225 Eldm and 230 atip for Hunting

[teejj]

I have a great hand load in 300 win mag with the 225 eldm for accuracy and would like to know experiences with this or similar bullets on game, should I expect good terminal ballistics? I also have a batch of 230 atip, will this be similar in the damage & penetration department? Or do I back up and punt for a bullet for hunting that is bonded/copper/locked etc? I do want pass through on my shots incase I need to trail them (thick in my area or Texas if the run) but want max damage for a humane kill and best chance of bangflop. Looking forward to hunting season! Thanks

 

[Bghunter338]

 

[TennJed]

is this the same guy that said hammer bullets are no good?

 

[Rosebud]

Best friend shoots165 ELDM in his30-06. Kills very well. The further out the shot the better the bullet works. Close range it will expand rapidly.

 

[bultinkle]

Eldms are good killing bullets from everything I've seen of someone that actually used them, and from my limited experience with them

i don't have experience with a tips and haven't read much up on them because the price makes me uninterested

I have a personal fondness for the 215 hybrid so the 225 specifically I've never used, but if someone handed me a rifle with a 225 in it I wouldn't blink

 

[teejj]

Good content! Seems to know his stuff!

 

[teejj]

Best friend shoots165 ELDM in his30-06. Kills very well. The further out the shot the better the bullet works. Close range it will expand rapidly.

Good to know, I have shoot a few whitetail with nosler 165 ballistic tips so I'd assume that would be the same. I got good pass throughs and major damage, once on the shoulder too many lead fragments to keep the shoulders but still pass through on both shoulders and drt.

 

[slowshot18]

Match bullets are terrible for killing stuff. The name given to them by their manufacturer is obvious. If you aren't using a partition, hammer hunter, or a musket ball, the animal will not die……. Just kidding!
I love eldms for killing thin skinned game up to mule deer and axis sized animals. I part time guide clients in south Texas and have seen a lot of different bullets used. You're not shooting a waterbuffalo so a bullet that fragments violently is the way to go to dump a massive amount of energy into the animal quickly and also expand without hitting bone.
Eldm have thinner jackets than eldx. With berger, their hunting line has thinner jackets than their target series.

 

[Mike6158]

I used to hunt a high fence ranch with a friend and he hated my Berger VLD's. I shot (still do) a 7mm Rem Mag with 168gr Bergers. I never lost an animal but they would travel some and the blood trail wasn't the best, but it was there. Over in the George West area of TX the game have tunnels in the brush (they call it brush country for a reason) and while mine never made it into the brush, a friends son's animal did. I ended up crawling in after it and finding it. To keep peace on the ranch, I switched to a 150 gr Barnes TSX (now trying the TTSX) and the two deer I killed with them died with very little change in location. One was literally DRT and the other went less than 10 yards. The exit wounds were significant as was the internal damage. That said, everything that was hit over the years we hunted died and was recovered.

PS - Shawn Carlock does alright with Bergers in his .338 Edge

 

[teejj]

I used to hunt a high fence ranch with a friend and he hated my Berger VLD's. I shot (still do) a 7mm Rem Mag with 168gr Bergers. I never lost an animal but they would travel some and the blood trail wasn't the best, but it was there. Over in the George West area of TX the game have tunnels in the brush (they call it brush country for a reason) and while mine never made it into the brush, a friends son's animal did. I ended up crawling in after it and finding it. To keep peace on the ranch, I switched to a 150 gr Barnes TSX (now trying the TTSX) and the two deer I killed with them died with very little change in location. One was literally DRT and the other went less than 10 yards. The exit wounds were significant as was the internal damage. That said, everything that was hit over the years we hunted died and was recovered.

PS - Shawn Carlock does alright with Bergers in his .338 Edge

Sounds like you may actually be able to shoot game in the right spot

 

[teejj]

Match bullets are terrible for killing stuff. The name given to them by their manufacturer is obvious. If you aren't using a partition, hammer hunter, or a musket ball, the animal will not die……. Just kidding!
I love eldms for killing thin skinned game up to mule deer and axis sized animals. I part time guide clients in south Texas and have seen a lot of different bullets used. You're not shooting a waterbuffalo so a bullet that fragments violently is the way to go to dump a massive amount of energy into the animal quickly and also expand without hitting bone.
Eldm have thinner jackets than eldx. With berger, their hunting line has thinner jackets than their target series.

Well in my parts it takes a cannon with grape shot to even damage the skin on deer so keep that in mind!

 

[Mike6158]

Sounds like you may actually be able to shoot game in the right spot

Once a year when I go

 

[Rosebud]

Good to know, I have shoot a few whitetail with nosler 165 ballistic tips so I'd assume that would be the same. I got good pass throughs and major damage, once on the shoulder too many lead fragments to keep the shoulders but still pass through on both shoulders and drt.

My friend was upset about the AMAX going away. Talked him into the ELDM . told him it was a Amax with a different tip. He's sold.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Having hunted with A-tips in the 208g older version, I would not recommend them for close shots out of a 300WM.
Having used Berger OTM's,I would not recommend then in either 300 magnums or large 338 magnums either…just my experience using dozens and dozens of them, just can't be trusted to perform as they should.
Both the 30 cal 230g OTM and 338 300g OTM couldn't be relied upon to either expand every time or to expand too fast and break apart.

Cheers.