Has anyone tried this bullet yet? Would like to try it in my 300 RUM

They're pretty hard to find them..... when they do show up on a website for sale thry clear out really quick. If it lives up to the hype its going to be a pretty awesome bullet for the 30 odd 6 and up!

We killed 3 deer with them this fall. We used the 200 grn in .308, and they killed very well. They open exceptionally fast though, so be prepared for a large amount of bloodshot. I generally use BT's because they also open quickly, yet hold enough weight to penetrate. I'm used to having some bloodshot meat, but the ELD-X was more than I've ever experienced. All 3 deer were taken 125 yards and in, but out of a .308, the 200's were only going 2500ish.

I'm far from done with them as they penetrated well, and the animals died quickly, two DRT, and all penetrated at least to the off side, a couple passed through. Found one on the off shoulder with the jacket and core sperated, looking much like and expanded BT, just with much more bloodshot.

It looks like they are nothing more than a crap SST with a new tip. If that is the case, then as was mentioned, there will be lots of destruction on moderate-range shots.

I never have bought into the Interlock design, the only bullet that I've ever seen blow up on impact and not penetrate was a hornady100gr BTSP interlock from a .243 Win. The bullet hit the scapula of a Whitetail doe at 75 yards blew a crater and never penetrated the body cavity..however the blunt force killed the deer after it ran a hundred yards or so..

The unslanted in field results should start stacking up soon. It's gonna be fun reading the reports. Just looking at it the bc's seem to be a stretch but we should know more soon.

Midway has this bullet in stock. I now have some on the way..

Outside appearances can be deceiving tho; the newer NBTs look just like the old highly frangible ones (100/box) but hold up very nicely due to beefed up jackets. I gave up on the SSTs early on for reasons you cite but have heard that their jackets have been similarly redesigned. Have no firsthand experience.

I'll withhold judgment on the ELD-X till I hear from people firsthand. I'm interested in the 210 gr version in my 300 Weatherby & the 143 gr in my 260.

I would like to try the 143 in a 260 and 6.5x55 and the 178's in a Sako 30-06. Lot's of bloodshot meat doesn't sound good from the report earlier on this thread but will have to see how others find them. Thanks for the feedback JohnChilds. We all know the campfire is great for unbiased opinions on bullet performance so look forward to others trying them, lol.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

If a 200 gr going 2500 fps does all that damage then forget it from a magnum.

I think we'll need to take more than one animal before we pass judgment.

Take care

^^^ Yes most definitely, lol.

"Extend your range and never compromise at any distance!
ELD-X™ (Extremely Low Drag - eXpanding)

The ELD-X™ bullet is a technologically advanced, match accurate, ALL-RANGE hunting bullet featuring highest-in-class ballistic coefficients and consistent, controlled expansion at ALL practical hunting distances."



http://www.hornady.com/store/ELD-X

They are all heavy.

Why didn't they put this tip on the A-max first?

We will just have to wait until next year to get reports on expansion and performance on big game.

I think it's BS, a way to Hornady to boost sales. I recovered a Nosler ballistic tip out of the snow when it melted in the spring at round 1000 yards and it didn't look to me if the tip melted. Bullets in question was the 30 cal 180gr ballistic tip fired out of a 300 wby match running 85.5grs of H4831 with the fps at the muzzle of 3457. Use that same load for the 178gr Amax but never recovered any of twhem.

There were 3 animals taken but I agree. My statement was made by hypothesizing that the tester's results were in fact 100% correct and reproducible.

It's called the ELD-Match.

I gotta laugh. I don't know if bullet manufacturers have us chasing our tails each claiming one bullet over another to ad nauseam, or if they're just incompetent.

It seems like the Hornady GMX would be a viable competitor to the Barnes ttsx, BUT, they can't figure out how to make it open up at long range. Why? The SST blows up. Again, why? ELD-X with and without a tip that does or doesn't melt, Holy Cow! The this the that to infinity, and beyond!


Why not make the perfect bullet, and stop production of all others? 100% weight retention, perfect full expansion at any reasonable velocity through any material likely encountered. Hint- tapered jacketed mono-metal with expansion initiating plastic tip!

Oh yeah, opinions sell bullets.

That really doesn't answer the question though... And it's a good one.

If they're saying that the polymer used in match bullets is melting then wouldn't they replace that component in their tipped match bullets at least simultaneously with the release of this new one?

The new one has an interlock ring which means nothing for REAL match shooting, and the BCs are lower than comparable AMs which tells me the ELD-Match has that word in its name for the crowd who likes shooting target bullets at animals long range.

Seems like a narrow crowd to support a whole new line, but who knows.

I must be missing something....it appears that the ELD-Match beats the AMax BC in every caliber offered...minor differences, but it appears to be an AMax with a new tip.

In case it isn't clear:
Hornady introduced 2 new bullet lines.
The ELD-Match and the ELD-X....the X is the 'hunting' line with lower BC and interlok. The Match is basically an AMax with new tip.

Oh pardon me; I wasn't clear on the fact that match & hunting were different.

Thanks for that clarification!

The guys at gunwerks helped develop and test these bullets. The have taken a number of animals and most were longer ranges. The kills I have seen were pretty DRT and clean. I'm waiting for Bryan litz to test the bc of them and see what real numbers are. The 143gr 6.5 seems to be a great bullet and I'd like to try them once my new build is done.

Why is it that those who don't kill at long range are concerned about bullets designed for killing at long range, and worried because they expand rapidly at close range?

These are going to be fine, as long as the shots are long. I think that for the average guy, they will be the same as an SST-very frangible. They tried to say that the SST is an interlock. That is pure crap. I have shot tons of Interlocks, and the SST cannot hang with them for performance on game at reasonable ranges. I think that polymer tip is great, but I believe that it has a lot to do with the destructive expansion, also.

same reason they bish about FFP scopes on a hunting rifle?

A jacketed mono-metal. That's the ticket.

So much obsession it seems about retained weight and small wound channels.

I've found in 10 000 plus head of game culled, that softer bullets kill way more quickly than hard ones.

I've used so many SSTs, Sierra GKs and various hollowpoints on game and though sometimes there is a LOT of meat damage, I'd rather see a dead animal with a huge exit wound than try to find the bloody thing in the scrub.

Aren't they designed to expand?

I'll be keen to use the ELDX.

True, unless they expand rapidly and don't penetrate well. That can lead to a bad follow-up or a lost animal. I, personally, don't want a bullet to dynamite.

I've scratched my head trying to figure that one out for a long time now.

Probably they are concerned over too much expansion and the loss of blood shot meat at short range.
My read of the ELD-X is that they will perform very well at both ranges. End of anyones concern.

The summation in the NRA read shows how real science works. The Doppler data and graph showed something they didn't expect. So they revised their hypothesis and raised the melting point of the tip from 475* to something over 700*. Also the continuous data provided by the Doppler readout gave them real time data over the distance of the shot - something that hasn't been done, according to the author.

For the same reason fly-fishermen worry about whether there's a barb on the single-hook of my #1 Mepps....

Hornady is using Doppler radar. How would Litz obtain more accurate info with his system of acoustic sensors?

Exactly. Could care less about ruining meat...shoulder meat sucks anyway. I do care about a bullet blowing up on a shoulder and a rodeo to recover a elk running away on three legs. Had some of that this year.

lefty C

Thinking about Hornady's advertising and using the jacket material instead of solid copper. Brainfart. Good catch.

Lefty: What happened?

Mmmm.....not quite. I'm sure no one really cares what you use. That's up to you.

Wondering about it...and caring....are two entirely different things.