7mm Rem. Mag 162 ELDM vs 168 ABLR vs 168 VLD

[MudRunner2005]

I love these target bullets for hunting threads, kinda like comic books.
I've seen huge messes with Berger's. Have never been around LRAB, just AB's.

I've had huge messes with Hornady SST, Barnes TSX, Accubonds, Ballistic Tips, and had 1 Berger fail to expand. They all did their job because of good shot placement, just some did it better than others when they failed. I still use Bergers because even when it failed to expand, it still knocked the deer on it's side and it never took a step. Biggest mess I ever had to fix was a Hornady 139 SST from a 7mmRM at nearly 3,300 FPS MV... At those speeds, it turned into a grenade on impact.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

AT TG 5150,.. When choosing, a Bullet for my .270 WSM, I read a LOT about, WHAT,.."worked".
When I shot, a 7mm Rem Mag., a couple of years back, ( it was a nice, Rem Rifle), I just hated, the 26 inch barrel, getting caught in the brush,.. all too often ( LOL). I used the 154 grain Hornady InterBond at, 3,070 FPS ( fast, as I could get accuracy, as any more and the groups, opened up ! ). The InterBond bullet, was probably the best bullet, for, Mushroom and penetration that, I ever shot! Bullet got to .750-.800 diameter "Mushroom's", and they went through,..a 15/16th inch OSB board, 12 inches of Gelatin and 4, one gallon water Jugs at, 100 Yards !
But, the Rifle was a full Pound heavier and 2" longer than my Tikka, .270 WSM. I thought those were good reasons, to buy a New Rifle,.. LOL !
I seriously doubt that an Elk could tell the difference between the .270 WSM and 7mm RM at, "reasonable ranges" with, "GOOD" 140 to 160 grain Bullets,.. out of either !
NONE ever complained, anyway ! I love, the flat Trajectory and LOW recoil of, BOTH Cart's, tho with, the 140 and 154 grain Bullets and practiced "Field positions", a LOT !

 

[TG-5150]

AT TG 5150,.. When choosing, a Bullet for my .270 WSM, I read a LOT about, WHAT,.."worked".
When I shot, a 7mm Rem Mag., a couple of years back, ( it was a nice, Rem Rifle), I just hated, the 26 inch barrel, getting caught in the brush,.. all too often ( LOL). I used the 154 grain Hornady InterBond at, 3,070 FPS ( fast, as I could get accuracy, as any more and the groups, opened up ! ). The InterBond bullet, was probably the best bullet, for, Mushroom and penetration that, I ever shot! Bullet got to .750-.800 diameter "Mushroom's", and they went through,..a 15/16th inch OSB board, 12 inches of Gelatin and 4, one gallon water Jugs at, 100 Yards !
But, the Rifle was a full Pound heavier and 2" longer than my Tikka, .270 WSM. I thought those were good reasons, to buy a New Rifle,.. LOL !
I seriously doubt that an Elk could tell the difference between the .270 WSM and 7mm RM at, "reasonable ranges" with, "GOOD" 140 to 160 grain Bullets,.. out of either !
NONE ever complained, anyway !

Agreed. I picked the 140 class bullet for my wife to cut her teeth on, that's pretty big jump from a 25-06 and 117's.
She killed a cow at 200 with the 139 SST. It was a hard quartering away shot. The bullet went through third to the last rib on the right side and ended up between the hide and meat right at the rear of the left shoulder. The remaining bullet weighed 83 grains. The cow trotted about thirty yards and flopped over.

Edited cause spell check ain't always right

 

[TG-5150]

Mud- I've never tried to ask a 7RM to perform with an 139 gr. SST at muzzle velocity for a very hot rod load, things must be different in Alabama.
Up here in the wide open the bullet gets to stretch its legs a bit, most times.

 

[TG-5150]

For what's its worth, I don't believe the 139 SST is a good elk bullet at 7RM velocities, the wife probably got lucky.
But I do believe the heavier SST's in the 7mm caliber are. The 154 being the crossover. I would bet my wife could handle heavier bullets in her rifle, but why put het through that when better bullets for caliber are available like the 143 gr. Hammer Hunter. Which is what she will be shooting next season.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Mud- I've never tried to ask a 7RM to perform with an 139 gr. SST at muzzle velocity for a very hot rod load, things must be different in Alabama.
Up here in the wide open the bullet gets to stretch its legs a bit, most times.

Factory Hornady ammo, before I reloaded. That bullet worked well in my 7mm-08, so I shot it in my 7RM for a while until that happened, then the grenade happened, and I stopped using them immediately.

Down here most hunting situations are close range, but if you go to certain places there will be long shots. Some areas the topo is bit longer and flatter terrain, or hunting from hilltop to hilltop.

 

[Ben Keller]

I love these target bullets for hunting threads, kinda like comic books.
I've seen huge messes with Berger's. Have never been around LRAB, just AB's.

From what I've been told the only difference between the ELDM and the ELDX is that the M has a thinner jacket. It may sound crazy but I have heard some really positive stories about the M and it's performance on animals versus Hornady X (their branded "hunting" bullet). Not to mention a lot of people, even on here, feel as though the M does prove to be more accurate in their rifle. And for long range performance a thinner jacket could prove to be useful at lower speeds alowing it to open on animals at 500 plus distances. I don't think it's comical at all to think it can't be the better option of the two.

 

[TG-5150]

Ben- before joining this forum, I hunted with a fella or three that got me into all this. STW's, Weatherby this and thats, and a RUM and a Lapua. They all ran Berger's or Amax's. And all had problems. I was killing stuff out to 550ish with SST's in a .308 Win. They did not like it one bit. It was an ego gym shower room type thing with theses guys all the time. Who's is faster, best B.C., my scope this, my scope that.
I got soured on all the target bullet stuff, I have more faith in a Rem Core Loct or Fed. Fusion than anything target related. To many "well they worked the last three times" stories for me, enough can go wrong using more appropriate bullets.
Don't get me wrong, I've pulled some stunts in my 37 plus years of hunting and seen more crap go wrong than I care to admit. Guiding paid clients and friends/family has allowed me a different perspective. But I've learned from them all, and this is all just my opinion.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I've hunted with "target" bullets for the past 8 years or so. Same would go for my father. Started out with the old A-max bullet, which is known for being a deer slayer. It worked very good on deer and black bear both. Fast forward to 2 years ago and the a max has been discontinued and the new eld-m enters. I wasnt too worried as I new it was basically the old amax with a better bc and a different tip. I shot a mature NH buck at 50 yards with my 7mm rm launching a 162 eld-m at 3125 fps. He wasnt drt (that never happens in real life for me unless I hit the CNS), but he only went 20 yards then proceeded to tumble down a ravine(thanks guy) the shot was quartering towards me. I put the bullet just behind the shoulder and recovered it the hide on the off side by the rear ham. We've shot a good share with deer with the amax and a few with the eld-m. I've shot one bear with the amax and one with the eld-m(6.5mm). No complaints about these bullets with their performance.

As a side note, my father shot a Mature buck last year with the 130 berger in a 6.5. Forst time we ever used berger. Good lord what a mess that bullet made of that deer. Recovered the bullet in the hide on the off side and it weighed 30.5 grains. Here's a pic of the 162 eld-m from my buck

 

[Eric8619]

I've used both the 162ELD-M and the 180ELD-M out of a my 7RM. I like the 180's due to the higher BC for longer ranges. I am getting 3000fps with a 26" tube.

 

[Ben Keller]

I've used both the 162ELD-M and the 180ELD-M out of a my 7RM. I like the 180's due to the higher BC for longer ranges. I am getting 3000fps with a 26" tube.

What load did you use with both?

 

[KyCarl]

You might want to have a look at this guys 180 grain 7 MM VLD?
I think they are about the best! Give them a try and you will see what I'm saying!
http://www.swampworks.com/jlk/

 

[Capt RB]

In my brother's 7 162amax and retumbo 70.5 in winny brass 3020fps this season. Shoots great. We ran a ladder of RL26 late Sept early Oct. If it shoots like the retumbo load it will have 100-125fps more velocity. His tw is a 9.25 and being in the low altitude 180's are not an option. My mom's neighbor shot a buck with the 183 sierria this fall. Shot was 80 or 90 yds drt. Had about a tennis ball exit just behind the shoulder. He said it made a huge whap when it hit. He though it blew up on the animal's side because he lost it in recoil. Shot was just 1/4ering toward entry just in front of the shoulder. I didn't see the deer just the conversation. He said there were no lungs left to speak of just a giant pale pink mess inside. He was running a 8tw 28/26 nosler he had built with a shilen barrel 26" I believe

 

[Eric8619]

What load did you use with both?

I used 71.2 grains of Retumbo with the 180 ELD-M in my 7RM. Bolt lift was good. primers starting to flatten out no extractor marks. The 168ELDM i used 74 grains of Retumbo No pressure signs at all. I wanted to stick with Retumbo because it tends to be more temp stable than H1000 from what I've seen.