eldm vs eldx bullet?

[jj2096]

For hunting specifically, I see some people recommend the eldm bullet and some recommend the eldx bullet. I may be misunderstood, but isn't the eldm bullet for "match" shooting and the eldx is the hunting bullet? Is it ethical to hunt with the eldm and does it even expand? TIA.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Yes.

/thread.

 

[The Harbor Master]

But in all seriousness, there's probably tens of thousands of posts on this forum regarding ELDm bullets and their effectiveness/limitations for hunting. This includes real world uses, experiments, pictures, videos, anecdotal and empirical data... so the short answer is yes, they are ethical for hunting. The long answer is, there's a mountain of info on here regarding their use... I'd recommend using the search function and set aside several hours (or probably days at this point) to read and draw your own conclusions. It's one of the more commonly discussed things on Rokslide.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[MuleyFever]

I would shoot the one more accurate in your rifle at ranges where the BC doesn't matter. The Ms work great though and are usually less expensive in factory ammo.

 

[LongWayAround]

147 ELD-M

 

[LongWayAround]

Look at the 6mm and 6.5mm kill threads. Use the search function. Enter "eld-m" and select "this thread". You'll get tired of looking before you run out of reports.

 

[J.B.]

View attachment 994712

147 ELD-M

Thats the pretty version. Heres the ugly lol.
3 kills with the 147 eldm this year, no issues or complaints.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

ELDM, everyday.

 

[Thebigbaby]

ELD-Murders

Joking aside, I’ve always used ELD-X but it seems like many use the M’s.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

They are both good for hunting. Also look at the 130g tmk.

 

[glock233]

Both are extremely effective for killing if you keep your impact velocity above 1800 fps. Generally I favor the X rounds, because I think they’re a little better designed at the tip.

 

[mtnbound]

For hunting specifically, I see some people recommend the eldm bullet and some recommend the eldx bullet. I may be misunderstood, but isn't the eldm bullet for "match" shooting and the eldx is the hunting bullet? Is it ethical to hunt with the eldm and does it even expand? TIA.

Do a search, and you will have lots of data to read through.

 

[CarterHunt]

You’re correct in what the “intended”/marketed purposes are. But you will find here that the ELD-Ms are devastating on game and people have had great results hunting with them.

 

[Speaks]

I read about all I could find on here about this recently and I think my overall conclusion is that it didnt really matter. To the degree there is a difference the M might perform just slightly better in that it opens up a little faster. It might also be more likely to fail at the extreme low end of the velocity range. Its not likely to fail but a little more than the X. Anyway this is not my experience but a summary of what I read on here trying to answer the question.

I put a box of each through my new gun and chose X based on it shooting just a touch better but would have picked the M if it did.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Been using the ELD-X since they came out with nothing but consistently spectacular results. They shoot very accurately out of my rifles and have been consistently devastating on game.

In recent years my focus is mountain game. After taking multiple Sheep, Ibex, etc with the ELD-X I’m a true believer. What’s always impressed me are the real-world accuracy, wound channels and massive tissue disruption on game - mine ranged from ~300-600 yards. Of the few bullets recovered, most were a perfect mushroom or close to it.

I cannot imagine any advantage in switching from this bullet designed for hunting to a bullet designed for target shooting. While more fragile bullets like Berger and ELD-M can result in some impressive bang-flop kills there is a much greater risk poor bullet performance just based on the physics of the bullet construction.

For DIY long-range deer, pronghorn, coyotes, etc I can certainly understand the attraction to the greater perceived accuracy potential of Bergers and ELD-Ms. However, if I’m hunting larger game, paying for a Sheep Hunt or traveling to Asia for an Ibex, I’ll be using a hunting bullet. After climbing multiple mountains for a week or more and finally sneaking into ~400 yards of a trophy ram the last thing I want to be thinking about is my bullet choice. Hunts are expensive, why take the chance?

By even asking the question which is the focus of this thread it is clear the OP already has some lingering doubts. Heeding these doubts has served me well. It’s just the kind of thing that will rarely go wrong, but if it does it will be at least opportune moment.

Anyway, that’s my experience - YMMV

 

[ATL]

Choose based on which bullet is most accurate from your gun. Terminal ballistics has been interchangable, for me, between 6.5 143 X and 147 M. I have chosen the M overall.

Look up Hornady's data for the LE rifle rounds. They load with the M bullet and terminal performance is excellent in their tests.

 

[Lou270]

The eldx have a meplat and hollowpoint designed and tested/QCed by the factory to start expanding at a certain min velocity and a shank with jacket thickened to control expansion at a certain max velocity. The eldm has a thin straight jacket for maximum concentricty and a polymer tip inserted to maximize BC. There are no “designed / tested” min and max impact velocity as the jacket and tip are designed for max accuracy and highest possible BC. Since the eldm has a poly tip, it will deform at some impact velocity and as many have mentioned work fine for hunting in a lot of cases

I have not used the eldm but will offer a few points of caution with eldm based purely on design since I do not rely on anecdotal info for my own decisions.

1). There is no reliable min impact velocity for eldm. The eldx metplat is wider and the hollowpoint deeper to expand at lower than typical impact velocity. So, it can “appear” softer at times than the eldm at higher impact velocity. This can probably vary depending on caliber/weight. Some will claim they always get expansion at some min velocity but there is no way to know this unless tested in controlled environment where fails and success can be observed. For ex on this site folks will dismiss any fails unless there is photo evidence….

2). The terminal performance of the eldm is not tested by Hornady. Eldx has terminal performance design parameters that are periodically QCed by the factory. If you have a lot of eldms bullets that perform a certain way a different lot may perform differently and you certainly cannot extrapolate how a certain eldm bullet performs to another in a different caliber or weight. Hunting Bullet manufacturers adjust jackets, ogive shapes, hollowpoints, etc to get the performance they want per bullet for a reason

3). Neither are deep penetrating from a design perspective but the eldx has a thicker jacket along the shank and the interlock. These will help with more consistent terminal shape and result with deeper penetration on average though less important as impact velocity drops or softer body impacts

Basically, the eldx is a well designed hunting bullet, particularly for long range/lower impact velocity. The eldm has a higher BC and will be easier to get max accuracy since there are no extra features for terminal peformance nor a designed/quality checked performance window

Lou

 

[Pharmseller]

So you have zero on-game experience but feel compelled to offer four paragraphs of caution?

 

[Mike D Texas]

I’m not sure why in 2026 we still have these discussions. There’s evidence EVERYWHERE that “match” bullets are very effective on game.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Lou270]

So you have zero on-game experience but feel compelled to offer four paragraphs of caution?

I have used other match bullets for hunting just not eldm. They came out as I got over that phase and there is just not a compelling reason to use them as nothing new there. In any case the “category” of the bullet is not important, but how a bullet is constructed is. Not all “match” bullets should be considered good for hunting but some like the eldm, tmk are since by construction they are basically thin jacketed poly tip. My best hunting buddy used scenars. If you read my post nowhere did I say they could not be used for hunting. However, match bullets are not designed for hunting and that introduces risks at the extremes which I was pointing to OP vs “I shot a deer with them and it worked” type posts. If there is something in my post that is not correct feel free to debate, but it is basically straight from Hornady who I think know how they design and test their bullets

Lou