Thread: 162gn ELDX not expanding

Yeah i've had the misfortune of relying on the 162 gr ELD-X also the 168gr Berger vld both are supposed to be used and bang flop but in my case both have been at time most unreliable at best i was told that these projectiles were designed for long distance but this is not said when you buy them i have resorted back to the old soft nose fl base projectiles and find they kill very effectively my rifle is also 7mm mag i think some times the changes in bullet structure are unable to detect any positives so they presume they do certain things but it's actually unproven and probably only a sales ploy i only use i projectile now and it kills perfectly and its a Hornady 154gr sp and in my gun it kills better than all the ELD-X,-ELD-M,VLDs
combined so i'll stay with the 154gr sp for good and they're accurate also i've shot scrub bulls with this projectile and stopped them in their tracks so these projectiles are very capable

How's it going rigga haven't seen you on the forum of late. Good to hear the 154 SP are still working good in your 7mm Mag. Interesting thread this one as there are cases for and against the ELD X bullets. Me I like them but then I aren't chasing Scrub Bulls.

Yeah G'day Mooseman i've been a little busy mate yeah those ELD-X work for some and not others i'm starting to think caliber may have something to do with it and weight we have blokes over here that absolutely swear by them then they get a bad one and that is my point unreliable a bad shot for me could mean my butt torn to shreds by a wounded bull
I haven't heard of any 6.5's or 7-08's the smaller calibers having problems with the x's mainly the heavier calibers but a bloke told me the other day that if you push them 2800fps and over at close range then there is more of a chance of them failing at close range just something to ponder and there maybe something in it as most larger calibers run from 2900fps to around 3300fps smaller calibers do to but they're a smaller caliber smaller weight which may make a difference but one thing is i won't be going back to them the 168gr Bergers were exactly the same some got good results some got bad i had a complete pass through on a chest of a bull at 280yds a hole the size of my pointer finger both sides yet i shot a wild dog and tore it to bits at 200yds you'd think the tougher meat would have opened the projectile up sooner than the soft ya know since using the old sp i can't figure why the people are going away from them they slam dunk from wild bulls to wild dogs with authority i couldn't imagine going back to x's or vld's also the sp is deadly accurate more so than both the others and more forgiving on seating depth the others might be better out to 1000yds or more but i'm knocking w'dogs @650yds who can ethicly hunt past that i know some do but 700yds would probably ease me up good to have a chat mate cheers

An eld-x or VLD would be the last projectile I would use on a scrub bull. I'd be using a bonded projectile like a 160 accubond or a Barnes solid copper in 160gr or bigger. Swift A-frames would also be a good choice.

When I had a 7mm mag I used 168 bergers or 162 a-max past 300yds and had really quick bang flop kills. Inside 300yds I used the 160 accubond with good results.

@stug

I suppose at bush ranges there's no correction in the point of aim needed to use the different pills?

I sighted in for the long range load and then checked where the accubond hit. It was less than 1" from my longrange zero, so out to 300 yds didn't make a lot of difference on a deer sized target.

two of my centrefires will print any load within a playing card at hundy yards..... if youv been a very good boy your long range/open country load will print 3" high at hundy and the bigger/fatter/slower/heavier load will be bang on at same range..works in the .308 and poohseventy.

Originally Posted by stug

An eld-x or VLD would be the last projectile I would use on a scrub bull. I'd be using a bonded projectile like a 160 accubond or a Barnes solid copper in 160gr or bigger. Swift A-frames would also be a good choice.

They sure aren't to be messed with. In .30 cal the 200gr Woodleighs were popular in QLD but they were expensive, but not as expensive as having an angry bull shove a feral longhorn up your rear end. Also used 225gr GameKings in a .35 Whelan Ruger M77 which was a fun rifle, that was not an argument the bull was gonna win... assuming of course you put it in the right place which isn't as straightforward as it sounds with feral cattle.

I am reminded of the time we went out helping cull scrub cattle with a pro near Limmen, was amazed to see he used .308 A-Max. But then he only ever head shot them, he wasn't going to mess with chest shots going wrong in the bush. After a butt clenchingly bad experience with scrubbies on the Nymboida River, me and The Wife were inclined to agree with him, personally I would do everything possible not to make one more angry than he already is.



Anyway that's all off topic... has anyone got a 7 mm 162 grain ELDX that they would like to section for us? Nick is hopefully going to have a crack later this week but as anyone else also got one they'll file down for us to take a look?

I could pull a loaded round apart and file it down if you are stuck @Flyblown.

Yep Stug you're right the x's and the vld's weren't my best choice when i first bought my 7mag but they were all i could get at the time where i am and the shop owner said they were new and perfect for what i wanted them for it didn't take me long to find out otherwise so i gave them all away and started looking i tried the barnes TSX 160 gr they shot ok but i had major
fowling problems after awhile so got rid of them i tried grand slams but they were too expensive but used them up while i looked for something else then an old shooter from here told me to try the old sp's 154gr so i did and at first i was loading them and sitting them close to the lands as all the rest but i could only get one and a half inch group at best so i told him and he said get them away from the lands and load them to spec length so i did and bingo clover leaf they have a flat base which i've found both my sakos like 22-250 and the 7mag
I thought i may have trouble with the bulls with the projectiles being on the light side but no such problem they go deep and hard exactly what i was looking for and cheaper than most

Great scrub bull stories rigga and flyblown. Sounds like the basis for another thread.
Interested to see the sectioned bullets.
Good study on the bullets posted by flyblown. Might have been more favourable to the other bullets if measured at 4 or 500m. No doubt the eld x is perfect from 150 to 800 from that cartridge anyway.

I thought for scrub bulls at scrub ranges you wouldn't even bother going past a big heavy blunt nose going slow?

Any feedback or experience with the 7mm 150 ELDx's ? Thinking of playing with these in 7mm08 and 284 as an all round solution .... up close to 500 yards.

Can't imagine they'd be much different to the 145 eldx I'm using in the 270 bang flops from 140 out to 450 yards no issues so far pushing them at 2950fps.
Never had a runner yet for several animals shot

I used them as single load in 284. Never shot anything but they printed nice and I thought were a happy medium of bc and speed in 284.
Would like to try them in mates 708 but he slams them so well with the 139sst, he won't have me change a thing