Anybody use 90 grain ELDX in .243?

[OregonRob]

Loading some of these now and was curious to see how people have liked/loved them. How did they perform on the animal? Thanks for the help.

 

[midwesthunter]

Have used the eld-x in other calibers and all acted the same, fast expansion large exit hole.

 

[GlockZ]

I'm interested to hear how these perform, if you wouldn't mind keeping us informed. I've had good luck with the 80gr. T-TSX and GMX.

 

[sbhooper]

The ELDx is an accurate bullet and should perform pretty well on deer and antelope. They are not particularly tough, but lots have had good luck with them. I prefer the standard 100-grain Interlock and shot well over 100 deer with them, from a 6mm Rem. The only advantage of the ELD bullets, is their high bc, which is irrelevant at most hunting distances. If you go with the ELDx, I would use a 100-grainer, if they make them.

 

[Don Fischer]

Jon Sundra many years ago, one of his first articles, did one on the 6mm Rem. He said then he though a 90 gr bullet would be better in 6mm. Reason was the rate of twist he felt was borderline for 100gr bullet's. I've had several 243's over the years and for hunting I always shot 100 gr bullets and never had a problem with them. Have two right now but don't hunt with them much, shoot don't hunt much at all anymore. Anyway, I don't care for plastic tip bullet's except one place, monolith bullet's, they help get expansion started. In other bullet's, when they hit, that tip has to go somewhere and the only place it can go is back into the bullet. Seem's tome it would cause to much expansion to quick. I do shoot the 75gr V-Max in one 243 and that thing is very accurate and hit's like a bomb! Bullet pretty much completely blows up. Sort of likr the old Hornady SX bullet's. If I were to use a 243 deer hunting again I'd lean toward the 87gr Hornady Interlock, just for the h*ll of it!

 

[mtmuley]

Don, I've been using tipped bullets a long, long time. They work, and they work well. mtmuley

 

[Bulldog0156]

No experience with the ELDX, but I have shot most of the different high quality hunting loads offered by manufacturers and I've switched over to the 80 TTSX. I like the idea of no lead fragmentation, and they work great.

 

[sbhooper]

Jon Sundra many years ago, one of his first articles, did one on the 6mm Rem. He said then he though a 90 gr bullet would be better in 6mm. Reason was the rate of twist he felt was borderline for 100gr bullet's. I've had several 243's over the years and for hunting I always shot 100 gr bullets and never had a problem with them. Have two right now but don't hunt with them much, shoot don't hunt much at all anymore. Anyway, I don't care for plastic tip bullet's except one place, monolith bullet's, they help get expansion started. In other bullet's, when they hit, that tip has to go somewhere and the only place it can go is back into the bullet. Seem's tome it would cause to much expansion to quick. I do shoot the 75gr V-Max in one 243 and that thing is very accurate and hit's like a bomb! Bullet pretty much completely blows up. Sort of likr the old Hornady SX bullet's. If I were to use a 243 deer hunting again I'd lean toward the 87gr Hornady Interlock, just for the h*ll of it!

Things have changed a lot since then. The .243 never has had an issue with 100-grain bullets. The 6mm, was another screw up from Remington. They made the old .244s with a slow twist barrel and some 100-grainers would not stabilize. It is why it's ass got kicked by the .243. The new 6mms are all fine for 100 and above. The biggest drawback to the 6mm, is the lack of magazine space. Bullets cannot be seated out very far. They sure shoot good, though. I burned mine out and changed it to a .260. It is a killing machine.

 

[OregonRob]

The ELDx is an accurate bullet and should perform pretty well on deer and antelope. They are not particularly tough, but lots have had good luck with them. I prefer the standard 100-grain Interlock and shot well over 100 deer with them, from a 6mm Rem.
The only advantage of the ELD bullets, is their high bc, which is irrelevant at most hunting distances. If you go with the ELDx, I would use a 100-grainer, if they make them.

I’ve only seen them in 90 grain. I got a pretty good load worked up that gives me just under MOA at 100. I’m just wondering if anyone had put a deer or antelope down with one yet, and could tell me how they performed.

 

[OregonRob]

No experience with the ELDX, but I have shot most of the different high quality hunting loads offered by manufacturers and I've switched over to the 80 TTSX. I like the idea of no lead fragmentation, and they work great.

I’d like to try those too. Heard good things about Barnes.

 

[std7mag]

Don, I've been using tipped bullets a long, long time. They work, and they work well. mtmuley

I too have been using tipped bullets for a long time. Mostly the Nosler Ballistic Tip.
I do use the SST for longer distance target practice.

 

[devon deer]

Jon Sundra many years ago, one of his first articles, did one on the 6mm Rem. He said then he though a 90 gr bullet would be better in 6mm. Reason was the rate of twist he felt was borderline for 100gr bullet's. I've had several 243's over the years and for hunting I always shot 100 gr bullets and never had a problem with them. Have two right now but don't hunt with them much, shoot don't hunt much at all anymore. Anyway, I don't care for plastic tip bullet's except one place, monolith bullet's, they help get expansion started. In other bullet's, when they hit, that tip has to go somewhere and the only place it can go is back into the bullet. Seem's tome it would cause to much expansion to quick. I do shoot the 75gr V-Max in one 243 and that thing is very accurate and hit's like a bomb! Bullet pretty much completely blows up. Sort of likr the old Hornady SX bullet's. If I were to use a 243 deer hunting again I'd lean toward the 87gr Hornady Interlock, just for the h*ll of it!

I agree with you Don.
I use 100 grain Speer BTSP, they group great and knock down the biggest of stags.
I keep the plastic tip ballistic bullets for vermin control i.e. the red fox we have, no meat to save.
The ELD-X, the times I have seen them used on deer in the UK they have had a similar effect as an SST, massive meat damage and blood bruising.
Horses for courses I guess.
Cheers
Richard

 

[Don Fischer]

Things have changed a lot since then. The .243 never has had an issue with 100-grain bullets. The 6mm, was another screw up from Remington. They made the old .244s with a slow twist barrel and some 100-grainers would not stabilize. It is why it's ass got kicked by the .243. The new 6mms are all fine for 100 and above. The biggest drawback to the 6mm, is the lack of magazine space. Bullets cannot be seated out very far. They sure shoot good, though. I burned mine out and changed it to a .260. It is a killing machine.

I seem to remember that twist thing about the 6mm. Seem's Remington only saw it as a varmint cartridge? Ex had one in a M700 short action and I couldn't seat out the bullet's far enough either but it shot well anyway.

 

[recurveman]

I also would like to know about the ELD - X in .243. I'm a huge fan of the 90 grain nosler ballistictip. That bullet has done great for us over the years. Fast expanding and most animals don't take 1 step. Never lost an animal shot with the 90 ballistictip. Even shot a big tom lion with the bullet in my .243. He took a few steps.

I've seen the ELD-X perform out of the .270 and it did very well. Nice expansion and the deer was DRT. I'm now shooting them in my 6.5 X 284 but haven't put a hole in a critter with the ELD-X. I've shot a few critters with the ELD-M and that won't happen again.

 

[sbhooper]

I also would like to know about the ELD - X in .243. I'm a huge fan of the 90 grain nosler ballistictip. That bullet has done great for us over the years. Fast expanding and most animals don't take 1 step. Never lost an animal shot with the 90 ballistictip. Even shot a big tom lion with the bullet in my .243. He took a few steps.

I've seen the ELD-X perform out of the .270 and it did very well. Nice expansion and the deer was DRT. I'm now shooting them in my 6.5 X 284 but haven't put a hole in a critter with the ELD-X. I've shot a few critters with the ELD-M and that won't happen again.

What was the problem with the ELDM? I have shot quite a few deer with them, mostly with exits, all dead. Also, some antelope.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I tried them in my 7mm-08, but I couldn't get them to group worth squat. Therefore I'm no help at all in the department of performance, and probably should have just stayed out of this conversation.

I can tell you that the same rifle seems to shoot Hornady Interbonds very well; I am most likely going to do some hunting with those in the fall.

 

[JLS]

I’d like to try those too. Heard good things about Barnes.

I’ve killed a few elk with 85 grain TSX bullets out of my .243.

 

[recurveman]

What was the problem with the ELDM? I have shot quite a few deer with them, mostly with exits, all dead. Also, some antelope.

I loved the accuracy. I shot 2 coues deer in Mexico this past January and both animals took multiple shots to kill. I had one bullet where literally all the copper was just under the skin and didn't penetrate more than an inch. The lead did penetrate but it wasn't really deep. I hit one buck at 964 yards (that another guy wounded) and hit him with 2 consecutive shots. One was in the guts (didn't expect this to kill him) and the other was in the ribs. When they got to the deer about 30 minutes later the deer was still alive but couldn't move. Both deer took 2+ shots to the main body and didn't die. I've never had that issue with the Nosler BT bullets. My buddy shot the ELDX bullets and that bullet stayed together better and his deer was one and done like the nosler BT bullets. The ELDX performed just like I've seen the BT bullets perform over the years.

I'm not sure why the big difference. All of the impacts were from 500-960 yards. Maybe that was part of the problem too.

 

[mrjashu]

I hit one buck at 964 yards (that another guy wounded) and hit him with 2 consecutive shots. One was in the guts (didn't expect this to kill him) and the other was in the ribs. When they got to the deer about 30 minutes later the deer was still alive but couldn't move. Both deer took 2+ shots to the main body and didn't die. I've never had that issue with the Nosler BT bullets. My buddy shot the ELDX bullets and that bullet stayed together better and his deer was one and done like the nosler BT bullets. The ELDX performed just like I've seen the BT bullets perform over the years.

I'm not sure why the big difference. All of the impacts were from 500-960 yards. Maybe that was part of the problem too.

Ouch, that's a bummer. What was the estimated impact velocity of those shots?

 

[recurveman]

1800-2200 fps depending on distance. I haven't shot anything up close with the ELDM bullets to see if they perform like the BT bullet or not at those ranges. I was just expecting to have different results. Maybe my expectations are off. My buddies buck was shot at about 250 yards with the ELDX instead of 600+. I haven't shot anything with a BT out past 300 yards. Never really needed too. I had similar results with the berger bullets on smaller deer too.