6mm ARC and 80gr ELD-VT

[MTNDUDE]

I was wondering if anyone is running the 80gr ELD-VT in their 6mm ARC? I am thinking about loading it in my boys ARC. I imagine it would be good for deer and antelope.

 

[CMP70306]

I was wondering if anyone is running the 80gr ELD-VT in their 6mm ARC? I am thinking about loading it in my boys ARC. I imagine it would be good for deer and antelope.

Nope, I asked the same question about the 174gr .308 and was explicitly told by one of the engineers at Hornady “Do not shoot them at big game, they will grenade.”

 

[270quest]

Don't know much about that bullet, but if it's a no go, a 90 grain ELDx may not be a bad 2nd option

 

[General RE LEE]

I'd roll with the 90 grain ELDX

 

[MTNDUDE]

I have thought about the 90 grain ELDX. I just haven't had the best accuracy from any of the ELD-X's I have tried. I am really waiting for the 95 TMK, but I am afraid that is a really long shot.

 

[sololearn9]

I have a feeling those bullets are going to be more jump sensitive than most. You may have to tweek between charge weight and seating depth.

 

[Thegman]

Nope, I asked the same question about the 174gr .308 and was explicitly told by one of the engineers at Hornady “Do not shoot them at big game, they will grenade.”

I have to wonder if they'd say something similar about the ELD-M bullets(??).

I did see one 80 ELD-VT gel test and it penetrated almost as well as a similar ELD-M and made a pretty big mess before it stopped. It did look like it would do pretty well if the shot was placed correctly, which pretty much applies to any bullet in some ways.

 

[Skydog]

Nope, I asked the same question about the 174gr .308 and was explicitly told by one of the engineers at Hornady “Do not shoot them at big game, they will grenade.”

I have to wonder if they'd say something similar about the ELD-M bullets(??).

I did see one 80 ELD-VT gel test and it penetrated almost as well as a similar ELD-M and made a pretty big mess before it stopped. It did look like it would do pretty well if the shot was placed correctly, which pretty much applies to any bullet in some ways.

There's a good 10-minute discussion about this starting at around the 50:24 mark in the podcast below. Don't necessarily trust what the company says publicly about what a bullet is good/not good for. A lot of it has to do with marketing/advertising and has nothing to do with actual terminal results on animals. It specifically discusses claims from Hornady and Sierra as examples.

 

[CMP70306]

I have to wonder if they'd say something similar about the ELD-M bullets(??).

I did see one 80 ELD-VT gel test and it penetrated almost as well as a similar ELD-M and made a pretty big mess before it stopped. It did look like it would do pretty well if the shot was placed correctly, which pretty much applies to any bullet in some ways.

There's a good 10-minute discussion about this starting at around the 50:24 mark in the podcast below. Don't necessarily trust what the company says publicly about what a bullet is good/not good for. A lot of it has to do with marketing/advertising and has nothing to do with actual terminal results on animals. It specifically discusses claims from Hornady and Sierra as examples.

View attachment 842184

In performance it’s closer to the V-Max than the ELD-M which is the main issue. Below is the direct quote,

“I'd like to take another moment to re-emphasize that these are varmint bullets. I keep seeing tons of comments in various places about people wanting to try them on large game and I think that's a recipe for a potentially bad day. If you hit nothing but soft tissue you'll probably kill a bigger animal but you're going to have a ton of blood-shot meat, and if you hit any kind of bone or any kind of quartering shot don't expect to make it into the vitals. Max penetration on most of these is in the 6-10" range.”

 

[MT-nuffgun]

We have killed a couple deer with a 87 vmax out of a .243 win. Quick kills, no exits, but chest cavity is total soup. The vmax seems to work fine for behind the shoulder shots but not much of a sample size yet. I would assume the 80 eld-vt would be similar in performance but I have no experience with that bullet.

 

[YaakRiver]

I have been involved in sighting in 4 different 6mm ARC rifles including budget AR-15 and high end AR-15 along with a factory Howa Mini Action and a custom Tikka build - All of them tried the Hornady factory ammo with the 80 ELD-VTs and not one of them shot them accurately. The best 5 shot group was around 2" at 100 yards. I have no experience hunting with them.