300 wm 178 eld-x or 200 eld-x

[WestTexasHunter]

As others have mentioned, velocity plays a big roll in ELD-X bullet performance. Running the 200 gr at 2840 I find my 200 yard and in kills to be quite destructive. Understanding the give and take of the bullet I just aim back off the shoulder for a center lung shot on closer game and am able to save both shoulders. I'm happy to do this because of the impressive performance I get at extended ranges. My farthest shot with the 200 eldx on game was an aoudad at 684. .30 cal in and 3/4" exit. To this day everything I have shot with the ELD-X has been DRT. Absolutely no complaints here. I would be hesitant to increase my velocity by using a lighter 178 grain pill. I have no first hand experience with the 178s but I can only imagine them exploding worse at closer ranges, having less performance in the wind and penetrating less at distance.

 

[Canhunter35]

A heavier bullet in the same caliber is never "too much for smaller animals".

Go to Africa and look at the most common rounds used on "The tiny ten" and small plains game. You'll find that many if not most are shot with a .375 H&H as it's the most common of all safari calibers.

The concern with the ELDX is that at high velocity they tend to come apart and can then blow really big holes in smaller game wasting a lot of meat or may fail to penetrate deep enough on tough bodies/heavy bodied game.

Personally I'd say that if you like the Hornady Bullets take a look at the 180gr Interbond or 165gr GMX and you'll have the best of all worlds at least for shooting inside of 600 yards.

With the ELD's which I've shot quite a few of you're better off saving them for 400yds and beyond and really beyond 600yds because of the frangibility.

Compensate with weight. I shot an elk with the 212 at 50feet or so. Worked great lol. Its still a big chunk of lead

 

[WildRose]

Compensate with weight. I shot an elk with the 212 at 50feet or so. Worked great lol. Its still a big chunk of lead

I'd rather simply use a bullet better designed for the job.

The ony mistake Hornady made with the ELD-X is not spending the extra .25/1 cent to bond them.

 

[WestTexasHunter]

If they had bonded them would they expand as well at much slower velocities?

 

[WildRose]

If they had bonded them would they expand as well at much slower velocities?

There's no reason to think they wouldn't. Bonded bullets expand just fine and with their tapered jacket it would be assured.

 

[WestTexasHunter]

Would you recommend the 190gr Nosler accubond LR over the 200gr ELD-X? It wouldn't require giving up any velocity or BC.

 

[dporter99]

Anyone have experience of lighter bonded bullets vs heavier bullets that aren't? As a hypothetical example, the 165 or 180 grain Accubond vs the 212 grain ELD-X. Seems that the 165 gr AB has heavier construction, but there's 47 more grains of lead in the 212 ELD-X, so at some point, the sheer mass of the 212 must play into the equation? same logic of the AB vs the 210 Berger, etc. Just trying to understand the weight vs construction dynamic...

 

[WildRose]

Would you recommend the 190gr Nosler Accubond LR over the 200gr ELD-X? It wouldn't require giving up any velocity or BC.

I'll screw you up completely and say I'd prefer the Peregrine VLR's or Barnes LRX since they give you basically the same expansion at all reasonable ranges.

The Accubond LR or Hornady Interbond following them.

If you are only going to be shooting beyond 400yds the Swift Sirocco becomes viable but at high velocity they can do some very bad things, over expanding to the point they can turn 90deg or more with minimal penetration.

 

[Highvoltage]

I've personally had great luck with the eldx line. I'd think either bullet would do a great job. I've killed a few elk with the 150 ttsx from my 300. Dead is dead as most say. I recently watched a video and a guy was comparing federal fusion bullets (different calibers) . I think federal hit the bonding process out of the park! Maybe worth looking at the 180 fusion component. Best wishes.

 

[Canhunter35]

So far I've shot 2 moose and 4 elk with the 212eldx from a 300wby, it's worked fantastic. In lighter 264/277 caliber I would consider a heavier constructed bullet but the 212 is my go to for big game animals. I've used it from basically point blank to 450yds.

 

[johnnyk]

New to the site, and wanted to ask your opinion. I have done a lot of searching and can't seem to get to the answer I'm looking for. I have a CA Mesa LR in 300wm and I'm having a hard time deciding between the 178 eld-x and the 200 eld-x, that is if the rifle likes either one. I'm looking for something that can do it all, antelope, muley, white tail, black bear, elk. I guess my main concern is that the 200 is going to be to much for the smaller animals, but the 178 might not be enough at longer ranges. I will be reloading and probably running RL 23, or RL 26. I appreciate any and all the advice, thanks in advance.

Welcome aboard! Lately I've been shooting the 212gn ELD-X in my 300WinMag. I used a finishing reamer (Ryan Mantha) on my Pac-Nor 28", 9t SAAMI spec chamber to specifically use the 215gn Berger Hybrid. It performed great with the Bergers but I ran out and then came across a good deal on some 212 ELD-X's and switched over to those. My OAL is a bit shorter (3.6140") with the Hornady's due to their longer bearing surface but the ES and SD are smaller than the Berger's and the accuracy was just as good. Both bullets shoot under MOA out to 1000 yards in this rifle using Norma brass, 75.0gn or RL-26 and BR2's. This OAL is "kissing" the rifling but is safe and under the pressure curve in my rifle but you should drop it a couple grains and work up.
I don't worry too much about a bullet being too light or too heavy as long as it's placed in the vitals with decent velocity and energy. I do gravitate toward the heavier for caliber bullets, twist allowing.

 

[Awol469]

First off, thanks again everyone for the awesome conversation. Thought I would give a quick update, I picked up some 200 eldx and rl26. Got up to around 30 deg today so loaded up 3ea 72-75gr in .5gr increments .20 off the lands and Federal 215M. Seen my best results 73, 73.5, 74 had ejector marks at 75 so only shot one. All 3 were 3/4in, with it being a little chilly I feel any one of them could have been better, i wasn't the most stable. So when it warms up a bit i have a good starting point to get back out and really get it nailed down. I'm also going to pick up a couple other bullets, 215 Bergers, 200 Nosler, or maybe 200 Barnes, just to give em a try and see what they can do. That's one thing I'm taking from this thread is that there's a lot of good bullets out there and maybe need to step out of my box and try new things. I will keep you all updated as we get better weather and I can get out and test some more.

 

[excaliber]

Your gun is very similar to mine. I'm seeing 2960+ fps with 74 gr RL26 and 200 gr ELD-X. I get the same exact speed with H1000 and 79 gr. H1000 is just a bit more accurate from what I've seen so I'm sticking with it.

The 200 gr ELD-X is the most accurate bullet I've ever shot out of my 300 Win Mag but all the talk about exploding and being to soft except at longer ranges has me rethinking my plans.
I'm going to do things differently in the future.

I'm going to use the 200 Accubond as my main round. If there is a shot that is longer than 600 yards I'll chamber the ELD-X if I feel I need to shoot that far. The point of impact is within inches of each other at 600 yards. I think this will solve the issue for me. If I get a close(r) shot the Accubond will be the perfect medicine.

First off, thanks again everyone for the awesome conversation. Thought I would give a quick update, I picked up some 200 eldx and rl26. Got up to around 30 deg today so loaded up 3ea 72-75gr in .5gr increments .20 off the lands and Federal 215M. Seen my best results 73, 73.5, 74 had ejector marks at 75 so only shot one. All 3 were 3/4in, with it being a little chilly I feel any one of them could have been better, i wasn't the most stable. So when it warms up a bit i have a good starting point to get back out and really get it nailed down. I'm also going to pick up a couple other bullets, 215 Bergers, 200 Nosler, or maybe 200 Barnes, just to give em a try and see what they can do.

 

[Methow Packer]

The well know H1000 + Berger 215 hybrid .691 BC combination yields ~3,000 fps from a 26" barrel.

You just cant beat that combination In my opinion. Then maybe a proven partition or Hammer for tougher game.