Hornady ELX - No Good for Hunting Elk???

[Eprevost_tec]

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?

 

[MTHunter1321]

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?

Took one elk a few years with 200gr ELDX out of my 300WSM. At 250 yards it took 4 shots, all right behind the shoulder to get him to drop. He was still alive when I got up to him so I had to finish him off with one more. I went and bought some Barnes TTSX 165 grains as soon as I got home from that hunt. Have yet to have to take more than 1 shot on an elk with the Barnes. I think you hit the nail on the head in that they’re probably a great round for the range, but I would never use them on game again.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I've had very good luck with them on elk. They aren't made to hold together though. Based on your criteria it sounds like the accubond or similar bullet is what you want.

 

[mthillrunner]

I’ve shot a few elk with 200gr eldx from a 300 mag. They are not as tough as an accubond & won’t retain the weight if that’s what you’re after. However, all elk died quickly so it did its job. Some were pass throughs some weren’t. If you’re after a bullet that retains 90% of weight then it’s the wrong bullet. I’ll continue using them as they’re very accurate in my rifle & the elk are dead ive shot with it

 

[Wind Gypsy]

They are a frangible bullet. They are meant to make big wound cavities, not drill a hole through an animal. Like most things in life, there are compromises. Tough bullets that hold together typically = narrow wound channel. That doesn't mean they dont kill, they just dont wound as much as a bullet that fragments.

I've killed bulls with 7mm 175gr and 200gr .308 ELDx and would not be afraid to use them again. That said, they wouldn't be my first choice for a quartering to, point of the shoulder shot. I would avoid choosing an ELDx bullet most applications above 3000 FPS muzzle velocity though. Bullet weight is your friend with these.

 

[brockel]

Took one elk a few years with 200gr ELDX out of my 300WSM. At 250 yards it took 4 shots, all right behind the shoulder to get him to drop. He was still alive when I got up to him so I had to finish him off with one more. I went and bought some Barnes TTSX 165 grains as soon as I got home from that hunt. Have yet to have to take more than 1 shot on an elk with the Barnes. I think you hit the nail on the head in that they’re probably a great round for the range, but I would never use them on game again.

What did the wound channels look like?

 

[MTHunter1321]

What did the wound channels look like?

The 4 shots all hit within a few inches of each other. One lung was taken out and the other hardly had a scratch on it and none of them exited. Was it lethal? Yes. Was it humane, not even close. I would expect a lot better performance and pass through from that heavy of bullet at under 300 yards.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

In my experience I would tend to shy away from low velocities with eldx, especially on marginal shot angles. I run 178s out of a 300 wsm and that load has claimed many an elk. I've also seen results of a smaller cal, slower load and it wouldn't be my first choice at all.

 

[brockel]

The 4 shots all hit within a few inches of each other. One lung was taken out and the other hardly had a scratch on it and none of them exited. Was it lethal? Yes. Was it humane, not even close. I would expect a lot better performance and pass through from that heavy of bullet at under 300 yards.

Yep only one lung taken out with no major bone being hit is not good

 

[T Bone]

I guess I've been lucky.

7 STW with 175 gr eldX.

Bull 1. Three shots at about 150 yards, steep quartering away. All three exited after traversing guts, vitals, and muscle. Dead bull.

Cow 1. 350 ish yards, broadside. Placement was about right. DRT and a long tumble down the mountain.

Buck 1. 200 yards. Broadside through the ribs. DRT.

Bull 2. 315 yards. Killed him in his sleep. Quartering on. One shot. Entrance on point of shoulder. Found the bullet under the hide on the opposing rear hip.

The memories of the hunts make me smile. When I feel the mass of the antlers, it makes me long for fall.

I have complete confidence in the rifle and bullet.

 

[mtmuley]

I've never loaded any. The initial hype turned me off. I'm sure they work, but I prefer a stouter bullet. Sounds like the OP might also. mtmuley

 

[Sagebrushhunt]

I’ve had good luck with them. 175 gr 7mm. My son shot this bull it took one step and tipped over. 200 yard shot

 

[std7mag]

Killing the tree 50 yards on the opposite side of an animal doesn't make the animal any deader.
System shock & blood loss is what kills.

The Nosler Ballistic Tip, in many calibers i've shot, have all provided pass throughs. But the internal damage (what matters) has been fairly massive.
The Berger VLD creates more internal damage, but i have yet to have a pass through. Jackets are found under offside hide.

Which is better?
Hard to tell, as both have proved effective.

 

[belshawelk]

I have not heard good things. Much like the Accubond LR. Great for long distance and accurancy but the bulets do not stay together. I have had bad results with the ABLR. The ELDX is same concept.

 

[chevyman181]

Took one elk a few years with 200gr ELDX out of my 300WSM. At 250 yards it took 4 shots, all right behind the shoulder to get him to drop. He was still alive when I got up to him so I had to finish him off with one more. I went and bought some Barnes TTSX 165 grains as soon as I got home from that hunt. Have yet to have to take more than 1 shot on an elk with the Barnes. I think you hit the nail on the head in that they’re probably a great round for the range, but I would never use them on game again.

We had the same issue with deer. We were shooting the 162eldx out of a 280ai.

 

[blueridge]

My experience confirmed the same. 143 Eldx in 6.5CM. Super accurate in my rifle. Tickled pink. Shot one animal with it: whitetail at 175yds, slightly quartering away. Went in mid way up the ribs and just about completely blew the far leg off. Carnage.

Can’t blame a bullet for doing what it was designed to do, but not for me.

 

[Eprevost_tec]

Thanks all,

I really appreciate the perspective and observations.

I guess I am going to have to try some Barnes TTSX or Hammer Hunter bullets and see how they perform.

There is a black bear hunt in my plans for this spring, we will have to see how the ELDX does on a Bear.

Thanks again.

 

[Brian in Montana]

This very thread is the perfect example of what I'd call a "mixed review". I've never shot an elk with an ELD-X, but I'm with group that prefers a stouter constructed bullet on a big animal like an elk. I have shot a couple big cows with a Hornady Interlock and those did fine, but even that's designed to be less of an explosive bullet than the ELD-X.

I know the pickings are slim in this ammo shortage, but there's plenty of time before next season to work up a different load.

 

[bullbugle307]

I've killed one bull elk with the eld x. 143 grain factory loads out of a 6.5. At about 150 the bullet passed through both lungs and exited the offside and appeared to hold together well based on the wound channel and the fact that there was very little meat loss. I'm sure that had a lot to do with shot placement too. I've always wondered how much of the problems people have with them comes from loading them hot for long range applications only to end to taking a close shot.

From my limited observation, the SST creates a much more damage, but I admittedly have a very small sample size of animals shot with both. I can tell you one thing though, every animal I've killed with both has died very quickly. The SST just had a lot more meat loss than what I would prefer.

 

[Brentc]

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.