6.5 Grendel Hornady Black 123 ELD-M for hunting?

[txhoghunter73]

I ordered a 6.5 Grendel from GrendelHunter.com about 3 months ago. I bought some Hornady Black 123 ELD-M ammo from academy because they were sold out of the sst ammo at the time(they still don't have any!), and I was dying to try the rifle out. So I zeroed it at 100 yards. It shot FANTASTIC with this ammo. 3 inch group at 600 yds. So I bought a bunch more of it. So I started doing some research online. I read on a private page(I forgot to screen shot it, and now I can't find it again) that the 123 ELD-M is the same exact bullet construction as the 123 SST including the interlocking ring it just has the heat shield tip. The guy said that this is the only ELD-M like this. He said that Hornady couldn't get the bullets to stabilize so they just changed the tip on the sst. Has anyone here heard anything like this? Has anyone shot anything with this bullet?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Been wanting to try that ammo with mine. It shoots the Hornady Match 123 A-Max ammo really well. I am not an A-Max fan, but the new Hornady Black 123 ELD-M ammo intrigues me. So I am also interested to hear someone's experiences.

 

[Maddvaper]

Dude I Grendel hunt with the A-Max and the Eld. They'll knock a Deer on their *** at distance too.

 

[Buttermilk]

I'm not certain the ELDM is an SST with a different tip.

The two bullets have a different shape on the ogive, and also have different BC's, both published and tested.

I also would doubt the two have the same construction, but perhaps I'll cut two of them in half and see if they both have the interlocking ring...

I have a handload for my AR15 that shoots the Hornady 123 ELDM under MOA for 5 shots, and plan to see what that bullet will do on deer this fall.

 

[txhoghunter73]

I'm not certain the ELDM is an SST with a different tip.

The two bullets have a different shape on the ogive, and also have different BC's, both published and tested.

I also would doubt the two have the same construction, but perhaps I'll cut two of them in half and see if they both have the interlocking ring...

I have a handload for my AR15 that shoots the Hornady 123 ELDM under MOA for 5 shots, and plan to see what that bullet will do on deer this fall.

Keep us posted

 

[txhoghunter73]

Dude I Grendel hunt with the A-Max and the Eld. They'll knock a Deer on their *** at distance too.

Thanks for the info! How does the bullet performance look? Blow ups? Controlled expansion?

 

[TC338]

Tagging in on this one.

 

[257Tony]

I had heard/read somewhere that the 123 eld was the 123 Amax with the heat shield tip. I hunted t with the 123 Amax in my 6.5cm and they work wonderfully on deer.

 

[Maddvaper]

Only thing I can say is d.r.t. with the amax/eld. Last year I shot one @ 100 yrds with the 123 gr and one @ 200 yards with the 100 gr amax both dead right then.Then one @ 300 yards and one at 350 yards both with the 95 gr Vmax, I don't suggest the Vmax for deer they did travel about 15 yards each before falling over.I like them dead right then.

 

[stwcattle]

I havent shot a deer with my Grendal but have shot a couple pigs with the ELDM ammunition. They both were around 200 yards and shot behind the head. Both dropped in their tracks.

 

[Frank1970]

I ordered a 6.5 Grendel from GrendelHunter.com about 3 months ago. I bought some Hornady Black 123 ELD-M ammo from academy because they were sold out of the sst ammo at the time(they still don't have any!), and I was dying to try the rifle out. So I zeroed it at 100 yards. It shot FANTASTIC with this ammo. 3 inch group at 600 yds. So I bought a bunch more of it. So I started doing some research online. I read on a private page(I forgot to screen shot it, and now I can't find it again) that the 123 ELD-M is the same exact bullet construction as the 123 SST including the interlocking ring it just has the heat shield tip. The guy said that this is the only ELD-M like this. He said that Hornady couldn't get the bullets to stabilize so they just changed the tip on the sst. Has anyone here heard anything like this? Has anyone shot anything with this bullet?

Last deer season i shot two deer from my elevated tree stand in Pennsylvania. A 6.5 Grendel 123 SST. First shot was 310 yds. Ranged. And 265 yds. Ranged. Both were running at a slow lope. Knocked both down hard.

 

[Rips]

I've used the A-max for years for long range hunting and varminting and found them awesome, so was a little disappointed when they were discontinued. On testing the eld bullets I can confirm they are indeed a different shape to the A-max.
Performance wise the eld-m is designed for target shooting "m" for match and in my findings on small game simply pencilled through with little expansion however on deer they may well perform better, this was something I didn't test them on.
The eld-x however (x-expanding) will not only shoot as accurately as the eld-m but give expansion like the old A-max expanding violently on even small game at distance.
Accuracy in my 260 gave a sub half Moa group on paper and when tested on steel at 575 yards.

 

[Niles Coyote]

When Hornady debuted the ELD line the stated difference between the M and X, directly from Hornady, was the X had a thicker jacket to delay expansion. I doubt very much that the 123 ELD-M is a SST with a new hat.

 

[Canhunter35]

I emailed hornady about their eld-m they said they are the same as their amax but with the heat shield tip. Except of course the new eld-m that don't have a matching amax bullet. The eldx has an interlock ring to hold together the base, ensuring penetration. The eldm does not

I've always had good results hunting with amax so eld m should work fine, but if the eldx is available it's the obvious choice