300wm eld-x

[K9kodi]

I’ve decided in the eld-x for my batch of practice and hunting rounds.

I forget which sierras my father used to load last years rounds but i believe 165gr.

I’m trying to decide if a 178, 180 or 200 grain would be more suited for white tail, 50-300 yard shots are all available from multiple diff stand sets.

I know a good bit about shooting , I know how to reload, and just since joining here I’ve dove deep into the bullet types and designs and how some are better suited for certain velocities. My goal is to drop deer in their tracks , I want the ability to punch through shoulder if needed but still offer great terminal activity if I push behind the shoulder.

Is there a favorite or proven power and weight for the 178-180 and 200 grains.

Common sense tells me 178 should hold flatter generally and flatter our further, but mathematics tells me sometimes the heavier bullets give better trajectory performance.

Im not a scope dialer. I used a 3-9x scope and try to find a zero that gets me max 3” rise and max 3” drop out to furthest distance. For instance, the round I’m using now is zero at about 27 yards and 260 yards with a 3” rise at about 150 and 3” drop at about 310. So I know out to about 300 yards I just aim.

What would be a solid choice in the eld-x line

 

[V00D00]

if your shooting within 300 yards its all mute imo. the difference between dialing a 180 and a 200 is minute. i load 220gn eldx in 300 wsm and honestly im not that impressed. im really trying to like the load as it shoots .3-.6" 5 shot groups repeatedly. i shot a doe last year at 60 yds, low double lung. had about a 4.5" exit. blood trail looked like a bucket of paint. but she still ran 70yds. meanwhile my 308 with 180gn partition has dropped 9 of the last 10 whitetails. mostly bucks. mostly quartered away shots. most were put in right in front of the rear quarter. i think either option your pondering will work fine.

 

[K9kodi]

Do you think the issue w the heavy eld x was velocity or bullet related. I’m trying to find the right weight and velocity and felt the 178grn was a good compromise

 

[V00D00]

Im not sure i would call it an issue. i mean the deer was dead, the bullet obviously expanded and the blood trail was fantastic. i was just expecting more from such a large projectile. ive always been a fan of lobbing large projectiles down range like softballs as the thickets i hunt are so thick im lucky to see 150 yds. bullet velocity was just under 2800fps. its the only experience i have with the eldx bullet on whitetails.

 

[gbflyer]

I like the 212 eldx at 300 WM velocities. I've used them up to 400 yards on our small deer and one cow elk without a huge amount of waste.

 

[K9kodi]

No one wants excessive waste I get that, but id take some waste over tracking. I know not all deer will drop in their tracks and that has a lot to do with bullet placement, but I’m looking for a good weight eld-x to work and with good placement give me the best chance of a drop or short track.

I think I’m right but I may be wrong, deformation is a good thing. I think…I think a solid ball blazing through the deer clean in and out will still have a tone of damage with hydrostatic shock, but id like a bullet to deform and hold weigh more so.

So I guess I’m trying to find the weight that carried a punch but still flies as flat as possible

 

[V00D00]

No one wants excessive waste I get that, but id take some waste over tracking. I know not all deer will drop in their tracks and that has a lot to do with bullet placement, but I’m looking for a good weight eld-x to work and with good placement give me the best chance of a drop or short track.

I think I’m right but I may be wrong, deformation is a good thing. I think…I think a solid ball blazing through the deer clean in and out will still have a tone of damage with hydrostatic shock, but id like a bullet to deform and hold weigh more so.

So I guess I’m trying to find the weight that carried a punch but still flies as flat as possible

You ain’t gonna like this, but the bullet I have dropped the most deer in there tracks was the partition. Just my experience. But I love it so much, it’s all I’ll hunt with. It would take a whole lot to pull me away from it. But even putting dropping deer aside, it’s my opinion that a better bullet for “hunting” does not exist. Great blood trails, deer are never more than 15-25 yds. Always have an exit. It’s a great bullet.

 

[K9kodi]

Link me?

 

[Scdogman]

Im not sure i would call it an issue. i mean the deer was dead, the bullet obviously expanded and the blood trail was fantastic. i was just expecting more from such a large projectile. ive always been a fan of lobbing large projectiles down range like softballs as the thickets i hunt are so thick im lucky to see 150 yds. bullet velocity was just under 2800fps. its the only experience i have with the eldx bullet on whitetails.

You are probably only expanding in the second lung. The heavy bullet is taking to long to expand. 70 yards is a long way to track a deer. Maybe the Eldm without the locking ring might expand faster. Just a thought.

 

[K9kodi]

I’m basically trying to cheat here so bare w me.

I could cross reference loading data, bc, and then read up on personal experience of certain bullets, but my mind would get burnt out and a computer would break.

W that being said, what weight bullet from nosler in the partition flavor would offer the best trajectory and pairing for deer from 50-350 yards

 

[112Savage]

I would have no problem recommending the 178 for quick kills. I shot a bull eland at 350ish yards downhill and quartering-to using factory 178ELDX in a 22” 300WM. The went uphill with the herd about 25yds before falling. The bullet got into but not out of his off side lung. An eland is a gigantic animal and the quartering shot would be like 7/8th of a full length whitetail.

 

[wind gypsy]

Plenty of velocity available with 200 or 212 in a 300 WM. I've never shot the 178 but have killed stuff with 200 and 175 (7mm) ELDx and they are plenty splashy so I'd stick with the higher sectional density of the heavier bullets. All is overkill for whitetails inside 300 yards, honestly i'd probably just shoot a harder bullet.

 

[K9kodi]

My fear is a heavy bullet to be flat would mean higher velocities making anything inside 100 straight psss through

 

[wind gypsy]

I dont understand the concern with bullets passing through? It's not like it's not going to expand if going fast, quite the opposite. Which is why i think going faster yet with a lower sectional density bullet is less desirable. I'm sure 178s would be fine. Since you're looking for fastest incapacitation, messy is going to correlate with that. A 195 TMK would probably fit the bill for fastest incapacitation too.

Heavier/Higher BC bullets will not come close to offsetting velocity in regards to trajectory inside 300 yards. Need a lot more distance to offset a higher muzzle velocity in that regard.

 

[180ls1]

168 eldm. Heck, I'd even try the 155 especially if you are using hold over.

Literally anything is going to pound em.

 

[K9kodi]

I don’t know much bout the tmk but am open

 

[sodaksooner]

I use the 178's with my 300wm, Only buck I shot dropped in its tracks. I think mine is probably too fast as it pretty much detonated on impact. It did drop him as stated. Seeing speeds of 3100+ with mine. I might look into heavier bullets down the road, or loading up some of my eld-m's and seeing what they do. Ive shot out to 700 with no accuracy issues and at 100 I get 1/2moa if I do my part. 26" barrel with 71ish grains of IMR4831.