Hornady ELX - No Good for Hunting Elk???

[huntnpack]

I was a bit leery about the Eld-X bullets in my '06, but I killed a bull quartering to with 178gr Eld-X in 2020. Complete pass through at 160 yards. Exited behind the diaphragm. I'll probably be using them next year. Also, full pass through the rib cage on a buck last year, 280 yards. The factory loads just group well for me.

 

[CoHunter1991]

I have used these for a few years prior to the 2020 season and have had no issues killing 2 antelope, a whitetail doe and a Bull. The antelope and whitetail went down no issues with a 270, the bull did take 2 -178g in the bread basket out of my 30-06. Massive exit wounds, only ever find pieces of jacket. I have since moved all my rilfes to bonded bullets (Accubond, Swift Scirocco) and was much happier in 2020. Except my 3006, cant find a bullet it shoots as well as the edlx yet.

 

[Addicting]

I switched to all copper, they kill things just as dead but I don’t get the blood shot meat that these bullets create. I hate having to trim off large chunks of shrapnel and blood shot meat.

 

[Jjw4413]

Have used ELDX on several hunting trips and have had good results. Elk was shot at 200 yards just behind the shoulder and expired about 75 yards away. Lungs were heavily damaged with minimum meat loss.

 

[ImBillT]

I have not shot the same bullet you’re speaking of but I have had some potentially applicable experiences. I shot a lot hogs with a .222Rem and a Lapua 55gr soft point. It would penetrate a good 24+ inches and killed hogs quite well with lung shots. One day I tried it with a 223AI, and after shooting the hog three times, I discovered that they had blown up so violently that they made wounds about the size of a grapefruit starting just under the skin. I shot a bobcat with the same setup, and it completely removed his chest. A .222Rem with a 50gr BalisticTip is a lot better for hides. So....with a really frangible bullet, it can be very effective at low impact velocities and borderline worthless at high impact velocities.

On the other hand, a really tough bullet and a low impact velocity can end up doing little more to an animal than an FMJ would. I watched my dad shoot a mule deer three times in the lungs with a 168gr Accubond from a .308Win. The exit holes were a little larger than the entrance. The damage in the lungs was nothing spectacular. That’s still better than blowing up shallow, because A) you have a chance of reaching vitals, and B) you have a better blood trail. It’s also easier to manage. If you have a cartridge with enough muzzle velocity to make the tough bullet perform properly, then management comes down limiting your range. With the very frangible bullet you would literally only shoot at thing beyond a certain range, which is a bit of a ludicrous way to go about it in my opinion.

Most hunting bullets are built with tougher jackets than their match or Varmint counterparts. Some are tougher than others. Most people I notice who really like Accubonds appear to be shooting them at fairly high velocities. My dad’s .308Win load was not moving very fast at all. Then there are a few outliers. The Partition, A-Frame, Dual-Core, and possibly a few others attempt to work well under a broader range of conditions by using a very frangible front section that will expand even at very low velocities, and a very tough rear section that will penetrate deeply even at very high velocities. There is also the Berger VLD, which was not designed for use on game, but once they were shown an awful lot of film clips of it being used on game, they started testing it. It generally penetrates 2-5” before it starts coming apart, and when it comes apart the wound is deep and wide, they also appear to work well at both very high and very low impact velocities. I have not had any negative results from using them, but they do have some of the qualities that people associate with bullets that are too frangible to hunt with.

ELD-X? I don’t know, but I would be leery of using a bullet on game if the manufacturer did not, which is why I never would have tried a VLD before Berger did a lot of testing with them.

If you’re worried about bullet performance and want piece of mind, I can’t imagine a reason to worry about a Partition.

 

[FLS]

Bill,
ELDX is a hunting bullet.
ELDM is a target bullet.

 

[ImBillT]

Bill,
ELDX is a hunting bullet.
ELDM is a target bullet.

Sorry I had that mixed up.

In that case I would think an ELD-X is probably acceptable for elk provided you stick to generally accepted bullet weights for that purpose. Lots of elk fall every year to smaller bullets, but if you’re using a bucket you’re not to sure of, I’d tend toward the mid to upper range of normal bullet weights suggested for elk. I’d say that range begins somehwere around 150-168gr.

 

[stk]

Shot out of 6.5 PRC into a bull about 100 yards away. Found the jacket on the offside hide, no lead left in it, complete separation. Not a drop of blood on the ground where he was shot but the bull was very dead pretty quick, both lungs were jelly. Shot was behind the shoulder so no major bones were hit.

The bullet worked but I wouldn’t count on it in less than ideal circumstances. I’ll be using something else for elk from now on (assuming I can find something else).

 

[Pucky Freak]

This was a head-on heart shot on a buck pronghorn. Just found the 6.5 CM 143 gr. bullet tonight when making supper Had passed through about 4 feet of animal lodging in the rear ham. I'm satisfied with the controlled expansion, and planning to use for elk this winter.

 

[Perlodid]

I used ELD-X 145 grain bullets (270 win) for my Montana hunt last year and the damage was pretty ridiculous. Shot distance was about 50 yards, slight quartering away. I was behind the shoulder and a bit low, I didn't inspect it fully as it was already 70 degrees out and I needed all the time I could get but I couldnt even tell where the biggest pieces of the bullet went. Pic and the video are quite graphic however I want to show that I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. I want a bullet to hold together a little bit better than it did at least because sometimes these close shots happen. I can't even imagine what this would have looked like if I hit major bone. I had planned on using these for both deer and elk but I could never trust these for elk after this. I'm sure they would be fine at longer ranges or slower velocities, but at 2700+ fps impact it was just an explosion. When I compare this to a deer I shot at a similar distance with a 180 grain accubond out of a 30-06 (probably 2600 fps impact or so) they were extremely different. The 180 accubond had a roughly golf ball sized exit and still did significant damage internally. Even though the accubond is a bit softer than most premium bullets, it didn't fragment at all for me versus the ELD-X which may as well have been a grenade. I don't want to carry something that makes me worry about taking any shot that could impact bone so I will likely stop using the ELD-X bullets personally.

 

[stk]

This was a head-on heart shot on a buck pronghorn. Just found the 6.5 CM 143 gr. bullet tonight when making supper Had passed through about 4 feet of animal lodging in the rear ham. I'm satisfied with the controlled expansion, and planning to use for elk this winter.
View attachment 183844View attachment 183845

What range?

 

[Pucky Freak]

What range?

200 yards

 

[Bukfvr]

Hi All,

Last year I developed a great load with some heavy ELDX bullets for my Browning x-bolt in 30-06. They were tack drivers and shot great and outperformed the same weight Nosler Accubonds.

My original intention was to use these bullets on Elk.

This fall I was able to harvest two deer with the same load. Both shots were around 150 yards. The bullets did their job, however upon recovering one, some concerns came to light. On both deer there were complete pass through shots with lots of internal damage and good sized exit wounds. The deer dropped immediately. On one animal I was able to recover the jacket and bottom half of the bullet, which were still together. The jacket showed pretty devastating damage, however the upper portion of lead, above the ferrule in the bullet had completely separated and likely went through the animal.

My concern is with the fragmentation of the round. It just did stay together as say an Accubond is suppose to. Basically as the lead sheared off the bullet, the overall bullet lost mass and did not pass through.

My concern is that this bullet is just not robust enough for tough animals like elk. I have heard the same comment reiterated on a number of podcasts lately. The consensus I have heard from some is that the ELDX is a great shooting bullet, but just not tough enough for large game hunting applications.

Anyone have similar experiences? Is mono metal the way to go?

I had A Winchester Model 70 in 300 wsm and the ELD's were the only bullet I could get to shoot accurately out of it. I shot an elk at 203 yards, broadside 4 times before he went down. I recovered jackets off of 2 of the bullets and had lots of fragments to clean out. One shot went in the shoulder and do the the damage and fragmentation it was pretty much wasted. I have since sold that gun and have a different make 300 wsm that I shoot Barnes TTSX out of, which I have recovered from numerous deer, elk, and bears and when I do recover them, they are at a minimum of 95% retention. ELD's are accurate, but I don't trust them after that experience.

 

[Ebstein]

I've killed a pile of critters from coyotes to moose and witnessed several other animals killed with ELD-Xs. I've never had a problem. They work exactly as they are designed.

That said, I believe there are better bullets available when maximum penetration is required. For instance, for bears of all kinds I prefer a mono or a bonded bullet.

I bought a new rifle last September and it did not like the Nosler Accubonds I had, but loves the ELD-X’s. I have many boxes of Partitions on back order though. If they ever arrive, it’ll be interesting to see if it likes them.

 

[tom338]

you are correct!!!!! Not an elk bullet

 

[Bam Bam]

Shot out of 6.5 PRC into a bull about 100 yards away. Found the jacket on the offside hide, no lead left in it, complete separation. Not a drop of blood on the ground where he was shot but the bull was very dead pretty quick, both lungs were jelly. Shot was behind the shoulder so no major bones were hit.

The bullet worked but I wouldn’t count on it in less than ideal circumstances. I’ll be using something else for elk from now on (assuming I can find something else).

View attachment 175693
View attachment 175694

Thanks for posting these pictures, that is not what I want to see in an elk cartridge.

 

[Hoodie]

I killed a cow last year with the 143 grain ELD-X out of a 6.5 CM. 205 yards, behind the shoulder. Cow was bedded down. I shot a second time as fast as I could work the bolt, but it was unnecessary. She was dead immediately. Massive damage to the vitals. Lungs were basically jelly. Meat loss was minimal. Both bullets passed through.

There are trade-offs to frangible bullets. I think you need to match the projectile to the impact velocity you're expecting and choose your shots accordingly. Softer bullets like the ELD-X are best out of slower cartridges. I wouldn't take steep quartering shots, frontals, or anything on the shoulder.

If I was shooting a mono out of a Creedmoor, I'd probably intentionally aim for the shoulder just to facilitate expansion.

The best bullet for a 400 yard shot from a 7mm-08 with a 20 inch barrel probably isn't the best bullet for a 50 yard frontal with an ultra magnum.

 

[Brianlo]

I’ve made really good loads with Eldx and taken many deer and elk with the bullet in .30 and 6.5 calibers. Each time I make a kill, i notice the excessive fragmentation on shots under 200 yards and it concerns me. Most kills are under 200 yards where you are still at very high velocities. The grenade effect is real with the eldx. I’ve started to transition to Hammer Hunters. But I’ll continue to use my ELDX loads until I run out. They do kill, they do it well, but, all that fragmented lead concerns me. I have small kids and know the effects of extra lead exposure in diet. I cut out a lot of meat and that’s not a good thing for me.

 

[Pucky Freak]

6.5CM eld-x 380 yards, hit cow elk scapula, passed through lungs, and lodged in opposite hide. The copper petal missing from the left was in the hide too beside the rest of the bullet. Another round broke both radiuses and ulnas just above the hock joint.

IMO the biggest downside is a relatively small wound channel w/ the 6.5CM, which is a narrow bullet. After 5 mins lung shot elk was still able to lift her head up. A finishing shot to her neck at point blank, and when her head was down, a large volume of blood poured out of her lungs onto the ground.

 

[yakimanoob]

I only took two animals before moving to non-lead ammo, but both of them were with the ELD-X. One mule deer buck and one spike elk; no complaints on bullet performance either time.

As can be expected from any modern hunting bullet from a reputable manufacturer, it's more than good enough to do the job.