Hornady ELD-X Ammo issues

[BowMan86]

I am currently using the Hornady ELD-X precision hunter ammo in my 6.5 PRC. It shoots great and by far the most accurate factory ammo I have shot. However, my son and I went on a caribou hunt last year and we both ended up shooting caribou through the front shoulder and it seemed as if the bullet just disintegrated after impact of the front shoulder bone. On both caribou the front shoulder was completely destroyed. Both had softball size entry wounds. Both entered the chest cavity but no evidence of impact on the opposite side of the chest cavity. We did find some small bullet fragments throughout the shoulder. Anyone else have this issue with shooting these rounds on large game animals? Obviously we would have preferred to miss the shoulder, but I would still expect better performance.

 

[TxxAgg]

Maybe it was moving too fast for a semi fragile bullet? I'd like to hear what those with more experience have to say.

 

[Ariettabob]

5 whitetail kills, (granted, smaller than caribou) 2 with 145gr 270 ELD-X and 3 with 178gr 30/06 ELD-X. All 5 had nice exit holes and instant or very quick deaths.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

My experience on the 6 or 7 whitetail shot with .270 145grn has shown it either doesn't expand at all or blows into tiny little pieces and I aim for double lung so no shoulder to deal with.

It is certainly accurate though.

 

[WCB]

That is the nature of that bullet.

 

[Rich M]

First off - glad you guys had a great hunt.

They are cup and core bullets designed for long range shooting - right? I'm not intimately familiar with them. I shoot cup and cores all the time - Sierra Pro Hunters shoot best for me. It's about the gun and performance expected out of it. Tailor the bullet to the end result you want.

Guess the question is what are you going to switch to now that these have essentially failed?

 

[browning2480]

I bet they died quick, didn’t they

 

[BowMan86]

First off - glad you guys had a great hunt.

They are cup and core bullets designed for long range shooting - right? I'm not intimately familiar with them. I shoot cup and cores all the time - Sierra Pro Hunters shoot best for me. It's about the gun and performance expected out of it. Tailor the bullet to the end result you want.

Guess the question is what are you going to switch to now that these have essentially failed?

Yeah, I guess that is the ultimate question. Initially, the 6.5 PRC was pretty limited to the horandy eld-x, but now it looks as though there are more manufacturers. Trick is finding them in stock and not paying 3x what they are worth.

 

[BowMan86]

I bet they died quick, didn’t they

They did, both made it about 20-30 yards. Just looking for something with more penetration and less meat damage. More so concerned for use on a future moose hunt. Guess the easy answer would be to not hit them in the shoulder but things happen, and would like to know my bullet is going to make it through if it does happen.

 

[NDGuy]

Those bullets are designed to penetrate a few inches and then rapidly fragment. They have a thin jacket and will have a higher chance to do what you experienced at close range.

 

[NDGuy]

They did, both made it about 20-30 yards. Just looking for something with more penetration and less meat damage. More so concerned for use on a future moose hunt. Guess the easy answer would be to not hit them in the shoulder but things happen, and would like to know my bullet is going to make it through if it does happen.

In my research for my next hunting bullet I came across similar threads to yours. Seems like guys just want to stay off the shoulder especially at close range.

End of day you killed two caribou with one shot and they ran 20 yards and tipped over. Besides meat damage what's not to love?

 

[Wags]

Like this?…. This was a 30-06 @ 326 yards. It hit no bone until the rib cage. The 06 is no speed demon especially at that range so it couldn’t have been that.

 

[madcalfe]

how far away were you when shooting the bous? I've shot 2 mountain goats and 2 black bears with a 178gr eldx out of a .300wsm. they were all 1 shot kills.


here’s one recovered from this years black bear. 220 yard shot to the top of his head through his body and through the last rib and stuck in the hide.

 

[BowMan86]

how far away were you when shooting the bous? I've shot 2 mountain goats and 2 black bears with a 178gr eldx out of a .300wsm. they were all 1 shot kills.
View attachment 304854
View attachment 304855
here’s one recovered from this years black bear. 220 yard shot to the top of his head through his body and through the last rib and stuck in the hide.

The one my son shot was about 80 yards and the other was 150 yards. Maybe just the combination of highspeed and lightweight bullets from the 6.5 PRC hitting dense bone caused the bullet to shatter.

 

[BowMan86]

Like this?…. This was a 30-06 @ 326 yards. It hit no bone until the rib cage. The 06 is no speed demon especially at that range so it couldn’t have been that.

View attachment 304852View attachment 304853

Very similar, almost completely destroyed the front shoulder.

 

[BowMan86]

In my research for my next hunting bullet I came across similar threads to yours. Seems like guys just want to stay off the shoulder especially at close range.

End of day you killed two caribou with one shot and they ran 20 yards and tipped over. Besides meat damage what's not to love?

True, just need to be a little more selective on my shots.

 

[Spoonman]

Some bullets are designed to go through bone and some are not. If you want to do shoulder shots use a mono bullet or a bullet that is well known for being bonded (accuebond). When using a cup and core bullet take out the vitals . You also don’t waist meat that way either!

 

[Ariettabob]

I should’ve expanded on my experience above. All were shot 110yds and in, one at 35yds. All shot behind the shoulder with no bone contact or just rib. If I had any kind of bullet failure I’d have been shocked. Now I’m wishing I’d put one in a shoulder just to see what the results were. But, as others said, dead is dead and no one has relayed a lost game story because of bullet failure.

 

[menhaden_man]

Man, I'm with you... shot two antelope (~150 yds) and a mule deer (~ 200 yds) last fall, and a 200+ lb hog (~50 yds) in March all with 143 ELDX handloads from a 6.5 CM. They all died, but I'm not sold that it's the best round after many dozen critters with cheap stuff that's not as accurate. Going to try a few other things this fall, maybe even go back to the 117 SST quarter bore for smaller stuff.

 

[Wags]

I should’ve expanded on my experience above. All were shot 110yds and in, one at 35yds. All shot behind the shoulder with no bone contact or just rib. If I had any kind of bullet failure I’d have been shocked. Now I’m wishing I’d put one in a shoulder just to see what the results were. But, as others said, dead is dead and no one has relayed a lost game story because of bullet failure.

I had the exact same experience on 4 animals last year. 2 goats and 2 deer, 1 @ 100 yards, 1 @ 200, 1 @ 212 & 1 @ 326. All were shot with no bone contact other than the ribcage and all had that gaping entry with no pass through. Yes, they all died, however I'm not trusting that load to drive through a shoulder or on Elk. From what I've heard on here we're in the minority with this experience but 4 animals are proof enough for me to have my doubts on it's limits.