Hornady 340gr .50cal ELD-X Bore Driver

[kylem]

Here’s a CO bull my buddy shot this year at 160 yards.
Hit a rib on the entrance and this was with the first layer of meat taken off.

The jacket and a little bit of lead were under the offside hide but we couldn’t find the rest, it was somewhere in the chest cavity which was turned completely to jello. He went about 10 yards and tipped over.

 

[ElDiablito]

Here’s a CO bull my buddy shot this year at 160 yards.View attachment 630272
Hit a rib on the entrance and this was with the first layer of meat taken off.
View attachment 630273
The jacket and a little bit of lead were under the offside hide but we couldn’t find the rest, it was somewhere in the chest cavity which was turned completely to jello. He went about 10 yards and tipped over.

Looks like in this case it worked but the end result may have been very different at closer range and/or with an angled shot. These bullets are soft and explosive (which may be desirable on very long shots or on deer-sized game - but not a great elk bullet IMO).

 

[Underpup2]

Looks like in this case it worked but the end result may have been very different at closer range and/or with an angled shot. These bullets are soft and explosive (which may be desirable on very long shots or on deer-sized game - but not a great elk bullet IMO).

Thanks to both of yall for the info.
That's actually kinda what I was looking for in a way. I figured these bullets were probably designed with elk in mind and might be to hard and just pencile through a deer and not open up. Looks like from what few I have seen that's not the case which is a good thing for me at least. I'll probably give them a try whenever I get my M77/50 converted to use 209 primers and I can use BH powder.

 

[FrontierGander]

I pushed these through my TC Triumph with the stock ramrod and it didn't cause any damage at all. It's a pretty sturdy tip. It only took about 5lbs of pressure the whole way down so that helps a lot. I'll update with dirty bore pressure when I get these out to the range.

Prime example of why cva removed the female thread on their ramrod. That one really needs the proper loading jag unless it's been hollowed out to prevent damaging the tip?

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Prime example of why cva removed the female thread on their ramrod. That one really needs the proper loading jag unless it's been hollowed out to prevent damaging the tip?

The TC ramrod has the female threads deeper inside the cavity but the initial shoulder is angled prior to the threads so its not cutting into the plastic. Unfortunately ramrod doesn't fit in its channel with the jag installed, so if this works without damaging the tip then I'm not too worried about it.

Edit: my bore is .501 based on the Thor sizing packs so it may be an easier push than some other models.

 

[Underpup2]

Ya I wondered if I'd have to have a special tip or not.

 

[dodgefreak8]

My buddy and I have played with these a bit. We are running them out of a paramount pro. We've been shooting both these and the Fury's doing a lot of going back and fourth on which bullet to use. The Fury's shoot very good, but so far from what I've seen, the ELDXs shoot right with them.

My buddy had a Co muzzleloader tag a couple weeks ago and he used the ELDX's on his hunt. He took a big bull 1st shot at 200, 2nd shot at 250, the bullets appeared to perform well.

I have a late November muzzleloader elk hunt coming up, and I am still on the fence as to which bullet to use. I went out shooting yesterday. at 200 yards, both the Fury and the ELDX hit the same. I stretched it out to 300, there was a pretty good left right cross wind. Both the Fury and the ELDX hit 8" to the right. The ELDX hit about 1.5" higher than the Fury at this distance. But I don't know if this can be attributed to the higher BC or just my shooting, as 300 yards is pushing the limits on my comfort zone with open sights. But from what I've seen, I'm not sure inside of 300 yards out of a paramount, that there is really any ballistic advantage to be gained by going with the ELDX, that paramount is surprisingly flat shooting. If you were shooting them out of a more traditional inline at slower velocities, this ballistic advantage may come into play more.

I have a pretty easy 1st rifle cow tag coming up in a couple of weeks. I am debating using this muzzleloader on that hunt just to see how everything works, it would be a good opportunity to get some more real world results on bullet performance, however I haven't yet decided which bullet I want to use. I'll post back with any additional results I get.

I'm curious how much powder your using in your paramount. I bought these for mine but haven't tried them yet. Also are you running these through the muzzle brake? I'm afraid the "belt" might not the brake?

 

[RaggedHunter]

I'm curious how much powder your using in your paramount. I bought these for mine but haven't tried them yet. Also are you running these through the muzzle brake? I'm afraid the "belt" might not the brake?

I am running 115gr by wt. through the paramount. Yes I am running them through a brake. I didnt end up hunting with these, I ended up hunting with the Fury's, but on paper I did not notice any issues with the ELDX's, they shot very well.

 

[dodgefreak8]

I am running 115gr by wt. through the paramount. Yes I am running them through a brake. I didnt end up hunting with these, I ended up hunting with the Fury's, but on paper I did not notice any issues with the ELDX's, they shot very well.

Great thanks!

 

[devislpit777]

Quick question, for everyone here stating they are running BH over 100 by weight? Doesn’t that far exceed the max recommended? Thought it was something around low 80s for weight, 120 volume?

 

[Grillnugz]

@devislpit777 100gr/V = 142gr/weight (conversion factor is 0.7 per the manufacturer). I’m pretty sure paramounts and accuras are rated for heavy magnum loads of 150-160gr by volume.

That being said I shoot 87gr/weight of BH in my 50 cal MR-X, with very little un burnt powder

 

[ElDiablito]

100gr/V = 142gr/weight (conversion factor is 0.7 per the manufacturer). I’m pretty sure paramounts and accuras are rated for heavy magnum loads of 150-160gr by volume.

I think there may be a typo in there somewhere.

This has been discussed at length on here and on dedicated muzzleloading forums. The various lots of BH209 vary in weight. So the .7 conversion factor may have held true many years ago, now days, it doesn’t for most of us. Depends on your measure and method of volume measuring. For me, for example, using lot 41, 120 gr by volume weighs about 90.6 gr by weight for a conversion factor of .755.

Yes, 120 grV is the max for the majority of muzzys but a few like the Paramount have a much higher max.

 

[Grillnugz]

I recall reading .72 or something from people’s anecdotal evidence. I use .7 with the assumption that this is an estimate at best. I only weigh powder by weight. I use the .7 to check I’m not grossly over the safe limit when developing my load.

@ElDiablito I double checked the mrx manual it’s 120 BH209 and 150 for other powders. Paramounts are 150 for BH209. Thanks for the sanity check

 

[ElDiablito]

@ElDiablito I double checked the mrx manual it’s 120 BH209 and 150 for other powders. Paramounts are 150 for BH209. Thanks for the sanity check

And I believe the Knight Peregrine is 160 grV max for Bh209.

 

[9.1]

What do you guys think is the minimum impact velocity required for these to open up on game? Hornady says 1600fps, but some of the photos here make it look like it might be lower than that.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

What do you guys think is the minimum impact velocity required for these to open up on game? Hornady says 1600fps, but some of the photos here make it look like it might be lower than that.

According to Hornady the bore driver 340 should be 1100fps

 

[9.1]

According to Hornady the bore driver 340 should be 1100fps

This would be great. If you don't mind me asking, where do they list that? This is what they emailed me yesterday:

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Hmmmm, “extended range” seems to be up to interpretation… you’ve gotta crank up the charge pretty good to get 200y above 1600fps. Based on the gel/jug tests I’m sure it’s fine lower than 1600 but the two statements from the company kinda contradict themselves for muzzleloader velocities.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

This would be great. If you don't mind me asking, where do they list that? This is what they emailed me yesterday:
View attachment 726574

Interesting I just called them.. 1600 seems high as I’m at 1750 with a decently stout loud haha

 

[9.1]

Interesting I just called them.. 1600 seems high as I’m at 1750 with a decently stout loud haha

I called them today and they told me what they told you which makes way more sense than the email. Thanks for the info