225 eldm

[Trnelson]

I had a chance to sneek off to the range for more testing again today with the 225 ELDM...
Atmospherics: 76• wind 050@9kts 30.03"HG 31% RH
2.653" CBTO 0.010" jump 0.884" bullet base to ogive 224.6g Hornady ELDM
Velocity- 2,750 fps SD 15 ES 32 as usual, I placed five ambient bore shots...
Accuracy- 1.91MOA at 100 yards see photo... Rotate to the right 1/4 turn

 

[shawnb]

You should try a proven load side by side. Then again sometimes a rifle just doesnt like a certain bullet.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

I did some weighing and measuring today on some of my 225's and wasnt as bad as your boxes but still not the greatest. The majority came in between 225.0-225.2 grain and only a .003" variation on base to ogive through whole box.

Once I fireform some more brass for my ss I will shoot some again since all ive done is pressure test with them months ago. I wish I had a fast enough twist to shoot these in my 300 Dakota to stretch them out more but the 11 just wont do...

 

[Trnelson]

You should try a proven load side by side. Then again sometimes a rifle just doesnt like a certain bullet.

I am starting to think that is likely the case. This rifle has shot 950 rounds of the 230 Berger OTM consistently 0.3MOA. I thought I'd like to load the last 50 of the lot I have and then try some of these new bullets while the rifle is still reliable.
I will try seating between 0.030" - 0.035" jump. If neither if these tighten up I'll likely be done testing the 225 ELDM. I run into a compressed load with the 225 ELDM at 0.050" jump and have tested pretty much everything else up to 0.010" jump. I don't like getting any closer than that to the lands.
At least I have a well proven load to go back to! It's not like I lost anything by taking a look.

 

[Trnelson]

I did some weighing and measuring today on some of my 225's and wasnt as bad as your boxes but still not the greatest. The majority came in between 225.0-225.2 grain and only a .003" variation on base to ogive through whole box.

Sounds like you have a pretty good bunch to test with. I hope you run into a good load. I am a little surprised that I haven't run into something that prints better with the 225 ELDM. Especially with the very low SD I'm seeing due to sorting I believe.
What are you planning to use to test with?

 

[Idaho Trecker]

It will be in my 300 SS. I'll probably only be running them in the 2775 fps range unless I give hbn a try in this rifle i might be closer to 2800.

 

[Trnelson]

It will be in my 300 SS. I'll probably only be running them in the 2775 fps range unless I give hbn a try in this rifle i might be closer to 2800.

That is a very similar velocity to where I've been playing around with these 225 ELDM. I would love to play with either a 300 Sherman or 300 SS, Rich has those chambers really well thought out.
I'm certain I could get to 2,850 - 2,875 safely in my 30/338 Win if I could find a seating depth that would tighten up the groups I'd start adding powder and switching primers to see just how accurately I could get these to shoot. I think I'll likely run out of space before I get into trouble with pressure using Norma 217. I have never tried HBN coating out. I may have to give that a look with the Berger 230 I usually shoot after I finish testing up.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Loaded up 4 rounds in the 300 SS with 62.4 grains of RL 26 and fed 210 M at .010" off to see what happened. It wasnt very bad at all for being rushed to go get our first horse and bring to our house. I always have large poi differences with the magneto on all my rifles (almost sounds like I'm one of the few who do) so I shot first shot just to make sure I was on paper to adjust from there. First shot hit top of paper and from there made the proper adjustment to shoot the next 3 shots for a group. These 3 went to .975" (at 115 yards) which isnt that great but pressure was good and I feel that being rushed and not a great rest it would produce at least the .5 moa or better I'm use to in this is very possible. The speeds were a little different from expected. speeds in order of shots as follows: 2772, 2800, 2785, and 2784 fps. Another thing to note is this is the first firing with full loads in this freshly fire formed brass which could explain some of the variance.

 

[Trnelson]

That shows some promise at least! I hope to get back to the range tomorrow to test 0.030" and 0.035" jump in my rifle. That R-26 gets after it in a 300 SS! How is the case fill? Is there room to add much to that 62.4g load?

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Hopefully you have luck with the other jumps. I did a pressure test with these and rl 26 last fall and ran up to 65 with a drop tube and compressed. 65 almost required a 2x4 to hammer the bolt open and was 2875 fps. The 62.4 is also done with a short drop tube. Not quite compressed but very close. I am happy with the fill density, pressure and speed of this load if it turns out to be accurate. I need to keep reminding myself if I want breakneck speeds I have other cartridges for that and to use stuff for its original intended purpose.

 

[Trnelson]

Hopefully you have luck with the other jumps. I did a pressure test with these and rl 26 last fall and ran up to 65 with a drop tube and compressed. 65 almost required a 2x4 to hammer the bolt open and was 2875 fps. The 62.4 is also done with a short drop tube. Not quite compressed but very close. I am happy with the fill density, pressure and speed of this load if it turns out to be accurate. I need to keep reminding myself if I want breakneck speeds I have other cartridges for that and to use stuff for its original intended purpose.

We shall see! In this .30/338 win I loaded up to compression at 80.0g of Norma 217 and a 0.045" jump chasing the next accuracy node up with the Berger 230 OTM Tactical (2,840 fps) and found a slight hesitation hitch in the bolt lift so I went back to the next node down as I encountered compression and pressure. Looking back that isn't surprising as the Sierra 5th Edition shows 220 SMK to only 2,800 fps with a 28-1/2" barrel. I sometimes wish I had something like a 30/378, these 225-230g class bullets would be a whole level higher of fantastic. We live in an interesting time, for certain.
I may try adding a bit of powder to see if a bit more powder reveals a node. I was really encouraged early on with 0.045" jump, but nothing on either side made anything that printed even 1.75MOA. Maybe the window is just that narrow in this rifle
I can't wait until my back feels well enough to head for the range and try this next batch out.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

I sometimes wish I had something like a 30/378, these 225-230g class bullets would be a whole level higher of fantastic. We live in an interesting time, for certain.

Ha ha this is exactly what I have to fight all the time as I mentioned before of having to realize that its hard to not push more that what the cartridge was designed for. We sure do live in an interesting time. I wish my 300 Dakota was burned out so I could rebarrel to a fast enough twist to run these bullets.... someday...

Have you considered trying RL 26? Correct me if im wrong but isnt Norma 217 the same as RL 25? If you are compressing powder then I'll bet RL 26 would do it for you as its numbering is wrong in my opinion and should have been rl 24 since it is slightly faster burn rate in all the cartridges ive tried it in compared to rl 25.

 

[Trnelson]

Ha ha this is exactly what I have to fight all the time as I mentioned before of having to realize that its hard to not push more that what the cartridge was designed for. We sure do live in an interesting time. I wish my 300 Dakota was burned out so I could rebarrel to a fast enough twist to run these bullets.... someday...

Have you considered trying RL 26? Correct me if im wrong but isnt Norma 217 the same as RL 25? If you are compressing powder then I'll bet RL 26 would do it for you as its numbering is wrong in my opinion and should have been rl 24 since it is slightly faster burn rate in all the cartridges ive tried it in compared to rl 25.

I have not ran any R-26 yet. Im getting close to rebarreling a couple of my rigs, that's part of the reason for this bullet test. I will definitely be giving R-26 a good test. I'm following a couple threads about it very closely. Powder technology has come a long ways in the last ten years! So many options now.
It will take something pretty special to pull me away from 217. I'm running it in both of my 30/338 win rifles and my 264 win mag. It's very steady velocity across the temperature spectrum, low, low SD, nearly 100% load density in the rifles I'm running it in.

 

[Trnelson]

I finally felt well enough to shoot again finally. Today
I tested two different seating depths with the Hornady 225 ELDM in my 30/338 Win mag. As usual, all shots taken at ambient barrel temperature...
Atmospherics: 48• wind 280@11kts 80% RH 29.82"HG
Brass- 233.8g third firing, annealed, neck sized
CBTO 2.633" 0.030" jump
Bullet- 224.6g 0.884" base to ogive
Load- 76.0g Norma 217 primer- Winchester large rifle magnum
Velocity- 2,736 SD 17 ES 48 magnetospeed
Accuracy- 2.14MOA

And the second load...
Brass- 233.8g third firing, annealed, neck sized
CBTO- 2.638" 0.035" jump
Bullet- 224.6g 0.884" base to ogive
Load- 76.0g Norma 217 primer- Winchesterarge rifle magnum
Velocity- 2,748 SD 15 ES 40 magnetospeed
Accuracy- 2.62MOA

This will conclude my testing of the Hornady 225 ELDM. I have tested every viable seating depth for my rifle from 0.010" jump to 0.050" jump (where the bullet contacts the powder).
No load shot better than 1.5MOA over a five shot ambient bore string. Two loads shot three ambient bore shots .5MOA, but the fourth and fifth opened the group to 1.5MOA or larger with vertical dispersion being the largest factor.
ES and SD over the entire test looked very promising with average ES of 24.4 fps and the lowest load delivering 9fps. The SD average over all the groups being 10.8fps with the best being 3fps. Unfortunately, that just never quite translated to paper, with horizontal dispersion average of the loads being 0.93MOA, and the vertical disperaion being 1.97MOA.
Clearly, my rifle just isn't into shooting these bullets. Certainly, differnt powders and primers could well have improved the results I exerienced. That being stated, I have a load that this rifle has proven to shoot 0.30MOA that I will to go straight back to for the rest of the barrel's life. If anyone is interested I have ~170 Hornady 225g ELDM bullets for sale...