Hornady ELD-X Official Thread

[Deadeyedave1958]

I only shot 3 of RL26 to see what the velocity was but the group was barely 1 MOA at 100 Yrds.

Once I shoot a ladder and define the best group, I'll post more...

 

[RH300UM]

Deadeye

How does the RL-26 group? It and Retumbo have very similar burn rates so RL-26 could work well for you. I ended up settling on 212 ELD-X, 97.0 gr RL-33, 0.060" jump, Fed 215s. That load shot 0.75 MOA at 3,030 fps with an ES of 2! (Don't expect it to keep ES that low but it is not a bad place to start.) This out of a 26" factory Savage barrel.

I've consistently found rl26 gives higher velocities than retumbo.
It is much more temp stable and reliable than rl33
Great accuracy and Es with rl26

 

[elkaholic]

Deadeye

How does the RL-26 group? It and Retumbo have very similar burn rates so RL-26 could work well for you. I ended up settling on 212 ELD-X, 97.0 gr RL-33, 0.060" jump, Fed 215s. That load shot 0.75 MOA at 3,030 fps with an ES of 2! (Don't expect it to keep ES that low but it is not a bad place to start.) This out of a 26" factory Savage barrel.

In my SS and Sherman cases, RL26 is considerably faster than Retumbo; in fact, it is faster than H1000 by a couple of grains.....Rich

 

[Buttermilk]

Hornady 6.5 ELD-x: Deer - Topic

 

[elkaholic]

Hornady 6.5 ELD-x: Deer - Topic

I read through your results and looked at all the pics, and I am trying to figure out why you would not recommend these bullets? You could barely find the entrance holes which tells me that they did not expand too early. You had exit holes with a lot of damage on every deer, and none of them went far???. They also appeared to have been pretty accurate.....Rich

 

[RH300UM]

I read through your results and looked at all the pics, and I am trying to figure out why you would not recommend these bullets? You could barely find the entrance holes which tells me that they did not expand too early. You had exit holes with a lot of damage on every deer, and none of them went far???. They also appeared to have been pretty accurate.....Rich

+1
Also 1 bullet went through a shoulder. Traveled through the body and came out behind the last rib?? What more could you want from 6.5mm 143 grain bullet at that range.
I believe it was stated there was plenty of blood.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Agreed, so what's the problem? It didn't blow up on impact and didn't pencil on through what more could you want?

 

[Korhil78]

I read through your results and looked at all the pics, and I am trying to figure out why you would not recommend these bullets? You could barely find the entrance holes which tells me that they did not expand too early. You had exit holes with a lot of damage on every deer, and none of them went far???. They also appeared to have been pretty accurate.....Rich

Hey...the more people that he woos into not buying them, the more 6.5 eld-x buckets that we can buy!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Agreed, so what's the problem? It didn't blow up on impact and didn't pencil on through what more could you want?

The bullet had massive expansion at extended range shot from a pistol. What happens when it hits an elk at 2900 fps from a saum?

 

[mgood]

The bullet had massive expansion at extended range shot from a pistol. What happens when it hits an elk at 2900 fps from a saum?

I think that is the question, and what the other guy was worried about. If it hits at high velocity, will it expand so fast that it doesn't get adequate penetration on larger/tougher game?

 

[Michael Eichele]

I think that is the question, and what the other guy was worried about. If it hits at high velocity, will it expand so fast that it doesn't get adequate penetration on larger/tougher game?

Personally, my preference is to not use 6.5 pills on elk. Sure they're adequate but they're not my first choice. Now at 260-6.5x284 velocities for long range deer, antelope, sheep etc...these would be superb! Expansion at lower velocities, excellent BC and good accuracy. I can't wait to re-barrel my 6.5x284.

 

[RH300UM]

I think that is the question, and what the other guy was worried about. If it hits at high velocity, will it expand so fast that it doesn't get adequate penetration on larger/tougher game?

Refer to post 727 in this thread.
While it is not a 6.5mm bullet the bullet performance should be about the same.
Yea arguments/debates will forever carry on over this point.
Some will take it to mean more than it is

 

[Buttermilk]

I read through your results and looked at all the pics, and I am trying to figure out why you would not recommend these bullets? You could barely find the entrance holes which tells me that they did not expand too early. You had exit holes with a lot of damage on every deer, and none of them went far???. They also appeared to have been pretty accurate.....Rich

Not my results. Link is Doc Larry Roger's results. I only posted the link for informational purposes.

 

[Korhil78]

I wouldn't use the bullet on elk anyway. My 6.5 Sherman will spit them out for deer and antelope only. I have a 325 WSM for short range elk work and a 338 LM for longtime elk work.