Thread: 6.5 ELD-M 140 vs 147....ELD-X?

Also most fallow are sub 100m and was doing 2730fps so plenty quick. No blow ups at all and amazing kill factor

Fail in what way @superdiver?

If you’re interested, Berger 140vld hunting are a handy projectile in 6.5mm. Very consistent weight and uniform shape, expand well and shoot amazing in the 3x tikka 260s and 2x 6.5-284 sako that I’ve had the pleasure to shoot.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Fail in what way @superdiver?

2 shots into a red stag by a mate and wasn't enough to stop it. 110yds from a 6.5cm and factory precision hunter. Not bad shots either and found lots of blood plus bits of bone but it took off reasonably unhindered. 3hrs of tracking and using my dog but got all the way to the property boundary following tracks and blood and see it on the open faces. Not allowed over there so we couldn't continue

I just have had ZERO issues with eldms in multiple calibres on big bodied game too even with shots that haven't been 100%.

Originally Posted by superdiver

2 shots into a red stag by a mate and wasn't enough to stop it. 110yds from a 6.5cm and factory precision hunter. Not bad shots either and found lots of blood plus bits of bone but it took off reasonably unhindered. 3hrs of tracking and using my dog but got all the way to the property boundary following tracks and blood and see it on the open faces. Not allowed over there so we couldn't continue

I wouldnt say thats a bullet failure, its just shit happens, anyone who's shot a decent number of animals will have experienced occasions where animals that have seemingly hit well and hard somehow manage to run off almost appearing to have been unharmed. Every animal is different and sometimes just a 2 inch difference in poi can be the difference between a bang flop and a runner.

Originally Posted by superdiver

2 shots into a red stag by a mate and wasn't enough to stop it. 110yds from a 6.5cm and factory precision hunter. Not bad shots either and found lots of blood plus bits of bone but it took off reasonably unhindered. 3hrs of tracking and using my dog but got all the way to the property boundary following tracks and blood and see it on the open faces. Not allowed over there so we couldn't continue

Has to be the shot placement. No other explanation for it. Missed the shoulders / leg bone / hilar / heart... 99.9% guaranteed both shots would have been too far back.

Doesn’t matter what regular hunting bullet you select from the normal range of Hornady, Sierra, Nosler etc, if a red stag does that, the bullet didn’t make it into the front of the vitals and probably only got the rear lungs. It can be even worse with monolithics or some of the harder bonded designs. Lots of blood and bone means he got well hit, just not in the right place.

I think it’s natural for the shooter to blame the bullet but when you look at the relative construction of the ELD-X with the cup & core designs like ELD-M, GameKing, Speer BTSP, SST, Nosler BT, etc etc, there isn’t that much difference between them and they all behave roughly the same give or take. Shoot enough animals with them all and you might start to wonder why we place so much emphasis on which bullet to use, its really a very level playing field construction wise. It’s the BC that makes the difference, much further out. The way things are going pretty soon I’m going to be chasing my bullet based on dollars!

I haven’t shot many close range reds with the ELD-X as its my medium range gun. But those reds that have been unfortunate enough to pop out of the bush right in front of me have been poleaxed by a front of chest shot with this bullet at that ~100m impact velocity. Instant bang flop down in a heap. The criticism of the bullet at that range is that it’s quite messy as it mostly breaks up and separates. I’ve got heaps of videos of that bullet doing the bizzo at 400 or 500m but bugger all close range stuff because I never have time. But this photo is a jacket removed from a decent red spiker, shot at 135m from behind and downwards, in through the last rib well above the midline, across the top of the heart & front lungs, bullet lodged in the front of the brisket. Instant collapse.

Shot my biggest red stag with the 143gr ELD-X around 450m in the only small clearing steep downward on opposite face, shot was rushed and not ideal, wobbled around a bit on the spot and down he went. Pretty happy leaving barrel at only 2605fps. Using them for gongs and hunting now, seem to do the trick on goats out to 600m as well. No experience on the ELD-M's, sorry.

Biggest question is who’s got stock in the country?

I found the 147gr ELDMs out shot the 143ge ELDX in both my creedmoor barrels and the .260Rem. Even though its heavier than the 140gr and 143gr I found the 147gr gets higher velocities before pressure signs due to the thinner jacket and shorter bearing surface. Side by side I have not seen any difference on deer and goats. The ELDM probably has the edge over the 143gr past 400m due to the higher BC and lighter jacket.
Currently running the 147gr at 2730fps from a 19" barrel in my Creedmoor which I cant achieve with the 143gr Eldx

Originally Posted by Wingman

I found the 147gr ELDMs out shot the 143ge ELDX in both my creedmoor barrels and the .260Rem. Even though its heavier than the 140gr and 143gr I found the 147gr gets higher velocities before pressure signs due to the thinner jacket and shorter bearing surface. Side by side I have not seen any difference on deer and goats. The ELDM probably has the edge over the 143gr past 400m due to the higher BC and lighter jacket.
Currently running the 147gr at 2730fps from a 19" barrel in my Creedmoor which I cant achieve with the 143gr Eldx

Attachment 151261

What powder? That's shifting

41.gr RL16 Lapua SRP Brass CCI BR-4. No pressure but I took it up to 2770fps which showed the start of cratering but not flat primers and groups opened up as I went past the 41gr.

Longest Red deer with the 147gr were around the 500m mark, they dropped where they were standing.