Tikka 223 73 vs 75 vs 80 eldm

[ID_Matt]

Looking for some opinions from guys who have tried 75 and 80 ELDM’s in a tikka. I upgraded to the waters mags and now have plenty of mag room to try the longer bullets. My 73 eldm load at factory mag length shoots absolutely fantastic…. But I like to tinker so want to see if I can gain anything with the higher BC options. Have varget and H4895 to work with. Is the 8 twist too slow for the 80’s?? Anyone tried both bullet in a tikka? BC is almost too close to worry about I guess.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Never messed with 80's, but you gotta be starting to run outta ass with them..

Think I'll stick with the 73/75's

 

[SamsonMan22]

H4895 with the 75s was exceptionally accurate for me in one of my aftermarket barrels. I have used the 75s a little in a stock barrel but only a thousand or so rounds worth. They seem to shoot just fine but are neutered a little with the short throat compared to the wylde chamber in my other barrel. I switched to using TAC with my stock barrel, since the 75s have to be seated so deep. Due to their short throats I still prefer the 73s.

 

[wind gypsy]

Never found anything consistently good with 75 eld and factory lite barrel. 73s shot great. Didn’t try 80s. 1000’ish DA is normal for me.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

My 73 eldm load at factory mag length shoots absolutely fantastic….

what’s your load details?

 

[SkunkCabbage]

I was told to stick with 73gr for a factory tikka mag.

 

[xsn10s]

I'm over here on the Eastern Oregon, 2200 ft elevation, and shooting the 80gr ELDM's in a Weatherby Vanguard Obsidian 1-8". They seem stable out to 800 yards so far and even have a flatter trajectory than what 4DOF suggests.

 

[Lawnboi]

Try the 80.5 Berger and tell us what they do.

I don’t think there is enough difference in the Hornady eld to justify it. I’m marginal with the 75 already at my atmosphere in the winter.

If 75s shoot well they are a decently more efficient bullet.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

From a general accuracy standpoint, with multiple samples of Tikka factory .223 8 twist barrels shooting both hand loads and factory loads, the 73 ELDMs and 77 TMKs are the winners.

 

[MThuntr]

I started looking at 75s and realized they're not going to fit in a magazine for my 223s without stuffing them deep into the case while I'm told the 73 and 80 are better fits for 223s with short magazines like ARs and Howa Minis

 

[260284]

Looking for some opinions from guys who have tried 75 and 80 ELDM’s in a tikka. I upgraded to the waters mags and now have plenty of mag room to try the longer bullets. My 73 eldm load at factory mag length shoots absolutely fantastic…. But I like to tinker so want to see if I can gain anything with the higher BC options. Have varget and H4895 to work with. Is the 8 twist too slow for the 80’s?? Anyone tried both bullet in a tikka? BC is almost too close to worry about I guess.

I shoot the 75s in my Varmint with NAMMO brass, CCI 450s, and H4895. Barrel is 24" and I run it suppressed. I am getting 3025 fps and have taken a lot of coyotes out to 550 and one big whitetail doe at 440 yards with it. I have shot it in a few club PRS matches and my son used it in a team match where we took first in the bolt gun class. I am using MDT poly AICS mags that I opened up a little and loading them 2.49" COAL. I have taken it out to 1400 yards on steel.

 

[ID_Matt]

Try the 80.5 Berger and tell us what they do.

I don’t think there is enough difference in the Hornady eld to justify it. I’m marginal with the 75 already at my atmosphere in the winter.

If 75s shoot well they are a decently more efficient bullet.

I can't talk myself in to paying $40/box just quite yet to try Bergers. I think you are right on the 75 vs 80. Hornady shows a .009 increase in BC which more than likely will be way washed out by the speed difference.

 

[ID_Matt]

what’s your load details?

I will check my notes tonight, but with the 73 it is about a max charge of H4895 with lapua brass loaded to tikka mag length and a CCI450. 2820 FPS in an 18" tube

 

[wind gypsy]

Try the 80.5 Berger and tell us what they do.

I don’t think there is enough difference in the Hornady eld to justify it. I’m marginal with the 75 already at my atmosphere in the winter.

If 75s shoot well they are a decently more efficient bullet.

Odd thing is AB gives the 80s a significantly bigger bc jump than hornady does.

 

[Pharmseller]

75 ELDM at 2915 fps out of my Tikka Varmint (longer heavy barrel) works very well. Benchmark powder.




P

 

[ID_Matt]

Odd thing is AB gives the 80s a significantly bigger bc jump than hornady does.

I had just been looking at what Hornady had published but you are right. It shows the 80 being closer to the 88. Makes a good argument for the 80 for bigger cases too.

AB shows G7's:
75 = .238
80 = .258
88 = .264

Editing to add - I told myself I wouldn't worry about these small things or "pole-vaulting over mouse turds" but sometimes it is an interesting conversation.

 

[wind gypsy]

I had just been looking at what Hornady had published but you are right. It shows the 80 being closer to the 88. Makes a good argument for the 80 for bigger cases too.

AB shows G7's:
75 = .238
80 = .258
88 = .264

Editing to add - I told myself I wouldn't worry about these small things or "pole-vaulting over mouse turds" but sometimes it is an interesting conversation.

ABs #'s dont really make sense with the eye test IIRC compared to Hornady's. The 80s don't look to have any better form factor than the 75s to justify that jump..

 

[Lawnboi]

Never found anything consistently good with 75 eld and factory lite barrel. 73s shot great. Didn’t try 80s. Sub 1000’ DA is normal for me.

I’ll echo this if it’s the factory tube. Hence my 80.5 full bore statement.

Plus bergers just tend to be a more consistent bullet to begin with.

 

[FB Trout]

I shoot and load both the 80 ELD-m and ELD-x in a factory Tikka 18” barrel, COAL is 2.440”, they stabilize well at my DA, 5000’, and shoot about the same poi and group (1.3-1.5 MOA for 20 round groups) about as well as my 77 TMK handloads. I’m using XBR 8208 and CCI 450 and whatever brass I have around, mostly Norma and Starline. Haven’t shot any game with them yet.

 

[ACHILLES]

Looking for some opinions from guys who have tried 75 and 80 ELDM’s in a tikka. I upgraded to the waters mags and now have plenty of mag room to try the longer bullets. My 73 eldm load at factory mag length shoots absolutely fantastic…. But I like to tinker so want to see if I can gain anything with the higher BC options. Have varget and H4895 to work with. Is the 8 twist too slow for the 80’s?? Anyone tried both bullet in a tikka? BC is almost too close to worry about I guess.

I would stick with the 73s if they’re shooting good and the majority of your shooting with that rifle is under 600yds. I run 80gr eldm at 2650 in a 16” tikka 8” with waters mags, and run 75eldm at 2750 in a savage rifle 9” twist. The 80s will penetrate slightly better and have less wind drift past 600. And although they are accurate out of my 8 twist the Stability rate is only 1.24 which causes them not to line up with my predicted drops in my ballistic program even when calibrated Vs actual drops. 75elds are only at 1.28, and 73eldm are 1.51 GSR. While I think the 80s are a decent option. I’ve been planning to switch to the 73s for the distances youll most likely be shooting and hunting with a short 223rem. Even if you had a faster twist barrel to fully stabilize the 75s or 80s. From my experience the gain is minimal unless you’re stretching things out past 600-700 yards.