I know this has been discussed to death, however what is the consensus of this bullet for elk. If I use them it will be loaded in a 7mm saum

I'm interested in this answer too. I havent been able to find any of the 162 ELDX's, but 162 SST's are available. the reviews said that the 162SST was a decent elk projectile, but that was a surprise to me (and not sure I believe it yet).

what I can tell you is that the 162 SST's group very well in my 280AI which is pretty comparable to the 7SAUM.

if I had ELDX's and they grouped well, thats what I'd likely use, fwiw.

all that to say..... following.....

I can't answer for the 162 gr eldx but I have killed a truck load of elk with the 162 gr BTSP bullet from Hornady out of my 7mm Mag. I would expect the 162 gr eldx to work just fine.

SST? Hope you don’t have to do anything like a shoulder shot…..aim between the ribs!

ELDX is not the SST. But I agree with your comment on the SST, not the bullet you want if you have to break heavy bone.

I agree in concept. my limited use of sst (25-06) have shown quick fragmentation, but the reviews online for the 162 say it's a great elk bullet. I'd absolutely want to verify on paper/pigs/etc before using them on an elk hunt.

fwiw..... 162 is a fairly heavy 7mm bullet.

The 162 eldx out of a 7mm Rem Mag is the go-to bullet for me and my brother.



We have 6 or seven elk between us using this load and nothing needed a second shot.

MV around 3,000 fps.




P

Looks good pharm. I just loaded up some this morning.

You say "fairly heavy", I say just right..

Wtf a 3 shot group? Don’t let bsa see this.. You might want to delete this post..

Hey, you guys in Alaska do it all the time. If I remember right, you were just saying you shoot 3 in your magnums. Even though the 7mm rem mag is a puzzy cat to shoot.. I just finished my newest one. I'm hoping it shoots that well. It probably will..

Was responding to Billy Goat’s post

A buddy shot moose (2 broadside pass thru's at 200 yards), several elk and mule deer with a 180 SST out of a 300 WM. No bullet blow up, just dead critters.

I do and I don’t bust people balls for not shooting 5 shot groups or 10. But that BSA fella watch out, he will be on you like an Indian at Indian casino buffet.

What is funny about the SST is you have some guys saying they work great and then others say they don't. Kind of like the Barnes TSX. I realize this thread is about the ELDX, but if the SST works as well, I'd buy those. The 7MM 162 ELDX seem to be hard to find right now, where I can go out and buy the SST's.. Hornady says the SST is basically a more "streamlined" polymer tipped interlock bullet.. I've used enough interlocks to know they work just fine on deer and elk..

Two friends went to Africa for the 6 plains game animals including Eland and Kudu. Their rifles were Weatherby Mark 5's in 7 STW, with hand loads of 162 SST loaded at 3150. All animals dropped in their tracks, the Ph was so impressed that he wrote an article in PH magazine that all those Professional Hunters subscribe to.

The 162g SST must be a tougher bullet than most think.

Powder Valley has them for $37/100

and I havent seen ELDX's for sale for a while.

I bought 200 of those SST's just to have something to shoot while waiting on the next ELDX run. turns out..... both my 280ai's really like them.

Dang, that sounds good Keith. I know you also like the 154gr Interlock bullet in your 7mm's. I'm dang tempted to go and buy those SST's I saw for $32.99/box!!

They are my favorite bullet in 180 grain for my 30-06. Never recovered one but haven’t found any fragments either and I take high shoulder shots for less tracking jobs.

Maybe 178?

I think he is talking about the 180gr SST.. We kind of went off on a tangent talking about the SST's.

When I can’t afford better, I’ll go with some Hornady… lol 🤣🤣🤣

I used to pile on with that myself. Can’t blame you. I tried the 212 ELDs on elk from the 06 and was mighty impressed.

Their Interbonds are some of the best bonded bullets out there but I don’t think they get the press their sleeker stuff does.

Copy.

I suck at pronouns.




P

Ha ha.. That's alright. Good news is I found a nice stock pile of 162 ELDX at a LGS here. $39/box.. My 2 new 7mm rem mag rifles like them and shoot the same load very well.

Hey pharm, have you ever used any of these?:


They had a good sale on them at Coastal about 2 years ago. Less than $30/box.. Probably discontinued or something now? They are 140gr Tipped trophy bonded bullets. I figured they would work very well in the 7mm08..

We have used them a bit. You probably should just send those to me. You’d hate how they work

I’ve killed with 120 NBT, 140 PT, 140 AB, 140 VLD Hunting, and 150 eldx. Loaded some 120 TTSX but never hunted with them. 7mm-08.

7mm Rem Mag I’ve killed with 160 PT, 160 AB, and 162 eldx. Loaded some 180 VLD Hunting for my brother, he killed a bull with them.

Those bullets look wicked.

Ha ha.. I knew I should have bought more!!! I know the old trophy bonded bearclaws were animals.

Thanks pharm. I just figured since you probably have a coastal near where you live, maybe you bought some of these as well. Yes, they do look pretty wicked. Nickle plated, I believe, with a nice orange polymer tip. I loaded some up to try out in my 7mm rem mag. We'll see how they do...

They had them as pull downs from Rocky Mountain Reloading in .277 130’s. Now I wished I’d bought a 1000. Awesome hunting bullet. Very similar to a Bitterroot in my experience.

That says quite a bit. Thanks Scotty.

Pharm, mind sharing your load buddy? I just bought 3 more boxes of the 162 ELDX today for $105.xx. They are cheap enough that I will use them for practice and hunting. My load consists of IMR7828, but I don't want to use too much of that because that is what I also use in my 300WBY.

Bet he is using that magic RL26...

Nice thing about the 7 Rem is everything from 4350 up to RL33 works pretty stinkin well.

Never had a bit of drama getting 3000+ from a 160 in a 7 Rem or 2900+ from a 175/180.

Yeah, I was out this morning. Running IMR7828 and the same load in both of my new to me 7mm rem mags:


That's how the cheaper one shoots... I just put the scope on, so it was not sighted in..

Seems like you have it sorted out decent.

I’m not a fan of any of the eldx’s, I’ve shot both white tail deer and elk and upon impact they blew up.The 175’s and the 162’s reacted the same, the 175’s had a baseball size hole”s on the entrance.But I will say dead is dead. All of the game was shot with a 28 Nosler.

Sorry, just saw this.

Yep, Reloader 26. 69.0 grains, WLRM. Really close to 3k. Very pleased with the performance on elk. I haven’t shot anything farther than 375 yards or closer than 150 yards yet. My brother killed a Mulie buck with his 7mm Rem Mag using the same load, maybe 75 yards, DRT and normal bloodshot.

This surprises me. Two years ago my party killed 4 Mulie bucks, all with the 7mm-08 using 150 eldx. Nothing needed a second shot. That same year I shot a cow elk at 375 yards, 7mm Rem Mag, 162 eldx, using the above load.



Note the shot placement.

The bullet center punched the leg bone just below the joint, blew through a rib, transversed both lungs, nicked the other rib, then lodged under the hide on the off side. Held together very well.




It’s the first eldx we’ve caught.


Edit to ask, what’s the muzzle velocity of the 28 Nosler, and how fast do you suppose the bullets were going at impact?





P

Looks like good performance to me. Thanks for the load data too.

I believe that Nathan Foster's opinion was that the 162 SST will hold together a little bit better than the 162 ELDX but that neither one should be used on big bones at high velocities (magnum rifles at close ranges). Makes sense to me.

I think there have been some here prove that the 162 ELDX works just fine, even on big bodied elk. Sorry, but I don't know Nathan Foster. Does he post here? Tell him to post some pics. The ones Pharm posted looked pretty damn good to me. I also have buddies that use the ELDX in factory Hornady precision hunter ammo and they don't have an issue with any deer or elk not succumbing to that bullet when placed in the vitals.

Folks tend to forget that their way ain't the only way.

Shoulder shooters might hate a soft bullet that is devastating if driven
into the ribs.

The opposite is true of a harder bullet driven into lungs.

Guys who are great shooters/shoot from blinds/over bait/dam picky about
the shots they take...can use anything if they are neck shooting.

I have taken one cow elk with the ELD-X bullet but it was the 180 grain version.

It worked perfectly. The cow jumped at impact and then started that sideways stagger
that means they are going down. The shot went through a rib bone and destroyed the
lungs.

Plastic tipped highly expansive bullets work great - until they don’t. Even the 7mm 150 grain NBT that I had blow up on the ribs of a bull & leave a palm sized entry wound killed the elk. He just traveled over 500 yards until the shrapnel in his lungs bled him out.

I killed several elk & truck loads of deer with that combination & still think those are the best deer bullets going but have gone the Barnes TTSX for elk & wouldn’t go back.

Over my 60 years of hunting I have tried a various variety of bullets. Mostly when they are new and advertised as the greatest thing since sliced bread. The mono's, the Hornady's, Sierra Game King, and numerous others. (In fact the 162 grain 7mm Hornady SPBT is the most accurate bullet), I have shot in several 7mm rifles. There are always newer and better. But to this day the majority of my deer and elk have fallen to the Nosler Partition, and a new comer the Nosler AB. My favorite saying is that "if its not broken, leave it alone".

That doesn't really tell us what the 7mm 162 ELDX bullet does on elk. I can say I've used heavy for caliber Sierra gamekings on elk with great success, but they always shed their core. Even the 250gr from the 338wm. The core will generally make a full pass through and the jacket can be found on the offside of the hide. I've had some 180gr Nosler partitions do the same thing when fired from 300 magnums and 30-06. Elk will catch those like a catchers mitt. One reason I made the switch to the 200gr partition. Don't really give 2 schidts for the 180 anymore. I'd just as soon use a damn winchester powerpoint. What a damn good bullet that 200gr partition is though, even when moderate velocities are used. I've puched elk through and through with the 286gr Nosler partition with a 9.3x62 and that was the poorest fu cking behaving bullet I've ever used. Elk ran a good ways when shot with that combo. When that has not been the norm when shot with a bullet that expands or maybe fragments better. 1 elk shot last year with the 140gr TTSX, was a thru and thru like a laser beam (even though bone) and the elk went down quick. That was from a little 7mm08. A 225gr Hornady interlock launched from my 338wm put a big bull elk down on his nose a second after I pulled the trigger. Yet, none of those say anything about the performance of the 162 eldx.. Like I said before, pharm gave some good useable examples. Thanks buddy!! I'd use the 162 ELDX, because I know the regular ol interlock performs just fine on them. The ELDX should be even better..

While I agree the 180 PT can get caught in elk more than the 200, elkmen1 has a pretty large jar of recovered 180 from dead elk. And they shoot like a SOB in his 300 so he is pretty aware of how they work since he’s been killing elk since 20 years before I was born.

He also took a small bull with the plain Jane 162 BTSP Interlock that just grenaded at 400+ yards on the front leg bone. That was out of a 7 Rem Mag. Only one experience with it but we know we haven’t had a 160 Accubond ever give anything but excellent performance.

As for the 162 ELD, no experience with it. I used the 212 from the 30-06 a few years back and it worked fine.

Myself, I’d probably pass on them from a 7 magnum just on the premise of being up close and having to poke one through a shoulder. Out of a 7-08 I’d probably be okay with them.

Maybe Pharm has some thoughts about driving the 162 through bone that could change my mind. I’m pretty open minded I thinj and I like the ELDs but I think under high speed hits they might leave you wanting.

While not specifically on elk, I've used 7mm 160 AB's in Africa on more than 60 head of plains game. Some impacts under 100 yds, some about 200 yds, lots in between those ranges. Nary a problem, exemplary performance. Other than a 160 partition, it would be hard for me to use anything else.

Found some butchery photos. I was impressed enough by the bullet performance to snap a couple.




Sort of a big bone.




She was a big cow. The bullet had plenty of excuse to fragment or separate but it didn’t.




P

That looks promising. Far side or near side leg Pharm? Did you recover the bullet?

Yeah, I posted a pic a bunch of posts ago. Don’t know the weight.

Rgr, sorry, I’ll backtrack it.

I found it. Looks pretty good to me. Roughly similar to the 212 I found in the last bull I took.

Has anyone done a comparison between the 162 amax and the ELD-X?

I’ve used the 6.5 Hornady 143 ELDx out of my 6.5 STW for about 3 elk now. No problems, one went about 100 yards, but that was my bad not the bullet.

Seems they may have toughened the SST from earlier ones. I had written off the 6.5 version years back due to being too expansive, not too unlike the early NBT’s.

Current production SST’s and NBT’s seem to hold together better than vintage versions.

DF

Thumb,

I have shot elk with the 162 ELDX out of a 7mm WSM muzzle velocity 3060. Not sure how many but I have been using the ELDX from the time they came out. Shots from 40 Yards to 750 Yards. It is my go to load for elk. I have shot several deer also. But for deer I use my 6.5/06 or my 264 most of the time.

8mmwapiti

That's good intel as well 8mm!

I have some of those. The 140’s shoot great in my 280 with 54 grains of Hunter. They are quite long though and eat up a lot of powder space so I haven’t tried them in the 7-08. Wish I had bought more when they were available. Going to take that 280 load out this year.

65 grains of RL23 with the 162 eld-x shoots great in my 7mm rem mag. About 3,000fps

I can't answer for the 162 gr ELDX but I sure killed a lot of game back in the day with the Hornady 162 gr BTSP so I see no reason why the ELDX wouldn't be just as good or maybe even better.

Man, I really like those 140's. I was out shooting today and the those 140 are excellent performers at 400 yards. I was surprised that they drifted less in the wind than the 162 ELDX did. Same exact winds, but the 140's were more on point, even though the 162 trumps them in the bc department. I know a lot of guys tout high bc, but when the proof is on the target, that is what gets my attention... Now I wish I had more of those Trophy Bonded Tips!!!!!! I have 800 162 ELDX and I'll put those to some good use. Saw the LGS has a bunch of RL23 today. I've been wanting to try that powder in the 7mm RM with these pills.

You'll like RL23.. It is like RL26 with a tiny bit less speed and all the benefits of an H Extreme powder. Usually really accurate too.

I echo all your guys thoughts on the Tipped Bear Claws. Wished I'd bought 500 of each when they were less than 25 for 50 when they came out.

I really kick myself in the azz for not buying more. I only bought 2 boxes because I didn't know anything about them. They were around $29/box, if I remember right. That was 2 years ago. I figured they would work well in the 7mm08. I should have bought 10 boxes!! Here's the target from 2 days ago. Honest target, as per usual. Shot at 400 yards. Not spectacular, but it is what it is:


That target was already up at the 400 yard target board, so I just used it. Figured there was plenty of room there to gather the data I needed. Found it odd that the 140 would outshoot the 162 ELDX. Seemed like the wind was messing with the 162 more. However, I only had those 3 140's to compare the 162's with. One thing about it, if I ever run across more of those 140's, I'm going to buy them. I'll also keep working on the 162 load..

Also, I've decided to loctite the BOSS in place (again!!!) and leave it alone. It could be cool to mess around with, if you only shot factory ammo. When you handload (tailor your ammo to your rifle), Its more than possible to just work up a good load at a fixed setting. My "worked up load" was more consistent at the original setting. That was even after I went up .1 at a time (from 2.0 to 2.8), and then backed it off .1 at a time (from 2.0 to 1.5). I thought I was going to get lucky at one setting, but it was a failed attempt, as 2 other groups said it was a no go. The most consistent setting was 2 on the dial, where I had originally had it set.. I'll take consistency at all barrel temps and fouled conditions over one lucky 3 shot group, just how I roll.. And a 3/4 to 1 moa hunting rifle is good to go. Also, after fn with the BOSS and shooting 15 groups with it, I only had 5 rounds of the 162 eldx to shoot at 400. Like I said, totally honest target there. Not enough ammo left to zero in perfectly. Just shot to compare group size and dispersion of the 162 vs. the 140. I used the last two shots on the yote at 400, of course..

That is a great bullet MAC. I've made my longest shots with the 162 BTSP interlock one year at 648 yards shooting downhill. LRF set on angle comp. Actual yardage was closer to 700. Then 2 years before that it was with a 165 BTSP interlock out of a 300WSM. Shot at 600 yards even in the same canyon. Great bullets that work very well. I'm going to start testing some 162 BTSP interlocks at 400 out of 2 of my 7mm RM rifles and see how they compare to the ELDX. If it is a wash, I'd just buy the old interlock that has worked so well for years. We will see though.. The proof is always on the target..

Blue Collar Reloading have a bunch of the 7mm 162 gr ELD-X, ELD Match & SST bullets in stock

...



Blue Collar Reloading

7mm 162 gr ELD-X

....
7mm 162 gr ELD Match

....
7mm 162 gr SST

Quick question for you, bsa, what is the relative POI between the 162 and 140 at 100 (or whatever your zero range is) in calm conditions? I'm curious if there is an offset to partially explain the perceived greater drift of the 162.

150 eldx out of a 7mm-08 is no slouch, either.




That’s 500 yards, prone, stainless T3, today. She’ll be with me next month for Cascade elk here in Oregon.





P

Loaded some of those 150 ELDX bullets for my son. His 7mm Rem Mag Bergara shot them very well!



Velocity & accuracy and wow - very flat shooting!

Regards, Guy

Guy, looks like a nice load.

If it hasn’t happened to you or a good buddy it doesn’t exist - well that’s a great philosophy. I thought the same of the Nosler Ballistic Tips until one in 7mm blew up on the ribs of a good 5x5 at 245 yards. The shrapnel in his lungs killed him 500 yards later & he stayed on public land & left a blood trail a blind man could follow in the snow so he was steaks & burger but that was just good luck after that crappy bullet performance.

I switched to Barnes TTSX & now to a 300 Weatherby with Barnes specifically to be as reliable anchoring elk as possible. The deer kills aren’t as spectacular as with a softer more frangible bullet but the elk seem to stay put.