It's not you Factory 143 ELD-X, it's me. ;-) Can't shoot it! But can shoot 147 ELD-M.

[Mike Islander]

Shot several 4-round groups of 143 ELD-X and 147 ELD-M. ELD-M is consistently excellent in my 6.5 CM Fieldcraft. ELD-X is consistently sucky. It's not the first time the 147 has shot better for me. How can this be possible? Is it actually possible for this one factory cartridge to be so inaccurate compared to the other, considering these are very similar (not identical, but damn similar).

Or is this more likely something I'm doing, like maybe concentrating better when I know I am shooting the "better" ammo (which I consider the 147 to be)? I literally alternated 4 shot groups and got this (and I am definitely not a great shooter).

I shot more than this, but this is basically representative of my results. I'm going to pretend I don't hear Form madly typing that I need 30-round groups before I make any judgements and just leave these here.

WARM UP (4 rounds each)


After a few groups, trying my very best to concentrate. 4 rounds each.

 

[Jimbee]

Sounds like you're questioning your results, better add a bunch of shots to those groups and find out for sure....

 

[grfox92]

ELD X gets alot of love here on Rokslide, however I've heard from buddies who are big in the LR scene that a lot of guys have trouble getting them to shoot well.

No personal experience, I just loaded up my first batch of eldm last night. Just something I was told recently.

Also like mentioned above. I would try shooting 10 round groups and see what happens.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[BRTreedogs]

Factory ammo?
They may be similar but I believe the bearing surface is a different length.

My custom 300 like the 215 berger less then the 210.

Don't over think it the 147 is a killing machine.
Just use it and go.

Or actually don't thats less 147s available for me on the market.

 

[Drenalin]

I think the answer to your questions is "Yes."

 

[Mike Islander]

Factory ammo?
They may be similar but I believe the bearing surface is a different length.

My custom 300 like the 215 berger less then the 210.

Don't over think it the 147 is a killing machine.
Just use it and go.

Or actually don't thats less 147s available for me on the market.

That's my plan. I've got a big ole box of 147's for all hunting in the foreseeable future. And I have total confidence it its accuracy and killing ability.

 

[Marshfly]

The rifle shoots what the rifle shoots. You don't get a say in that really.

I really want my R700 270 to shoot ELD-X or Terminal Ascent but it likes Federal loaded TSX to the tune of 50% smaller groups so that's what I shoot.

 

[Tf44]

I've seen the same results in my savage 10T 6.5 creedmoor. I primarily use mine for pronghorn and targets so don't mind the softer eldm's.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Some rifles just don't like certain bullets. I have a 270 and 300 that won't shoot certain grain bullets at all...I dont worry about I just don't load those grain bullets for those guns. At least now you know what grain bullet it doesn't like...all part of the process!

 

[SDHNTR]

No 2 factory ammo choices are “similar”. Can’t expect any which one to shoot well. You don’t get to tell a rifle which ammo it will like. The rifle tells you.

 

[Tf44]

When ever I start working up a new load, I usually start with the projectile then work up 5 prospecting loads for each powder charge to see what kind of groups and velocity I get. Then I'll fine tune from there. Generally speaking, if you go slow enough I can get a decent patern from anything. The trick is finding that sweet spot where your chosen projectile has a tight pattern and the velocity your looking for.

 

[Bomberodevil]

This is a perfect example of how tuning a load by hand-loading matters so much over factory loads. In my humble opinion, this isn’t an explanation that the factory 143 ELDX is bad, or the factory 147 ELDM is good, it’s which of those match the harmonic balance of this particular barrel better.

I hand-load the 143 ELDX for my the 6.5 CM, and I have a load with H4350, 41.3 grains, at 2734 fps, with 3-round groups at .367 moa. There’s better out there, but it’s pretty good for a hunting round. If I go 0.1-0.2 grains of powder in either direction, my groups could open up dramatically to close to 1.0 moa. Did the same bullet just become bad? Did the same powder become lousy? Is that Lapua brass no good? None of that. It’s just that the new velocities of 20-30 fps in either direction are creating shock waves down the barrel that don’t “harmonize“ with this particular barrel. Maybe the identical Christensen Arms 6.5 CM barrel off the assembly line right before or right after mine, but not mine.

So the ELDX 143 and the ELDM 140 and 147 are all very accurate factory loads. Just not for every rifle (more specifically, not for every barrel). This is why everyone says you have to listen to and see what your barrel tells you it wants.

 

[justin davis]

I’ve seen similar between the 103 ELDX and the 108 ELDM. They seem very close but the 108 shoot better for me out of a 6 mm

 

[ThunderJack49]

Shot several 4-round groups of 143 ELD-X and 147 ELD-M. ELD-M is consistently excellent in my 6.5 CM Fieldcraft. ELD-X is consistently sucky. It's not the first time the 147 has shot better for me. How can this be possible? Is it actually possible for this one factory cartridge to be so inaccurate compared to the other, considering these are very similar (not identical, but damn similar).

Or is this more likely something I'm doing, like maybe concentrating better when I know I am shooting the "better" ammo (which I consider the 147 to be)? I literally alternated 4 shot groups and got this (and I am definitely not a great shooter).

I shot more than this, but this is basically representative of my results. I'm going to pretend I don't hear Form madly typing that I need 30-round groups before I make any judgements and just leave these here.

WARM UP (4 rounds each)
View attachment 541776

After a few groups, trying my very best to concentrate. 4 rounds each.
View attachment 541777

I've been planning on showing a similar event in my 308. Both myself and a good friend who is a far better shooter than me, have seen similar results recently.
We both used to love the ELDX for our 308s but as of this year group sizes have 4Xed. Both rifles still group well with other ammo.
It makes me wonder if the Hornady formula has recently changed for the ELDX. Honestly, all that wizardry goes above my head for now.

 

[Kimber7man]

I'd buy a couple different lots of the 143 ELDX ammo and see if one of them does better.
Barring that, buy as many boxes of that lot of 147 ELDM ammo your rifle really likes!