tipped match bullets start expanding right away with no features to control expansion or retain weight. Not used them personally but lot of folks use them and high SD, bullet weight overcome some sins. The eldx does have a thicker jacket but also has a wider metplat / hp so will open more violently (you can see in the cross section). This may offset any advantage a slightly thicker jacket the bulley provides. Also not sure how soft the core is on eldx given they say expands lower velocity. Comparitively the ballistic tip has much thicker jacket and solid base and the TGK has much thicker sidewall so little tougher bullet but there is no bonding to keep the core from squirting out even if jacket holds together

Lou

I’ll be watching what they do for you. I even got a bunch of Varget since it seems like the go to.

Benchmark Barrels wanted me to test a 3 groove barrel in .264 Win Mag. Sent a test barrel and I contoured and chambered it up using the same throat dims I did in all the 6 grooves.

The concept was 3 lands that were twice as wide as the lands in my preferred 6 groove.

Shot fine for the break in as one would expect from a hand lapped Benchmark.

At about 150 rnds 140gr VLDs wouldn't reliably make it to 100yds. The load was a max velocity for VLDs, 3250fps.

Barrel looked great in the bore scope but the double width lands were to hard on the VLD jacket when engraving at max pressure.

ELD X or M have not impressed me at all. And it happened again this fall on a bear. Not at all impressed. The old amax I had better faith in.

kind of lucky I guide so I get to see more shot and shoot more than most. all of that has said no to those bullets on bigger game. Probably ok on deer but beyond that it would never be my choice.

Makes sense. Wonder if some of the poorer reports on these sorts bullets can’t be attributed to similar.

How about this feller? Same load the year before, I think. Maybe 125 yards. Again, straight down. Did the gutless on him because the pack out nearly killed me, so I didn’t see the internal damage. Hit him in the shoulder, though, no CNS involvement.



I might have a pic of the antelope I shot at around 75 yards with the 150 version out of my 7mm-08.





P

Here he is. Low in the pocket behind his shoulder.



Not a bad looking goat.




He didn’t go far.









P

what is the machete you gutted him with?....

Dunno, not my knife.




P

Amen brother.

Very informative thread. I concur with what someone had already said. The feedback provided from the likes of Beretzs, Jordan, Tiny, JB, Jay, and others is very helpful.

Correct me if this is wrong. I should be just fine shooting 143gr Eldx out of my 6.5 CM with an average of 2525 FPS for both near shots with a max distance of 500 yards for smaller furs.


As for the 175gr eldx. Like Sakoluvr, I’ve been living on the edge of frustration with my 7PRC being married to boxed Horn 175gr eldx ammunition.

Without rehashing the hash. I wasn’t seeing enough consistency in speed nor accuracy out of the 25 different boxes of the 175gr eldx I bought to feel comfortable taking them into the field. For the mortality of this bullet - It appears distance is your friend, as they perform best when they are slowed down.

Because I despise, finicky, in both bullets and women. I switched to reloading my own for the 7PRC using 168gr Berger VLD Hunting tips.

Sakoluvr, I’ll post up where I landed on loads for both once fired Horn brass and new ADG cases on JGray’s thread in the hunting rifle forum ‘7PRC Factory vs Handloads’, so I don’t jack your thread.

🦫

Just ordered 200

Well, I wouldn't say that it doesn't mean squat, but I get your point. Speed at the muzzle does mean that the bullet impact will never exceed that speed.

Bullets aside - that's a dang nice elk!

Yup, and stated velocity with factory Hornady 175 ELD X is a whole nuther frustrating issue. Ain't seeing it with my 26" Bartlein

I happen to have a Pre-64 270WCF that I am going to work up a partition load for. Seems an appropriate bullet for this rifle.

Looking at the ELD-X vs ELD-M pictures, a simple change to a smaller tip/expansion cavity would do wonders. Make it bonded and it could be fantastic.

Processing all my own meat for many years, I am not a big fan of soft/splash type design bullets. Exact reason I do not shoot animals with the .277 caliber, 145gr ELD-X anymore.

I have been taking game with everything from a .224 TTSX to a .358 TSX with never a bullet failure. I will continue to use them. As said, I used the 175 ELD X factory load 7 PRC because I just got the rifle from my gunsmith a few weeks before our Elk hunt.

Those barnes bullets are extremely reliable. Just be aware of the impact velocity and shoot accordingly.

Great looking bull! Congrats.

Took a cow elk with the 178 gr ELD-X from my 30-06 at 405 yards. My hit was a little low I think. Bullet shattered the leg bone going in, then into the heart.





Elk seemed about to fall, then rallied her strength and took off after the herd! Eventually we caught up to her and I finished her at closer range. I was amazed that she went a couple of hundred yards with one broken leg and a hole through her heart! Bullet not recovered.

In 2021 I smacked a fat muley buck at about 350 yards with the same rifle, using a 180 gr Berger Elite Hunter. Flattened him instantly, but again, needed a finishing shot when I got up to him.

Shot mostly Noslers for many years but have branched out a bit lately, just trying other bullets. Agree that the ELD-X seems to expand readily. I think I'm going to try the Hornady CX's from that 7 PRC I've been loading for. Loathe to give up any accuracy, and the ELD-X's have been very accurate... There's always Barnes too. Have the 140 gr TTSX's loaded up for my 7mm Rem Mag. They're fast & accurate.

BTW, great discussion. It was worth going through all the posts!

Guy