Specific Hornady ELD-X Performance

[ScottH]

I have been shooting 7 wsm with 168 Bergers for 7 years. I have taken 4 bull elk from 200 to 500 yards. All but one dropped with a high shoulder shot. The one that didn't was at 300 yards and it took two behind the shoulder. I shoot plains game in Africa with the same set up. Everything from 100 to 450 yards. My gemsbok dropped at 450 high shoulder. My kudu at 350 low shoulder took a couple steps. My impala front on chest shot at 350 ran 100 yards. Both blesbok dropped at 100 with mid shoulder shots. My wart hog dropped at 100 ish gut shot. Zebra and wildabeast both ran 50 yards shot in the shoulder at 300 yards on the zebra and 100 yards on the wildebeest. My PH wasn't impressed with the bullet. Everything we skinned the bullets had come apart. They are big on Barnes. I on the other hand though they did the job. I thought about switching to ELDX. It sounds like they perform about the same though. From what I have learned from my experience is that the Bergers work best past 300 yards. That is kind of the conclusion I have come to with most long range type bullets. Whitetail deer are whitetail deer I have shot them from 50 yards to 950 yards and they drop or run 20 yards and crash. I'm going back to Botswana in June. I'm going to just keep shooting the 168 Berger and load some partitions or Barnes that will shoot close to the same poi at 100 for an Eland bull.

 

[Hookdown]

2017 we took two elk, a muley, 3 whitetail, and four pronghorn with 178gr ELD-X (30-06 Precision Hunter rounds). No complaints on performance Shots ranged from 200-500yds. 2018 we took 5 pronghorn, three elk, and 2 muleys with 143gr ELD-X...

Hey, if you guys ever need a new hunting buddy, I will gladly buy all the beer and gas. Just saying.... lol.

 

[jshepherd61]

I had a bad experience with a 7mm and Berger 168 on an elk. He was slightly quartering toward me, and I put two into him. Based off sightings on private a few weeks later, it appeared I hugged too far forward and they didn't get past the shoulder...

I had a 30 Nosler built for other reasons, but that elk was in the back of my mind. I am currently using 212 ELD-X with great accuracy at about 3070. I took three antelope and a mule deer this year with great results, I want other's experience.

What have you seen with the 212 or other ELD-X on larger game like elk or bigger?

I have experienced many issues with the Berger VLD! First let's start with the limitation on the bullit it's self. All my hunting rifles a built around accuracy and velocity, I push 3,352 with a 168 in my 7 STW and 3,423 with my 26 Nosler with 140's using ABLR's. The Berger VLD's were decentigrating 20 yds from the barrel. Berger told me to anneal them if pushing them over 3,200. We'll thats a non-starter. No Time! Second the Berger 140's were quartering antelope at 200 yds with a clean shot if it even nicked a rib bone, could find shrapnel all through the animal. I'll stay with the ABLR's stay together at any velocity and better accuracy! As for the ELD's great bullit but at those velocities I'm good for two shots then have to use sweets to remove half the copper the bullit was made of so you have to dumb them down also!

 

[elkaholic]

Can you give more info. Range and caliber.

When I say the ELDM is better for penetrating than the eldx, I didn't intend to imply that it was a smart thing to do at high velocity. Just comparing the 2 choices. My experience with the 147 ELDM and 143 eldx on deer at severe angles or double shoulder shots at high velocities is the the ELDM is better for penetration. I would not intentionally shoot an elk in the shoulder with either under 400 or 500 hundred yards.

 

[zb338]

Get a .340 Weatherby or equivalent and use a strongly
constructed bullet and you will have a good elk rifle.
Zeke

 

[Earlybugle]

Like so much in life, Berger and ELD hunting bullets excel in those areas for which they were designed (longer range hunting). But like any projectile, their performance becomes more problematic outside the design margins. Where those projectiles excel is when loaded heavy for caliber at longer ranges. Heavy for caliber helps achieve a higher BC, and hence down range ballistics. Heavy for caliber also helps with penetration at long range. At close range, heavy for caliber helps compensate a bit for their inherent frangibility due to high impact velocities.

They are very accurate, so I shoot them for LR target. But not for hunting for one reason - the impact velocity for any shot I'm likely to take on whitetail, mule deer, elk, bear, etc is too high for consistent, predictable bullet performance. The majority of my hunting shots are going to be less than 200 yds, and many of them no more than 100 yds. For the data I've gathered, the impact velocity limit is about 2800 fps for typical bullet weights and some heavy for caliber.

One thing is highly predictable from those bullets - at higher impact velocities they produce significant tissue damage. In some cases it's horrific. I don't recall a single exception among some 12-18 animals I've seen taken by friends (avid participants on this forum) and family over the past few years - ALL had high to extreme tissue damage. Ranges were from 45-180 yds. Calculated impact velocities were 2700 - 3100 fps. Many dropped DRT, some lingered for a much much longer and unacceptable length of time due to failure to penetrate the vitals. In multiple cases the whole off-side quarter was lost.

I prefer a blood trail to even the average DRT tissue damage, let alone a bungled DRT … which I've seen too often.

 

[Bob Wright]

I have shot elk, antelope and mulies with the Berger 168 and 180 Vld hunting from 2 different 7MM RM rifles. They all expired quickly with massive frag wounding. They are just not good for breaking down heavy shoulder bones and passing thru vitals on its path. Broadside chest shots behind the shoulder are reliable from 40 yards out. My longest shot was 300, broadside on antelope. No pass thru but DRT. If all my animals are broadside, it works fine but they don't line up like that at my request. Quartering shots are where the Bergers start having terminal performance issues i.m.o. I switched to Accubonds, but haven't been able to hit something yet to report. Hornady eld's sounds like similar issues to Bergers in this thread.
The old Remington core locked bullets in factory cartridges always smashed any critter I took with them, at any angle, but I went with and chased accuracy and speed with the latest offerings. Maybe older designs, worked in the shorter range shots and we have super accurate trade offs to make when using the latest and greatest accuracy at long distance and, terminal performance issues are falling to second place in some offerings. My head is swimming with the tradeoffs we have to consider today. I want my critters down fast. I want to punch paper at long distance. Maybe that is the best approach, hunting or punching paper, different loads for each. No easy answer.

 

[Old Rooster]

I think elkaholic and esorensen hit the nail on the head!
No perfect bullet All the time,EVERY time,EVERY shot,EVERY distance!
I had a Nosler Partition fail to take a clean shot all the way through one time.
It hit the edge of a rib and veered left and lodged in the neck of the elk at 388 yards.
The elk died and I brought elk meat home but the bullet in a perfect world should have gone straight through taking out lungs on it's way.Shooting a 30-06 180 gr Partition.
I aged 10 years that day,long story.
I still shoot Partitions some times as well as Accubonds as I can get better accuracy with Accubonds at longer distances.
Just my 2 $
Old Rooster

 

[Houck28]

I had a bad experience with a 7mm and Berger 168 on an elk. He was slightly quartering toward me, and I put two into him. Based off sightings on private a few weeks later, it appeared I hugged too far forward and they didn't get past the shoulder...

I had a 30 Nosler built for other reasons, but that elk was in the back of my mind. I am currently using 212 ELD-X with great accuracy at about 3070. I took three antelope and a mule deer this year with great results, I want other's experience.

What have you seen with the 212 or other ELD-X on larger game like elk or bigger?

I use Berger bullets and Eld-x. I had one bad experience with the Berger 215 but that was my fault shooting to far for the bullet to Perform and expand so I lost that animal. The ELD perform and expand so I lost that animal. The ELD-x and Eld-M have been great, taking to mules one at 110 yards and the other at 365, and have taken 2 bears one at 400 yards and the other at 720 using the 225 eldm with no problem and both work complete pass through so I am a fan.

 

[RH300UM]

I jump in the mix on this. 2 animals(muley elk) with 212 ELD's from a 300wm. Deer 240 yards looking straight at us. Shot hit square between shoulders. Deer landed on its back dead. Elk 423 yards. Broadside. Double lung. Took another one to put him down. Elk was dead with first shot but heading down into the nasty bottom.
In 7mm I've killed a lot of animals. Deer and elk. 2 bullets used Berger 180 hybrids and 180 Hornady ELD M.
Both where used in 2 different rifles.
7 saum and a 7/338 Norma mag improved. Saum velocity was a shade over 3000fps at the muzzle. The 7/338 improved was 3250 at the muzzle. Animals were taken from 120 yards out to 1k+yards with both rifles. Never had any issues with either bullet. My only problem was nailing the BC on the ELDM past 1k.
It still eludes me. So I lean towards the Berger 180 hybrids
My 2 cents

 

[coop2564]

I can think of two deer I shot with "thin" jacketed Sierra GK's. One a whitetail at 70 yards with a 165GK out of an 06 going almost 2900fps. That bullet smashed through the onside shoulder bone through both lungs clipping the top of the heart and punched through the offside shoulder bone, then the mushroomed slug slid down and out of the offside shoulder muscle exiting through nice ragged hole. That deer took off running for about 100 yards. The trail was easy to follow. So use enough gun
The second shot that comes to mind is a mule deer doe shot at about 50 yards with 140GK out of a 270Win at a bit over 2900fps. That bullet punched both lungs and and was up against the far side hide. The bullet lead core was half its original size and the copper jacket fell off when I picked it out. Win 270 only .013 more in diameter and same bullet weight and 100/150 fps more velocity than 6.5C ELD-X??
Lastly my son took his first deer in NOV, a whitetail at 350 yards with 270 145 ELD-X. That bullet went into the deer's ribs just behind the shoulder at an angle, through the lung/lungs, diaphragm and came out far side mid paunch. That was my first experience with 270 145 ELD-X and will use it again.
A little surprised to read that 6.5C 143 ELD-X can't punch through both lungs on a deer.

Its only close shots that the ELDX comes apart usually. At 150 out they do well in my CM!

 

[catorres1]

We have some experience with the ELDX. In my 300, I used 200 grainers for a while but only got to kill medium sized game (whitetail, wild boar, javelina). I was pushing them very slowly, but all three were DRT...shots from 100 to 300.
I switched to a 212 this year, but sadly, no one volunteered for the bullet performance program this year.

We also have used them in my son's 270. Factory 145's going 2943 from his rifle IIRC. Killed a bunch of whitetail with it, as well as javelina.

But the biggest test was the elk cow he shot this year. 200 yards, it blew through it and left about a .75 or 1" exit. Found that he had hit the scapula, it smashed through it and eventually seperated....found the base of the jacket buried in the off shoulder, the core had deviated and exited. Elk went down immediately. But after a few seconds, it got up, he hit it again while it was running and it went down. Blew through ribs, left about a 1" exit. No bullet or parts were recovered from that one.

Trying to decide whether to try 215 bergers in the 300 this year, or maybe the 200 gr Edge TLR, if they ever arrive.

For the 270, we'll either stay with the ELDX, or might try the TLR's there as well. Problem with the Federal stuff, it seems like it gets announced and then never ships. But if those bullets are all they say they are....an accurate, high bc, bonded partition....sounds kinda good.

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

I'll start out by saying everything I witnessed/killed with eldX was very lethal however that doesn't always make it the best bullet for ones situation.

I see a lot of good feedback from Berger, ELDM & eld x users that kill many animals in open terrain. (Low elevation, sage country, plains etc.)

Where I hunt, most times your either getting a cross canyon shot or inside 100 yards. It's so thick you WANT 2 holes!

Berger's and ELD line NEVER gave me this. Across multiple cartridges, velocities and bullet weights. Back to bonded and Barnes we've got good blood trails easily followed in very dense thick brush.

I cannot tell you how many hours I was on my hands and knees looking for my animals knowing they had good solid hits-but no exit left minimal bleeding.

Sure the lungs were soup and they only made it 40-100 yards but damnit they are hard to find without good blood trails!

So to a guy looking to use thin jacketed cup n core bullets hunting in thick terrain I suggest you take out the spine to keep in immobile or pick a tougher bullet to hopefully give an exit.

For plains hunting I would use the ELD line without a doubt! Just not where I hunt!

 

[bigngreen]

Again, I'm with Randy 'The Real Gunsmith' on YouTube(he should be mandatory for any elk hunter) on the fact that cup and core bullets are not in the same league as the old Nosler Partitions.

How many times did ol Randy have to shoot his bull last season?

Anyone with even a remote handle on ballistics should be throwing the BS flag every time he opens his mouth!! Rails against long range hunting then comes out with a long range rifle as his latest greatest, really? Claims a Partition has a .700 something BC and cals it a high BC bullets!

The story of his buddy hitting a bull in the __s at 6-700 yards and he felt zero wind at the shooter and him telling us if he can't do it no one can, well there is no possible way to have a bullet drift from the front of a bull to the back of a bull and not have wind at the shooter, if it was that much wind you would hear it and see sagebrush being uprooted. He yanked a shot into the backside of a bull and is so arrogant he can't accept he screwed up and has to blame the wind and then tell everyone how good he is and there's no way anyone else could do it! He the LAST person on the internet people should be listening to about killing elk!!!