.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

[Juan_ID]

Thanks.

Factory Hornady 22 Creedmoor Precision Hunter ammo.

Factory Tikka rifle re-chambered to 22 Creed and factory Tikka 8 twist 22-250 barrel cut and threaded.

Rokstok, Maven RS1.2 scope, UM Tikka rings.

View attachment 763494

View attachment 763495

I’m getting very similar speeds out of my 20” gt and 80 eldm’s and they shoot pretty well but I’m tempted to try some eldx just for shits. Do you plan to use the eldx over the eldm for all game?

 

[Steve300xcw]

Thanks, but my next problem is I currently don’t reload and getting ammo shipped to Ak is hard/something I haven’t done.

Palmetto state has their line of it. Its not match grade stuff but plenty accurate for tipping over animals

 

[Bowfinn]

Can you get factory 73 ELDM? That may be a good plan B if you don’t reload.

That is my plan if I’m unable to get tmks. Finding factory 73 eld hasn’t been a problem.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I’m getting very similar speeds out of my 20” gt and 80 eldm’s and they shoot pretty well but I’m tempted to try some eldx just for shits. Do you plan to use the eldx over the eldm for all game?

I do.

 

[Bowfinn]

Palmetto state has their line of it. Its not match grade stuff but plenty accurate for tipping over animals

I’m sure it shoots accurate enough to be functional out to distance. My problem is I need a friend with a checked bag on a plane or I need to get a barge/shipping company involved to get it to me.

 

[Juan_ID]

I do.

Because they’re not as violent as the eldm? Or what’s your reasoning? Just curious

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Because they’re not as violent as the eldm? Or what’s your reasoning? Just curious

Slightly better overall results in ballistics gel for penetration and because two Tikka barrels so far are shooting factory ammo right at 1 MOA or slightly better.

 

[Thegman]

Slightly better overall results in ballistics gel for penetration and because two Tikka barrels so far are shooting factory ammo right at 1 MOA or slightly better.

Do you happen to know how they compare to the 77TMK, with respect to penetration, velocity window for expansion, etc? I'd be curious to see how they'd do in the 223.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Do you happen to know how they compare to the 77TMK, with respect to penetration, velocity window for expansion, etc? I'd be curious to see how they'd do in the 223.

Very similar in reduced loads on gel simulating long range impacts. Results from 80 ELDX and 77 TMK were pretty much indistinguishable. Both were consistently “better” than 73 ELDM, not that there is anything wrong with that bullet for killing.

This is not a perfect “test” for representing what happens in animals, but I’ve found in doing this with various bullets over the last 10+ years; bullets that perform better in the gel generally perform better in hide/tissue/organs.

77 TMK and 80 ELDX have provided near identical results on coyotes. At low/similar impact velocities they both penetrate and kill well on coyotes which I’ve found to be an animal, that generally speaking can “go farther when hit” with a non ideal impact location when compared to most hoofed mammals.

I’ll be posting more big game results as the fall rolls on, just the moose so far is my only big game kill with 80 ELDX. I will likely have both very high and towards the low end of impact velocity results.

 

[Thegman]

I’ll be posting more big game results as the fall rolls on, just the moose so far is my only big game kill with 80 ELDX. I will likely have both very high and towards the low end of impact velocity results.

JUST the moose so far...

That's a pretty good "just".

I'd be interested to know how their penetration compares on average to the 77TMK. Maybe provide exits more often? It sounds like they're very similar.

Thanks for the info. I'll be watching out the future results.

 

[JPW13]

I've been reading through a lot of this thread and it's been informative to say the least.

First time posting and to give some background I've been mostly shooting the .284s (7SAUM/PRC, etc) and 30cals (308, 300WM) to most recently a 300wsm shooting 180CXs pretty hot. It worked fine on a longe range deer (easy track job in snow), but I lost a spring bear. Pretty confident it died, just no blood and a grid search couldn't find it. Switched to a 212 ELDX at 2850fps and that put a bear down DRT and made a pretty big hole. After reading through this thread, I put together a 22CM shooting 80ELDMs at 3375 fps. This weekend I took a nice 4pt mule deer at 100m.

Bullet entered just behind the shoulder, no obvious entry hole, peeling back the hide there was about a 10" hematoma around about a 1" entry through a rib that was obliterated, the lungs were liquid and the heart lacerated, no exit, did not find the bullet in the soup. Deer buckled, ran about 30 yards and slide down a hill another 50 or so. The tracks were easy to follow in the soft dirt - BUT there was NO blood. Where the deer laid dead, there was blood and he looked like he'd coughed out some of his lungs, but nothing to track.

So, sample size of 1, but what do people think might have happened? Being so close did the bullet have just enough neck length to get into the hide and then massive upset as it went through the ribs, so no exit and the trackable fluids were contained? Just a statistical anomaly?

 

[Pharmseller]

The deer died, that’s what happened.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've been reading through a lot of this thread and it's been informative to say the least.

First time posting and to give some background I've been mostly shooting the .284s (7SAUM/PRC, etc) and 30cals (308, 300WM) to most recently a 300wsm shooting 180CXs pretty hot. It worked fine on a longe range deer (easy track job in snow), but I lost a spring bear. Pretty confident it died, just no blood and a grid search couldn't find it. Switched to a 212 ELDX at 2850fps and that put a bear down DRT and made a pretty big hole. After reading through this thread, I put together a 22CM shooting 80ELDMs at 3375 fps. This weekend I took a nice 4pt mule deer at 100m.

Bullet entered just behind the shoulder, no obvious entry hole, peeling back the hide there was about a 10" hematoma around about a 1" entry through a rib that was obliterated, the lungs were liquid and the heart lacerated, no exit, did not find the bullet in the soup. Deer buckled, ran about 30 yards and slide down a hill another 50 or so. The tracks were easy to follow in the soft dirt - BUT there was NO blood. Where the deer laid dead, there was blood and he looked like he'd coughed out some of his lungs, but nothing to track.

So, sample size of 1, but what do people think might have happened? Being so close did the bullet have just enough neck length to get into the hide and then massive upset as it went through the ribs, so no exit and the trackable fluids were contained? Just a statistical anomaly?

Frangible short terminal neck length bullet + high impact velocity + hitting rib on entry = you’re going to have that.

 

[JPW13]

The deer died, that’s what happened.

Hahaha! I should have expected that reply - well played. Didn't want to make too long of post. But what I'm setting the stage for, is I want to shoot a bear, I'm confident it will kill the bear - but I need to find it and I often hunt in thick stuff, so a good blood trail helps. Is this one example with no blood just a weird one?

 

[JPW13]

Short terminal neck length bullet + high impact velocity + hitting rib on entry = you’re going to have that.

Thanks for the reply. So if I want to shoot a black bear at close range and not have to go find it - just shoot it in the neck?

 

[amassi]

Hahaha! I should have expected that reply - well played. Didn't want to make too long of post. But what I'm setting the stage for, is I want to shoot a bear, I'm confident it will kill the bear - but I need to find it and I often hunt in thick stuff, so a good blood trail helps. Is this one example with no blood just a weird one?

Regardless of cartridge/ bullet bear blood trails are never a given-long fur and fat can soak up a lot of blood, clog holes etc.
sounds like your deer would have started leaving a blood trail when he started coughing up lung butter, shame he died too soon for you to blood trail.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Poe]

Don't fret, the 108 are great still.

sorry I know this is old but this is as far as I have got reading so far. It would be interesting to see what the wound channels look like with the 88 vs the 108. I’m confident the 88 would be more than enough but it would be interesting to see if the 108 punches much deeper

 

[mt terry d]

Exceptions have never persuaded me. It's the norm that Im convinced by.

Yes.

"the exception proves the rule".

 

[macatac]

for those of you looking for the unicorn of ammo, there is a certain company in South Carolina that has AAC TMK's in stock. Just in time for hunting season.

 

[Poe]

Don't fret, the 108 are great still.

sorry I know this is old but this is as far as I have got reading so far. It would be interesting to see what the wound channels look like with the 88 vs the 108. I’m confident the 88 would be more than enough but it would be interesting to see if the 108 j