Thread: 300 Win Mag with 200gr ELD -X

Been mucking around with a few rifles and loads today and for the first time I tried some ELD -X 200 gr bullets in my Tikka T3. I had it sighted in 1.5 inches high at 100yards with the 178 gr ELD -X which has been going rather well but thought I would try a heavier bullet for a change.
I wanted 2900fps or better so after reading up on various powders I seen that Reloader 26 would give me that and even more so I bought a tin and loaded a few test rounds up.
I did 3 at 73grs and 3 at 74grs and my COAL is 85.5mm and fits the Tikka magazine.
I tried the 6.5 and 270 first and they were shooting where they should be so I moved onto the 300 Win. The loads at 73grs averaged 2859 fps and the 74 gr batch averaged an even 2900fps. More than happy with that and the accuracy was around an inch and to the same point of impact as the 178 gr load so no need to alter anything. Still needs to be checked at longer ranges to be sure its all go.
Its a nice grunty load at just under 3800ft pounds energy and holds 1800fps out to 850yds which is recommended for the bullet to open reliably. Still has close to 1000 ft pounds energy out to close on 1200 yards but I think that is a bit beyond me.
I could run the loads hotter and most likely get over 3000fps but at the moment I think I will stay at 74 grs and try and get a few animals before altering anything.
Anybody else using this combo and have any info on it's performance near and far ?