Some more anecdotal evidence; between myself and my teenage boys and a niece, we have taken at least 10 deer with the 143gr ELDX 6.5 Creedmoor Precision Hunter ammo these past couple seasons. Any that took a hit in the vitals were dead within 75 yards. Most bullets passed through. Most shots were between 250 and 350 yards.
We have also taken several elk with the 200gr ELDX out of a 300 win mag. Three of the four dropped on the spot, the fourth went about 200 yards. It's the fourth one that gives me pause about the eldx for elk sized game...
This happened on a late cow tag last week, just before new years: my son took an excellent 450 yard shot (prone/supported) on a cow elk. In spite of what I would argue was perfect bullet placement behind the front shoulder (see pic), and a perfect broadside, the cow still went a couple hundred yards, and took nearly 4 minutes to expire (couldn't take a mercy shot, as her exit took her well out of his range, and didn't want to risk hitting one of the other elk nearby). Upon inspection, the bullet hit a rib and split in two. One piece went through both lungs, and one went sideways into her guts. Neither exited the otherside. Somehow, she was able to maintain lung pressure for a while, as she was coughing up blood in her last moments. No blood trail whatsoever. It made me wonder if a more robust/bonded style of bullet would have been a better option. If the bullet had held together enough to go through the rib, through the lungs, and still make an exit hole, I can't see how she could have maintained lung pressure... and not only would there have been a "just in case" blood trail, but she probably would have dropped on the spot.
As I've thought about the other 3 kills, all three of them would have been just as effective had the bullet been a less fragmenting design. One was a broadside double lung (one fragment did exit) and she dropped on the spot from 350 yards. One was a quartering too shot through the thin part of the front shoulder into both lungs (calf at 260 yards). A shot on a bull at 300 yards dropped him, but my son's aim was a bit high, and it hit spine.
The same 300 win with the eldx bullets has taken a half dozen deer as well. Always devastating damage. Our only complaint is that at close range (for a mercy shot) it will cause unnecessary meat loss, as the bullet acts like a grenade. My wife made this mistake a few years ago. She had made a bad shot on a 2 point buck. He appeared down for the count from 350 yards away... but when we got in close, he rose up on his front legs. She shot him head on in the neck at 60 yards. We found lead sprinkled throughout both front quarters and half the backstraps.
All told, I think I will stick with the eldx for deer, as it has never let us down, especially in a lighter caliber. However, for elk I might switch to a ttsx, terminal ascent, or hammer hunter for some additional insurance and maximum penetration.
One more bit of info if relevant; bullets we've recovered seem to be around 40-50% of the original weight. Sometimes we don't find anything though, especially when it hits bone.
In contrast, another son took a cow this year with a 28 nosler and a 195 berger. About 3000fps mv. 340 yard shot. He misjudged a stiff crosswind, and hit her just behind the vitals. Put 3 shots in her, but we couldn't even tell if she had been hit. She started acting a bit funny after a few minutes and laid down. He finally worked his way into 150 yards for a mercy head shot. Upon inspection, the bullets made a mess of her liver and guts of course, but inspite of not hitting any bone, the largest piece of bullet we could find weighed only about 30gr. Of course there was no exit, and zero blood trail. I have no idea what would have happened if he had hit bone, but I'm a bit leary that it might not make it past a solid shoulder hit or a rib.
Pic one of the deer is my 2nd son's little buck this year at 330 yards. 6.5 cm eldx, complete pass through. The buck was facing the other direction and spun around upon impact, and the blood you see is the spray from the exit wound. This buck only went about 75 yards, and was one of the most impressive blood trails I've ever seen.
Second pic is the shot placement entry hole on the cow my oldest son took (the one that went a couple hundred yards in spite of a 200gr eldx double lung)
