.308 178 ELD-X on WV black bear?

[BLJ]

Any experience? Probably going to be about 2500, 2600 max FPS. Shots under 200 yards. Probably closer to 100 and possibly 25. I'm thinking it should work well. Just looking for some insight. Thanks.

 

[FLS]

It will work fine, they’re not hard to kill. My grandpa and uncles killed a bunch in the mountains of east TN with an iron sighted 30-30 shooting whatever bullets the local hardware store had on hand.

 

[BLJ]

I’ve heard that often. Probably should start believing it. .
I guess I should say I’m more curious about the bullet/caliber combo on up to medium sized bears. I think 250-300 is a big bear for around here. Which I’m sure many have hit the ground because of a 30-30. Thanks.

 

[rifletuner]

Mate, I cant help you specifically with bears from first hand experience, but I think the average black bear will die very quickly with that load.

My only experience with the ELD-X is on fallow the weekend before last. My son used a handload in his 308Win. The 178gn leaving the muzzle at 2630fps. Shot a doe at 100 meters and a buck at 160 meters.

Terminal performance on both shots showed the bullets to be quite fragmenting. The doe had a calibre size entry and about a 2" exit hole. Heart & lungs were shredded and the chest cavity was full of blood. The doe ran approximately 20 paces, but left a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow.

On the buck, the shot was high shoulder, so the heart was not hit, but the lungs were shredded and he dropped on the spot. The biggest surprise to me was the volume of blood on the ground around the exit hole.

Photo of the doe carcass in the meat shed:

The blood on the ground from the exit on the buck. I left my shadow in the picture to give some reference as to the size of the blood puddle. It was more than I have ever seen in one spot on the ground like that from any exit wound:

 

[hodgeman]

That'll work fine. The ELDX is a pretty soft bullet, but 2500-2600 isn't all that fast either.

 

[Explorer]

I killed two elk and a nilgai with it. The elk were both with one shot. The first one stumbled and fell over. The second fell in 30 yrds. The nilgai went less then 100yrds. Even though the first shot on the nilgai was good, I added a few more. The bullet performance was good on all.
I shot it between 2200 and 2500 fps. It holds together well at slower fps. It seems like at 2500 fps+ it starts to expand more rapidly. It you shoot much over 2500fps on heavy animals it may start to fragment more. It should be great for black bear. I would recommend it.

 

[Explorer]

I should add that even if it starts to fragment, it will still kill effectively. You just may have more meat damage.

 

[Luke S]

Should work. I had a 9 year old shoot a small black bear with a 308 with a 125 gr SST. It was a youth load so maybe 2500 to 2600 fps. The bullet fragmented but broke a shoulder bone. Bear went maybe 30 feet and died.

A friend of mine shot a grizzly with a 178 grain ELDX and got an exit wound through the ribs. It fragmented but did the job. It was a smaller grizzly though. My bigger grizzly stopped a 260 grain Partition from a 375 Ruger.
I think your load will work. Maybe not on a head shot but you're not likely to do that anyway.

 

[BLJ]

No head shots if i cn help it.
I would say MV will be around 2500. It's an 18" barrel. I'm hoping it will hold together. I don't want to deal with fragmentation.

 

[Luke S]

I would not hesitate to use it after what I've seen/heard. But if you are nervous any traditional cup and core soft point should work. I would not overthink it. Just get a solid hit behind the shoulder, bear lungs seem to be a bit different than deer so I aim about a hands width back from the shoulder. Then wait 30 minutes. Usually the bear will be piled up close by but chasing him to fast might push him into a place you can't find him.

 

[BLJ]

I agree on the shot placement and the over thinking it. Probably need to worry more about one and less about the other. Thanks.

 

[micus]

I killed a very respectable color phase black bear, Squared at 6'3 with a .308 M77 compact and Hornady 178 eldx handloads doing 2580fps. Dropped dead as a rock at 430yds. I even have it on film , if youre interested ill send you the video link.

Mike.