SIRGARRETH
Member
yep, that has crossed my mind. I have a box and a half of the 178 eld-m and 1 box of the 168s. Maybe I can trade them.
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Need help with Hornady 178 ELD-M for 308.
- Thread starter SIRGARRETH
- Start date
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rustyshackleford
Well-Known Member
How far are you trying to shoot with this setup?
Doom2
Well-Known Member
I assume the question is the higher load and lower velocity. Yep, but it you look at the th 42 gr group your velocities are all over the place. The two shots that make up the ES are 40% of the the data in mean (average).
Looking at your velocityty data I think something may be amiss in in your brass preparation or in your charge weights. Or maybe it was just a bad day.
I am not familiar with the ELD-M but I suspect that your group issue may be due to being limited to mag length with that bullet. Assuming that is a limit I would take a step back and try the Sierra MatchKing, maybe the Jugg or Berger Hybrid.
SIRGARRETH
Member
Ok, loaded up some more.
I am going with:
IMR4064 with 42.3 with 2.84" using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
SWP with 39.6, 39.9 and 44.2 using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
Just loaded up a couple to see if I get any pressure signs.
I do shoot the 175 SMK with 44.1 SWP and have no pressure signs I can see, so I believe 44.2 should be fine, but will take it slow and check each piece of brass as I shoot.
Right now I can only get out to 300 yards. Would like to get out to 1000 yards.
I am going with:
IMR4064 with 42.3 with 2.84" using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
SWP with 39.6, 39.9 and 44.2 using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
Just loaded up a couple to see if I get any pressure signs.
I do shoot the 175 SMK with 44.1 SWP and have no pressure signs I can see, so I believe 44.2 should be fine, but will take it slow and check each piece of brass as I shoot.
Right now I can only get out to 300 yards. Would like to get out to 1000 yards.
Arapaho
Well-Known Member
I shoot that same bullet in a 24 in 5r which is 11.25 twist with 43.6 grains of Varget and a WLR primer. 210m primers did fine but Winchester large rifle primers tightened my groups up. Shoots 1 inch groups all day long at 300 yards. I have shot it to 600 with good accuracy as well. I shoot 185 juggernauts in my 10 twist barrel with H4895 with extreme accuracy. In that rifle, I shoot Palma brass with a CCI 450 primer.
SIRGARRETH
Member
Ok, went out again today.
IMR4064 with 42.3 with 2.84" using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
SWP with 39.6, 39.9 and 44.2 using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
Could not get it to shoot under 2" groups. These bullets are just not for this gun.
After these rounds, I took out some of my known good rounds. 175SMK with Shooters World Precision powder. Tight little group just under 0.4".
Will get rid of all the ELD-M for 308 and just stick with the 175 SMK for my 308.
Funny, both my 6.5 Creedmoor shoot the 147 ELD-M great. Best group is 0.25", normally about .32".
IMR4064 with 42.3 with 2.84" using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
SWP with 39.6, 39.9 and 44.2 using Federal Match primers this time a new Lapua brass.
Could not get it to shoot under 2" groups. These bullets are just not for this gun.
After these rounds, I took out some of my known good rounds. 175SMK with Shooters World Precision powder. Tight little group just under 0.4".
Will get rid of all the ELD-M for 308 and just stick with the 175 SMK for my 308.
Funny, both my 6.5 Creedmoor shoot the 147 ELD-M great. Best group is 0.25", normally about .32".
I have also been struggling with these in my 300 SAUM. The rifle shoots 168gn ABLR and 178gn ELD-X into one hole groups.
The 178gn ELD-M, not so much.
For those who have had success with these bullets, are you able to help with the jump/jam you have set for them? I have an extended magbox so I can easily do 20 jam through to 200 jump.
At the moment I'm doing a 10thou Jam, did try 30 thou steps in jump up to 120 thou. Looked good-ish at 60 thou, but not as good as 10 Jam.
The 178gn ELD-M, not so much.
For those who have had success with these bullets, are you able to help with the jump/jam you have set for them? I have an extended magbox so I can easily do 20 jam through to 200 jump.
At the moment I'm doing a 10thou Jam, did try 30 thou steps in jump up to 120 thou. Looked good-ish at 60 thou, but not as good as 10 Jam.
From your numbers, it seems to be an ignition problem to start with.
I use Varget with good results in my Tikka T3x CTR on an Oryx chassis, MDT muzzle brake. Here is the solution that works for me (only given as an example and reference, do not use it for your rifle, develop your own) :
Bullet Hornady ELD-X 178gr
Varget 42.9gr (no pressure signs at all), Autotrickler with FX-120i scale
Primer Fed F210M
Federal (!) brass (annealed), Head Space 1.482
CBTO 2.120in (SAC comparator)
COAL 2.869in (to fit in my MDT mag, AICS type)
Results at 1 degree Celsius (34 F), 264m above sea level, atmospheric pressure 998 hPa, for 11 shots aggregated from 2 groups (one of 5, second of 4):
Av. Speed: 2562fps (Tikka barrels are a bit slow) LabRadar
SD: 7.5
ES: 20
On target, 0.8 MOA at 100meters for 11 shots
On other ocations, 5 shot groups are between 0.4-0.6 MOA
The Berger twist rate calculator gave me the result 1.4 for the least favorable conditions, on my 1:11 twist rate ("marginally stable", but pretty close to "stable", which starts at 1.5 and up). Indeed, I see nothing that resembles a keyhole even at longer ranges. For your 1:10 twist rate, it is certainly "stable".
Last edited:
PApa Black
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 23, 2012
- Messages
- 451
What is the twist on the barrel? This may help you:
https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/
See post 24
