6.5 Creedmoor: 140 vs 147 ELD-M On-Game Performance

[EmperorMA]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with both the 140 and 147 ELD-M bullets sent at Creedmoor speeds, with a particular curiosity about impacts on game at less than 150 yards. All data points relating to performance on game with these two bullets are also welcome.

My use will be on deer, elk and Pronghorn from 20 - 600 yards from a 22" 6.5 Creedmoor. Shots under 50 yards would be extremely rare, but possible, as would shots over 400 yards. The vast majority of shots will be at 50 - 450 yards. I know both will perform well from 200 yards on out but I really need to know which is the best inside of 150 yards.

All help will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BAKPAKR]

I sent you a photo by PM of a 147 ELD-M I recently recovered. The shot was farther than you were asking about but the jacket and core separated and I did not hit any “big” bones.

 

[Pepe55]

Shot a buck last year at 65 yds with 6.5 143eldx dropped like a rock, watched him for 20 mins and saw his head move. Took a sneak toward him and at about 20 yds he got up and i finished him. After butchering him i had 2 complete pass throughs but the holes in and out looked like i shot him with a target tipped arrow. Never found the bullets.

 

[Formidilosus]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with both the 140 and 147 ELD-M bullets sent at Creedmoor speeds, with a particular curiosity about impacts on game at less than 150 yards

Both will work fine, including elk. The 140gr is just a bit more splashy, but it does produce good wound channels. The 147gr is really all by itself, both in flight characteristics and terminal performance. If you are someone that believes what a bullet looks like after it has killed somehow matters, you won’t like either one of them. If you are someone that is just concerned with how well a bullet kills, you should like them.

I sent you a photo by PM of a 147 ELD-M I recently recovered. The shot was farther than you were asking about but the jacket and core separated and I did not hit any “big” bones.

Core and jacket separations are not uncommon with the 147’s, nor should they be as it’s not a bonded bullet. Almost never do the core and jacket separate until the end of its travel as the bullet slows. In any case, what a bullet looks like after it has destroyed tissue means nothing. How much tissue it destroyed is important.

A week ago, 169 yards, frontal, 147gr ELD-M. Core and jacket separated. Core exited, jacket was caught by skin. The core and jacket separated after over 30 inches of penetration.

 

[WesternHntr]

I use the 147's for shots beyond 300 yards in my saum, and have killed two bulls with them.
My wife shot a buck with one last season at 80 yards and luckily she didn't hit bone because it completely blew up.
They're great LR hunting bullets but there's no substitute for bonded bullets at close range.
I carry bonded bullets in the mag and switch out for the 147s if it's a long shot.

Also my buddy shot a bull with his Creed at 280 yards last year using a 143 ELDX, the first shot luckily was in the lungs, he shot him with a follow up that hit the rear shoulder and that bullet literally blew apart about 2 inches in!
It was a complete failure that could have lead to a lost bull had he not hit lung on the first shot.. it was a big 6x6 too.

 

[PathFinder]

I've personally made 7 big game kills with the 140, and watched a guy kill a bull elk with my gun as well. Every hit, from 250-755 yards, exhibited nearly identical behavior. Large wound channels, lots of fragmentation, and bullets either exit or are just under the hide on the off side. A bear (380), one of the two hits on the elk (300), and two hits on a muley buck (620) hit major bone. Bullets still made it to the other side. It's the most consistent killing bullet I've personally used or observed.
Of anyone can tell me what core/jacket separation has to do with lethality, I'll give you a gold star.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Deere83]

The 143 grain eldx has worked well for me out to 650 on coyotes and for my daughter on an elk at three hundred yards with the 6.5 creedmore

 

[EmperorMA]

My wife shot a buck with one last season at 80 yards and luckily she didn't hit bone because it completely blew up.

Looks like she was able to put another one in the buck and get him to the ground. Thank God for that.

 

[EmperorMA]

I sent you a photo by PM of a 147 ELD-M I recently recovered. The shot was farther than you were asking about but the jacket and core separated and I did not hit any “big” bones.

I saw that. Thanks for sending. That looked like awesome performance!

 

[EmperorMA]

Both will work fine, including elk. The 140gr is just a bit more splashy, but it does produce good wound channels. The 147gr is really all by itself, both in flight characteristics and terminal performance. If you are someone that believes what a bullet looks like after it has killed somehow matters, you won’t like either one of them. If you are someone that is just concerned with how well a bullet kills, you should like them.

I don’t care what a spent projectile looks like. I just need it to leave destruction and death in its path, and the faster the animal hits the ground, the better.

The old Partition loses almost all its lead until it peels back to the copper barrier. I actually believe it would kill faster if the divider wasn’t there. That’s why I’ve always been a Nosler Ballistic Tip fan, because that bullet just produces a high percentage of bang/flops. I’ve never had to track an animal that was bang/flop.

Lots of destruction and rapid death. That’s what matters.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I wouldn’t have any reservations about using the 147 gr ELD-M on deer-sized game from point blank to as far as I would be comfortable shooting. I would say the same about its use on elk if I were presented with a broadside shot and I could confidently place the bullet behind the shoulder.

The problem is that most of my elk hunting experience has been in thick timber/brush. Although my longest shot on an elk has only been about 150 yards (my cross-canyon shot), the angles have not always been the best and I have not always thought I could wait for a broadside shot. Would the 147 gr ELD-M do the job it I hit a quartering to me bull in the shoulder at 50 yards? I don’t know, but having had core separation with the same bullet at a little over 400 yards, without any big bone encounters, I have some concerns. If I were to use the 6.5 CM for my style of elk hunting, I would choose either a bonded bullet or a mono bullet.

 

[Bobbyboe]

Shot two antelope with the 140 eldm, but longer shots then asked about. Both non large bone hits. 620 yard and 360 yard antelope. Both pass through, with lots of damage. 620 needed finishing due to being behind the diaphragm.

 

[texag10]

Shot a mule deer doe with a 147gr ELDM factory load a couple days ago. Frontal shot at about 40 yards. She piled up 30 yards away, heart was gone, most of the lungs were destroyed.

 

[brushape]

Shot a pile of animals now with 130 jlks from my 6.5 saum at ranges of 30yards to 600+ it always gets solid pass throughs and clean kills. Going to be hard to beat the added speed you’ll get with the 130 grains low bearing surface vs the long 147 Hornady


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Glory]

I have had very good luck with the 147-m on 6 animals.

 

[cmahoney]

My wife shot a buck yesterday at 220 yards with a 24” Tikka using 147 ELDM factory loads. They are leaving the muzzle at about 2600 FPS so 2360 on impact. It was a perfect quartering away shot on the left side. Went through the vitals, right scapula and I recovered it just under the hide. The buck went about 10 feet and piled up.

I haven’t weight it yet, waiting for my new FX120 to show up in the mail. I shot a buck last year with a 143 ELDX at 200 yards and the performance was almost the same.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mcseal2]

I've only used the 143gr ELD-X in my 264 win mag so far. Muzzle velocity is 3240fps from the long barreled 264.

First deer was one of the biggest bodied whitetail I've ever seen. I hit the buck in the front shoulder about as solid on the major bone as you can. The bullet fragmented and I didn't recover any big pieces. It did not exit. The deer died instantly, the bullet got through the shoulder. It was a 150 yard shot and the impact velocity should have been around 3000fps if I remember right.

Second was a smaller doe facing toward me at 321 yards. I had a college friend wanting a doe so I went out the last day of antlerless season to see if I could shoot one to give him. She was the only one that came out, and light was fading to fast to wait for a better angle. The shot was at a pretty good downward angle. I shot her through the neck as she had her head down feeding. The bullet went through her neck, exited the bottom of her chest, and broke a back leg on it's way into the ground. Impact velocity there should have been around 2700fps if I remember correctly, and the penetration was impressive.

I just traded for a Browning Hells Canyon Speed in 6.5 Creedmoor that the dealer ordered for me. When it gets here and ready to shoot the ELD-X and ELD-M will be the first bullets I try. I think at Creedmoor speeds they will fit my needs fine. I have a 300 win mag for game bigger than deer, so I'm not worried about using it on elk.