77gr TMK or 80gr ELD-X

[MTNDUDE]

I am working on a 22-250 with a 1/8 twist. I have narrowed it down to these two bullets to try. I am finding the 77gr TMK for cheaper then the 80gr ELD-X. I know the 77 TMK has a very proven track record. Is there any reason to pay the extra money for the 80gr ELD-X?

 

[JDT1982]

No, TMKs will do the job.

 

[Lawnboi]

If your rifle shoots them the 80 is a good bullet and marginally more efficient.

I don’t have a huge sample size but you would be hard pressed to tell a difference in wound channel from the animals I have shot with each.

 

[MTNDUDE]

If your rifle shoots them the 80 is a good bullet and marginally more efficient.

I don’t have a huge sample size but you would be hard pressed to tell a difference in wound channel from the animals I have shot with each.

That's what I was figuring. If I remember the 80 gr ELD-X has a slightly better BC, but even at 600 yards it didn't make a huge difference in drop and drift. I had originally planned on the ELD-X, but I am finding the 77 TMK's at quite a few retailers online.

 

[MTNDUDE]

I know historically I haven't had much luck reloading the ELD-X in the 6.5 or 6mm. The ELDM's always seems easier to develop groups with.

 

[Lawnboi]

That's what I was figuring. If I remember the 80 gr ELD-X has a slightly better BC, but even at 600 yards it didn't make a huge difference in drop and drift. I had originally planned on the ELD-X, but I am finding the 77 TMK's at quite a few retailers online.

I think the bc difference is significant enough to justify the eldx…. As I said if your rifle shoots them well.

I have a crap load of both. If the gun is shooting the eldx well that’s what I’m picking.

Ime the 77tmk is about the ultimate 223 bullet where velocity really dosnt dictate a far shot, for me atleast.

Where as the 80eldx at a decent speed is becoming a bullet that starts to blur the lines between it and the bigger stuff in those 400 plus ranges.

I’d get a box of each. Shoot them both and buy 800 of whatever shoots best

 

[Fireflyfishing]

What is the purpose of the rifle?

 

[MTNDUDE]

What is the purpose of the rifle?

It will mainly be for mule deer and antelope, but it may pull duty on a cow elk or spike elk every once and a while.

 

[flathead#2]

Thinking I'm gonna try to find some 75gr. Gold Dots.

 

[waspocrew]

Buy a box of each and see which one shoots better in your rifle.... or go with the 80 gr ELDM over the X. The ELDM line are proven killers.

 

[MTNDUDE]

Buy a box of each and see which one shoots better in your rifle.... or go with the 80 gr ELDM over the X. The ELDM line are proven killers.

I have thought about the 80 ELDM. I really wanted to try the 88 ELDM's, but I thought I read a couple reports on here that they didn't perform very well for a few people.

 

[waspocrew]

I have thought about the 80 ELDM. I really wanted to try the 88 ELDM's, but I thought I read a couple reports on here that they didn't perform very well for a few people.

I haven't killed with the 80 ELDM, but I've shot a mule deer buck (315 yards) and doe antelope (420 yards) with the 88 ELDM. Both were down fairly quickly and only required one shot in the boiler room. For the price, I like them. I don't think they really offer that much more superiority in terms of BC, etc compared to the 80 ELDM though.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

It will mainly be for mule deer and antelope, but it may pull duty on a cow elk or spike elk every once and a while.

I think any of the projectiles listed above will work for your use case. As others have posted here, see what works best for your rifle yet economical for your budget. Once you find a good load, stay within the terminal performance window and have fun!

Here’s my Tikka 22-250 1:8 and where it sits with the 77 TMK. I’m not pushing it hard. I have a couple hundred Berger 85.5 hybrids I’m itching to try as well. So many bullets, so little time!

 

[kkp005]

My tikka 22-250 doesn’t shoot the 80gr eldx worth a crap.. it stack the 77tmks in tiny groups

 

[Juan_ID]

I have shot 80 eldx and eldm out of my 22 GT, have killed a couple animals with both. As posted by many others the eldx didn’t shoot near as good as the eldm out of my rifle, ~1.25”+ vs ~.75” for 10 shots.

I’ve seen some mention of the 80 eldm not working as consistently as some of the bigger diameter eldm’s but that is what I chose to stick with going forward because they shoot better, can be had for almost half of what the eldx costs and still seem to kill quickly based on my small sample size of harvests. I also have a bunch of tmk’s but haven’t shot any of those out of the GT yet.

I would try them both for a few 10 shot groups then buy a bunch of whichever one shoots better or costs less if they’re grouping similarly.

 

[ACHILLES]

I’ve killed quite a few hogs up to 230lbs and an Audad with the 80eldm out to 364yards. They work and are cheap. I’ve never seen a reason to pay more for the eldx. Especially since almost everyone that shoots them reports they don’t shoot as well as the eldms. Havnt killed anything with the 77tmks yet but from the massive amount of evidence on rokslide I would use them with confidence.

 

[Skerhunter]

I have shot 80 eldx and eldm out of my 22 GT, have killed a couple animals with both. As posted by many others the eldx didn’t shoot near as good as the eldm out of my rifle, ~1.25”+ vs ~.75” for 10 shots.

I’ve seen some mention of the 80 eldm not working as consistently as some of the bigger diameter eldm’s but that is what I chose to stick with going forward because they shoot better, can be had for almost half of what the eldx costs and still seem to kill quickly based on my small sample size of harvests. I also have a bunch of tmk’s but haven’t shot any of those out of the GT yet.

I would try them both for a few 10 shot groups then buy a bunch of whichever one shoots better or costs less if they’re grouping similarly.

Thanks for the info - I’ve been scratching my head on the 80 eldm vs eldx posts for a while. I don’t recall anyone posting negatives on the eldm - seems like everyone jumps to eldx right away. But lots of data shared on 73 which is building an excellent track record for the .223 guys.

My creed shoots the factory 80gr eldm so well I really don’t want to mess with hand loads until I have too.

 

[cq0302]

I think any of the projectiles listed above will work for your use case. As others have posted here, see what works best for your rifle yet economical for your budget. Once you find a good load, stay within the terminal performance window and have fun!

Here’s my Tikka 22-250 1:8 and where it sits with the 77 TMK. I’m not pushing it hard. I have a couple hundred Berger 85.5 hybrids I’m itching to try as well. So many bullets, so little time!

View attachment 840263View attachment 840264

85.5s shoot ridiculously well in my tikka 250, proven out to 1000

 

[Cullbuck]

My tikka 22-250 doesn’t shoot the 80gr eldx worth a crap.. it stack the 77tmks in tiny groups

Mine doesn't like the 80 gr. eldx either. What is your load with the 77 tmk's?

 

[Deere_Man]

I believe whenever I get around to doing this same research, I will be comparing the 77 TMK vs the 75gr ELDM.