Hornady ELD-X

[bojangles]

I picked up some factory loads for my 300 win mag.  I grabbed some 200 grain Honrady ELD-X.  It seems some people love 'em, and some people hate 'em.  

What are  your thoughts on them for large game?  Elk, moose, etc.

[GreyGhost85]

They work well. They do expand quite a bit (which i prefer personally) but in 200gn, you shouldn’t have any problem with any north american game animal. My hunting partner shot his desert bighorn  at about 400 yards with the same bullet out on an ultra mag. Small entrance and about a silver dollar exit. Worked great. 

[dse]

200 gr eldx from a bear shot at 600 yds with a 300 SAUM.

[Flatlander]

After researching this is my first choice for my .300 wm I will be shooting in my Shiras hunt this fall.

[recurveman]

I really like the bullets.    They are accurate and have a really good BC.   If I was going to hunt moose I would also consider the Nosler Partition as an option.   Actually I would choose the partition over the ELD-X for moose because the partition will stay together better than the ELD-X.    For elk and smaller I would use the ELD-X.   The heavier .30 cal bullets really look appealing if you can load them long.   I think you could drive some velocity and accuracy that would buck wind in a big way.       

[ctracingraptor]

If I was hunting moose I’d be looking at a Partition or Accubond.

[AZAV8ER]

Hey a plain old cup and core Sierra or Speer in 200 gr 30 cal should be fine on elk and the ELD-X is a step or two up in robustness. 200 gr 30 has a lots of SD, mass and momentum. My one experience with ELD-X was in 270 at 350 yards on deer and it went through and through with one exit. 

[bojangles]

19 hours ago, Flatlander said:

After researching this is my first choice for my .300 wm I will be shooting in my Shiras hunt this fall.

Sounds exciting.  Keep us posted on the details when you get back.

[bojangles]

21 hours ago, dse said:

200 gr eldx from a bear shot at 600 yds with a 300 SAUM.

interesting.  looks like separation.  how big was the bear?

 

 

[Flatlander]

26 minutes ago, bojangles said:

interesting.  looks like separation.  how big was the bear?

 

 

And also where was the shot placement (scapula, ribs, spine, etc)

[AZAV8ER]

21 hours ago, dse said:

200 gr eldx from a bear shot at 600 yds with a 300 SAUM.

looks like two copper cups. Did the bear stop after the first shot? Where are the bigger chunks of lead? No exit holes?

[thegunsmith2506]

I saw a .200gr ELD-X out of a  30-378 blow up on an elk spine and not penetrate at all. Same gun and bullet did the same thing on a high shoulder shot. Both were under 150yds.

[AZAV8ER]

21 minutes ago, thegunsmith2506 said:

Same gun and bullet did the same thing on a high shoulder shot. Both were under 150yds.

Dang you would think that there would be enough energy to to blast chunks of bone and lead all through the lungs shredding arteries and veins and kill that sucker. One of the fastest kills on a deer was quartering facing shot that I had a 150 30cal hit the heaviest  part of shoulder blade and blow up. It flipped butt over end and landed dead (saw hooves in my scope pointing skyward).  Everything inside that ribcage was shredded. 

[recurveman]

19 minutes ago, AZAV8ER said:

Dang you would think that there would be enough energy to to blast chunks of bone and lead all through the lungs shredding arteries and veins and kill that sucker. One of the fastest kills on a deer was quartering facing shot that I had a 150 30cal hit the heaviest  part of shoulder blade and blow up. It flipped butt over end and landed dead (saw hooves in my scope pointing skyward).  Everything inside that ribcage was shredded. 

It was to much energy.   Having a bullet going to fast can be worse than a bullet going slower with less energy.   It just depends on the bullet design, where you hit the critter and velocity.   

 

[dse]

7 hours ago, AZAV8ER said:

looks like two copper cups. Did the bear stop after the first shot? Where are the bigger chunks of lead? No exit holes?

A friend that knew I was loading this bullet sent this to me. Didn't stop from the first and covered some ground after the second. Didn't find any bigger pieces and no exit but don't know how hard they looked. Don't know what they hit but was told both shots were good.