The 22 creedmoor thread

Only 2 big game kills out of a .223...

One at 2,520ish FPS impact speed, plus a second shot at nearly the same impact speed. The deer acted not hit on first shot and dropped in place at second shot. First shot was lethal but narrow (found out after necropsy, bullet split the 3rd and 4th ribs cleanly) and deer could have ran off and died in the swamp, 2nd shot was to shoulder/spine junction which paralyzed the animal.

Another one at 2,100ish FPS impact, deer ran 60 yards to edge of woods and died.

Lots of shots and kills in gel, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, P dogs, etc. They seem to behave like 80 M's.
I’ve had great luck on coyotes with mine in 22cm. Hoping they work well on caribou in August 🤞🏻
 
What you may "gain" in better BC with the 80 ELDMs can be lost with generally narrower wounds out of both the 80 and 88 M's. This is not to say that the 80 and 88 M's don't kill and perform well, it's just that in what I've seen, and what others have also observed, the 77 TMK's and 80 ELDX's are THE consistent .224 killing bullets.

If your 22 Creed shoots the 77 TMK's accurately I'd keep rolling with them. If you want the BC "edge" while still maintaining very consistent killing wounds then go to the 80 X's. As an example, even in 10+ MPH cross/shifting winds, there has been no observed increase in "hit rate" out to 1,200 yards when comparing the 80 X's to the more ballistically dominant 88 M's. At the ranges and wind speeds where it "may matter" you aren't shooting the difference in a hunting gun from a hunting shot position.

For practice, shooting the cheaper 80 M's and then moving to 80 X's is what I'd recommend. I have 3 Tikka 22 Creedmoors currently and switch between 80 M's, 88 M's, 77 TMK's, and 80 ELDX's throughout the year shooting. When it comes time to hunt big game, either 77 TMK's or 80 ELDXs will be in the mags.

Thanks for the advice, I'm convinced to grab the 80gr X's to hunt with and use the 80/88 M for practice. The price difference between the two up north is nuts.
 
For those of you who shoot factory ammo- I’ve seen a couple times in this thread the 80 eldx has better terminal results than the eldm. Is that a fair assessment?

For 18-20” barrels, I assume using factory ammo and a 1in 7.5 or 1in 8 twist would be fine to keep the rpm around 300. Currently have 6.5 PRC and 223 tikkas and it’s between this and a 6 creedmoor. More familiar with 6 creed configurations but this thread has me leaning at 22 creed instead. Even out west I’m limiting shots under 700 in best case scenarios.
 
For those of you who shoot factory ammo- I’ve seen a couple times in this thread the 80 eldx has better terminal results than the eldm. Is that a fair assessment?

For 18-20” barrels, I assume using factory ammo and a 1in 7.5 or 1in 8 twist would be fine to keep the rpm around 300. Currently have 6.5 PRC and 223 tikkas and it’s between this and a 6 creedmoor. More familiar with 6 creed configurations but this thread has me leaning at 22 creed instead. Even out west I’m limiting shots under 700 in best case scenarios.
If you search “80 ELD-X” and include @mxgsfmdpx or @Formidilosus in the search results, they’ve gone into depth on this. Personally I’ve decided to go forward using the 80 X vs the 88 M for my Alaska hunts.
 
For those of you who shoot factory ammo- I’ve seen a couple times in this thread the 80 eldx has better terminal results than the eldm. Is that a fair assessment?
Again, it's not all to say that I wouldn't kill with the 80 or 88 M's (I have done it and they work fine). It's just in what I've seen in kills with the 77 TMK's and 80 ELDX's, they seem to be better/more consistent. This is the case with any 6mm or .224 M versus X as well.
For 18-20” barrels, I assume using factory ammo and a 1in 7.5 or 1in 8 twist would be fine to keep the rpm around 300.
Factory 80 ELDX's can be picky lot to lot in which guns shoot them. Some guns/barrels are 1.25ish MOA while others I have not been able to get them to shoot better than 2 MOA. Hand loads help bring this in to acceptable numbers in most cases. While there is no factory option for them, the 77 TMK's and 88 M's have averaged the best average MOA in 3 different guns and 4 different barrels (all 8 twist barrels).
Currently have 6.5 PRC and 223 tikkas and it’s between this and a 6 creedmoor. More familiar with 6 creed configurations but this thread has me leaning at 22 creed instead. Even out west I’m limiting shots under 700 in best case scenarios.
700 yards is no issue for 22 Creed. My 80 ELDX 22 Creeds actually outperform my 103 ELDX 6 creed and 243 at longer ranges (most think it's the other way around).
 
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