Hornady ELD-X

[bummer7580]

Thanks for the post bummer... question...was the fragment in the pic from the previous day's shot?
I assume it was against the opposite shoulder blade since it penetrated 6+"?
You wrote the first shot he didn't move but shot 2x more as he tried to get up. So did he go straight down on the first shot? If so that sounds promising.
Please don't think I'm trying to be a smart A, I'm just really intrigued by this whole thread & want to learn as much as possible about this ammo cause I really don't wanna switch.

Hey Crowmangler, Of the three shots I took the first one was a high lung shot and he sagged in the rear end, shot two was in front of the diaphram and the third shot was between one and two about mid body high. At the third shot he collapsed.
The previous day's shot was a bit quartering and the bullet stopped at front of shoulder blade near side. Would a Accubond have broke the shoulder and continued into the spine for a quick kill? I don't know but I suspect they would penetrate deeper than an Eldx. I have killed 3 big bulls with the Eldx and never had an exit hole and killed about 15 with accubonds and about half exit. The fragment picture is from previous day shot. Those old bulls are tough.

 

[Formidilosus]

Hey Crowmangler, Of the three shots I took the first one was a high lung shot and he sagged in the rear end, shot two was in front of the diaphram and the third shot was between one and two about mid body high. At the third shot he collapsed.
The previous day's shot was a bit quartering and the bullet stopped at front of shoulder blade near side. Would a Accubond have broke the shoulder and continued into the spine for a quick kill? I don't know but I suspect they would penetrate deeper than an Eldx. I have killed 3 big bulls with the Eldx and never had an exit hole and killed about 15 with accubonds and about half exit. The fragment picture is from previous day shot. Those old bulls are tough.

So, did you recover all four bullets? And where was the core to the bullet in your picture?

 

[bummer7580]

So, did you recover all four bullets? And where was the core to the bullet in your picture?

I did not recover the 3 bullets, They stopped in the chest cavity with no exit in offside chest cavity. Where did the lead core go from the fragment- that is a good question. I am not sure if it came apart into pieces on the way through the shoulder muscle or deflected off further into the meat.
I will say one thing about Eldx bullets. They are some of the best shooting bullets I've ever shot. If Hornady could create a bonded version they certainly would have a serious elk bullet.

 

[Crowmangler]

Yes, bummer they are tough. Thanks for the info & great job on getting 3 good shots in him.

Just read your last comment. So you got 3 in the chest cavity & neither exited? Dang, that's surprising & very disappointing. What was the distance of the shots?

FYI, the last 2 elk I killed with that same bullet:
(1 shot at 325 yds double lung complete pass through)
(first shot 485 yds double lung complete pass through)

 

[bummer7580]

We were close, I doubt much over 100-120 yds. Muzzle velocity 3025 FPS. I started using the ELDX thinking a longer shot may present itself. So far since using them my longest shot has been 185yds and the closet has been 85. Lol

 

[Crowmangler]

OK guys, another one to add to the discussion... took a bull elk last week. Snuck up & shot him at ~ 35 yards. He fell dead within 40 yards. Dang bullet disintegrated & destroyed the lungs but didn't even make a mark on the opposite rib wall. It did a devastating job of killing but what if it had hit a shoulder?
I love these bullets for long range accuracy but I think I'm gonna start carrying something different (bonded or all copper) when in the thick stuff or limited to sub 200 yard shots. Does anyone else do that?

 

[jstraus34]

The good news is it did the job, congrats! I'd want know what caliber but assume it was something that was more than capable of putting down an elk. Bullet weight also important but again I'll go with same assumption. I personally shoot only bonded for hunting but that is because none of my rifles like monolithic bullets for whatever reason. Regarding the limited to 200 yards, I think that may be a mispresception as the bonded bullets are very accurate up to and beyond what I feel comfortable shooting (500 yards) especially bullets like Accubond LR etc.

 

[Crowmangler]

The good news is it did the job, congrats! I'd want know what caliber but assume it was something that was more than capable of putting down an elk. Bullet weight also important but again I'll go with same assumption. I personally shoot only bonded for hunting but that is because none of my rifles like monolithic bullets for whatever reason. Regarding the limited to 200 yards, I think that may be a mispresception as the bonded bullets are very accurate up to and beyond what I feel comfortable shooting (500 yards) especially bullets like Accubond LR etc.

Thanks Jstraus... 7 mm RM... Yes the bonded are accurate but I've got the CDS scope custom etched for the 162 ELDX's & they shoot great & I'm very comfortable out to 500+. Just hate to fix something that isn't broken ya know? But As many have mentioned in this thread I'm concerned with the terminal performance with these bullets vs a bonded or copper that does a better job (typically) of punching through & leaving an exit wound / blood trail for elk. Haven't lost an animal yet with them but don't want to risk it either. Thought a good compromise would be to use a solid for short range / thick stuff... IDK?

 

[jstraus34]

Thanks Jstraus... 7 mm RM... Yes the bonded are accurate but I've got the CDS scope custom etched for the 162 ELDX's & they shoot great & I'm very comfortable out to 500+. Just hate to fix something that isn't broken ya know? But As many have mentioned in this thread I'm concerned with the terminal performance with these bullets vs a bonded or copper that does a better job (typically) of punching through & leaving an exit wound / blood trail for elk. Haven't lost an animal yet with them but don't want to risk it either. Thought a good compromise would be to use a solid for short range / thick stuff... IDK

I hear ya but if it wasn't broke, that bullet would have went all the way through at that range. 7MM mag in a 160 grain should have cleared the cavity and punch through the other side. Did you happen to recover the bullet? If not, any broken bones that you could see? Looked like there may have been some stomach contents in that picture so not sure what was hit and where. Bullets do some strange things for sure and ELDx is a good bullet, just I'd rather hedge my bet on the bonded bullets. One of the down sides of getting a CDS setup and why I'm reluctant to get one myself, is you are locked in to some extent. Easy enough fix, its not like marriage or anything just get a new dial after you find a round your gun really loves.

 

[Crowmangler]

Didn't find or recover any of the bullet fragments. Yes, it did a lot of damage to the stomach & other organs (didn't penetrate the diaphragm though).
Think I may give the Federal TA's a try this off season.

 

[jstraus34]

Heard good things about the terminal ascent... Hopefully it will be in stock next year! Nosler makes an Accubond LR in 168gr, which has a similar ballistic coefficient as the ELDX that might be worth a look as well

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

Here are two pictures of a eldx 162gr from a 7mm REM MAG. Shot the elk this fall at about 120 yards. Heard him fall but didn’t see it. Went to look for blood and couldn’t find it but later learned I was in the wrong spot. He was 30 yards farther than I thought. Punched through both shoulders but missed the shoulder blades. Hit lungs and broke 2 ribs on each side. Bullet did not exit the elk. The elk only went 40 to 50 yards or so. I found him doing a larger circle looking for blood. Following the blood trail backwards to where I shot him was difficult. Very little blood near the shot location. Glad it did the job but was surprised it didn’t go through. I’ll admit I was farther forward than I would have hoped but still got both lungs. Ideally I would have missed the shoulder meat and I would assume it would have gone through. Just more info for everyone.

 

[jstraus34]

Here are two pictures of a eldx 162gr from a 7mm REM MAG. Shot the elk this fall at about 120 yards. Heard him fall but didn’t see it. Went to look for blood and couldn’t find it but later learned I was in the wrong spot. He was 30 yards farther than I thought. Punched through both shoulders but missed the shoulder blades. Hit lungs and broke 2 ribs on each side. Bullet did not exit the elk. The elk only went 40 to 50 yards or so. I found him doing a larger circle looking for blood. Following the blood trail backwards to where I shot him was difficult. Very little blood near the shot location. Glad it did the job but was surprised it didn’t go through. I’ll admit I was farther forward than I would have hoped but still got both lungs. Ideally I would have missed the shoulder meat and I would assume it would have gone through. Just more info for everyone. View attachment 345271

The net net is a dead elk but core separation falls in the bullet failure category. Certainly explains no exit & minimal blood trail.

 

[corey006]

OK guys, another one to add to the discussion... took a bull elk last week. Snuck up & shot him at ~ 35 yards. He fell dead within 40 yards. Dang bullet disintegrated & destroyed the lungs but didn't even make a mark on the opposite rib wall. It did a devastating job of killing but what if it had hit a shoulder?
I love these bullets for long range accuracy but I think I'm gonna start carrying something different (bonded or all copper) when in the thick stuff or limited to sub 200 yard shots. Does anyone else do that?

View attachment 345211

I concur.

Develope a load with E-Tip or TTSX that has similar zero @100 yards....vs ELD-X or VLD.

Carry your rifle with first round for close range.

If you get a 300+ yard you have time to eject the first round and chamber the VLD/ELD bullet.

 

[bsnedeker]

I concur.

Develope a load with E-Tip or TTSX that has similar zero @100 yards....vs ELD-X or VLD.

Carry your rifle with first round for close range.

If you get a 300+ yard you have time to eject the first round and chamber the VLD/ELD bullet.

I mean, do what makes you comfortable but we have 12 pages of evidence here that doesn't show very many people losing animals at close range. I hear lots of people concerned about lack of bloodtrails for animals that went less than 50 yards, but not seeing lots of evidence of lost animals.

 

[carsonkeys]

I shot a doe this weekend with a 147 ELD-M at ~120 yards. Entered the onside shoulder and exited right behind the offside shoulder. The exit is shown below. It was quite the “bang-flop” affair, which is to be expected considering the bottom half of her heart was laying next to her.

 

[jstraus34]

I mean, do what makes you comfortable but we have 12 pages of evidence here that doesn't show very many people losing animals at close range. I hear lots of people concerned about lack of bloodtrails for animals that went less than 50 yards, but not seeing lots of evidence of lost animals.

Kind of agree but I kind of don't too, as bullet failure regardless of the range is avoidable with a bonded bullet. Therefore, why would I use a bullet that could fail and I may lose an animal. Lot of qualifiers there but there is always a chance and if do my job, I want my bullet to do its.

 

[bsnedeker]

Kind of agree but I kind of don't too, as bullet failure regardless of the range is avoidable with a bonded bullet. Therefore, why would I use a bullet that could fail and I may lose an animal. Lot of qualifiers there but there is always a chance and if do my job, I want my bullet to do its.

I get it, but again, show me an example in this thread, or anywhere, where someone "did their job" and then lost the animal. "Doing your job" means putting one in the engine compartment. If you do your job, this bullet will put the animal down and you will find it based on all of the evidence in this thread.

Again, do what makes you comfortable. If you are more comfortable with bonded bullets you should use those. I think the idea of using different rounds based on range is not something I would ever want to do personally but to each his own!

 

[jstraus34]

I get it, but again, show me an example in this thread, or anywhere, where someone "did their job" and then lost the animal. "Doing your job" means putting one in the engine compartment. If you do your job, this bullet will put the animal down and you will find it based on all of the evidence in this thread.

Again, do what makes you comfortable. If you are more comfortable with bonded bullets you should use those. I think the idea of using different rounds based on range is not something I would ever want to do personally but to each his own!

Bullet placement trumps all things, as I've heard others say and experienced personally. I don't think anyone is saying they don't kill elk, deer etc, clearly they do but there is an x factor at play. It is my personal preference to avoid taking any unnecessary risk where I can help it and why I don't hunt elk or deer with a 22, might be a few other reasons too. If a make a marginal/bad shot on an animal and I experience core separation, will that result in a lost animal that I could have recovered had I used something else? I honestly don't know and can't prove it. Intuitively though, if core separates from jacket there is a greater chance that bullet will not pass all of the way through the cavity is that fair to say?

 

[Clark33]

I've used the 147ELD-M from 100yds to 630yds on Mule deer with excellent results. Also used the 108 ELD-M on an antelope at 70 yards and a Mule deer at 475 with also excellent results.